Joanna Pacula Movies
Joanna Pacula was a successful model and actress in her native Poland, until forced by the changing political climate to relocate to Paris in 1981. Pacula's first English-language film role was opposite William Hurt in 1983's Gorky Park. Here as elsewhere, she was cast as an exotic, secretive beauty, qualities that she was able to adapt to such roles as a voodoo priestess in The Kiss (1988), a murdered man's mistress in Black Ice (1992), a serial-killer target in Body Puzzle (1993), and a futuristic femme fatale in Deep Red (1994). Additional credits include Tombstone (1993) (possibly the most lucrative production with which she's been associated), the brief 1990 Australia-filmed TV adventure series E.A.R.T.H. Force, and the made-for-TV movies Escape to Sobribor (1987) and Breaking Point (1989). Thanks to generous displays of her undraped form, Joanna Pacula received a great deal of press attention for her role as the weekend companion of several loutish lotharios in 1992's Husbands and Lovers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The thriller Chicano Blood tells the tale of a young man who has extricated himself from his days as a member in a street gang. Although he thought he was through with the part of his life, he finds himself pulled back in after his wife is killed and he seeks vengeance upon those responsible. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Damian Chapa
Set in the year 1882, director Pinchas Perry's adaptation of Irvin D. Yalom's fictional 1992 novel finds a depressed Friedrich Nietzsche seeking out the advice of pioneering psychoanalyst Josef Breuer for help in battling mental malaise. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Cross, Armand Assante, (more)
- 2004
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Kilo was born into a life of crime. By the time he was an adult, he was a full-time dealer, and when he meets Sabeva, the daughter of a Colombian drug kingpin, he reaches the upper levels of drug trafficking. It is a dangerous business, however, and eventually Kilo ends up in prison. Still running his operation from inside of a cell, he is eventually offered a shady deal: his sentence will be suspended if he will murder a convicted child-killer. Now Kilo stands at a crossroads, unsure which actions will clear his conscience, end his sentence, or end his life. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
"It feeds on fear!" read the advertising tagline for this Roger Corman-produced shocker. What could be scarier than a rogue crocodile, except maybe a rogue dinosaur? How about a combination thereof -- a DinoCroc? Hoping to create a cheap alternative to expensive prescription medicines, the greedy Gereco Corporation genetically manipulates a small supply of DNA from a prehistoric creature called the Sarcosuchus. Suddenly revived and very hungry, this ancient "DinoCroc" kills indiscriminately (in some very gory scenes that border on the grotesquely hilarious), but has a special fondness for human flesh. Professional herpetologist and crocodile hunter Dick Sydney (Costas Mandylor) is brought in from Australia to stop the rampaging beast, with the grudging assistance of female scientist Paula Kennedy (Joanna Pacula) and the more willing cooperation of Sheriff Harper (Charles Napier) and his ever-imperiled daughter, Diane (Jane Longnecker). Along the way, the viewer is treated to gratuitous dollops of sex and bad language, which along with the excessive violence earned the film an R rating in its original form. The climax is right out of the movie Them, with a bit of urban legend-spinning thrown in. Filmed under the title PrimeEvil, DinoCroc was given a very, very limited theatrical release before it aired over the Sci-Fi Channel on April 24, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Costas Mandylor, Charles Napier, (more)
- 2003
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Unprecedented sunspots threaten to bring about the end of the world in this adventure thriller from director Brenton Spencer. Joanna Pacula plays Valery Landis, the only person who's figured out that the activities on the sun are leading to violent and extreme weather on Earth. When no one will listen to her claims, Valery takes matters into her own hands, racing against time to save humankind. Lightning: Bolts of Destruction also stars Nick Mancuso and Ellen Dubin. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joanna Pacula, Nick Mancuso, (more)
A beautiful female warrior returns from fighting in the Crusades only to discover that her young son has been abducted by a vengeful ex-Lord in director Byron W. Thompson's violent medieval adventure. The year is 1190 A.D. and the valiant Elizabeth of Cooke (Joanna Pacula) has just returned from the Crusades. Upon discovering that the nefarious Grekkor (Rutget Hauer) has absconded with her son Peter, Elizabeth enlists the aid of a bevy of female fighters to rescue her son and lay waste to Gekkor and his malevolent gang of marauders once and for all. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joanna Pacula, Arnold Vosloo, (more)
After discovering an alien that just crash landed on Earth, two teenage siblings due the best to keep their extraterrestrial secret under wraps as they help the desperate star man find his way back home. Mel and his brother Mac were simply going about their business when the sky was suddenly set ablaze by a blinding celestial explosion. Later, when the curious teens discover that the flash in the sky was actually a UFO crashing through the atmosphere, they meet a mysterious figure (Geoff Stults) from beyond the stars. Now, as the kids seek the advice of nearby Navajo descendent Evie (Adrienne Barbeau) while attempting to keep the otherworldly visitor a secret from their inquisitive father (Judge Reinhold), a local law enforcer (Richard Moll) and a tenacious government agent (Joanna Pacula) do their best to ferret out the truth and be the first to get undeniable proof of life on other planets. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judge Reinhold, Joanna Pacula, (more)
In this thriller, Elizabeth (Joanna Pacula) is married to Cole (Michael Moriarty), a wealthy man who allows her to live a life of luxury. However, Elizabeth isn't happy with Cole, and she falls into an affair with the young and handsome Tony (Boyd Kestner). Elizabeth's double life is threatened when a blackmailer named Willie (Peter Onorati) approaches her with photographic evidence of her infidelity, and soon Elizabeth finds herself up to her ears in danger and deception as she tries to satisfy Willie's demands while keeping her dalliances a secret from her husband. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Moriarty, Joanna Pacula, (more)
Two lawmen with wildly different philosophies must set aside their differences to save the world in this action thriller. Roman Byrnes (Greg Ellis) and Jack "Crash" Riley (Wolf Larson) are a pair of intelligence agents who have little in common beyond the fact that they're on the same side of the law; Byrnes is an all-business DEA man, while Crash is a retired CIA operative with a take-no-prisoners approach. But when an internationally known terrorist (Joanna Pacula) gets her hands on a biological weapon with unheard-of destructive power, CIA surveillance expert Rebecca Jordan (Sandra Lilly Lindquist) pulls Crash out of retirement and teams him up with Byrnes to stop the terrorist before it's too late. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wolf Larson
- 1998
Although the police investigation is spotty at best and the evidence questionable, Risa Gallagher (Joanna Pacula) receives a life sentence for the murder of her philandering millionaire husband. Managing to escape from prison, Risa goes from friend to friend in hopes of finding out who might have framed her, and to expose the real killer. Her task is of course complicated by the cops that dog her trail, and the fact that someone very, very close to her is responsible for her plight. Without going into further detail, let it be known that Joan Collins and Kate Jackson are respectively cast as Risa's wheelchair-bound mother (with a blonde wig), and the alcoholic ex-wife of Risa's late hubby. Produced for the Family cable channel, Sweet Deception originally aired August 2, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kate Jackson, Joanna Pacula, (more)
Joanna Pacula stars in this thriller as Liz, an analyst who introduces her husband, the owner of an art gallery, to an attractive female artist suffering from severe depression and thoughts of suicide. Before long, she begins to suspect that her husband may be having an affair with the painter, but after she hires a detective to keep tabs on them, Liz begins to suspect that infidelity may be the least of her problems -- her husband may be a murderer. Also stars Joe Mantegna and Kate Jackson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Mantegna, Joanna Pacula, (more)
A teenage boy comes of age at the hands of several older women while searching for his mother. Based on a best-selling novel by Stephen Vizinczey and set during the course of the Spanish Civil War, the drama begins when callow Andre is sent home to rejoin his mother when war breaks out. En route, he is waylaid by Republican soldiers who take him to their camp. There he encounters a coquettish British countess who offers him his first taste of sexual intimacy. Later the countess and her spouse return to England and Andre is sent to the home of Julia where he has his second experience. From there, he is captured by the fascists and only meets his mother after the war ends. Fortunately, for him, he has three more encounters waiting for him after that. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1997
In this eccentric comedy, Jacob (Andy Velasquez) is a young man from Israel whose father has long regarded him as a test presented to him by God. Jacob's mind runs on a path all his own, and he has a mild handicap -- his feet stick out at right angles from his legs, giving him a very curious walk. Having little luck finding his place in the world at home, and depressed after his girlfriend leaves him, Jacob learns of a land of wonder and opportunity called Canada, and he soon relocates to Toronto. Jacob isn't in town long before he is befriended by a thief (Giancarlo Giannini) who shows him the ropes of life in the big city, when he's not busy knocking over ATMs. Jacob spends his days wondering the streets of Toronto and meets a woman named Selma (Joanna Pacula), who not only becomes his new girlfriend, but finds him work impersonating Charlie Chaplin in a street-theater act with a pig and a rock band. Omar Sharif makes a brief appearance as the author and philosopher Khalil Gibran, and Leonard Cohen plays a man who impersonates Leonard Cohen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Bored Anita (Joanna Pacula) wants to escape small-town life but finds herself stuck in the middle of nowhere until her scientist husband finishes his research in a local swamp. Thus, Anita is understandably thrilled when brother and sister John and Janet Jones move to town and make life interesting; although John is a bit of a nutter, his sister is fun and lively, and she and Anita become fast friends. Unfortunately, things get weird and bodies start piling up, and Anita begins to suspect that maybe her new pal isn't who she claims to be. Paul Bartel and Annabelle Gurwitch co-star. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joanna Pacula, Paul Bartel, (more)
- 1994
The direct-to-video Deep Red combines science fiction with domestic melodrama. Lindsay Haun plays Gracie, a youngster whose bloodstream is infected by a strange, extraterrestrial element. Known as "Deep Red," this element increases Gracie's protein count, rendering her invulnerable and possibly immortal. Ruthless researcher Thomas Newmeyer (John DeLancie) plans to exploit the girl for his own purposes, even if he has to drain every ounce of blood from her body. Hero Joy Keys (Michael Biehn), an honest scientist, tries to stop Newmeyer's skullduggery -- and in the process, Keys patches up his tattered relationship with his estranged wife. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Biehn, Joanna Pacula, (more)
- 1994
This poignant Italian drama tells the tale of a producer who would do just about anything to have actress Kim Novak appear in his next film. Enrico, a producer, needs $250,000 so he can hire Kim Novak for his film. The problem is that he is almost broke. He wants to sell his palatial family home but cannot unless his wife Emilia consents to it. Unfortunately, they are separated and she is involved with a new man. She has tried to convince her son Luca, that his father is a rat. Enrico's passion for Kim Novak is revealed through his memories of his youth which included a series of orgies with a sexy barmaid who was the spitting image of Novak. Eventually Luca, returns to his father determined to help him out and the two share many wonderful times. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacques Perrin, Joanna Pacula, (more)
This muddled thriller reminiscent of Mil Gritos Tiene la Noche stars Joanna Pacula as a widow in peril. Pacula's bisexual husband Abe had a lover named Tim Bell, who apparently lost his mind when Abe died in a motorcycle accident. Being that Abe was an organ donor, Tim begins murdering the recipients in order to rebuild his dead lover. The gruesome murders include an incredibly bloody slashing of a baker, a woman's hand cut off with an axe, and a lifeguard emasculated in a public pool. The most startling scene has a cornea recipient murdered in front of a class of blind children, one of whom gets a gout of blood right in the face. The preposterous ending involves both split personality and the expected reappearance of the quite healthy Abe. Misteria is a long, dreary film which makes no sense whatsoever, and adds to its annoying qualities by blaring "Night on Bald Mountain" at high volume in every other scene. Most viewers should avoid this film like the plague, but some horror fans will enjoy it for the gory murders, a campy performance by cult favorite Giovanni Lombardo Radice as an epicene homosexual, and cameos by Gianni Garko and Erika Blanc. Luigi Kuveiller) provided the slick cinematography. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Judd Nelson is the ex-brat-packer in this particular direct-to-video gem. Befriended by a wealthy but depraved young couple (Joanna Pacula and Patrick Bauchau), Nelson joins the pair in their bizarre notions of fun and games. He thinks he knows the score, but even he isn't parade for the kinkiness of his hosts. Though much is suggested, surprisingly little happens. The suspense elements in Every Breath are in fact stronger than the film's sexual allure. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judd Nelson, Joanna Pacula, (more)
- 1992
Michael Nouri plays a Detroit cabbie whose lifestyle is radically altered when he picks up the lovely Joanna Pacula. She turns out to be on the run from murderer Michael Ironside and now, by extension, so is Nouri. If only he hadn't stopped at the empty apartment of a powerful politician for a little nookie with Pacula. Maybe if he'd kept his libido in check, he wouldn't be forced on a perilous journey from Michigan to Seattle. It gets worse: the villainous Ironside is a government agent, so he's above suspicion. Typical USA network action fare, Black Ice premiered June 16, 1993. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Premiering September 16, 1990, the TV series Earth Force was sort of a live-action Captain Planet, with elements of Mission: Impossible and Edgar Wallace's Four Just Men thrown in. A dying millionaire organizes an elite force-the Earth Alert Research Tactical Headquarters (E.A.R.T.H.)--to combat the ecological rape of our planet. The principal members of this group are trauma care expert Dr. John Harding (Gil Gerrard), nuclear physicist-turned-environmentalist Dr. Carl Dana (Clayton Rohmer) marine biologist and resident save-the-whales type Dr. Catherine Romano (Tiffany Lamb); and Charles Dillion (Stewart Finaly-McLennan), the only mercenary of the bunch. In the opening 2-hour episode, the E.A.R.T.H. Force has but 36 hours to prevent a nuclear meltdown, brought about by a plutonium robbery. Joanne Pacula guest stars as Diana Randall, the obligatory "Force" member who doesn't survive. Filmed in Australia, E.A.R.T.H. Force was dead in the water after three episodes-the first cancellation of the 1990-91 season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Breaking Point is a TV remake of the 1965 theatrical feature 36 Hours. Corbin Bernsen plays a wartime US intelligence officer, who carries within him secrets of the upcoming D-Day invasion. Captured by the Germans, Bernsen refuses to buckle under torture, and passes out. He wakes up in an American Army Hospital, where he is told that he's been in a coma for seven years; it's 1951, and the Allies have won the war. So why not reveal those D-Day secrets he so fiercely protected back in 1944? Bernsen suspects that something is amiss, as indeed there is: It is still June of 1944, and this "American Army hospital" is smack-dab in the middle of Nazi Germany. Polish actress Joanna Pacula co-stars as an enigmatic nurse, who may turn out to be Bernsen's staunchest ally--or his executioner. Breaking Point first aired over the TNT cable service on August 18, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
During WWII, Sobibor was a notorious Nazi death camp. This gripping, fact-based drama chronicles the courage of an inmate who managed the largest escape from such a place. Thanks to him, over 300 prisoners were freed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1986
A six-hour adaptation of Danielle Steel's best-selling novel, the ABC miniseries Crossings began on board a transatlantic ocean liner in 1938. In the course of a truly eventful sea voyage, a torrid romance developed between powerful American steel magnate Nick Burnham (Lee Horsley) and Liane DeVilliers (Cheryl Ladd), the wife of French ambassador Armand DeVilliers (Christopher Plummer). This indiscretion would ultimately embroil both characters in the political intrigues leading up to WWII, with a rousing denouement in Nazi-occupied France just after America's entry into the war. To give the project a semblance of verisimilitude, several prominent historical figures flitted in and out of the action, notably Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Delano Roosevelt and France's Marshal Petain. Even so, most of the audience's interest was focused on the antics of Nick Burnham's hot-to-trot wife Hilary, played by Jane Seymour. Billed near the bottom of the huge cast was future Cheers and Frasier star Kelsey Grammer as "Craig Lawson." Partially filmed on the old British liner Queen Mary (then dry-docked as a tourist attraction), Crossings originally aired from February 23 to 25, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cheryl Ladd, Lee Horsley, (more)
The thriller Dead Easy stars Richard Grieco and Joanna Pacula as a married couple who are soon to face a series of difficult problems. The two engage in an escalating series of infidelities and mind games that could very well lead to their mutual destruction. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Grieco, Joanna Pacula, (more)
When the salvage tug Sea Star is caught unprepared in a violent storm, it slowly sinks, and the crew, led by Captain Everton (Donald Sutherland), wander upon another ship for refuge. The ship, apparently deserted, turns out to be a Russian research vessel loaded with high-tech electronics. The Sea Star crew, which includes hot-head Kelly "Kit" Foster (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Steve Baker (William Baldwin), soon find that they are not alone, and they also learn the horrible fate of the original crew. The ship had taken on an energy-based alien life-form capable of constructing bodies out of human tissue as easily as electronic parts. The life-form wants to inhabit the planet earth but first must rid the world of the virus that infects it and could kill it -- man. John Bruno, special effects supervisor on Terminator 2 tries to reinvent the haunted house sub-genre in his directorial debut, much as Ridley Scott did in Alien. ~ Ron Wells, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jamie Lee Curtis, William Baldwin, (more)
