Gregg Smrz Movies

Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan star in Disturbia director D.J. Caruso's race-against-time thriller concerning two strangers thrust together by a mysterious telephone call, and their frantic efforts to discover why they have inexplicably become the nation's most wanted fugitives. Jerry Shaw (LaBeouf) and Rachel Holloman (Monaghan) were complete strangers at the beginning of the day, but that changed the instant a strange woman called to threaten both their lives and the lives of their loved ones. Suddenly forced into a series of increasingly dangerous situations, Jerry and Rachel must now take orders from a woman who's using everyday technology to track and control their every move. As the situation intensifies and the hapless duo are deemed the country's most wanted fugitives, they must work together in order to discover who it was that turned their lives upside down, and what they can do to thwart the criminal mastermind's cunning yet diabolical plan. Billy Bob Thornton, Rosario Dawson, Michael Chiklis, and Anthony Mackie co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

An uneven but entertaining blend of graphic horror and black comedy from John Landis, very much in the mode of the director's successful An American Werewolf in London. French actress Anne Parillaud -- star of Luc Besson's acclaimed thriller La Femme Nikita -- plays Marie, a lithe and lovely vampire with a conscience who will not take "innocent blood" and maintains a low profile by dining exclusively on criminals and lowlifes. She finds a virtual smorgasbord in Pittsburgh's criminal underworld, arriving in the thick of a bloody mob war sparked by ruthless kingpin Sal Macelli (Robert Loggia). After preying on one of Macelli's hoods (Chazz Palminteri), Marie fumbles her attack on the boss himself and he manages to escape, eventually transforming into a vampire himself. Macelli soon comes to appreciate his new superhuman condition and hatches a diabolical scheme to control the syndicates by turning his underlings into vampires -- including his beleaguered lawyer, Emmanuel Bergman (Don Rickles). Marie, faced with a new and powerful undead enemy, is forced to take matters into her own claws. To this end she enlists the reluctant aid (and eventual affection) of undercover cop Joe Gennaro (Anthony LaPaglia), whose cover has just been leaked to the press, making him a target for Macelli and his growing army of blood drinkers. Landis has crafted a dark and brooding film, pumped up with bouts of extreme gore and gangland violence -- but where American Werewolf's occasional comic touches helped to ground the story and give the "straight" horror scenes more punch, most attempts at humor here seem jarring and out of place. The film's highlights come from numerous horror in-jokes, including cameos from Sam Raimi, Clive Barker, Dario Argento and Linnea Quigley; Rickles' explosive death scene ranks among the weirdest in cinema history. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

The ruthless leader of a New York City drug syndicate battles to maintain his power and avoid imprisonment in this fast-moving action drama. While the film's heroes are Scotty (Ice-T) and Nick (Judd Nelson), a pair of tough, streetwise cops, the main focus is their target, drug lord Nino Brown (Wesley Snipes). A criminal businessman with no room for pity or emotion, the flashy but severe Brown has built an empire and transformed an abandoned Harlem apartment building into a well-defended fortress. He begins to consider himself invincible, but his lust for power and the unpredictable actions of a former client turned police informer threaten to bring about his potential downfall. First-time director Mario Van Peebles keeps the traditional plot moving at an appropriately rapid pace, with stylish action sequences and energetic performances. The film's violence was somewhat controversial on its initial release, especially after shooting incidents marred showings in several theaters. However, the film's moral message is clearly anti-drug and anti-crime, its main intent to provide a high-powered, modern take on the gangster movie. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Former Saturday Night Live cast member Rob Schneider stars in this comedy as Marvin Mage, a wimpy nebbish whose lifelong dreams of becoming a police officer are thwarted by his diminutive stature. But when Marvin is critically injured in an auto wreck, deranged scientist Dr. Wilder (Michael Caton) uses various animal body parts to save his life, leaving the patient with the stamina and physical skills of the organ donors. Marvin quickly gains fame as a supercop, but he's also left with all of the embarrassing animal instincts and urges that accompany his new powers -- a serious threat to his blooming romance with new girlfriend Rianna (Colleen Haskell). The Animal co-stars John C. McGinley, Edward Asner, Norm Macdonald, and Cloris Leachman. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Two guys from Queens wind up in trouble with the mob because of their fondness for prank phone calls in this quickie comedy. Stars Johnny Brennan and Kamal Ahmed first found fame as "The Jerky Boys" thanks to a series of comedy albums featuring real prank calls in which the duo assumed a variety of abrasive and often extremely foul-mouthed characters. Playing characters based on themselves, they reprise many of these same routines in this debut film, linking the comic bits together through a loose plot concerning local organized crime. It seems the boys have used their phone skills to trick a local mobster (Alan Arkin) into thinking that they are notorious Chicago hoods, only to have to go on the run when their scheme is discovered. Made to capitalize on a Jerky Boys fad, the film failed to attract much of an audience beyond their existing fans. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide