Modus Operandi (film)
Encyclopedia
Modus Operandi, directed by Frankie Latina, is an independent feature film shot in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
and Tokyo
, Japan
. Latina examines the Exploitation film
genre through a revenge tale about a desperate C.I.A. agent on a mission to find the man who murdered his wife.
The film stars Danny Trejo
(Machete
, Heat, Predators), Mark Borchardt
(American Movie
), Michael Sottile (Reservoir Dogs
), and Randy Russell (American Job
) as Agent Stanley Cashay.
The film premiered at the CineVegas
Film Festival in June 2009, where it received critical acclaim and obtained sales representation from Submarine Entertainment
.
Modus Operandi was an official entry in the American Film Institute
Film Festival where it screened at the historic Mann's Chinese Theater in Los Angeles
in October 2009. The film played to sold-out audiences at the historic Landmark Oriental Theater
during the Milwaukee Film Festival.
The film started its theatrical run on September 10th, 2010 at the IFC Center
in New York
, with a pre-screening introduction from Sasha Grey
and appearances by Danny Trejo and Mark Borchardt.
Modus Operandi was produced by Frankie Latina Motion Pictures, Special Entertainment
, and Reign Supreme Entertainment and will be distributed by Kino in February of 2012.
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.
and a rating of 6.6 out of 10 on IMDb. Critic Roger Ebert
of the Chicago Sun Times gave the film a positive review and called it a "special pleasure". Mike Hale of the New York Times said "Frankie Latina’s Modus Operandi bears a greater surface resemblance to the 1960s and ’70s genre films to which it pays homage than Quentin Tarantino
and Robert Rodriguez
’s Grindhouse
did." Eric Hynes of the Village Voice called the film "seriously seedy and truly inspired", and Kyle Smith of the New York Post
referred to the film as "Genius-level garbage".
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
and Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Latina examines the Exploitation film
Exploitation film
Exploitation film is a type of film that is promoted by "exploiting" often lurid subject matter. The term "exploitation" is common in film marketing, used for all types of films to mean promotion or advertising. These films then need something to exploit, such as a big star, special effects, sex,...
genre through a revenge tale about a desperate C.I.A. agent on a mission to find the man who murdered his wife.
The film stars Danny Trejo
Danny Trejo
Dan "Danny" Trejo is an American actor who has appeared in numerous Hollywood films, most notably in roles as an antagonist, or anti-hero.-Early life:...
(Machete
Machete (film)
Machete is a 2010 action film directed by Robert Rodriguez and Ethan Maniquis. The "Machete" character originates from the 2001 Spy Kids film, written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. This film is an expansion of a fake trailer that was released together with Rodriguez's and Quentin Tarantino's...
, Heat, Predators), Mark Borchardt
Mark Borchardt
Mark Borchardt is an American independent filmmaker. He is best known as the subject of the 1999 film American Movie: The Making of Northwestern, which documented two years he spent writing, shooting and editing his horror short, Coven .-Early life:Borchardt was born and raised in Menomonee Falls,...
(American Movie
American Movie
American Movie: The Making of Northwestern is a 1999 documentary directed by Chris Smith. The film chronicles the real 1996-1997 making of Coven, an independent horror film directed by an independent filmmaker named Mark Borchardt...
), Michael Sottile (Reservoir Dogs
Reservoir Dogs
Reservoir Dogs is an American crime film marking debut of director and writer Quentin Tarantino. It depicts the events before and after a botched diamond heist, but not the heist itself. Reservoir Dogs stars an ensemble cast: Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, and...
), and Randy Russell (American Job
American Job
American Job is a 1996 independent film directed by Chris Smith. Shot in a satirical pseudo-documentary style, the film follows Randy, a young man living in a Midwestern US town, as he tries one mundane job after another, including monitoring a machine at a plastics factory, working as a clean-up...
) as Agent Stanley Cashay.
The film premiered at the CineVegas
Cinevegas
CineVegas was a film festival held annually at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas that ran from 1999 to 2009, typically in early June. Robin Greenspun serves as the Festival president, and Trevor Groth serves as artistic director. Actor Dennis Hopper is the chairman of the Festival's creative...
Film Festival in June 2009, where it received critical acclaim and obtained sales representation from Submarine Entertainment
Dan Braun
Dan Braun is a musician, composer, writer, editor, art director, and film producer.-Early music career:Dan Braun and his twin brother Josh started several punk bands in high school in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, including Platinum Hardcore and Hack Ptooey. Their first real band was called Spinal...
.
Modus Operandi was an official entry in the American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
Film Festival where it screened at the historic Mann's Chinese Theater in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in October 2009. The film played to sold-out audiences at the historic Landmark Oriental Theater
Oriental Theatre (Milwaukee)
The Oriental Theatre is located in the East Side neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was built and opened in 1927 as a movie palace. The themes of the decor are East Indian, with no traces of Chinese or Japanese artwork; it is said to be the only movie palace to incorporate East Indian...
during the Milwaukee Film Festival.
The film started its theatrical run on September 10th, 2010 at the IFC Center
IFC Center
IFC Center is an art house movie theater in Greenwich Village, New York City in the United States of America. It is located at 323 Sixth Avenue, on the former site of the Waverly Theater, which was itself a well known art house movie theater...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, with a pre-screening introduction from Sasha Grey
Sasha Grey
Sasha Grey is an American former pornographic actress, who has since turned to mainstream acting, modeling and music....
and appearances by Danny Trejo and Mark Borchardt.
Modus Operandi was produced by Frankie Latina Motion Pictures, Special Entertainment
Special Entertainment
Special Entertainment is a film production company based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established in 2003 by Bobby Ciraldo and Andrew Swant, the company currently has two feature films in production: William Shatner's Gonzo Ballet , and Hamlet A.D.D. .Special Entertainment is also co-producing...
, and Reign Supreme Entertainment and will be distributed by Kino in February of 2012.
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 offeredthe 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
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
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
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
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
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
forces fight back. The final chapters play out as an increasingly surreal
Surreal humour
Surreal humour is a form of humour based on violations of causal reasoning with events and behaviours that are logically incongruent. Constructions of surreal humour involve bizarre juxtapositions, non-sequiturs, irrational situations, and/or expressions of nonsense.The humour arises from a...
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
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
into God Himself.
Critical reception
The film received generally positive reviews. As of January 14th, 2011, the film holds an 75% approval rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
and a rating of 6.6 out of 10 on IMDb. Critic Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the Chicago Sun Times gave the film a positive review and called it a "special pleasure". Mike Hale of the New York Times said "Frankie Latina’s Modus Operandi bears a greater surface resemblance to the 1960s and ’70s genre films to which it pays homage than Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
and Robert Rodriguez
Robert Rodriguez
Robert Anthony Rodríguez is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, editor and musician. He shoots and produces many of his films in his native Texas and Mexico. He has directed such films as Desperado, From Dusk till Dawn, The Faculty, Spy Kids, Sin City, Planet...
’s Grindhouse
Grindhouse
A grindhouse is an American term for a theater that mainly shows exploitation films. It is named after the defunct burlesque theaters located on 42nd Street in New York City, where 'bump n' grind' dancing and striptease were featured.- History :...
did." Eric Hynes of the Village Voice called the film "seriously seedy and truly inspired", and Kyle Smith of the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
referred to the film as "Genius-level garbage".