Joseph Shiloach Movies

Director Benny Torati's bittersweet ensemble film Desperado Square spins a tale of respect, long-lost loves and village history amongst a settlement of Greek Jews near Tel Aviv. On the one-year anniversary of the respected elder statesman Morris Mandabon's death -- and on the eve of a schedule memorial in his honor -- his eldest son, Nisim (Nir Levi), dreams that his late father is beckoning him to reopen the family movie theater that had closed several years previously. Drawing his brother, George (Sharon Reginyano), into the scheme, the two set out to fulfill their father's wish. Their mother, Signora (Yona Elian), provides fierce opposition, which intensifies when she learns that her sons intend to screen the sexually charged Bollywood film Sangam. She reacts as such due the film's portrayal of a love triangle that has more than a passing resemblance to her own life -- she was madly in love with Morris' brother, Avram (Mohammed Bakri), but was affianced to Morris through an arrangement of families. After her engagement to Morris, Avram disappeared in order to stay out of the way. And, to further complicate matters, Avram arrives in the settlement in order to participate in his brother's memorial. As a result, the family is forced to come to terms with its past, as well as revisioning its future. Desperado Square premiered in Israel in 2000 and was included in the programs of several Jewish film festivals in both the United States and abroad in 2001 and 2002. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide

The third entry in the ultra-macho Rambo action movie series finds muscle-bound warrior John Rambo (co-writer and star Sylvester Stallone) refusing a request from his former Vietnam superior, Green Beret Colonel Trautman (Richard Crenna). Trautman is to lead a mission to aid the mujahedeen rebels fighting the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, but the Buddhist Rambo turns his friend down. When the mission goes awry and Trautman is subsequently captured and tortured within a prison fortress, Rambo launches a rescue effort of his own, armed with his trademark bow and exploding arrows. Along the way, he allies himself with the freedom fighters and runs afoul of the villainous Russian commander Zaysen (Marc de Jonge). At the time of its release, Rambo III -- released in the same month in 1988 that Russian troops began withdrawing from Afghanistan -- was the most expensive film ever made, at 63 million dollars. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Although it is based on an intriguing premise -- Dale (Brooke Shields), disguised as a man, takes the place of her late father in a 1927 car race through the Sahara -- this film perversely falls flatter than a blow-out, and just as quickly. After starting the race and because of tribal warfare, Dale winds up a prisoner of the thug Rasoul (John Rhys-Davies) but is appropriately rescued by a dashing sheik (Lambert Wilson). Then after she is back in the race, she is captured and thrown into a leopard's cage by another desert villain. The Indy 500, this is not. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

As the fourth in a series of "Popsicle" movies about three young buddies, Sapiches is running on empty. Director Boaz Davidson liberally borrows from the preceding three films and puts together a series of low-brow sequences and variations on a few core jokes to pad a story line about ostensible life in the army. Military duty apparently requires a lot of down time for sexual adventures. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

One of Cannon Films' two 1976 Italian-Israeli co-productions starring Lee Van Cleef and Leif Garrett (Gianfranco Parolini's Pistola di Dio was the other), this spaghetti western was actually shot in the Middle East by American director Joseph Manduke. Pop star Garrett plays Tom, a teenager who teams with a black gunfighter named Isaac (Jim Brown) to avenge his family. The culprit was McClain (Van Cleef), a sadistic outlaw who carried out the brutal rape-massacre, but his role is minor, as most of the film deals with Tom's maturation and coming to terms with his feelings. Omnipresent 1970s character actors Glynnis O'Connor and John Marley co-star. If there is anything remarkable about Kid Vengeance, it is Francesco Masi's fine musical score, but the film is otherwise anemic. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Captain Uri Litman (Robert Fuller) must lead a small group of soldiers in a vital mission to destroy a key Arab radar station during the Six-Day War. A woman transports the special troops by boat before sinking the vessel so it won't fall into the hands of the enemy. Actual black-and-white footage of the war is mixed in with the color photography to give the feature a documentary feel. The special troops travel over rugged terrain as they race against time to keep from being captured behind enemy lines in this war picture based on historical events. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide