Stephen Jarchow Movies
- 2008
Years after an unsolved murder at Sunnydale High, the most popular students in class are summoned back to the school for a surprise reunion, only to find themselves at the mercy of a relentless killer who holds all the answers. Sunnydale was never the same after Leslie got killed on prom night. These days, the school is shut down and the hallways are eerily empty. But someone captured the crime on videotape, and when the former football star, his pretty girlfriend, the vicious flirt, the juvenile delinquent, and the practical joker are summoned back to the school, it's only a matter of time before the truth is revealed. Only one thing is for certain as the body count starts to rise -- finding this videotape is going to be murder. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2008
- Add On the Other Hand, Death: A Donald Strachey Mystery to QueueAdd On the Other Hand, Death: A Donald Strachey Mystery to top of Queue
When an elderly lesbian couple refuses to sell their home to a powerful developer their house is covered in homophobic vandalism, but is this apparent hate crime motivated by genuine distain for gay culture or simple corporate greed? All the homeowners in the neighborhood have agreed to sell except for a committed lesbian couple with no interest in money nor intentions of moving. A local investigator suspects that the attack is simply a way of convincing the couple to bend to big business, and as he delves further into the case he comes to terms with his feelings for an old boyfriend. Inspired by the strength of the lesbian couple he is working for, the investigator finally learns how to love again. Chad Allen, Margot Kidder, and Gabrielle Rose star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chad Allen, Sebastian Spence, (more)
- 2008
- R
- Add Kiss Me Deadly: A Jacob Keane Assignment to QueueAdd Kiss Me Deadly: A Jacob Keane Assignment to top of Queue
A Milan-based photographer finds his quiet family life suddenly disrupted when a young woman from his past life returns to drag him back into the treacherous world of international espionage. Jacob Keane (Robert Gant) was living the good life before Marta (Shannen Doherty) came looking for help. Now it's beginning to look as if lazy days with his longtime boyfriend Paolo and beautiful daughter Julia are about to become a distant memory. Marta has been targeted by a mysterious and resourceful enemy, the same man who will soon threaten Jacob should he fail to act fast. Perhaps with a little help from their former colleague Yale (John Rhys-Davies), Jacob and Marta will be able to prevent the villainous Vigo (Ian Roberts) from destroying any more lives than he already has. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Gant, Shannen Doherty, (more)
The cast of the hit primetime drama Melrose Place reunite for his Sci-Fi Channel original film concerning a remote ski lodge that is overrun by enormous mutant spiders. Ski season is upon us, and as an ambitious team of Olympic hopefuls arrives at the Lost Mountain Ski Resort to train under a retired Olympic skier (Patrick Muldoon), it begins to look as if they may have a shot at the gold after all. The fun quickly turns to fright, however, when a scientist (Vanessa Williams) from a local government lab arrives with an ominous warning about a top-secret experiment gone horribly awry. It seems that government scientists have succeeded in creating a breed of giant spiders capable of surviving in even the most extreme climates, and somehow the aggressive arachnids have managed to escape from the lab. Now, as the snow begins to fall, the flesh-eating spiders scurry out onto the slopes for a hearty winter snack. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Her latest heist having gone horribly awry, a professional thief heads back to her quiet hometown in order to maintain a low profile, only to find herself recruited to watch after her young nephew and nice when her sister is stranded in a tropical storm and unable to make it home for Christmas. Cate Dove (Shannen Doherty) isn't exactly the kind of woman most folks would hire to watch after their kids. In fact, the only reason she's come returned to her hometown of Comfort, Connecticut is to avoid the authorities after botching an elaborate jewel heist and getting stabbed in the back by Clive (Conrad Coates), her once-faithful partner-in-crime. Upon receiving word that her sister is stuck on an island in a tropical storm and won't be able to catch a flight out for days, Cate reluctantly agrees to look after her nephew Parker and her niece Annie. But familial responsibilities quickly take a back seat to criminal scheming when Cate realizes that her sister's quaint little neighborhood is a virtual treasure trove just waiting to be mined by such a resourceful criminal as herself. But just as Cate begins to craft the perfect plan to take the locals for all they're worth something strange begins to happen. Could it be that the thief who once thrived on the chaos of the city is finally growing accustomed to small town life? As Cate reconnects with her friends and family while developing a playful relationship with handsome local sheriff Hank (Ty Olsson), she begins to wonder if it's finally time to give up her life of crime and as herself what really matters most in life. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shannen Doherty, Ty Olsson, (more)
A masked killer crashes a lavish masquerade party in director David DeCoteau's modern updating of Edgar Allan Poe's classic tale. It's time for the biggest gay party of the year; unfortunately the host has chosen the site of the infamous Ravenswood Massacre to stage his blowout gala. Now, as the guests roll in for a rollicking evening of debauchery and excess, the body count begins to multiply. With each passing hour more victims turn up, leaving the frightened survivors to wonder who will die next. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Director C. Jay Cox explores the complex social and sexual landscapes of contemporary America with this heartfelt romantic comedy about a gay male who just discovered that the love of his life is about to tie the knot -- with a woman! Back in high school, Matt (Philipp Karner) and Ryan (James O'Shea ) were more than just best friends. But ten years after graduation, this once-inseparable pair has lost contact. One day, seemingly out of the blue, Matt receives an invitation to Ryan's wedding. Of course, there has been plenty of time for Ryan to develop new relationships in the ten long years since he and Matt last spoke, but the last thing Matt would ever expect is for his former high-school love to fall for a member of the "fairer sex." Convinced that Ryan is about to be taken advantage of by a scheming she-devil, Matt races back to the small hometown he once left behind and prepares to save his true love from a life of marital despair. Upon meeting perky bride-to-be Alex (Tori Spelling), however, Matt slowly begins to understand what it is that Ryan sees in her. Still, Matt can't mess up the opportunity to let the love of his life slip through his fingers, and ultimately decides to come clean about his true feelings for Ryan. Trouble is, Ryan views his romance with Matt as nothing more than a high school fling. As the wedding day draws near and long-buried emotions begin to bubble to the surface, Matt realizes that his feelings for Ryan are stronger than ever before, and his attempts to reconcile the past with the present will ultimately pave the road into an uncertain future. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tori Spelling, Philipp Karner, (more)
Love brings together two men who aren't sure where to fit a relationship into their lives in this romantic drama. Living in the oceanfront working-class community of San Pedro, Zach (Trevor Wright) is a young man in his early twenties who has been forced into the role of emotional anchor for his dysfunctional family; his mother his dead, his father is too ill to work, his sister Jeannie (Tina Holmes) is too busy partying to look after her five-year-old son Cody (Jackson Wurth), and Zach is the only one with the wherewithal to hold down a job and keep the rent paid. He's sacrificed his dream of attending CalArts in order to help Jeannie raise Cody. Between cooking at a diner and looking after Cody, Zach has little in the way of spare time, but as often as he can he heads to the beach to indulge his passion for surfing. While hanging out with his surfing buddy Gabe (Ross Thomas), Zach meets Gabe's brother, the struggling homosexual writer Shaun (Brad Rowe), who has taken a break from Tinseltown while rebounding from a dysfunctional relationship. Shaun goes surfing with Zach one day, and the two discover they're powerfully attracted to one another, and a flirtation turns into a love affair. As Shaun has to explain to his girlfriend why he no longer wants to be with her, Zach tries to make Jeannie and his father understand why he's come out of the closet. Shelter was produced for the gay and lesbian-oriented cable television network Here, though it enjoyed a brief theatrical release before its broadcast premiere. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Trevor Wright, Brad Rowe, (more)
Two women are unwittingly thrown into the fight of their lives in an effort to protect one of America's most powerful men in this action thriller. The vice president of the United States (David Keith) is returning from a visit overseas when his private jet, Air Force Two, crash-lands on a remote South American island. It's the veep's poor fortune that he's stranded in a place dominated by insurgent forces at odds with U.S. policies, and a group of revolutionaries seize their opportunity and kidnap the vice president. While American Special Forces swing into action, the rebels intend to make the most of their opportunity, but a secret service agent (Mariel Hemingway) and the president's no-nonsense press secretary (Jill Bennett) realize there's no time to waste and devise their own plan to save America's second in command. Making matters more complicated is the powerful emotional relationship between the two women. In Her Line of Fire was produced in cooperation with here!, a premium cable service specializing in programming for gay and lesbian viewers. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mariel Hemingway, David Keith, (more)
A ne'er do well father and ex-husband who always raced his way through the holidays is forced to relive Christmas Day time and again until he gets it right in this family oriented fantasy comedy starring Jay Mohr. It's Christmas time once again, and as usual Kevin (Moore) is scrambling to get his son Ben a last minute gift before stopping by his ex-wife Jill's house for a quick swig of eggnog. Ben can't stand Jill's impossibly perfect new boyfriend, and the prospect of spending the entire evening with his former inlaws is nearly too painful to ponder. But this Christmas things are going to be different, because this Christmas might just last forever. At first Kevin resists the curious development by simply reverting to his childish ways, though he is about to find out that sometimes in order to build a better future one must finally make amends with the past. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jay Mohr, Daphne Zuniga, (more)
Nick Turturro, Dennis Christopher, and Alexandra Paul star in director Rex Piano's tightly-wound thriller concerning a group of group of kidnappers who take over an abandoned hotel while forcing the daughter of a well-known software engineer to access crucial government data. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alexandra Paul, Dennis Christopher, (more)
- 2005
After she is savagely attacked by a rapist, blind lawyer Diana Scott (Jamie Luner) is determined to help the police nail the perpetrator. Using her heightened non-visual senses, she narrows the search down to one Malcolm Humphries (Tood Sandomirsky), who on the bais of Diana's testimony is thrown into prison. While thus incarcerated, Malcolm meets fellow con Anthony Davis (Thomas Mitchell), who freely boasts that it was he who attacked Diana. Ultimately, DNA testing proves that Malcolm is innocent, whereupon a mortified Diana tries her best to make amends. However, any hopes for a early happy denoument are dashed when Anthony Davis escapes, fully intending to brutalize Diana all over again! The made-for-cable Blind Justice was originally telecast March 10, 2005 on the Lifetime network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Leftist comedian Margaret Cho issues another salvo in her ongoing battle to laugh intolerant conservatives out of power in this performance documentary. Recorded during two dates during Cho's 2005 standup tour, Margaret Cho: The Assassin Tour features the acerbically funny comic discussing such subjects as the ongoing battle over gay marriage, the 2004 presidential election, the presidency of George W. Bush, the Terri Schiavo case, possible upsides of being raised in a restrictive culture, her mother's recent heart attack, and what happened when she was unexpectedly booked to entertain a Republican activist group. Margaret Cho: The Assassin Tour was the fourth concert film from the popular humorist. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margaret Cho
- 2004
16 years ago, a little girl named Catherine was kidnapped by her nanny from the home of her wealthy parents. Now, a private detective has informed Catherine's mother Ellen (Joanna Cassidy) that her daughter has been relocated. Although Ellen welcomes the woman who identifies herself as Catherine (Tania Saulnier) with open arms, Catherine's new stepfather Charles (Greg Evigan) suspects that something is amiss. As it turns out, virtually everyone in the cast has a nasty little secret that would have best remained dead and buried (those, in fact, are the operative words: Dead and Buried). Produced for cable TV's Lifetime channel, Found originally aired September 20, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This crime comedy from director Craig Singer is the filmmaker's third independent feature and his second outing with screenwriter Robert Dean Klein and star Gary Stretch, who had contributed to 2001's Dead Dogs Lie, Singer's sophomore effort. Stretch plays Ronnie, a hitman who, three years prior, vouched for his pal and fellow contract killer, August, played by Michael Rapaport (Zebrahead, Mighty Aphrodite). Unfortunately for Ronnie, over the years, August has gotten himself into some trouble and made a few enemies. Now, over the course of one day, Ronnie has to somehow clean up all of August's messes or both men will be facing the consequences of their unhappy bosses. In addition to Frank Whaley and Seymour Cassel, the supporting cast boasts a bevy of 1980s artifacts including Ralph Macchio, Robin Givens, Deborah Harry, and Ally Sheedy. A Cold Day in August screened at Robert De Niro's 2003 Tribeca Film Festival under the title A Good Night to Die. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Rapaport, Gary Stretch, (more)
John Buechler's horror film Ice Crawlers begins with a team of scientists getting information in the Arctic. Their actions awaken some nasty creatures that have been lying dormant for centuries. Now, they are hunting the scientists down one at a time. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Götz Otto, Alexandra Kamp, (more)
Gerald McRaney stars in this made-for-TV nailbiter as Jake Arledge, a dedicated meteorologist. Having invented a device to predict the patterns of tornadoes, Jake is unable to convince the higher-ups of the device's value. All this changes when Jake joins forces with his estranged TV-weatherperson daughter Dee (Thea Gill) and his former protégé Mark Scott (Steve Braun) to prevent the wholesale destruction of a town smack-dab in the middle of a tornado's path. Also in the cast is Joan Van Ark as the town's politically ambitious mayor, who insists upon throwing a huge vote-raising party despite impending disaster from the skies. Shot in Winnipeg, Manitoba over a hectic 13-day period, Tornado Warning debuted over the PAX network on September 13, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Clements, Gerald McRaney, (more)
Jeff (William Gregory Lee), fresh out of college, lands a job with an established Wall Street brokerage house run by charismatic Dyson Keller (Eric Roberts), whose employees, all male, make a lot of money by being particularly cutthroat. Jeff buys into the cult only to learn too late Wolfe Brothers' secret regarding the full moon. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
- 2001
- Add I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus to QueueAdd I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus to top of Queue
Overhearing his parents Stephanie and David Carver having a heated argument, young Justin Carver (Cole Sprouse) retreats to his bedroom. A few minutes later, Justin peeks downstairs, only to see his mother Stephanie (Connie Sellecca) locked in a warm, romantic embrace with none other than Santa Claus. Unaware that mom's hirsute "lover" is actually his own father, David (Corbin Bernsen), who has dressed up as Santa in hopes of getting back in Stephanie's good graces, Justin is convinced that his parents' marriage is on the rocks -- just like the recently shattered union of his best friend's parents. Further convinced that jolly old Saint Nick is the cause of all the marital disharmony, little Justin goes on a one-boy vendetta, physically assaulting every department-store and sidewalk Santa who crosses his path. Very loosely based on the 1949 hit song of the same name, the made-for-TV I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus first aired December 9, 2001, on the PAX network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Connie Sellecca, Corbin Bernsen, (more)
Haley Joel Osment stars in this melodramatic war drama about Japan's attempted incursion into California's water just after Pearl Harbor. Japanese sailor Matsuo (Yuji Okumoto) falls overboard off the coast of Passerville. He eventually finds refuge in an old factory where four boys, including Pee Wee (Osment) and Duke (Trevor Morgan), usually play. Meanwhile, Duke's parents (Mark Harmon and Pam Dawber) befriend Japanese-American Abe Tanaka (Noriyuki "Pat" Morita) as he his forced to move to a relocation camp. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Trevor Morgan, Pam Dawber, (more)
An artist with Tourette's syndrome and an aversion to romance falls for his best friend's girl in this sometimes comic drama. Lyle Maze (Rob Morrow), a successful painter who's also starting to explore sculpture, relies on emotional armor a foot thick to protect him from other people. In addition to suffering from uncontrollable physical tics and loud outbursts, Lyle is also prone to obsessive-compulsive disorder. Afraid that his artistic gifts and his disease spring from the same well, he eschews the well-meaning advice of his doctor pal, Mike (Craig Sheffer), and refuses to try the new drug therapies available. He also rejects any attempt to fix him up with women. But when rebel-without-a-cause Mike decides to tilt at windmills in Africa for seven months as a member of Doctors Without Borders, Lyle finds himself in a precarious position. Callie (Laura Linney), Mike's acerbic ad-exec girlfriend, has confided to him that she's pregnant but unwilling to use her condition as leverage to shore up her troubled relationship. Soon, Lyle is coaching Callie through natural childbirth classes, playing surrogate father-to-be, and falling in love. Inspired by the documentary Twitch and Shout, Maze marked the first trip behind the camera for actor Rob Morrow, who played another man with Tourette's in the film Other Voices. In addition to directing and starring in Maze, the Northern Exposure star co-wrote and co-produced. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rob Morrow, Laura Linney, (more)
Eric Roberts is at it again in this serial killer thriller from Uwe Boll, a director best known for his 1991 film German Fried Movie. In an anonymous American town (actually Vancouver) a serial nutcase is taking the proverb "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil," a little too seriously, robbing victims of their eyes, ears, and tongues. Detectives Jim Renart (Michael Pare) and Dorothy Smith (Jennifer Rubin) are under pressure from their superior (Roberts) to capture the killer, and they finally get a break when alpha-yuppie stockbroker Tom Gerrick (Casper Van Dien) offers himself for questioning. However, actually nailing Gerrick proves to be a difficult matter, especially with the feds set to take over the case in mere hours, and Gerrick's impending appearance on a TV talkshow. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Millbern, Catherine Oxenberg, (more)
