Paul Sanchez Movies

A bored and blasé man of faith hits the road and encounters some strange surprises along the way in this independent comedy from filmmaker Todd Rohal. Father William Smoortser (Steve Little), known to his colleagues and students as Father Billy, is a Catholic priest who seems to have become disenchanted with his work; he'd rather tell jokes to his bible study group than actually discuss scripture, and has more interest in the finer points of diner food than Catholic doctrine. Father Billy's superiors decide he needs some rest and recreation, so he invites Robbie Shoemaker (Robert Longstreet) to join him for some camping and canoeing. Robbie used to play guitar in a heavy metal band and was engaged to Father Billy's sister, and to the priest he's always seemed like the epitome of cool. Robbie and Father Billy hit the river and soon have traveling companions in a pair of young Asian women who call themselves Tom Sawyer (Koko Lanham) and Huck Finn (Miki Ann Maddox). But it isn't long before the travelers become lost, and the journey becomes increasingly surreal as Father Billy learns some surprising secrets about Robbie. The Catechism Cataclysm was an official selection at the 2011 South by Southwest Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

James Farentino plays the chief of a big-city underground narcotics unit. When a drug buy goes awry, a shotgun blows away one of Farentino's best men--and closest friends. As the once-harmonious drug unit disintegrates into recriminations and guilt, Farentino becomes more and more withdrawn, until he's of little further value to the force. A chance for redemption for everyone arrives in the form of another big-time drug bust. In the Line of Duty: A Cop for the Killing was based on a true story, as were all the In the Line of Duty films produced for television in the late 1980s--early 1990s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

New Zealand poet Janet Frame is the subject of Jane Campion's biographical drama, which presents a poetically evocative look at the authoress' turbulent life. The film begins with a look at Frame's childhood, showing her as a bright but odd-looking, emotionally fragile young girl with a knack for writing. Frame faces great difficulty in adapting to the conventional rural life around her, and her social awkwardness only worsens as she grows older. After she fails in her attempt to become a schoolteacher due to an intense panic attack, she is subject to a psychiatric evaluation and shamefully misdiagnosed as a schizophrenic. Frame is subsequently committed to a mental institution, where she suffers years of unnecessary shock treatments and other horrors. Her salvation comes through her writings, however, which attract the attention of a renowned author who arranges her release. While the nightmare of Frame's institutionalization is presented with great sensitivity and power, Campion and screenwriter Laura Jones, to their credit, refuse to simplify her story to this one pivotal event. Instead, they pay equal attention to Frame's subsequent life, as she slowly adjusts life in the outside world, experiencing literary success and her first romance. Expressive visuals add immeasurably to the total effect, while Kerry Fox's superb performance creates a truly affecting portrait of Frame. Impressively, the film was originally made as a mini-series for New Zealand television, and slightly reedited for a later theatrical release. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

Disco-gone-Latin, that's what's happening in Salsa, where a grease monkey who's sick and tired of knuckle-busting lives for his nights on the dance floor where he gyrates to the salsa beat. Not much plot but plenty of dancing is the fare here, as the lead guy (Robby Rosa) is out to show he's the Travolta of the Latino swing scene. ~ Rovi

Oliver Stone's breakthrough as a director, Platoon is a brutally realistic look at a young soldier's tour of duty in Vietnam. Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) is a college student who quits school to volunteer for the Army in the late '60s. He's shipped off to Vietnam, where he serves with a culturally diverse group of fellow soldiers under two men who lead the platoon: Sgt. Barnes (Tom Berenger), whose facial scars are a mirror of the violence and corruption of his soul, and Sgt. Elias (Willem Dafoe), who maintains a Zen-like calm in the jungle and fights with both personal and moral courage even though he no longer believes in the war. After a few weeks "in country," Taylor begins to see the naïveté of his views of the war, especially after a quick search for enemy troops devolves into a round of murder and rape. Unlike Hollywood's first wave of Vietnam movies (including The Deer Hunter, Apocalypse Now, and Coming Home), Platoon is a grunt's-eye view of the war, touching on moral issues but focusing on the men who fought the battles and suffered the wounds. In this sense, it resembles older war movies more than its Vietnam peers, as it mixes familiar elements of onscreen battle with small realistic details: bugs, jungle rot, exhaustion, C-rations, marijuana, and counting the days before you go home. This mix of traditional war movie elements with a contemporary sensibility won Platoon four Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director, and a reputation as one of the definitive modern war films. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi