Tim Thomerson Movies

In this slasher/murder mystery, a serial killer known as the "downtown slasher" is murdering derelicts and other denizens of the city's Skid Row. A freelance video journalist teams up with an ex-cop to try to catch the killer. ~ Brian Gusse, Rovi

This third entry in the sci-fi Trancers series involves a futuristic L.A. cop/detective who time-travels to battle more Trancers from a 23rd-century totalitarian government that maintains control by injecting victims with trance-inducing drugs, causing them to become virtual puppets. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

Full Moon Entertainment -- Charles Band's direct-to-video outfit -- tosses together elements from three of its film franchises for this loopy mix & match item. Tracy Scoggins returns as tough cop Judith Grey, who must confront the lethal, wise-cracking terror toys again when they reappear at the same defunct warehouse. When the toys' lecherous leader Baby Oopsy-Daisy kidnaps the diminutive nurse Ginger (reduced to 11 inches by the crazed alien villain of Bad Channels), Judith seeks the aid of Ginger's similarly-statured boyfriend, Dollman Brick Bardo (Tim Thomerson, a Charles Band fave), to rescue her and fight the mini-monsters on their own turf. Fun on its own merits, especially if viewed as a crossover comic book; indeed, Full Moon Comics has published a "Dollman" series as well. Band also deserves some credit for the sheer audacity of pulling this thing off -- given the ludicrous story elements -- and for keeping the weirdness zipping along at a brisk pace and breezy one-hour running time. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

Trancers 4: Jack of Swords follows the time-traveling policeman Jack Deth into another dimension, where aliens called the Trancers are keeping the natives as food. Deth's mission is to save the population from the Trancers. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

Eddie Presley (Duane Whitaker) is a security guard who, like his lifetime hero, is slightly overweight these days. Formerly, he occasionally worked as an Elvis impersonator. Recently he has had rather a rough time, but his spirits have improved on learning that he will have a chance to revive his impersonation routines for a single evening at a none-too spiffy nightclub. When the club's music equipment chews up his tapes, Eddie doesn't simply leave the stage. Instead, he delivers a monologue about his life and times, how he came to be so devoted to Elvis, and his recent nervous breakdown. This movie was adapted from a play and performance piece by Duane Whitaker. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this erotic thriller a Hollywood porno director does far worse than seduce aspiring starlets upon his casting couch. His favorite trick is to tape them to chairs, focus a live camera on them and a monitor in front so they can watch while he strangles them to death. The strange series of deaths puts Detective Lewis and his partner Barry on the case. Meanwhile, the psycho director's beautiful neighbor, Nola Carlisle gets rid of her boy friend and begins eyeing the rather shy killer. She approaches him about putting together a promo video for her art and he agrees to it. They eventually end up making love and afterward, he confesses all. He does try to clean up his act, but by then it is too late. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this political thriller set in Bangkok, a young woman finds herself drawn into a scheme designed to assassinate Henry Kissinger, the former Secretary of State. The film offers wonderful views of the Thai city. The film opens with the death of American Rachel McCarthy, who is murdered in her limo as she travels to the airport to meet her daughter Jessie whom she has not seen in over a decade. Jessie, a bit of an innocent, goes to her mother's estate and discovers that her mother had been part of an international plot. Vietnamese refugees were involved. The point of the conspiracy is to sabotage a treaty between the U.S. and Vietnam. Along the way she encounters many fascinating characters. The most important are U.S state Dept official, Fran Jakes, agent Michael Murphy with the CIA, and Major Somchai, Thai detective. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Alex is still man's last hope for survival against the cyborgs, as more come hunting for her head. Lots of guns, explosions and a pair of children left over from Village of the Damned. ~ Sean D. MacLaggan, Rovi

Acting upon a premonition, Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) returns to her home village of Potidea. Here she is shunned by her former neighbors, who feel that Gabrielle has let them down in battle. Even worse, Potidea is being "protected" by a burned-out, drunken warrior, Meleagor the Mighty (Tim Thomerson). With the minions of an evil warlord threatening to destroy the village, Gabrielle must take over the defense of her people -- without the help of Xena (Lucy Lawless), and very likely without the dubious assistance of the pathetic Meleagor. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Tim Thomerson returns as over-the-hill warrior Meleagor the Mighty, who is about to be executed for murder. Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) is convinced that Meleagor is innocent, but Xena (Lucy Lawless) observes that the warrior has been given a scrupulously fair trial by Judge Arbus (Tony Blackett). When Gabrielle helps Meleagor escape, Xena strikes a bargain with Arbus: If she can return Meleagor within 24 hours, Gabrielle will not be punished. Unfortunately, Gabrielle will stop at nothing to prevent the warrior's recapture -- even if it means squaring off against her best friend. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this sci-fi adventure a time traveller finds himself in a position to save the Earth after he discovers that a sequence of events is about to destroy it. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Terry Gilliam (Brazil, Twelve Monkeys, The Fisher King) directed this colorful, stylized, pseudo-psychedelic $21-million adaptation of the 1971 Hunter S. Thompson classic, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey into the Heart of the American Dream, about stoned sportswriter Raoul Duke, Thompson's alter ego, on a wild drug-crazed road trip, a paranoid plummet into the belly of the beast, with his pal, lawyer Oscar Zeta Acosta. Originally serialized in Rolling Stone (November 1971), the book catapulted Thompson headfirst toward the Kerouac-Mailer-Capote pantheon and jump-started the entire movement of "gonzo journalism." Carrying a suitcase of drugs, Raoul Duke (Johnny Depp with shaved pate) and his attorney Dr. Gonzo (Benicio Del Toro) drive a red convertible across the Mojave from L.A. to Vegas, where Duke has an assignment to cover the Mint 400 desert motorcycle race. As the drugs kick in, Duke ventures into voiceover, filling in the blank spots and narrative gaps. "This is not a good town for psychedelic drugs," says Duke, but even so, they consume vast quantities, eventually escalating to ether. Duke notes that with ether "you can actually watch yourself behaving this terrible way, but you can't control it." The two trash their hotel room, and Gonzo goes back to L.A. Thinking the hotel room holocaust will lead to an arrest, Duke begins a drive back to L.A., but after an odd encounter with a highway patrolman (Gary Busey) and a telephone conversation with Gonzo, he returns to Vegas to cover the District Attorney Convention on Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs in the glitzy Flamingo Hotel. This time the drugged-out duo trash their Flamingo room. The crazed carnival atmosphere segues into a carney casino, Bazooko's Circus, where a barker (Penn Jillette) spiels amid aerialists, clowns, and a rotating carousel bar. Gonzo worries over runaway teen Lucy (Christina Ricci), who paints portraits of Barbra Streisand. Soon the hallucinations begin: Duke sees Gonzo transmogrify into a demon with breasts on its back, and an acid vision of a Vegas bar features large legit lounge lizards (courtesy of monster makeup man Rob Bottin). Flashbacks depicting Duke's intro to the drug scene jump back to love-Haight relationships in San Francisco's Summer of Love. Cameos and guest stars include Mark Harmon, Cameron Diaz, Flea, Lyle Lovett, Harry Dean Stanton, Ellen Barkin, Tobey Maguire, and Hunter S. Thompson himself. The film features a Geffen Records soundtrack mixing rock of the period with Vegas lounge tunes. Over the years, various script adaptations came and went as did numerous talents; people connected with past efforts to film Thompson's book include Martin Scorsese, Jack Nicholson, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, and writer-director Alex Cox. Shown in competition at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi