Clayton Halsey

Six months after one of the worst natural disaster in U.S. history, crime and corruption sink to new levels of depravity as a pair of New Orleans cops work to clean up the streets. New Orleans has been ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, opening the floodgates for a sea of criminals seeking to assert their control over the city's seedy underworld. But when the stakes are this high, there's sure to be corruption within the ranks of the local police force, too. When a veteran detective with a violent history (Val Kilmer) is assigned a new partner with a dark secret (Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson), the perceptive police psychiatrist (Sharon Stone) suspects that the officers may have become morally compromised by the chaos that threatens to consume the city that's already synonymous with vice and decadence. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The drama Shackles stars D.L. Hughley as a teacher who, desperate for employment, takes the one job he is offered. The job involves teaching inside a prison, a place that is not hospitable to him or to the idea of bettering oneself through education. The teacher stands up to a variety of forces that are against him. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Four young women are on the verge of becoming the new darlings of indie rock, if they don't kill each other first, in this independent comedy drama. Fauna (Zoe Poledouris) has been a minor fixture on the Portland, OR, indie rock scene for a while as lead singer with neo-goth rockers the Snogs, but after a quarrel with her boyfriend Paulo (Mikael Jehanno), Fauna is given her walking papers, and soon the brazenly careerist Fauna looking for a new vehicle to launch her latest bid for rock stardom. Opportunity presents itself in the form of the Paper Dolls, an all-female three-piece -- guitarist Kali (Nicole Barrett), bassist Lavender (Melody Moore), and drummer Reggie (Kinnie Starr) -- in need of a lead singer. Fauna can give the fledgling Dolls some much needed cred, and when she learns that Kali's boyfriend is Levi (Coyote Shivers), the frontman for rising pop-punkers the Suicide Bombers, Fauna sees a relationship that can be profitably exploited. Eager to get their act together, the four Paper Dolls rent a house together, imagining that living together will help them tighten up fast. The plan works, and soon the Paper Dolls are the fastest rising band in the Northwest. Things look even rosier when the Suicide Bombers sign a deal with Pop-Up Records, an indie label poised to sign a distribution deal with a major label, and Levi suggests to Pop-Up that the Paper Dolls would make good label mates. The Dolls score the much-coveted record deal, but all is not well at the Doll House -- Fauna and Kali soon find themselves battling over Kali's affections and the group's musical direction, Reggie treats her boyfriend Mulder (Brendan O'Hara) like dirt while cheating on him with a handful of female fans, and Lavender isn't sure if the band is more important than her relationship with her longtime beau Clark (Shawn Robinson). Down & Out With the Dolls was written and directed by Kurt Voss, who previously explored the West Coast rock scene in two collaborative features with Alison Anders, Border Radio and Sugar Town, while Zoe Poledouris, Melody Moore, Kinnie Starr, and Coyote Shivers have all performed and recorded with a variety of rock bands. Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead also appears in a supporting role. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Jon Favreau, George C. Scott, and Judd Hirsch star in this biography (produced for the Showtime premium cable network) about the life and career of Rocky Marciano, who rose from a childhood of poverty through the often corrupt ranks of professional boxing to become the only undefeated heavyweight champion of the world. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Jonathan Blank (Sex, Drugs, & Democracy) directed this satirical slap at the media, centered around a reverend (Alan Thicke) who objects to public-access station Channel 69, where his daughter (Jessica Hecht) and other young radicals program such shows as Conspiracy of the Week. The reverend's solution is to buy the station and kick everyone out. They retaliate with protests and a fake bomb threat, barricading themselves in the studio to stage telecasts minus clothing. This film features one of the last film appearances of the late Timothy Leary. Shown at the 1998 Cinequest San Jose Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Three HIV positive robbers play PC Robin Hoods when they begin stealing a high-priced drug and sharing it with their afflicted, impoverished peers and AIDS centers. The drug, manufactured by Apothecary Industries, is said to stave off the development of AIDS in HIV patients and could be effective for up to ten years. This comedy chronicles their adventures. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide