Earl Pastko Movies
When recently retired cat burglar Elizar Perla vanishes after emerging from the shadows for one last score, his concerned daughter Marty (Gina Gershon) begrudgingly agrees to assist the art collector whom her father had stolen from to recover his priceless artwork. Elizar has just proven that he still has what it takes to play the old game by taking art collector David Gray for all he's worth, but immediately after completing the job, the legendary yegg simply disappears into the dark. Marty is understandably distraught by this strange development, though Gray suggest that Elizar will likely return to his daughter as soon as the stolen artwork is recovered. But while Marty reluctantly agrees to help Gray find the missing valuables, she's about to discover that some stolen pieces possess a value that can't be measured in currency. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gina Gershon
- 2001
David Weaver makes his feature debut with this omnibus film in which each tale is told during different points during the 20th century, but in the same hotel room -- room 720. The film opens during the swinging '20s when a beautiful young woman, married against her will to a brutish thug of a man, endures a tension-fraught honeymoon. During the Depression segment, a mail-order bride from China meets her husband for the first time. Following the end of WWII, a soldier returns home to meet his girlfriend and his best friend. During the paranoia of the 1950s, a professor searches for his wife. During the 1980s, a lawyer has too much sex and debt, and during the dawn of the millennium, a woman comes to a newly refurbished room 720 to meet her Internet lover. Such acclaimed Canadian actors as Tom McCamus, Sandrine Holt, and Colm Feore star in this film, which was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lindy Booth, Colm Feore, (more)
- 1997
- PG13
A criminal genius who has carefully planned the ultimate score runs across an unexpected obstacle -- a 16-year-old computer hacker -- in this youth-oriented action-adventure story. Ozzie Paxton (Vincent Kartheiser) is a teenager with a knack for causing trouble; he's been expelled from the Shady Glen School, an exclusive private academy, for pulling one too many pranks on the faculty. Besides, he prefers to stay home with his computer, where for fun and profit he hacks into the systems of computer game designers, downloads new games before they can go on the market, and burns bootleg CD-ROMs that he can sell to his friends. One day, Ozzie's younger sister Melissa (Katie Stuart) talks him into giving her a lift to Shady Glen, where she still attends; looking for a little revenge, he sneaks into the school and intends to have a little fun with their computer system. As it turns out, Ozzie runs afoul of the school's new security chief, former British Secret Service agent Rafe Bentley (Patrick Stewart), who was hired by Principal Maloney (Brenda Fricker) after Ozzie's most recent bit of computer terrorism. But Bentley is not the friend of the law that he seems to be; several of the wealthiest families in America send their children to Shady Glen, and Bentley has a scheme to kidnap ten of the school's richest children and hold them for a ransom of $650 million. Ozzie is caught in the middle of Bentley's kidnapping plot and must now use his computer skills in order to save the children and put Bentley behind bars. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Stewart, Vincent Kartheiser, (more)
- 1997
Vancouver-based Texan Stacy Kirk made her feature directorial debut with this low-budget Canadian film, which she also scripted. Exterminator Lucky (Peter Flemming) gets caught up in a trailer-park triangle between his angry wife (Suzy Joachim) and an appealing waitress (Deanna Milligan). Set in Texas, the film was shot in Super 16mm in British Columbia and had a later blow-up to 35mm. Shown at the 1997 Vancouver Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Flemming, Suzy Joachim, (more)
- 1994
Desire, the fleeting pleasures of casual sex, and the difficulty involved with keeping passion alive are the focus of this unusual Canadian drama. The film, which was shot alternately in black and white, and color, is set in modern Toronto days before a solar eclipse is to occur. For his high school project, Angelo is filming a documentary on eclipse fever. His work is presented in color as he interviews people about the eclipse. Interspersed between Angelo's film is a series of sexual scenes, shot in black and white, involving gay and straight encounters between 10 friends, lovers, and acquaintances. What makes the film unique is that a connected progression occurs as one character from a preceding sexual encounter always appears in the subsequent one. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Von Flores, John Gilbert, (more)
Highway 61 is an offbeat, comedic road movie about a small-town Canadian barber (Don McKellar) who finds a dead body. When a woman claiming to be the corpse's roadie sister (Valerie Buhagiar), arrives in town, he agrees to drive her and the body from Ontario to New Orleans, following Highway 61 over the entire journey. Along the way, they meet several odd characters. Though the story is poorly-paced, it has enough off-center humor and the performances are engaging enough to make it worthwhile. Rockers Jello Biafra and Tav Falco make cameos. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don McKellar, Valerie Buhagiar, (more)
Werner Stocker makes his first series appearance as Darius, a 2000-year-old monk and the mentor to Immortal Duncan (Adrian Paul). Darius warns Duncan that he is being stalked by evil Immortal Grayson (James Horan), who has also added celebrated philanthropist and peace activist Victor Paulus (Earl Pastko). This episode is the beginning of a story arc that will take Duncan, Tessa (Alexandra Van Der Noot) and Richie (Stan Kirsch) from Canada to France -- and is also the series swan song for Amanda Wyss as nosy TV reporter Randi MacFarland. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adrian Paul, Alexandra Van Der Noot, (more)
