Peter J. Lucas Movies
Anton Pardoe, Roselyn Sanchez, and Patrick Bauchau star in this nightmarish film noir about a tortured soul who returns to the city he vowed to leave behind in order to save the woman he knows he can never have. He was a ruthless killer whose disregard for his own life and devotion to the luminescent beauty Porphyria earned him the nickname "The Mad Monk" by his fellow assassins. But that was ten years ago, before he decided to make a break from his violent past. Now Porphyria is in danger, and the only man who can help her is the man who intended to disappear forever. There are men in this city who have been awaiting his return since the day he left, men who would relish the opportunity to watch him die slowly. At the forefront of this diabolical group is the formidable villain named Nikolai -- a man who not only raised the so-called Mad Monk, but may be his biological father as well. Now, as the man with no name returns to the city that never forgives, the guns are drawn and the mystery deepens. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anton Pardoe, Roselyn Sanchez, (more)
- 2006
- PG13
Veteran filmmaker Matt Cimber returned to the director's chair for the first time in twenty-two years with this dark tale set during World War II. Miriam Schafer (Ariana Savalas) was fourteen years old when war broke out in her native Lithuania; while Miriam came from a Jewish family, her blonde hair and soft features made it easy for the young woman to disguise her ethnic identity, and when a pogrom sweeps through the nation, she's taken in by a family who claims her as one of their own. However, Miriam soon found that part of the price of safety was sexual abuse at the hands of her new "father," and while the end of the war meant safety and freedom for most European Jews, Miriam enjoyed little respite. The Soviet Union soon took control of Lithuania, with Moscow's anti-Semitic policies once again putting the nation's Jews in jeopardy, and as she grew to adulthood Miriam was forced to hide her true identity from everyone she knew -- even her husband (imitri Diatchencko), who was an agent with the KGB. Inspired by a true story, Miriam marked the big screen debut of Ariana Savalas, the daughter of famed character actor Telly Savalas. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ariana Savalas, Dimitri Diatchencko, (more)
Cinema of the surreal icon David Lynch follows up the success of his critically acclaimed 2001 feature Mulholland Drive with this dark mystery, shot on a handheld Sony PD150 digital video recorder. It is the tale of an actress whose personality becomes increasingly fragmented as she delves ever deeper into her work for a high-profile filmmaker. Kingsley (Jeremy Irons) is a director looking to adapt for the screen a Polish gypsy folktale that was previously stalled when the two leads were viciously murdered. Having offered the female lead to devoted actress Nikki (Laura Dern), Kingsley warns her male co-star, Devon (Justin Theroux), to maintain his professional distance, as Nikki's husband (Peter J. Lucas) is known to be notoriously possessive. As the passionate co-stars quickly cross the line and become lovers, Nikki's slowly slipping sense of reality causes her to eventually become lost in her character while the mysterious story of a Polish couple unfurls, and a trio of giant stage-bound rabbits (voices of Naomi Watts, Scott Coffey, and Laura Harring) lounge around on the sofa and tend to their domestic duties. Shot over the course of two and a half years and without a formalized script, Lynch's hallucinogenic look at a doomed film project features all of the abstract imagery and strange symbolism that have long made the director a favorite of film fans who embrace his disorienting approach to unconventional storytelling. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laura Dern, Jeremy Irons, (more)
Blockbuster action director Michael Bay delivers a striking look at a strange world of the future in this sci-fi action drama. Midway through the 21st century, Lincoln Six Echo (Ewan McGregor) lives in a confined indoor community after ongoing abuse of the Earth has rendered most of the planet uninhabitable. One of the only places in the outside world still capable of sustaining life is an idyllic island where citizens are chosen to live through a lottery. Or at least that's what Lincoln and his fellow citizens are taught to believe; the truth is that Lincoln, like everyone he knows, is actually a clone who is kept under wraps to provide needed organs when the person who supplied his or her DNA falls ill. When he becomes aware that his existence is a fraud, Lincoln escapes to the outside world with a fellow clone, Jordan Two Delta (Scarlett Johansson), though the powers that be are determined to see that no one gets away alive. The Island also stars Steve Buscemi, Djimon Hounsou, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Sean Bean. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson, (more)
A thief and a lawman join forces to hunt down a common enemy in this action thriller. Tony Fait (DMX) is a master thief who, along with his crew (Gabrielle Union, Anthony Anderson, and Drag-On), pulls off a major score when they steal a cache of highly valuable black diamonds. However, the hard-as-nails Tony has a soft spot for his young daughter Vanessa (Paige Hurd), and Ling (Mark Dacascos), a former detective turned ruthless criminal, kidnaps Vanessa, demanding a ransom from Tony for her return -- the stash of black diamonds. The jewels have already been stolen, however, from Tony's fence Archie (Tom Arnold), and are now in the hands of a powerful underworld boss (Chi McBride). Determined to get back his daughter whatever the cost, Tony and his gang set out to find both Ling and the diamonds, but he soon gets some invaluable help from an unlikely corner -- Su (Jet Li), a government agent from Taiwan who was once Ling's partner, and has an old score to settle with him. Cradle 2 the Grave also features Kelly Hu and Roxana Brusso. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Supermodel-turned-actress Angie Everhart stars in this erotic thriller from director Dale Trevillion. Everhart is Mary Sanders, a lonely woman who finds herself suddenly caught up in a web of sexual intrigue upon meeting a mysterious man played by James Wilder. But as the body count rises in a local serial killer case, Mary can't help but wonder who it is exactly that she's gotten herself involved with. Gregor Toerzs and Tracy Ovist also star. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- 1998
This TV science fiction action drama is based on the familiar fantasy notion: what if it were possible to go back and do it all over again, minus mistakes? Ex-CIA agent Frank Parker (Jonathan LaPaglia) is yanked from a mental institution and assigned to a top-secret project engineered from a Roswell-based alien technology. The government has developed a device that can send a single human being into the past -- but only as far back as seven days. Parker has been selected to do this each week because of his contempt for authority, his ability to withstand pain, and his photographic memory. When the action cools down, Parker flirts with gorgeous Russian scientist Olga Vukavitch (Justina Vail). Filmed in L.A., the series premiered with a two-hour pilot on October 7, 1998 on United Paramount Network. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jonathan LaPaglia, Don Franklin, (more)
- 1997
Peter Lucas and Lisa Welti star in this drama about a female police officer who becomes romantically involved with her partner. When he's killed in the line of duty, she leaves the force and stops dating. Before long, she finds herself having a recurring sexual dream about a strange but handsome man. One day, she meets a man who looks just like the figure in her dreams, but she soon learns that the lover of her dreams may actually be a murderer who plans on making her his next victim. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lisa Welti, Peter J. Lucas, (more)
- 1994
We're in Miami Beach this week, where Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is among the guests at a book fair. Also present is Russian detective Sergei Nemiroff (David Ogden Stiers), hot on the trail of the thief who stole a precious Faberge egg from the Hermitage Museum in Moscow. Before long, a murder occurs, and Jessica and Sergei combine their skills to crack the case (but not, hopefully, the egg!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
