Ronald Nitschke Movies

Fast-talking Guy (Thomas Scott) is taking his mentally fragile wife, Corrine (Danielle Bisutti), to beautiful Costa Rica. He's going for shady business reasons, and rarely puts down his cell phone. They're being followed by the coolly sarcastic Solange (Michelle Jones), who also serves as our narrator; her hot-tempered lover, Joaquim (Keith Brunsmann); and his seemingly dim, indolent brother, Nicky (Ryan Barton-Grimley). These three plan to kidnap poor Corrine in order to keep Guy from ripping off a large sum of money they'd earlier entrusted to him. The whole group checks into a posh resort, whereupon the trio makes their move. While Solange and Joaquim keep a close eye on Guy (particularly close -- intimate even -- on Solange's part), Nicky drags Corrine to a ratty hut in the middle of a vast banana plantation. Guy alternately tries to trick his captors into releasing his wife and to convince them that he's working in everyone's best interests, setting up a real estate deal (aided by unique Costa Rican property laws) that will make them all rich. While he clearly believes he can talk his way out of trouble, his natural antipathy toward the abrasive Joaquim occasionally gets the better of him. Meanwhile, Nicky proves much too sensitive to be a good kidnapper, and is increasingly attracted to Corrine, who learns the hard way what a sleazeball her devoted husband is. TropiX was written and directed by Percy Angress and Livia Linden, expatriate Americans who live in Costa Rica. The film had its world premiere at the 2003 Rhode Island International Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

A young man unthinkingly throws himself into a world of political and sexual turmoil in John Schlesinger's adaptation of the novel by Ian McEwan. Leonard Markham (Campbell Scott) is a British communications and surveillance expert who is sent to Germany in the early 1950s, at the height of the Cold War. Leonard is put under the command of Bob Glass (Anthony Hopkins), an American agent who goes out of his way to show him around town. Leonard is woefully naive about most subjects not directly involving his job, and when Bob takes him to a typically decadent Berlin nightclub, he is astonished to discover that Maria (Isabella Rossellini), a beautiful and mysterious woman, announces that she's quite attracted to him. Soon Leonard is no longer a 24-year-old virgin, but (as one might expect) Maria's interest in him is not entirely a matter of physical attraction. Bob's secret project is a hidden tunnel beneath Berlin that allows his forces to tap into Russian telephone transmissions, which is Leonard's responsibility. But the Americans are also obtaining coded information that they aren't passing along to the British; while Leonard helps Bob, he's also finding out what Bob knows and passing it along to the British. However, Maria is also looking for certain information, and she sees the innocent and gullible Leonard as an easy way to get it. The Innocent was originally completed in 1993, but it was not shown in the United States until 1996, when it was given a brief theatrical release before appearing on home video. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Laurence Olivier trots out his late-career German accent once again, playing Rudolf Hess in this sequel to Wild Geese. Richard Burton was set to star in the film, but when he died, Edward Fox was brought in as a replacement, playing Burton's younger brother. (the film is dedicated to Burton). The story concerns John Haddad (Scott Glenn), who is hired by a television company to engineer the kidnapping of Rudolf Hess from Spandau prison. Helping him with his assignment are the brother and sister team of Kathy (Barbara Carrera) and Michael Lukas (John Terry). The mercenaries hopes to force Hess to divulge hidden Nazis secrets left unrevealed since World War II. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide