John Lizzi Movies

The second outing in the Boys Life series collects another set of gay-themed shorts. Must Be the Music follows a group of Los Angeles teens, three gay and one straight, through a night of romantic misadventures at a hip dance club. In Nunzio's Second Cousin, police Sgt. Tony Randozzy (Vincent D'Onofrio) turns the tables on a group of homophobes (one of them played by Seth Green) and forces one of them, Jimmy (Miles Perlich), to have dinner with him and his mother (Eileen Brennan). Alkali, Iowa uses the backdrop of a Midwestern agricultural community to tell the story of Jack (J.D. Cerna), a gay teen who discovers tantalizing glimpses of his dead father's life buried on the family farm; Mary Beth Hurt plays the boy's distant, defeated mother. The Academy award-winning Trevor relates the tale of a chunky, effete youngster (Brett Barsky) whose love of Diana Ross is matched only by his obsession with Pinky (Jonah Rooney), a handsome classmate. For Boys Life 2's video and DVD release, The DadShuttle replaced Trevor, which had received a video release of its own. An almost plotless tale that takes place during a single car ride to the airport, The DadShuttle focuses on the emotional distance and between a city-dwelling gay man and his suburban father. Alkali, Iowa director Mark Christopher would go on to direct the Hollywood feature 54, while Nickolas Perry, director of Must Be the Music, would go on to helm the Gus Van Sant-produced Speedway Junky. Before directing Trevor, Peggy Rajski was known primarily as a producer; her credits include the Jodie Foster directorial efforts Little Man Tate and Home for the Holidays. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

This unintentionally campy suspense thriller takes a large part of its plot from Hitchcock's Vertigo. Matteo Juarez, a former policeman in Palm Springs, has been emotionally devastated by his accidental death of a female hostage he was trying to save. Donald Gale, a wealthy capitalist and environmentalist, is determined to save California's unique Salton Sea. He hires Juarez to protect his mysterious wife. Jennifer is not all she seems. Juarez, who tails her, is surprised to find her working secretly as a blond wigged stripper. After saving her two times, Juarez falls in love with her. After she is brutally murdered, Juarez again sinks into depression, alcoholism, and self-blame. Things turn around when he encounters a waitress who appears identical to Jennifer. She says she is a recent Irish immigrant, but Juarez doesn't believe her and sets off to solve the mystery once and for all. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Troma, that little independent tiffany company that produced such delicate bon-bons as The Toxic Avenger and Surf Nazis Must Die, set up their own specialty branch, 50th Street Films, to release films requiring a more delicate touch. So what better outfit to handle a quiet little direct-to-video release about presidential assassination like The November Men? Director Paul Williams stars as Arthur Gwenlyn, who organizes a gang of revolutionaries, terrorists, war veterans, and cut-throats to journey to Washington to kill then-President George Bush. Williams, going the Oliver Stone route, utilizes a bevy of actual footage of George Bush and other political leaders, charmingly framed in gun sights. But as Gwenlyn's men move closer to Washington and their target, Gwenlyn's own motives for bringing the group to the nation's capital become more mysterious and obscure. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi