Alison Semenza Movies

A dying mogul wages one last, desperate bid to extend his life, in the process pitting a beautiful herpetologist against the very slithering horror that she helped to create. Murdoch (John Rhys-Davies) is convinced that he can cheat death by drawing on the regenerative power of the elusive blood orchid. But when Murdoch's doctor tests the experimental serum on a baby snake, the tiny serpent grows into an unstoppable monster overnight, devouring the doctor whole before breaking free from the lab and embarking on a gruesome rampage. Now, it's up to fearless herpetologist Amanda (Crystal Allen) and her team of scientists to collect the coveted orchids while avoiding both Murdoch's gang of heavily armed thugs, and the giant abomination that will prey on anything or anyone who crosses its path. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

From Dusk Till Dawn 3 director P.J. Pesce takes the helm once again for this straight to video sequel concerning Nicole (Autumn Reeser), a young girl who falls in with a pack of vampire surfers after moving to the town of Trinidad, California with her brother Chris (Tad Hilgenbrink). Seduced by the charismatic leader of the fanged wave riders, the young innocent gradually discovers that there are forces in nature that could destroy everything she has ever cared for. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The direct to video sequel Walking Tall: Lone Justice stars Kevin Sorbo as the newly retired small-town sheriff who retires to Dallas in order to help raise his girlfriend's daughter. An evil drug dealer shatters his peaceful existence, forcing him to go back to work. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

An undercover CIA agent attempting to thwart the sale of a nuclear weapon is forced to do battle with a dangerous horde of murderous arms dealers in this explosive action entry directed by Hong Kong veteran Po-Chih Leong and starring American action icon Wesley Snipes. Sonni Griffith (Snipes) is en route to Poland to expose a notorious arms dealer when the dealer is tipped off to the agent's identity and Griffith subsequently ends up in a prison cell. Soon released by the CIA with a mission to escort beautiful Russian Nadia (Silvia Colloca) back to the United States, Griffith quickly learns that the very same arms dealer he sought to wipe out is willing to kill for a valuable secret known only to his strong-willed charge. It seems that Nadia is the only one who knows the location of the hidden 30 million dollars that would allow Griffith's nemesis to purchase a nuclear bomb. Now with nothing to lose and everything to fight for, Griffith and Nadia must take on the world's most deadly arms dealer in order to save millions of lives. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A thief finds one of his best friends is in jeopardy when a disastrous robbery turns out to yield the score of a lifetime in this action thriller. Jack Tolliver (Wesley Snipes) is a former Delta Force commando who has jumped to the wrong side of the law to take part in a massive heist intended to carry off the winnings of several major London casinos. However, the robbery goes haywire and one of Tolliver's partners is taken hostage by handful of brutal Russian gangsters. It seems the gangsters want something that Tolliver mistakenly grabbed during the foiled heist -- a case containing a rare painting by Van Gogh worth millions -- and Tolliver is forced to team up with rival Kelly Anders (Tamzin Outhwaite) to save both his friend and himself. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In 1975, as the war in Vietnam finally draws to a close, a number of Vietnamese refugees seeking new homes in the United States find themselves housed at the Camp Pendleton Marine base in California, where Sgt. Jim Lance (Patrick Swayze) is put in charge of their care. Lance is a compassionate man who tries to afford the refugees as much dignity and respect as is possible; frustrated by his inability to speak with them directly, Lance strikes up a friendship with Tai (Don Duong), who worked with the U.S. Army as a translator during the war and now wants to settle in America. Tai helps Lance speak with the refugees, and coaches him in conversational Vietnamese. Tai and Lance soon come to realize how much they have in common, and how they are both still coming to terms with the emotional scars inflicted upon them by the war. Tai is looking after his nephew Minh (Trung Nguyen) and niece Anh (Jennifer Tran), who are waiting for their mother to arrive, but Tai is tortured with guilt, convinced he should have given her his seat on the flight to California. Lance, on the other hand, was stationed in America while his brother fought and died in Vietnam, and Lance believes he should have taken his brother's place. Meanwhile, Minh spends his days looking after Anh and wandering the camp; he strikes up a friendship with Addie (Forest Whitaker), a cook at the camp with a passion for art. Together, Addie and Minh try to brighten the refugees' area by creating a large and colorful mural that symbolizes the multicultural America they dream of. Green Dragon was written and directed by Timothy Linh Bui, whose brother Tony Bui helmed the acclaimed drama Three Seasons, which examined life in contemporary Vietnam. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Zigzag is the directorial debut of screenwriter David S. Goyer (Blade, Blade 2). Based on the well-received debut novel by Landon J. Napoleon, the film tells the story of an autistic teenager, Louis "Zigzag" Fletcher (Sam Jones III). Zigzag is a sensitive and thoughtful boy who retreats into his own mind to escape the harshness of his inner-city life, particularly the abuse of his father (Wesley Snipes). His only friend is Singer (John Leguizamo), his compassionate Big Brother, who gives Louis his nickname, and tells the boy he's imbued with special powers. He's trying to get Zigzag removed from his father's home, and also to teach him to survive. Singer has testicular cancer, and is concerned that he won't always be around when the boy needs him. Zigzag works as a dishwasher in a restaurant owned by the Toad (Oliver Platt), an amusingly caustic Southerner. After Zigzag's father demands 200 dollars for rent, the boy sees Toad opening his office safe, and commits the combination to memory. Later, he takes 9,000 dollars from the safe. When he attempts to give his father the rent, his father takes all the money. When Singer finds out what Zigzag has done, he goes to desperate lengths to get the money back, so he can return it to Toad before Zigzag gets into trouble. As Singer's plan goes awry, this brings the pair into contact with a sleazy loan shark (Luke Goss, who was also in Blade 2) and a kindhearted prostitute (Natasha Lyonne). The film's soundtrack was composed by Grant Lee Phillips. Zigzag was shown at the 2002 SXSW Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

U.S. commandos storm a Middle East terrorist compound in order to kidnap the leader of the violent sect. But the clandestine operation backfires -- perhaps because of a double-cross by one of the American operatives -- and CIA agent Vince Shannon (Glenn Plummer) is captured and abandoned by his team. The terrorists brainwash Shannon and return him to Florida where he begins slaying his former team members one by one, until he finally reaches Lt. Scott (Matt McCoy), his former best friend. But it turns out that Shannon is a decoy for a massive invasion of the U.S. by heavily armed Middle East troops that come ashore under the dark of night. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide

A group of renegades who hold the fate of the world in their hands meet their match in an army of one in this action thriller. Matt Hendricks (Dolph Lundgren) is a Special Forces officer with the United States Marines whose significant other, Dr. Lynda Christian (Meilani Paul), is a scientist specializing in virus research. Lynda, on a high security assignment with the government, is travelling from Russia to the United States via a U.S. Navy submarine; she and Matt have had a serious argument, and in hopes of patching things up, Matt arranges to come back to America on the same sub. However, their romantic problems soon take a back seat to more pressing concerns. Lynda is helping to escort a cache of Agent Red back to the States; Agent Red is a powerful biological weapon, with no known antidote, that could kill the population of a major city in a matter of hours. Word of the deadly cargo has leaked out to a group of fanatical Russian terrorists, who have ambushed the sub and stolen the powerful virus. The terrorists have threatened to release Agent Red in New York and Moscow via the sub's missile system if their demands aren't met, and Matt becomes the world's last defense against destruction as he takes on the invaders. Agent Red was also released under the title Captured. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Marine fighter pilot Sykes (Cyril O'Reilly) and his three fellow pilots are on trial in a military court, accused of massacring innocent civilians in a fiery raid against South American drug smugglers. Sykes makes a plea bargain that keeps his men from prison, but in court, the politically motivated General Prescott (Alex Cord) reneges on the deal and sends them all to prison -- Sykes for life. The pilots escape the clutches of the feds, only to wind up as passengers on a commercial 747 flight that includes Prescott. Sykes and his men commandeer the plane, asking for $100 million in ransom. But they weren't counting on feisty flight attendant Kelly (Kim Oja) putting up quite the fight she does with a coffee pot, or the delivery by Stealth aircraft of Matt Marshall (Ice-T) and his elite counter-terrorist unit. Viewers should fasten their safety belts and place all weapons in the safety mode for landing.
~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide