Kamala Lopez Movies

Much of the original cast from the popular television series Police Story reunited for this edgy drama, in which the detectives search for a killer loose on the roads. This entry was one of several TV-movies in the late 1980s to feature the familiar cast in the Police Story format. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

Glenn Close and Keith Carradine are the only non-Latino cast members of the made-for-TV Stones for Ibarra. Close and Carradine portray a San Francisco couple who feel they've lost touch with life's meaning. They journey to a tiny Mexican village, where they find themselves sharing the "companionship of death" with the locals. The film is at its best when emphasizing its mysticism and clashes of custom. Adapted by Ernest Kinoy from a novel by Harriet Doerr, this was originally presented as a Hallmark Hall of Fame special. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This bio-film profiles the life of Pedro Gonzalez, the first Mexican radio show host. Gonzalez, who immigrated to the U.S. in 1928, became a target for racism after he became an important political activist in the 1930's. He was most influential among the residents of East L.A. who began to threaten the racist District Attorney. He ended up being falsely accused of rape. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This political drama takes a look at the underground network that helps South American refugees travel safely to the US. The story centers on a freedom fighter from Central America who uses the underground to get to the US and settle in a small town. His wife lies to a restaurant owner, telling him her husband is dead, and gets a job as a waitress. Soon after, the owner's son falls in love with her. Meanwhile a crooked CIA agent leads a death squad in pursuit of the former freedom fighter and things get worse when the local sheriff threatens to reveal his hideout to the hunters. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Intergalactic super-cop Brick Bardo (Tim Thomerson) crash-lands in the Bronx while on a cosmic head hunt, only to find himself just over a foot tall in our world. Bardo spends time bringing street gangs to justice while pursuing his original quarry. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

In this frothy romantic comedy set in a small Texas town, a never-married high school principal starts a scandal when she falls in love with the handsome school janitor. Unfortunately, he is Mexican and she Anglo. The local community frowns on such relationships and ultimately, their new love seems doomed. This film was made especially for cable television. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

James Coburn guest stars as Cyrus Ramsey, chief archaeologist of the National Museum of Mexico. Ramsey is among those under suspicion when a hotel owner suspected of dealing in stolen art is murdered. It seems that the dead man was found wearing the Mask of Montezuma, which had recently been pilfered from the museum. Need we add that Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is paying a visit to Mexico City at the time of the murder, and that she will take it upon herself to solve the mystery? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rob Fresco directed this astoundingly bizarre thriller featuring one of the more unusual psycho killers of recent years, Gary Burghoff, best known as Radar O'Reilly from the film and TV series M*A*S*H. As the demented Fleck, Burghoff gets to kidnap children from shopping malls and resell them to their parents, sleep with young boys, slash people to death with a razor, and have sex in a chair with a buxom female victim. As if that weren't reason enough for all fans of extreme cinema to hunt this film down, Burghoff gets to wear women's clothes as elderly fortune-teller Lady Esmerelda Zolotov, whose suicidal roommate (Alan Popper) gets shot by police while running around naked. The Exorcist's Jason Miller shows up as a wino, Playmate Rebecca Ferratti is the wife of the investigating cop (Fred Carpenter), and New York Daily News editor Tom Poster appears as one of Esmerelda/Fleck's henchmen. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

This unique, erotic film is a compilation of four separate vignettes done by four different artists. The first episode, "Let's Talk about Love," focuses on a phone-sex worker, Rosie, who finds herself attracted to a regular caller. The story focuses upon their conversations and upon the revenge she exacts from him after she learns the truth. In the second, "Taboo Parlor," two lesbians plan to go out and make it with a man. They go to Taboo Parlor, a local club which is managed by Hilde and Franz. In the third episode, "Final Call," a teacher who gets attacked on a train begins a relationship with her rescuer. The fourth episode, " Wonton Soup," examines an Australian-born Chinese man and his ex-girlfriend from Hong Kong, who reunite after years apart. In an effort to reconnect, the man prepares an evening of gourmet food and Chinese sexual techniques for the ex-girlfriend. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this humorous Western, Aussie Paul Hogan plays a cowboy running from the law. Lightning Jack Kane is a member of the notorious Younger Brother gang. He is the only member to survive their last shoot-out. Fortunately, he was only a minor member of the gang and escapes notice. Jack decides to rob a bank. He gets away with a small amount of cash and a mute, Ben, as a hostage. Unfortunately for Jack, Ben wants to be an outlaw so Jack is stuck with him. Eventually the two become grudging friends. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The story of dedicated pacifist and human rights advocate Jeannette Rankin comes to the screen in this unconventional biopic narrated by Martin Sheen, and featuring the music of Joni Mitchell. Born in Montana and raised during the Indian Wars, Rankin (Jeanmarie Simpson) embraced pacifism early in life. Later, in 1916, she would defy the odds to become the very first U.S. Congresswoman. Her first vote to be cast would be against President Woodrow Wilson's WWI resolution, a vote that set the stage for her entire political career. As a result of that vote, Suffragists fearful that such a vote would make women look weak and damage the movement quickly turned against Rankin. After becoming the founding vice-president of the American Civil Liberties Union in 1920, Rankin worked hard to convince President Theodore Roosevelt to revise America's immigration laws so that Jewish refugees could be permitted entry into the country. When Rankin was reelected to Congress 21 later, her opposition to the Second World War resulted in her being mobbed and vilified, and found her becoming interested in the teachings of Mohandas Gandhi as well as the damaging effects of colonialism. Shortly before her death in 1973, Rankin enjoyed something of a resurgence in popularity due to her opposition of the Vietnam War, and her vigorous support of Second Wave Feminism. By beginning at the end of Rankin's life and working back toward her childhood, filmmaker Kamila Lopez is able to contrast her life against the story of a historical encounter between settlers and American Indians. Patricia Arquette, Karen Black, Peter Coyote, and Margot Kidder provide additional narration. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide