George Touliatos Movies

Die Hard meets Cliffhanger in this two-fisted action flick full of cool guns and exploding racists. One cop stands between order and lawlessness when a nefarious band of white supremacists invade a ski resort and take the guests hostage. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

In this average, made for pay-TV adventure yarn loosely based on Arthur Conan Doyle's Challenger's Gold, the archaeologist Dr. Christopher Falcon (John Marley) is called away from a dig in an Arab country to assess a startling find in Mexico, with the usual dangerous results. When he arrives, he immediately sees that among the uncovered items is a fertility goddess that was once part of a group of precious objects missing since a devastating, 17th-century earthquake. Determined to find the rest of the treasure -- also vaunted as having supernatural powers -- he sets out on an expedition funded by Murdoch (George Touliatos) a suspicious-looking, but super-rich business tycoon. Along for the ride are Falcon's daughter Tracey (Louise Vallance), a spirited British journalist (Simon MacCorkindale), and their guide, the attractive B.G. Alvarez (Blanca Guerra). Following in quick succession like the old-fashioned serials in the Saturday matinees are moments of betrayal, disaster, sudden change, and various sexual encounters. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In this futuristic film, an extreme shortage of gasoline drives the government to deny citizens the right to own vehicles. A special force is put together to destroy these illegal cars, but one unbalanced member of the force (Alex Diakun) doesn't bother to remove the drivers before he torches the vehicles. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

Blending action with a touch of sword and sorcery, this drama centers on the attempts of a brave cop to stop the Game, a brutal series of sword fights in which the one who survives the match is hailed the winner. To stop the fights, the cop goes undercover as "The Gladiator" and tries to stop them. But stopping the match becomes complicated when the crazy match promoter (and also champion fighter) decides to force the Gladiator to use the sword of Alexander the Great against his sword of Ghengis Khan as he is convinced he and the cop are the great warriors' reincarnations. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This by-the-numbers comedy stars Wayne Rogers and Karen Valentine as Alex and Annabelle Grier. Alex is a well-paid ad executive who is laid off during an economic downswing. In order to continue living in the manner to which she he is accustomed, Alex's wife Annabelle decides to look for work. Unfortunately, her practical experience is nil, so Alex labors behind the scenes, training his wife to become a top-drawer copywriter. Inevitably, when Annabelle finally does land a job, it turns out to be a major blow to Alex's ego. Initially titled Paper Castles, this made-for-TV movie was first shown December 18, 1984. TV Guide/Marrill ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Inspired by stories from the fantasy graphics magazine Heavy Metal, this five-part animated feature combines the talents of hundreds of artists and animators from 17 different countries. A glowing green orb called Loc-Nar that contains the sum total of all evil in the universe travels through space and time, spreading violence and discord in its wake. The stories that follow demonstrate Loc-Nar's malevolent presence throughout the universe. In New York in the year 2023, cabbie Harry Canyon picks up a fare who turns out to have Loc-Nar in her possession, and it turns out to be one trip he wishes that he had never made. In contemporary suburban America, a nerdy high school kid finds the orb in his backyard and is transported to a comic-book universe where he's a mighty warrior and famous spoiler of women. A robot created by an alien race falls in love with a secretary from Earth who was kidnapped by his masters, while she is at once fascinated and repelled by his sexual talents. And finally, Loc-Nar crashes into a mountain, and a world of fantasy and danger spontaneously appears in its wake, ruled by The Defender, a beautiful amazon who rides on a giant bird. The voice cast for Heavy Metal includes John Candy, Harold Ramis, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, Richard Romanus, and John Vernon. The sound track features selections by Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, Nazareth, Cheap Trick, Devo, and Grand Funk Railroad. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this crime drama, set in 1975 and based on a true story from Toronto, Canada, the different ways in which a prominent realtor may have had his wife brutally murdered are presented. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The made-for-TV Lena: My 100 Children was based on the life of Lena Kuchler-Silberman, here portrayed by Linda Lavin. During World War II, Lena, a Polish Jew, posed as a Catholic to escape the Nazi death camp. At war's end, the guilt-ridden Lena vows to atone for the millions who were exterminated in the "Final Solution." She dedicates herself to the physical and emotional healing of 100 Jewish refugee children, fighting communist red tape to feed and clothe her charges, and then leading them all into a brighter future in Palestine. Written for television by Yabo Yablonsky and location-filmed in Hungary, Lena: My 100 Children premiered on November 23, 1987, not long after the death of the real Lena Kuchler-Silberman. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this tense and surprising thriller, a parish priest is torn between honoring his vow to never violate the sacred trust between a confessor and a cleric and telling the law that one of those he listens to is a serial killer who is ritually killing the women in his congregation. Devout and kindly Father Cusack is still new to the priesthood and takes his vows very seriously. Because he cannot tell the police, he tries to stop the killer on his own and nearly loses his life in the process. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A priest, a rabbi, and a minister are attempting to keep a financially-strapped drug rehab center open, when the last bit of funding disappears. Desperate, they approach a sickly Mafia don and offer to absolve him of his sins in exchange for cash. Unfortunately, he dies before he can get them the money and they must figure out how to steal it from his safe. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This low-budget, tongue-in-cheek horror film of the slasher genre -- which had recently been popularized by Halloween (1978) -- stars that film's lead, Jamie Lee Curtis, as Kim Hammond, a prom queen who becomes a scream queen. Six years ago, a little girl was taunted by four classmates and fell to her death from an abandoned schoolhouse. The quartet of kids promised to keep their complicity in the accident a secret. Now it's their prom night and they've got the jitters because they have recently been receiving phone calls and notes from an ominous, unknown individual claiming to have witnessed the girl's death and vowing revenge. At the prom, the four become fatal victims one by one of a mysterious, axe-wielding, masked, and hooded stalker. The many possibilities of the murderer's identity include Kim, who is the little dead girl's sister, her school-principal father (Leslie Nielsen), or her disc-jockey brother, Alex (Michael Tough). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

In this comedy, the well-ordered life of a an Arab, who works as a store detective, is totally disrupted by the sudden arrival of his very traditional and deeply religious uncle. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi