Irene Litinsky Movies

A Manhattan archeologist teams with an FBI agent to uncover the buried secrets of the legendary Knights Templar in this romantic adventure mini-series starring Mira Sorvino and Scott Foley. Based on Raymond Khoury's international bestseller, The Last Templar opens in 1921, as Sultan's army burns the city of Acre to the ground. The Latin Kingdom's reign has come to a close. All that's left of its legacy is a single galley, which drifts out to sea carrying young Templar Knight Martin of Carmax, his mentor Aimard of Villiers, and an enigmatic chest entrusted to the pair by the order's dying Grand Master. Flash forward to present day New York City, where a gala is being held to celebrate the opening of an exhibition of Vatican treasures at the Metropolitan Museum. As the upper crust of Manhattan society marvel at the priceless treasures, four men dressed as Templar Knights storm into the museum on horseback, sending the crowd into mass chaos. Amidst all the confusion, archeologist Tess Chaykin (Sorvino) watches in horror as the leader of the horsemen steals a mysterious geared device from the exhibit before disappearing into Central Park. Later, as the horsemen begin turning up dead, Tess and FBI Agent Sean Daley (Foley) realize the importance of the device and learn the dark history of the last living Templars' fateful journey at sea. Now, in order to solve a mystery centuries in the making, Tess and Agent Daley will embark on a journey that leads them from the sewers and cemeteries of Manhattan to the desolate Turkish highlands and onto a remote Greek Island, where one of the Vatican's best-kept secrets will be revealed right before their very eyes. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A materialistic businessman learns the value of giving in this family film from the Hallmark Channel. Based on a true story, the inspirational drama follows workaholic Peter Andrews (Jason Gedrick) as he attempts to redeem his self-serving ways by volunteering to start a Christmas choir at a homeless shelter run by a tough-talking nun, Sister Agatha (Rhea Perlman). ~ Sandra Bencic, All Movie Guide

Bruce Dern and Cindy Sampson star in director David Winning's horror film about a young girl who reluctantly returns to her home in the southern bogs in order to help her estranged father. Melanie Blaime though that she had escaped the swamps forever, but when her father is accused of killing a teenage girl she must race back home to seek out the source of the trumped up charges against him. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A young science wiz and an ambitious reporter make a connection between a popular vitamin drink and a highly infectious alien virus in this sci-fi thriller starring Gil Bellows and Isabella Rossellini. If you live in Boston, odds are you're guzzling Hydropure by the gallon; it's the latest health drink craze, and it's flying off of the shelves. Even the mayor has a taste for Hydropure. But when the mayor is assassinated and the triggerman slips reporter Ben (Bellows) evidence of a Hydropure conspiracy, the race is on to stop our species from being taken over from the inside. Convinced that something ominous is afoot after his colleague offers scientific proof that Hydropure is infecting humans with an alien virus, Ben and fellow reporter Lisa (Maxim Roy) set out on a mission to stop the virus from spreading and save the human race. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A renowned physician researching the powers of a rare Amazonian flower said to separate the self from the soul finds his experiment with the psychotropic plant coinciding with a series of sadistic murders in this updating of the classic story by Robert Louis Stevenson. Upon learning of a rare flower rumored to give life to man's "Dark Self" Dr. Henry Jekyll begins conducting the research that could provide a monumental breakthrough in contemporary psychology. But each time Dr. Jekyll ingests the plant another person turns up dead, leading him to believe that his "Dark Self" is slowly coming into its own. Realizing that the only way out of his predicament is to throw himself at the mercy of the court and finally be put out of his misery, the tormented physician hires a compassionate attorney known for taking on lost causes. Her case for mental imbalance is convincing enough to get Dr. Jekyll locked away for life in an asylum, but while the good doctor may be safely locked away his murderous alter-ego somehow roams free. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A series of massive tidal waves decimate the entire East Coast, leading a renegade expert on man made ecological disasters and weapons of mass destruction to suspect that a force far more human than Mother Nature is at work in this terrifying mini-series starring Angus Macfayden, Tom Skerritt, and Karin Vanasse. The first wave hit the East Coast without warning, with subsequent tsunamis following in quick succession. Before long towns all along the coast have been destroyed, and scientists are at a loss to explain just where these gigantic waves originated. When top scientists fail to find a conventional explanation for the waves, renegade ecological expert John McAdams (Macfayden) is called upon to offer a hypothesis. Upon consulting with Oceanographic Institute genius Sophie Marleau (Vanasse), McAdams begins to suspect that the waves are man made disasters specifically designed to keep the population in check. After McAdams makes his suspicions public, another scientist attempts to uncover who is behind the conspiracy and is promptly murdered - leaving McAdams as the prime suspect in the killing. Later, McAdams discovers the true identity of the terrorist whose sub-aquatic nuclear missiles are holding an entire country in fear. But as the earth begins to quake and the seas begin to swell once again, it may already be too late to stop the latest attack. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Created for the TNT television network, The Wool Cap is a remake of the 1962 film Gigot, which was written by and starred the legendary Jackie Gleason. This time around, it's Academy Award-nominee and Emmy winner William H. Macy (Fargo) handling the lead role, as well as teleplay and producer duties. Macy stars as Gigot, a curmudgeonly mute who works as the super at a worn-down apartment building. After living a lonely existence for most of his years, Gigot finds his life turned upside-down when he unwittingly finds himself in the care of a precocious young girl named Lou (Keke Palmer). Also starring Ned Beatty and Catherine O'Hara, The Wool Cap netted a 2005 Golden Globe nod for Macy. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

