A. Martinez Movies
Of Mexican heritage, A Martinez (the A stands for Adolphe) played many a Native American in the earliest stages of his career. Martinez' first role in major studio release was Cimarron in The Cowboys (1972), a character he carried over into the 1973 TV spin-off. From 1984 to 1993, he was starred as Cruz Castillo, erstwhile fiancé of long-suffering Eden Capwell (Marcy Walker), in the NBC soap opera Santa Barbara; in 1990 he won an Emmy for his work on this series. In the British/American co-production Powwow Highway(1988) he gave an impassioned performance as Indian-activist Buddy Red Bow, who, with pal Philbert Bono (Gary Farmer), embarks on a cross-country journey to battle government injustice. Martinez' prime-time TV credits include Benny Silva in Cassie and Company (1982) and Lt. Neal Quinn in Whiz Kids. He was "executed" on a 1990 episode of LA Law, then "resuscitated" to play Daniel Morales on the same series in 1992. A Martinez was married to actress Mare Winningham. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi- 1972
While Stone (Karl Malden) is on disability leave, Keller (Michael Douglas) is partnered with Inspector Jim Martin (played by future Starsky and Hutch costar David Soul), a man notorious for his short temper and strongarm tactics. Conducting a manhunt in the Barrio, Keller is taken aback by the intensity of Martin's conviction that the Latino murder suspect they are searching for is guilty beyond all doubt--and all redemption. Though sidelined by injury, Stone does some investigating on his own to determine the source of Martin's personal demons. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1996
The "perfect" family life of rock star Jon Mateos (A Martinez) is shattered when his Evie (Rosalind Allen) dies in a car accident while rushing to make a TV appearance with her husband. Now Jon must shoulder the burden of looking after his three children, whom Evie had raised all by herself while he pursued success. Unable to connect with his kids, Jon retreats into a nether world of booze and drugs--and Monica (Roma Downey) and Tess (Della Reese) must somehow help him get his act together before tragedy strikes his eldest daughter Samantha (Ivey Lloyd). TV journalist Kathleen Sullivan appears as herself. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
In this action-crime drama, Jason Walk, an L.A. cab driver, suffers a luckless life. He not only has marital woes at home, he is unable to collect the money from the people he runs numbers for. One day the luck changes when the gun-toting Christine enters his hack. She is out to get revenge upon the man who murdered her husband and son, but the cab driver doesn't know this as he takes her to her fateful appointment with the killer. Soon he finds himself hopelessly entangled in the mess and is pursued by both the police and crooks. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Forster, Joe Spinell, (more)
Kenyan-born, London-educated Indian filmmaker Gurinder Chadha follows up on her debut hit Bhaji on the Beach (1994) with this gentle look at multiculturalism in Los Angeles. The film details the lives of four ethnically diverse families -- black, Latino, Jewish, and Asian -- during one frantic Thanksgiving. The film opens with Ronald (Dennis Haysbert), an African-American who works as a spin doctor for the Republican politico; he and his wife Audrey (Alfre Woodard) are in the midst of preparing for their white dinner guests. Meanwhile, at the Latino household, young Anthony Avila (Douglas Spain) invites his womanizing father for Thanksgiving dinner, unbeknownst to his schoolteacher mother Elisabeth (Mercedes Ruehl). At the same time, the Seeling family is confronted with their daughter Rachel's (Kyra Sedwick) lesbianism, when she brings home her lover Carla (Julianna Margulies). Finally, Vietnamese immigrant Trinh Nguyen (Joan Chen) struggles to understand her Americanized children after she discovers condoms in her eldest daughter's jacket and a gun in her son's room. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Alfre Woodard, Dennis Haysbert, (more)
- 1995
After a botched armored-car-robbery, survivor Noreen spends 12 1/2 years in prison. As she is the only one who knows the location of the long-missing loot, she finds herself dogged by greedy fellows wanting to get their hands upon it. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
In 1854 Utah, 13-year old Nick Wilson (Blake Heron), bored by life on the family farm with his widowed mother (Karen Allen), accepts an invitation to join a local Shoshone tribe. The Indians are anxious to have the boy among them because he fulfills the prescient dreams of one of the elders, Anuba (Patricia Van Ingen); Nick is just happy to have the adventure. He undergoes training to become a Shoshone warrior, and his ability to shoot an arrow comes in handy as a rival tribe -- led by the fearsome Pocatello (Wes Studi) -- and a posse of white men bring danger to his newly adopted family. ~ Buzz McClain, Rovi
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