Richard Cansino Movies

A pair of orphaned teens experience an unexpected reunion with their parents in this fourth installment of the long-running Return of the Living Dead franchise. After a traffic accident kills his folks, high-school senior Julian (John Keefe) leads a more or less typical suburban life. Sure, he's a little depressed, and sure, his brother, Jake (Alexandru Geoana), has a problem with matches. But otherwise everything is business as usual. All of that changes when their friend Zeke (Elvin Dandel) is injured in a dirt-bike accident and rushed to the hospital. Although the authorities claim Zeke is dead, he's actually carted off to a secret laboratory by the evil Hybratech corporation, whose scientists plan to experiment on him with a chemical that can reanimate the dead. Unfortunately for Julian and Jake, their uncle Charles (Peter Coyote) is one of the bad guys -- and he's not above using members of his own family as test subjects. With a group of friends in tow, the boys must infiltrate Hybratech's lab, find Zeke, and fend off a horde of angry zombies. Filmed back to back in Romania and Ukraine with Return of the Living Dead 5: Rave to the Grave, Return of the Living Dead 4: Necropolis premiered on the SciFi Channel cable network before receiving a DVD release. Both films were directed by Ellory Elkayem, who previously helmed Eight Legged Freaks. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

The life and career of 1940s sex symbol Rita Hayworth (1918-1987) is affectionately but uncompromisingly recounted in this cable TV documentary, produced by Hugh Hefner and narrated by actress Kim Basinger. Born into a show business family, Rita Cansino was still a pre-teen when she attracted the attention of Hollywood with her sultry Latin looks and her remarkable dancing skills. With her first husband, the much-older Edward C. Judson, as her manager and agent, Rita managed to land a starlet contract at 20th Century Fox, then moved on to greater glory when, signed by Columbia Pictures, she was re-christened Rita Hayworth and given a more "all-American" image via cosmetic surgery, electrolysis, and a new crop of flaming red hair. Though her career was sometimes impeded by Columbia boss Harry Cohn, who was upset that she continued to fend off his advances, Rita ultimately achieved superstardom as the alluring star of such films as Cover Girl and Gilda. Alas, her private life was never quite as satisfying as her professional one: After breaking up with Judson, she entered into a well-publicized but ultimately unhappy marriage to Orson Welles, then, in quick succession, wed a foreign prince, Aly Khan; a popular singer, Dick Haymes; and a flamboyant movie producer, James Hill. Through it all, the painfully shy and retiring actress yearned to be simply a normal wife and mother, but the pressures and responsibilities of international stardom denied her this balm. Rita's final years were clouded by Alzheimer's disease, which ended not only her career but her life. Among the interviewees in this documentary are Hayworth's daughter Yasmin Aga Khan, who has devoted her life to helping other victims of Alzheimer's, and Rita's best friend, musical star Ann Miller. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on a series of Dutch children's books by Hans der Beer, the animated feature The Little Polar Bear is a German production made up of three separate stories about polar bear cub Lars. In the first, Lars meets and befriends a seal named Robby. In the second, he is stranded on an island and makes friends with a hippo, an eagle, and a killer whale. In the third, he and his friends plot to crash a ship that has been stealing all the fish out of the sea. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

R.J. Moore (the son of Roger) stars as gun-runner Kane, who becomes the target of three female super agents in this acton film from Andy Sidaris. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

A visit from the mercurial alien life form Q (John de Lancie) invariably means trouble for the Enterprise, and this time is no exception. As a result of his past misdeeds, Q is stripped of his powers and condemned to spend the rest of his life as a mortal. Regarding Captain Picard as his very best friend, the "reformed" Q decides to make the Enterprise his new home, with potentially disastrous results for the hapless android Data. Corbin Bernsen makes a brief appearance as another member of the Q collective. First telecast February 10, 1990, the Emmy-nominated "Deja Q" was written by Richard Danis. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

There are murderous goings on at a sweatshop that specializes in lingerie. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi