Elias Koteas Movies
Stone-jawed and puppy-eyed, Elias Koteas has the enviable ability to call on both his distinctive looks and talent to portray a variety of complex, often troubled characters. Koteas is one of Canada's most prominent and well-respected actors, and during the late '90s, he began to amass international critical attention for his work in a number of high profile films, including David Cronenberg's Crash (1996) and Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line (1998).Koteas, who is of Greek ancestry, was born in Montreal on March 11, 1961. His father was a mechanic for the Canadian National Railways and his mother worked as a hatmaker; Koteas himself planned to be an architect until his teenage introduction to acting changed his plans. He was particularly inspired by Nick Nolte's performance in the TV miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man; little did Koteas know that two decades later, he would be starring opposite Nolte in The Thin Red Line.
After beginning his education at Montreal's Vanier College, Koteas left to study at New York's prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1981. Following his graduation, he went to New York's Actors Studio, where he studied under Ellen Burstyn and Peter Masterson. The actor made his film debut in the Mary Steenburgen drama One Magic Christmas in 1985 and went on to do supporting work in a variety of films that included Francis Ford Coppola's Gardens of Stone (1987), Some Kind of Wonderful (1987), Coppola's Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988), and She's Having a Baby (1988). In 1989, he earned a Genie Award nomination (Canada's equivalent of the Oscar) for his portrayal of the title character of Malarek: A Street Kid Who Made It; two years later, he earned additional acclaim for his performance as a voyeuristic insurance adjustor in Atom Egoyan's The Adjuster. It was for his portrayal of an embittered DJ in another of Egoyan's films, Exotica (1994), that Koteas garnered his second Genie nomination; following this critical success, he began to appear in an increasing number of high profile productions.
Koteas was subsequently featured to great effect as the creepy Vaughan in David Cronenberg's controversial Crash (1996), and he invested his brief but pivotal role as Holly Hunter's mystery man in the acclaimed Living out Loud (1998) with memorable charisma. In The Thin Red Line, he managed to stand out from his accomplished co-stars -- who included Nolte, Sean Penn, John Cusack, and Ben Chaplin -- as Captain Storos, an alienated, idealistic soldier who refuses his superior's orders to send his men on a suicidal attack plan. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- 1985
The "magic" in One Magic Christmas is often (and surprisingly) of the "black" variety. Like Jimmy Stewart before her, worn-out wife and mother Mary Steenburgen wishes that she'd never been born. And like Stewart, Steenburgen is visited by a guardian angel, in this case the western-garbed Harry Dean Stanton. Instead of granting Steenburgen's wish, Stanton shows her what life would be like without Christmas--and that vision is as grim as anything you're ever likely to see in any Holiday film. Throughout the horrendous tragedies heaped upon Steenburgen, we are comforted in the knowledge that Stanton is working in concert with Steenburgen's young daughter. Steenburgen learns her lesson of course, but what a ride! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Steenburgen, Gary Basaraba, (more)
Set in Washington D.C. during the Vietnam War era, Gardens of Stone concentrates on the trials and tribulations of the Arlington National Cemetery home guard. James Caan plays career soldier Sgt. Clell Hazard, who has come to the sad conclusion that Vietnam is unwinnable and that America should withdraw as soon as possible. His attitude is contrasted to that held by Private Jackie Willow (D.B. Sweeney), who wants nothing more in life than to go into battle for his country. Though Hazard cannot officially dissuade Willow from this yearning, he pulls a few surreptitious strings to change the lad's mind, including encouraging a renewed romance between Jackie and his former girlfriend Rachel (Mary Stuart Masterton). After so many big-budgeters, Coppola determined that Gardens would be a deliberately "small" picture, concentrating on personalities rather than opulence; the director's father, Carmine Coppola, supplied the music, while Peter Masterton and Carlyn Glynn, the real-life parents of Mary Stuart Masterton, play Mary's on-screen dad and mom. Gardens of Stone was adapted by Ronald Bass from the novel by Nicholas Proffitt. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Caan, Anjelica Huston, (more)
In a gender-reversed version of his previous hit Pretty in Pink, John Hughes retreads all-too- familiar ground in Some Kind of Wonderful, the story of a sensitive, young would-be artist, Keith (Eric Stoltz), who vies for the affection of his high school's popularity queen, Amanda (Lea Thompson), seemingly out of some deep-rooted insecurity regarding his social ineptitude. He enlists the help of his butch best friend and fellow misfit, Watts (Mary Stuart Masterson), unaware that she secretly pines for him. While she goads him to give up his pointless pursuit of Amanda, he encounters one other small obstacle -- Amanda's rich bully of a boyfriend, Hardy (Craig Sheffer), who threatens Keith with a face rearrangement. Undeterred, Keith decides he will, by any means necessary, escort his dream girl to the prom -- but not before he buys her expensive jewelry with the money from his college fund in order to impress her. (Hughes expects the audience to side with Keith when his father protests.) Some Kind of Wonderful is pure fantasy, but the plot is too tired and flawed for it to be completely satisfactory escapism. Still, the performances are all-around good and the ending is slightly more likeable than its predecessor's. Hughes decided to use the original Pretty in Pink ending, which had been dropped from the original after poor audience response at the advance screenings. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Stoltz, Mary Stuart Masterson, (more)
Part One of this four-hour TV movie adaptation of Peter Evans' biography suggested that Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis spent every waking hour commiserating in bed with lovers of all sexes. Part Two of Onassis: The Richest Man in the World hunkers down to the Main Event: The showdown between Onassis' longtime lover Maria Callas (Jane Seymour, who screamed and tantrummed her way to an Emmy) and his future spouse Jackie Kennedy. We then move onward (but not upward) to the tragic death of Onassis' daughter; our tepid journey through the cesspools of the Rich and Famous ends with the public bickering over the tycoon's will after his own 1975 demise. As ill-suited as Raul Julia is for the starring role of Aristotle Onassis, Francesca Annis' portrayal of Jackie Kennedy is even worse. Onassis: The Richest Man in the World was originally foisted upon the TV viewing public on May 1 and 2, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Written by playwright Bill Bozzone, Full Moon in Blue Water stars Gene Hackman as Floyd, the owner of a small bar in a coastal Texas town. Floyd's emotional baggage is awesome: he has never recovered from the death of his wife, he is saddled with his senile father "The General" (Burgess Meredith), and creditors hound him at his fireside. Good-hearted bus driver Louise (Teri Garr) tries her best to offer moral and financial support, as does Floyd's right-hand man, former mental patient Jimmy (Elias Koteas). Strange and unexpected events follow, the upshot of which may leave Floyd even worse off than before. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Hackman, Teri Garr, (more)
- 1988
Siblings Eric Roberts and Julia Roberts appear in this old-fashioned saga about oppressed Sicilian wine-growers in 19th-century California. Giancarlo Giannini stars as Sebastian Collogero, the robust Italian patriarch who is battling with railroad mogul William Bradford Berrigan (Dennis Hopper) to prevent his land from being taken over by the rail company. Sebastian's spirited son, Marco (Eric Roberts), is in love with Angelica (Lara Harris), the daughter of a rival wine-grower's clan. Marco is not very concerned about the warfare about to erupt between the wine-growers and the railroad until Berrigan's thugs torture and kill Sebastian in front of his daughter Maria (Julia Roberts). Marco then gets his friends together and organizes a revolt against Berrigan and his railroad empire. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Roberts, Giancarlo Giannini, (more)
History tells us that would-be automobile mogul Preston Tucker was a silver-tongued con man, who misappropriated his investors' money and played fast and loose with ethics and legalities in the pursuit of his dream. Filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola isn't buying this: to hear Coppola tell it, Tucker was "Mr. Smith Goes to Detroit," a sincere visionary who tried and failed to buck the Big Three auto manufacturers. Moreover, he was a staunch defender of family values, as witness his inseparable relationship with his loyal wife (Joan Allen) and adoring children. It was for his family's sake, rather than any dreams of financial gain, that Tucker created the oddball three-headlight vehicle which he envisioned as the "car of the future". Naturally, the corporate fat cats of 1947 can't abide competition from a rugged individualist; thus, with several politicos in their pockets, they crush the Tucker and the man who built it. We'd have been more inclined to believe the story had Coppola adopted a straightforward Capraesque approach and not utilized all sorts of complicated camera trickery. Somehow, by presenting Tucker in so showoffy a directorial manner, the character comes off more as a sleight-of-hand artist than a bastion of sincerity. Even so, Jeff Bridges does a nice job as Tucker, as does Martin Landau as Tucker's incongruous business partner. Jeff's dad, Lloyd Bridges, appears in an uncredited role as a "bought" senator. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Bridges, Joan Allen, (more)
- 1989
- R
The true story of Canadian journalist Victor Malarek is dramatized in this well-meaning little film. When first we see him, Malarek (Elias Koteas) is a ex-juvenile offender, given a new lease on life when he is hired as a cub reporter on the Montreal Star. Witnessing the death of a street kid at the hands of an insensitive cop, Malarek makes it his mission to expose the corruption-ridden social welfare system in Canada. His writings also try to delve into the motivations for the many teen suicides inflicting the area. Malarek: A Street Kid Who Made It is based upon the newsman's autobiography, written while was a top reporter at the Toronto Globe and Mail. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elias Koteas, Kerrie Keane, (more)
- 1989
- R
A free-spirited commercial artist loses his girl to a stodgy professor and decides to everything in his power to get her back in this Canadian romantic comedy. When he learns that she and her new love are heading off to the mountains for a cozy weekend, he decides to follow them. En route, the lovers encounter a crazed biker and his nutty chick, and an idiotic bumpkin. In the end, all parties involved converge upon the cabin and merry romantic mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Stern, Sheila McCarthy, (more)
- 1990
- PG
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie is the live-action, feature film adaptation of the cult comic book and the popular animated television show. After prolonged exposure to radiation, four teenage turtles--Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo, and Donatello--have mutated into ninjas and have begun living in the sewers of a large city. Under the guidance of a ninja master Splinter the Rat and television reporter April, the Turtles embark on a mission to run crime out of the city and battle the warlord Shredder. The Turtles have been designed by Jim Henson Productions and effortlessly fit into the live-action surroundings. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judith Hoag, Elias Koteas, (more)
- 1990
Not to be confused with the oft-filmed Fannie Hurst yarn Back Street, Backstreet Dreams is a contemporary drama of Humanity vs. the Streets. Jason O'Malley plays a New York hoodlum who doesn't trust his wife Sherilyn Fenn as far as he can throw her (and for good reason). The only person O'Malley truly cares for is his autistic son Shane, played by twin children Joseph and John Viezzi. Brooke Shields (who's better than you might think) enters the scene as a PhD candidate who hopes to get through to Shane. Now it is the unfaithful Fenn's turn to seethe with jealousy as Shields applies her "force holding" theory to Shane, she and O'Malley draw closer together. O'Malley is so taken by Shields' compassion that he severs his mob ties--but Big Boss Burt Young won't let him off so easy, and uses Shane as a "bargaining chip." Backstreet Dreams appears at times to be three films jumbled together; every time a story element starts rolling, it is exiled to the back burner in favor of another gratuitous subplot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brooke Shields, Jason O'Malley, (more)
Amy Heckerling repeats the successful formula of Look Who's Talking in this sequel, with the addition of John Travolta singing "All Shook Up" to a group of nursery schoolers and Mel Brooks cast as the voice of a toilet. The film begins with James struggling to support his family. He stills wants to become an airline pilot, but in the meantime is driving a cab. His wife Molly (Kirstie Alley) is struggling too, as a busy accountant. The strain is showing on their marriage, but then Molly becomes pregnant again, giving birth to a daughter named Julie (voice of Roseanne Barr). When the new baby arrives back home, their son Mikey (voice of Bruce Willis) has to contend not only with the new intrusion but also with Mr. Potty (voice of Mel Brooks). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, (more)
Australian star Paul Hogan just couldn't seem to come up with a hit comparable to his 1986 international hit Crocodile Dundee. Hogan's Almost an Angel was a nice try, but no cigar. The star plays a lifelong thief who suffers a potentially fatal accident. While "in limbo", Hogan is visited by God (amusingly played by Charlton Heston-well, why not Charlton Heston?). When he recovers, Hogan is convinced that he'd been returned to the land of the living in order to do God's work. He turns over a new leaf, coming to the assistance of wheelchair-bound Elias Koteas and his pretty sister Linda Kozlowski (the real-life Mrs. Hogan). At first suspicious of Hogan, Kozlowski is finally won over by his new-found sincerity. So lightweight that it threatens to float away at any moment, Almost an Angel is held together exclusively by Paul Hogan's star appeal. Unfortunately, this wasn't enough to insure a box-office success. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Hogan, Elias Koteas, (more)
