Irene Litinsky Movies

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

Peter Warlock was a noted British composer during the 1930s. Philip Heseltine was his harshest critic. This strange-but-true, highly dramatized British biopic brings to light a little known fact about the two enemies: they were same man. Much of the story centers upon reviewer Heseltine, one of the most feared figures in music criticism, a man known by peers as "The Grim Reaper." In his columns about Warlock's work, Heseltine calls the composer a pirate who gets his ideas from other composers. Heseltine falls in love after seeing the performance of American singer Lily Buxton. He arrogantly trashes her work, but she sees something good about him and goes out with him. Meanwhile, Warlock keeps composing and Heseltine's attacks upon him become excessively vitriolic causing Lily to get curious. She begins investigating and finds the chaotic, ramshackle apartment where Warlock lives. It is there that she learns the strange truth.th. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This is the third in the series of adventures of a Harley-riding private eye named Soldier (Lorenzo Lamas). In this one, a biker gang calling itself Hell's Fury is kidnapping women and turning them into nympho zombies. Soldier is hired to find one of the women and break up the gang. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide

This bizarre adaptation of the superb horror novel by Dean Koontz details the mental collapse of writer Hillary Thomas (Victoria Tennant), who is relentlessly stalked by sadistic psycho Bruno Clavell (Jean Leclerc), whom she had once interviewed for her latest book. After he breaks into her apartment to attack her, she is forced to kill him in self-defense... but her torment doesn't stop there. After her apparently still-living tormentor returns to assault her again, she turns to cop Tony Clemenza (Chris Sarandon) for help, and the two form a romantic bond while working together to solve the mystery. The confusing climax tries to tie up the novel's far-flung elements of black magic, incest, drugs, and hordes of hungry cockroaches, but one is left wondering what exactly is going on. Violent, gory, and perverse, this adaptation is dulled by flat performances and a script that fails to keep track of Koontz's complex storytelling techniques. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide