Marin Kanter Movies
- 1990
- R
In this riotous British satire, a conniving Catholic priest convinces a dying tycoon into writing the church into his will by having him add the following proviso: the tycoon's children will only inherit the fortune if one of them can produce an heir within one year after his death. If they fail, all the money will go to the Church. The priest is well aware that the magnate's son is gay and that his daughter is a lesbian. After the ailing fellow signs the will, the priest allows him to die. The two siblings soon find themselves pursued by two aspiring real estate agents who want some of that money for themselves and agree to let the middle-aged siblings adopt them. A voluptuous seductress also has her eye on the family fortune and she tries to sway the brother into giving her a go. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Downey, Jr., Eric Idle, (more)
- 1982
- R
Based on a true story, Endangered Species stars Robert Urich and JoBeth Williams. Urich plays vacationing ex-cop Ruben Castle, while Williams portrays Harriet Purdue, a small-town sheriff. Intrigued by Purdue's investigation of a rash of cattle mutilations, Castle begins following the evidence trail himself. What has been attributed to a religious cult or extraterrestrials by the locals turns out to be a covert operation conducted by a corrupt cartel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Urich, JoBeth Williams, (more)
- 1982
- R
- Add Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains to QueueAdd Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains to top of Queue
A very inexperienced rock band flirts with fame thanks to a valuable assist from the media in this comedy-drama directed by veteran music producer Lou Adler. Corinne Burns (Diane Lane) is a fifteen-year-old orphan who gains a measure of local notoriety when she quits her job at a burger stand during a live television newscast. Corinne has few prospects but plenty of nerve, and she's formed a band with her sister Tracy (Marin Kanter) and cousin Jessica (Laura Dern) called the Stains. While checking out a gig by veteran hard rock band the Metal Corpses, led by flamboyant singer Lou Corpse (Fee Waybill), opened by British punk upstarts the Looters, Corrine sneaks backstage to ask advice just as Lou demands tour manager Lawnboy (Barry Ford) find a new opening act. Lawnboy impulsively gives the Stains the gig, and while the first show for the girls (who've had all of three practices) is little short of a disaster, Corrine's skunk-stripe hairdo, provocative clothes and defiant declaration "We don't put out" captures the attention of a television reporter who covered her before. A story on the evening news about the Stains turns the band into a cult sensation, and Looters lead singer Billy (Ray Winstone) tries to offer her some advice and emotional support as the Stains rise from opening act to headliners, but Corinne and her friends learn that their new fans are a very fickle breed. Shot in 1980 but released to only a handful of theaters in 1982, Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains gained a potent cult following after it appeared on cable television, largely among punk rock fans -- the Looters featured Steve Jones and Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols on guitar and drums as well as Paul Simonon from the Clash on bass, while L.A. punk troublemakers Black Randy and the Metrosquad briefly appear as themselves. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Diane Lane, Peter Donat, (more)
The period biker flick The Loveless marks the feature debut of both actor Willem Dafoe and writer/director Kathryn Bigelow (Strange Days). Bigelow co-wrote and co-directed the film with Monty Montgomery, who would go on to produce Wild at Heart and The Portrait of a Lady. Dafoe plays Vance, a stoic, leather-clad biker who rides into a small Southern town and to wait for some other bikers. Their plan is to travel on to Daytona for some racing, but they have to stick around the little truck stop town for a while to get one of their bikes repaired. Vance flirts a bit with Augusta (Liz Gans), a widowed waitress. She's the only local who's friendly to him and his gang. Contemplating living in such a depressed, isolated place, Vance tells her, "I think your husband had the right idea." While the bikes are worked on, Vance and the gang, including the abrasive Davis (rockabilly musician Robert Gordon, who also composed the film's soundtrack) and his girlfriend, Debbie (Tina Lhotsky), spend the day in town, to the chagrin of the conservative residents. Vance hooks up with Telena (Marin Kanter), the rebellious teenage daughter of a rich redneck. Their little tryst creates even more tension, and the day ends with violence. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Willem Dafoe, Robert Gordon, (more)
Skokie is the true story of a critical test of Constitutional rights in Illinois. In 1977, a small band of American neo-fascists calling itself the National Socialist Party of America plans to stage a swastika-dominated demonstration and rally. Their intended site is the Chicago suburb of Skokie, a town populated predominantly by Jews--many of them survivors of the Nazi holocaust. Jewish ACLU lawyer John Rubinstein is compelled to lobby for the National Socialists' freedom to express their views, despite his own inner turmoil over defending the very people who'd destroy him. The most vocal opponent to the planned rally is Skokie senior citizen Max Liebman (Danny Kaye), who spent five years in Hitler's death camps. Ernest Kinoy's teleplay for Skokie is fair-minded to a fault, presenting all points of view with equanimity, proving that there are no simple solutions when the fundamental right of Free Speech is involved. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