The Desperate Hours directed by Michael Cimino, is an attempt to remake the Humphrey Bogart classic of the same name with indifferent results. Bosworth (Mickey Rourke), a brutal criminal on the run with his partners, takes over a house occupied by an unhappily married couple Nora (Mimi Rogers) and Tim (Anthony Hopkins) and their young son and daughter. Bosworth has escaped from jail with the help of his defense attorney Nancy Breyers (Kelly Lynch). The film focuses on the interactions of the family and Bosworth as he plans his escape to Mexico. Cimino wastes little time in developing the characters or explaining the implausible premise that Bosworth would chose an occupied house and hold an innocent family captive when the logical choice would be to lay low and wait for his chance to escape. Both Hopkins and Rourke, usually excellent actors, give wildly over-the-top performances, aided by the lurid, over-written dialogue of the screenplay and the badly paced, ill-conceived direction by Cimino, which instead of creating tension and suspense, simply confuses the already muddled and incomprehensible plot. The Desperate Hours is a pale example of the original with little to recommend it. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mickey Rourke, Anthony Hopkins, (more)
- 1991
Written and directed by Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan, The Adjuster is an examination of the sexual quirks of a married couple. Starring such Egoyan regulars as Elias Koteas, Arsinée Khanjian, Maury Chaykin, and Don McKellar, the film focuses on Noah Render (Koteas), an insurance adjuster who enjoys sleeping with his clients, and his wife, Hera (Khanjian), a film censor who finds excitement in making copies of the most explicit parts of the movies she's assigned to review. When they invite Bubba (Chaykin) into their house to make a movie, the Renders find their lives becoming even more complex. McKellar plays a young film censor who works with Hera. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elias Koteas, Arsinée Khanjian, (more)
- 1992
- R
Temistocles Lopez's Chain of Desire, based on Arthur Schnitzler's La Ronde, plays like an AIDS-era version of The Yellow Rolls Royce, in which a series of unrelated amorous lovers are connected by a "chain of desire." The film begins as Alma D'Angeli (Linda Fiorentino) flees from a lover and runs into a church, where she finds solace and a young Latino worker, Jesus (Elias Koteas). They make love. Then Jesus comes home to his wife Isa (Angel Aviles) and gets intimate with her. The next morning, Isa goes off to see Dr. Jerald Buckley (Patrick Bauchau), with whom she is having an affair. After seeing Isa, Jerald heads off to visit Linda (Grace Zabriskie), a sexy dominatrix. Linda returns home to her husband, Hubert (Malcolm MacDowell), a harried television commentator. After an unsatisfactory interview with women who claim to have had affairs with John F. Kennedy, he relieves his tensions by seeking the arms of Keith (Jamie Harrold), a teenage hustler. And the trail continues on as gay social worker Ken (Tim Guinee) offers Ken a place for the night, followed by Ken's lover David Bango (Dewey Martin) and hot dancer Diana (Holly Marie Combs), who wants David to deflower her. Coming on the scene after that is famed artist Mel (Seymour Cassel), who has a tryst with Diana, but he finds that he has to answer to his vindictive wife, Cleo (Assumpta Serna). At the end, all the characters arrive at a hip nightclub, where Alma, the singer at the club, has learned that the lover she had spurned at the beginning of the film has been diagnosed with AIDS. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda Fiorentino, Elias Koteas, (more)
- 1992
A dreary and depressing tale despite the excellent assemblage of talent, this is the story of a Depression-era family where sibling rivalry and tragedy seem to be the watch words of their home life. A period piece set in 1930s Texas. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
This sci-fi actioner is set in the year 2074. The story is framed by the war between the two international corporate giants, Pinwheel Robotics and Kobayashi, responsible for manufacturing the cyborgs that 21st century technology has become dependent upon. In fact, most of the world is being run by the sophisticated androids. The conflict turns violent when the Kobayashi cyborgs begin methodically killing their competition. To stop them, the head of Pinwheel, Martin Dunn, creates the perfect computer housed in the body of a beautiful woman. The cyborg, Casella Reese, has a strange fluid flowing within in her that when activated will cause her to literally explode should she have an orgasm; Dunn designed her to infiltrate Kobayashi and assassinate the CEO. The real problems begin when Casella, who is also equipped with human emotions and independent thought, falls in love with her martial arts teacher, Colt Ricks. When she learns of her upcoming suicide mission, she and Colt, with the help of their informer, the cyborg mercenary Mercy, try to reach Mombasa where unlicensed androids can live in peace. Unfortunately, they must first escape their city and the cyborg killers who pursue them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Palance, Elias Koteas, (more)
- 1993
- PG
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This third film in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series finds the half-shelled ninjas traveling back in time to 17th-century Japan in order to save April O'Neil (Paige Turco). Once there, they also use their skills to help a rebel army battle an evil leader. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elias Koteas, Paige Turco, (more)
The action in Canadian provocateur Atom Egoyan's cryptic Exotica revolves largely around the strip club, which lends the film its name, a faux-tropical hothouse where young female dancers cater to their customers' sexual and psychological needs. Among the regulars is Francis (Bruce Greenwood), a troubled taxman haunted by Christina, a young stripper played by Mia Kirshner. As the film hypnotically unfolds, their relationship is slowly explored, the narrative dovetailing with the stories of a gay pet shop owner (Don McKellar), the Exotica's pregnant owner (Arsinee Khanjian), and its embittered DJ (Elias Koteas). Like all of Egoyan's films, Exotica is a riddle, its answers only fostering more questions. The director's recurring themes of family breakdowns, voyeurism and obsession are all in the mix here as well, but essayed with a new clarity of vision and intensity. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Greenwood, Mia Kirshner, (more)
Jessica Tandy made one of her final screen appearances in this comic road movie. Freda (Bridget Fonda) is a would-be singer and songwriter who would like a career as a performer but lacks the courage; it doesn't help that her husband Vincent (Elias Koteas), a graphic artist, keeps insisting that her interest in music is merely a hobby. Hoping to put some spark back into their marriage, Freda and Vincent take a vacation to Georgia, where they meet Camilla (Jessica Tandy), who lives in the main house near their cottage. Freda discovers that Camilla was once a musician; she claims to have enjoyed a stellar career as a concert violinist in her native Canada, and she knew only the best people (although Freda isn't sure that she believes all Camilla's stories, especially Ghandi's fondness for enemas). While Vincent gets involved in a business deal with Camilla's son Harold (Maury Chaykin), who produces sleazy exploitation films, Camilla regales Freda with stories about her greatest triumph, performing the Brahms Violin Concerto at Toronto's Winter Garden Theater. When Camilla discovers that the Brahms concerto is to be performed soon at the Winter Garden, Camilla and Freda decide that this is something they should see, and the pair hits the road to the Great White North, meeting a remarkable variety of people along the way. Tandy's husband and frequent co-star Hume Cronyn has a supporting role as one of Camilla's former beaus; it was their last picture together. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jessica Tandy, Bridget Fonda, (more)
The directorial debut from Highlander screenwriter Gregory Widen stars Christopher Walken as the angel Gabriel, who, fed up with God giving all of his attention to humans, decides to stage a sort of coup. With plans of killing all of the good angels, Gabriel decides to enlist the help of a recently deceased and inhumanly malevolent army general. In order to prevent Gabriel from obtaining the help of the vicious Korean War vet, good angel Simon (Eric Stoltz) stashes the general's soul in an unsuspecting young Native American girl named Mary (Moriah Snyder). As Gabriel gets closer to finding Mary, an ex-seminary-student-turned-cop and a school teacher, played by Elias Koteas and Virginia Madsen, team together to protect her. Meanwhile, Satan (Viggo Mortensen) enters into the mix, concerned over the implications the heavenly war may have on his dominion. Later spawning a series of sequels, The Prophecy was released in the U.K. under the title God's Army. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Walken, Elias Koteas, (more)
Howard Himelstein's crime thriller Power of Attorney stars Danny Aiello as mob kingpin Joseph Scassi. In order to escape from a variety of serious charges, Scassi hires Paul Dell (Elias Koteas), seducing him into a life full of quick riches. Scassi turns the tables on Dell, but Dell has a plan to bring the bad guy down once and for all. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
Hit Me is a film adaptation of Jim Thompson's crime novel, A Swell-Looking Babe. Sonny (Elias Koteas) lives with his retarded older brother, Leroy (Jay Leggett), and works very hard as a bellhop at a second-rate hotel. This changes when Monique (Laure Marsac) a beautiful, suicidal nut-case checks in. Sonny delivers her room service order and finds her bleeding from the wrists. She and Del (Bruce Ramsay), a male prostitute, draw Sonny into a robbery scheme which quickly begins to unravel. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elias Koteas, Laure Marsac, (more)
This tawdry drama is based on the allegedly true-life love affair between notorious mafioso Sam Giancana and chanteuse Phyllis McGuire. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Turturro, Mary-Louise Parker, (more)