The made-for-TV It Must be Love is based on "Rediscovered Love", a chapter in Meant to Be, a book by marital-advice columnists Barry Vissell and Joyce Vissell. Both film and chapter were inspired by the true story of Nancy and Leo Whitmore, a divorce-bound couple who learned the hard way how to truly appreciate their life together--and to truly appreciate life itself--when they trapped in a snowbound camper for a month. As adapted by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Beth Henley (Crimes of the Heart), the film stars real-life married couple Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen as George and Clem Gazelle, who labor under the misapprehension that just because they are being "amicable" and "civilized" about their impending divorce, their split-up will be a happy one with no unpleasant side effects for their children. All this changes when George and Clem are trapped in their camper by a freak Main snowstorm. As they hope and pray for rescue, the couple begins to ponder the reasons for their breakup, and wonder if perhaps they should have given their marriage a second chance. As the days turn into weeks, and despite their ever-diminishing health, the Gazelles carry on lively domestic debates in their "Divorce Camper", concluding at last that if they must die (which may indeed happen at any moment), they would much rather die together than apart. One of the highest-rated TV movies of its year, It Must Be Love was seen February 15, 2004, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

World War II is fought on a small scale in this 2003 drama starring Linda Hamilton of The Terminator. Hamilton plays a single German mother hiding out with her young son in a rural cabin. On Christmas Eve, 1944, three American soldiers show up, seeking refuge from the battlefield. Just as a bond grows, a group of Nazi soldiers arrive, dismayed with the treasonous situation they find. Cassian Bopp and Matthew Harbour also star. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Based on a true story, the Canadian TV movie The Stork Derby begins with the death of wealthy Toronto lawyer and lifelong bachelor Charles Vance Miller (Frank Fontaine). Going through Miller's effects, his lawyers discover that he intended to divide his fortune among the Canadian women who would deliver the most babies within a decade after his birth. Fueled by the circulation-hungry Toronto Daily Star, "The Great Toronto Stork Derby" held the Dominion in thrall throughout the Depression years, with hundreds and thousands of women hoping to escape the ravages of the Depression via mass procreation. The contest boils down to three front runners: French-Canadian Vivanne Kennelly (Pascale Montpetit), whose anxiousness to win at all costs leads to tragedy; Colleen Brant (Janine Thierault), who has multiple babies by multiple fathers; and Gina Bonaggio (Ellen David), an impoverished Italian immigrant. Dutifully chronicling each twist and turn of the contest is Canada's only female journalist Kate Harrington (Megan Follows), who at first regards the whole affair as demeaning to women, but ultimately becomes an ardent crusader for fair play when, during the 1938 court trial that will determine the winner, it becomes painfully obvious that the Canadian government will succumb to traditional colonial bigotry and see to it that no "inferior" women--that is, non-white non-Protestants--will benefit from Miller's legacy. Adapted from a book by Elizabeth Wilton, The Story Derby made its CBC debut on January 8, 2002, and shortly thereafter was shown in the U.S. courtesy of the Lifetime cable network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Former Max Headroom star Matt Frewer made his first appearance as master detective Sherlock Holmes in this well-appointed adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles. On this occasion, Holmes and his chronicler Dr. John Watson (Kenneth Walsh) set about to protect young Sir Henry Baskerville (Jason London) from falling victim to what seems to be an old and inexorable family curse. Eventually the two sleuths converge upon Baskerville Hall, near the dreaded Grimpen Mire, where a huge and voracious hound threatens the wellbeing of all concerned. But who is really behind the sinister plot against Sir Henry -- and is anyone involved in the case truly whom he or she claims to be? Largely filmed on-location at Montacute House in Somerset, England, The Hound of the Baskervilles made its American TV bow over the Odyssey cable network on October 21, 2000, and seven days later debuted in Canada courtesy of CTV. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The strict reaper rules take a backseat to moving souls quickly and enjoying an existence without consequence when George and her colleagues get a new boss in this feature continuation of the cancelled television series Dead Like Me. There's a new boss in town, and that means a whole new way of operating for George and her fellow reapers. At first it seems like a blessing to see the rules relaxed a bit, but before long the gang discovers that death can be just as complicated as life. Now, while George's friends are all seduced by the allure of success, money, and fame, she makes the mistake of revealing her true identity to her living family. Whoever said death was easy, anyway? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide