Anna Karin Movies
- 1997
Anna Nicholas wrote and directed this independent feature set at a South Central LA mini-mall on the day Rodney King's attackers were acquitted (April 29, 1992). A multicultural cast of characters operate businesses at the mall, but fear of violence following the trial has prompted Korean landlord Kong to close the mall by having custodian/security guard Rodriego (Robert Villalobos) deny parking lot access due to "construction." Subtitled dialogue is in Korean, Swedish, Hebrew, Vietnamese, Farsi, and Spanish. Nicholas shot in 16mm color and black-and-white. Shown at the 1997 Mill Valley Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Villalobos, Tony Todd, (more)
A man who thinks that he's on a mission of mercy finds himself in the middle of international espionage at its most dangerous in this thriller. Father Andrew Kanevsky (Martin Sheen) is a Catholic priest who persuades his brother Vince (Chris Penn) to join him as he travels to Russia to do missionary work with a group of Franciscan priests in St. Petersburg. Or at least that's what Vince thinks when they take off; as it turns out, Father Andrew is involved in a cloak-and-dagger scheme with the Franciscans to smuggle $200 million in religious relics out of Russia and into the U.S. before a group of Neo-Nazi terrorists who have overrun the city can lay claim to them. However, the terrorists are not easily foiled, and Father Andrew is captured and killed by their number; when Vince learns the truth about his brother's mission from Father Stanislav (J.T. Walsh), he's determined to see that the holy icons find their way to the U.S. as planned, even after two renegades split off from the terrorist faction and make off with the valuables on their own. Sacred Cargo was the first English-language feature for former Soviet playwright Aleksandr Buravsky, who also cowrote the screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Penn, Martin Sheen, (more)
A weekend encounter group session goes dreadfully wrong in this campy thriller done in the tradition of an old Ed Wood movie. Richard, a disturbed, but serious student who has been having strange recurring dreams, has just received the go-ahead for his research project. With a group of subjects, he will travel to his forest cabin to hold a "fear confrontation" session. The subjects are an eclectic fear-filled group, and much of the movie focuses on their discussions as they begin to face them. The thrills begin when Morty, a mysterious old-fashioned dime store wooden Indian suddenly appears in a closet. Morty is not a friendly fellow, nor is he as inanimate as he seems. When the group goes to a local amusement park, people begin to die. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Softcore porn auteur Gregory Hippolyte directed this thriller featuring plenty of female nudity and starring Nick Cassavetes, son of famed indie director John Cassavetes. Beverly Hills shrink Dr. Jonathan Brooks (Cassavetes) seemingly has everything to lose: wealth, a successful practice, and a beautiful lawyer fiancée, Jennifer (Diana Barton). There's a serial killer on the loose in L.A., so Brooks is helping his cop friend Harry Reams (Richard Roundtree) compile a psychological profile of the murderer. Brooks is also treating an interesting new patient, Laura (Shannon Whirry), a shy hooker who transforms under hypnosis into a completely different woman, the seductive Lana. Brooks has a torrid affair with the irresistible Lana, but he's getting more than he bargained for. Lana steals the videotapes of her "sessions" with the good doctor and blackmails him with the damning evidence, destroying Brooks' life in the process. In the meantime, Harry closes in on a biker (Don Swayze) who might be the killer -- and the suspect has a connection to Lana. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- 1993
- R
A DEA agent (Jeff Wincott), working on the case of a Russian drug kingpin, agrees to let his unstable brother (Gary Hudson) help him foil the crook. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
