Frankie Latina’s MODUS OPERANDI
Modus Operandi, directed by Frankie Latina, is a bizarre exploitation-style feature about a desperate C.I.A. agent on a mission to find the man who murdered his wife. The film is a co-production between Frankie Latina Motion Pictures and Special Entertainment.
Starring Randy Russell (American Job), Mark Borchardt (American Movie), Michael Sottile (Reservoir Dogs) and legendary actor Danny Trejo (Heat, Machete, Predators). Look for guest appearances by Samwell (What What In the Butt) and Mark Metcalf (Animal House, Seinfeld).
Modus Operandi premiered at the CineVegas Film Festival where it obtained sales representation from Submarine Entertainment (The Cove, Super Size Me, Man on Wire) and received rave reviews.
The film recently screened at the Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Los Angeles as part of the American Film Institute Film Festival‘s opening night gala. Director Frankie Latina and Special Entertainment were in attendance and walked the red carpet with Bill Murray, Wes Anderson, Jason Schwartzman, and Peter Bogdanovich.
REVIEWS:
“Blaxploitation meets Art-House. A mondo B-movie that holds nothing back … Modus Operandi is a movie utterly content with its own insanity.”
— Eric Kohn, indieWIRE
“Modus Operandi is a trip. A fuzzed out ode to B-gangster films, ’60s political paranoia thrillers, ’80s late-night Skinemax, and raunchy underground cinema.”
— Filmmaker Magazine
“Modus Operandi was the talk of the festival among media and execs after its premiere … It bursts with campiness and odes to ’70s movie outrageousness.”
— Steven Zeitchik, The Hollywood Reporter
“Latina is paying tribute to the ’70s here, but in a bizarre, formalist way: One scene might play like a retro spy spoof, the next like a British gangster flick, another like an experimental Warhol piece, and yet another like Italian neorealism … It’s never boring, as Latina throws enough random nudity and hilariously odd scenic juxtapositions at the audience to keep them amused … Expect it to appear on Quentin Tarantino’s Best of ’09 list.”
— LA Weekly
“The film is a testament to determination … Robert Rodriguez would be proud.”
— Todd Konrad, Independent Film Quarterly
“See a corkscrew extract one eye of a presidential candidate … his other eye can see a stick of dynamite get stuck into the bloody socket.”
— Bill Stamets, Chicago Sun-Times
“This little gem is one of the better independent films I’ve seen this year.”
— Matt Molgaard, Fangoria
“Move over, Black Dynamite: There’s a new exploitation movie homage in town. Modus Operandi clearly does not take place in the real world, but in the surreal realm of 1970s exploitation cinema, where strange and outrageous things are bound to happen.”
— Kyle Rupprecht, MovieMaker Magazine
“Frankie Latina pulls it off with a freshness and charm that’s unquestionably invigorating … Modus Operandi is what Grindhouse should have been — maybe, would have been — if freed from ego and studio budget bloat … It’s got to be one of the great underground discoveries of the year.”
— Karina Longworth, Spout
“Weirdly memorable for sure.”
— The Onion A.V. Club
“An indescribable James Bondage spoof … Modus Operandi is the jewel of this year’s festival.”
— Patrick McDonald, HollywoodChicago
“Five stars – True Grindhouse! I couldn’t have had a better time.”
— Charles Tatum, eFilmCritic.com
“An action-packed revenge tale.”
— Netflix
“An homage to exploitation thrillers from the 70s, with CIA agents, mysterious briefcases, shady underworld double-crosses, and lots of sexy girls … strung together with a splendid funky score. An appropriate formal mishmash that is hugely inventive … a cherishable oddball curio.”
— Tom von Logue Newth, ScreenCrave
“A mixture of violence and a bit of surrealism … It’s a combination of spoof, gangster, and experimental.”
— Pete Allman, NewsBlaze
“High-concept homage to ’70s exploitation … an outrageous and raunchy experience you are not likely to forget.”
— Bryan Wendorf
“Newcomer Frankie Latina presents Modus Operandi — Official Selection of the 2009 AFI Fest.”
— Extra
“If you ever wondered what a James Bond film directed by Ed Wood would look like, here is your answer.”
— Benjamin Spacek, Las Vegas Weekly
Here’s an interview from indieWIRE:
http://www.indiewire.com/article/blaxploitation_meets_art-house_modus_operandi_director_frankie_latina/
Check out CineVegas’s great interview with director Frankie Latina and stars Mark Borchardt, Randy Russell, and Michael Sottile:
http://www.cinevegas.com/blog/?p=1382
A link to the film’s page on the CineVegas site:
http://cinevegas.bside.com/2009/films/modusoperandi_cinevegas2009
Plot Synopsis
Two briefcases with mysterious contents are stolen from top Presidential candidate Squire Parks, setting off a deadly series of double-crosses and betrayals. Desperate warring factions of subterranean organizations will stop at nothing to gain possession of the sensitive material. A covert branch of the CIA calls on notorious Black Ops agent Stanley Cashay, who has been barely existing in a semi-comatose twilight since the murder of his wife. Cashay is offered the identity of his wife’s killer in exchange for locating and returning the cases.
Agent Cashay uses the most dangerous weapons at his command, the telephone and his reputation, to unleash a bizarre assortment of operatives, including the deliciously sleazy Casey Thunderbird and exotic Tokyo-based special agent Black Licorice. Along with scores of other beguiling rogues, they initiate a horrifying chain of events, including ruthless torture and brutal killings. When Cashay is finally in possession of the stolen materials, the contents of the briefcases shock even him, and he makes a decision that will change the course of history.
Cashay then sets the wheels in motion for bitter revenge and harsh justice, but not before the entire operation is nearly derailed as merciless underworld forces fight back. The final chapters play out as an increasingly surreal vision of modern reality, skirting the edge of sanity and culminating with the wrath of the powerful Director Holiday, a man who would put the fear of God into God Himself.
Credits
Directed by Frankie Latina
Produced by
Bobby Ciraldo … executive producer
Janet Beasley … co-executive producer
Nikki Johnson … co-executive producer
Andrew Swant … producer
Jon Krill … producer
Laurie Foote … producer
Mark Foote … producer
Shalyse Dominique … producer
Zebedee LeTendre … producer
Written by
Frankie Latina … story & screenplay
Andrew Swant … screenplay
Mark Borchardt … additional material
Ryan Plato … additional material
Randy Russell … additional material
Cast
Randy Russell … Stanley Cashay
Danny Trejo … Director Holiday
Mark Borchardt … Dallas Deacon
Michael Sottile … Squire Parks
Barry Poltermann … Casey Thunderbird
Nikki Johnson … Black Licorice
Mark Metcalf … Copper Gore
Andrew Swant … Agent Xanadu
Bobby Ciraldo … Marcello Maserati
Patrick Buckley … The Cowboy
Samwell … Adonis
Sarah Price … Agent Airheart
Robert Glenn Jones … CIA Supervisor
Ayesha Mohan … Ayesha Ayesha
Cinematography by Mark Escribano
Original Music by
Peter Batchelder
Ray Chi
Didier Leplae
Nick Pipitone
Joe Riepenhoff
Renato Umali
Joe Wong
