Tom Lazarus Movies
- 1999
- R
A documentarian is given an inside look at the career of an upscale call girl in this erotic drama. Torri (Catalina Larranga) is a prostitute who has risen to the highest ranks of her profession -- she's beautiful, sophisticated, charming, and charges high rates that her wealthy clients are happy to pay. In fact, Torri's renown is such that a documentary filmmaker (Robert Rand) has decided to make a movie about her life and work. With her permission, he uses his camera to spy on her as she goes about her work, including indulging a client's fantasy to have sex in an art gallery and turning a private lesbian show into a threesome when her customer decides to become an active participant. Torri is able to make each of her customers believe that her true passion is for him and him alone. Of course, it isn't really true...or is it? Word of Mouth was the first directorial credit for Tom Lazarus, who wrote the screenplays for the films Stigmata and Just You and Me, Kid. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Stigmata is a supernatural suspense story about good, evil, and faith. Frankie Paige (Patricia Arquette) is a hair stylist in her mid-20s who has no strong religious convictions until odd things start happening to her after she's given a rosary by her mother: she begins speaking with another person's voice; unknown and unseen forces start to attack her; and she develops stigmata, bleeding wounds that spontaneously appear on her wrists, feet, and side, as Christ was wounded at Calvary. Some people believe that a holy miracle has been visited on Frankie, though no one can say why. A Cardinal from the Vatican (Jonathan Pryce) sends a priest, Father Andrew Kiernan (Gabriel Byrne), to investigate Frankie and her condition; after getting a first-hand look, Father Andrew finds himself less concerned with whether Frankie's wounds are a legitimate miracle and more concerned with saving her life. Billy Corgan, leader of the rock group The Smashing Pumpkins, composed the score for Stigmata in collaboration with keyboardist Mike Garson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patricia Arquette, Gabriel Byrne, (more)
- 1992
This documentary highlights the jazz styling of John Lurie and the eight members of his band, The Lounge Lizards, as they perform fusion-style jazz in nightspots in the Latin quarter of Berlin. While the bulk of the film consists of musical numbers, the star does speak long enough to tell a political shaggy-dog story. Independent filmmaker Jim Jarmusch has cast the saxophone player in many of his films. Among the songs featured in his performances are an interpretation of John Coltrane's A Love Supreme and Bob Dylan's Rainy Day Women Nos. 12 & 35. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Lurie, Michael Blake, (more)
- 1986
Underworld fence Lucky Lacy (Ron Karabatsos) is robbed of $12 million in gems by a gang of young hoodlums. Hiring a huge, psychotic punker named Lincoln--played by John Matuszak, former gridiron rival of Hunter star Fred Dryer--to kill the thieves and retrieve the merchandise, Lacy launches a bloodbath that leaves many innocent victims in its wake. Inevitably, Hunter is forced to go "mano y mano" with the brutish Lincoln--and the odds are definitely not in his favor! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
Rock-em sock-em LAPD detective sergeant Rick Hunter (Fred Dryer) continues busting heads and breaking arms in pursuit of justice as Hunter begins its second season. Someone is systematically murdering female porn stars, and Hunter and his partner DeeDee McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) are ordered to find out who and why. So Hunter goes undercover at a seedy modelling agency, while McCall dons form-fitting leotards at an exercise club known to be hangout for the porn industry. Several plot twists and double crosses later, Dee Dee finds herself the killer's next target--and Hunter is miles away. Directed by former Starsky and Hutch star David Soul, this episode introduces two new series regulars: Bruce Davison as Captain Wyler, and Richard Beauchamp as Carlos the morgue attendant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
In the conclusion of a two-part story, Hunter travels to the banana republic of Curaguay to exact vengeance against the "Devil Prince" Raoul Mariano (Richard Yniguez), who after committing murder and sexually assaulting McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) was able to escape prosecution by invoking his diplomatic immunity. Hoping to talk sense to the rapist's father General Mariano (Michael Ansara), Hunter is aghast to discover that the old man is even more depraved than his son. Clearly, extreme measures must be taken, and Hunter is the man to take them--and never mind that McCall herself has begged him to drop the case and return home! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
In the first episode of a two-part story, McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) investigates a murder at the Curaguyan embassy in Los Angeles. While on the job, she is wooed by handsome envoy Raoul Marianos (Richard Yniguez)--who turns out not only to be the murderer but also a serial rapist, with McCall as his next victim. Worse still, Hunter (Fred Dryer) can do nothing to avenge his partner: Marianos is shielded from prosecution by diplomatic immunity! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Remember that controversial participation game of the 1980s called "Dungeons and Dragons"? Remember how sociologists warned us that the game was potentially dangerous to those who couldn't altogether separate fantasy from reality. This is the premise of Mazes and Monsters, a made-for-TV film based on the best-seller by Rona Jaffee. Future Oscar-winner Tom Hanks portrays one of four college students who become so deeply involved in a Mazes & Monsters session that the results may turn fatal at any moment. Despite its potential for silly sensationalism, the film is based on a believable premise, and arrives at a logical conclusion. When first aired December 28, 1982, this Canadian-American production was titled Rona Jaffee's Mazes and Monsters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
This sweet family biopic chronicles the rise of the Osmond family singers and the struggles of their parents, George and Olive, to raise eight talented children. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1981
This TV film is spawned by a true story where a marauding fisherman accosts a pair of newlyweds in the Northwest wilderness. He kills the young groom, rapes the bride, and then forces her to live with him as he attempts to convince her that it was just an unfortunate accident. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Blanche Baker, Cliff De Young, (more)
- 1981
The Ordeal of Bill Carney is a TV movie inspired by a landmark court decision. Ray Sharkey plays Carney, an Army reservist whose spine is damaged in a jeep accident. Left a quadriplegic, Carney loses custody of his two children to ex-wife Betty Buckley. Despite the concerted efforts of the Disabled Veterans of America, as well as paraplegic lawyer Richard Crenna, the courts refuse to restore custody to Carney. But with the moral support of Crenna and his girl friend, Carney keeps up the court battle, and eventually emerges victorious. The film sagaciously avoids all temptations to wallow in sentiment; Carney refuses to feel sorry for himself, and his attitude is contagious. The cast of Ordeal of Bill Carney includes three comparative newcomers on the verge of TV stardom: Ana Alicia as Carney's new lady friend, and David Faustino and Jeremy Licht as his children. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Sue Anderson heads the cast of the made-for-TV The Survival of Dana. Dana Lee (Anderson) is a basically decent high school girl who suffers severe culture shock when her family moves to another town. A victim of oppressive peer pressure, Dana begins hanging around the "wrong crowd." Despite the affluence of their parents, these aimless kids get their kicks out of petty crime-and before long, there's nothing petty about their activities. Marion Ross, Robert Carradine Talia Balsam and Frederic Forrest costar in The Survival of Dana, which debuted May 29, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
- PG
In this comedy, an elderly ex-vaudevillian is surprised to find a naked young woman in the trunk of his car. He soon discovers that she is a runaway fleeing from both the police and an enraged drug dealer she cheated out of $20,000. Meanwhile, the codger's daughter continually attempts to get him committed because of his overly generous support of his former colleagues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Burns, Brooke Shields, (more)
- 1978
Made for television, this little gem was based on a novel by Patrick Anderson. The title character, the sister of a government courier, barely has time to acquaint herself with the audience before she is murdered - leading us to wonder who did it, and if it is, in fact, true that the dead woman was a Soviet spy. Beau Bridges, Karen Grassle, Susan Blanchard, Larry Hagman, Don Porter and Gail Strickland are among those present. The President's Mistress was "World Premiered" on February 10, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
