Kirk Shaw Movies

Three friends are reunited as their lives become increasingly desperate and dysfunctional in this independent drama. Bill (Dylan Baker) is a lonely middle-aged man who works as a night janitor in a large office building; he keeps himself company at work by listening to opera, and as he tries to sleep through the day he obsessively listens to a self-help tape that teaches "lucid dreaming." One of the men working Bill's building is Gary (Timothy Hutton), who has a habit of falling asleep at his desk rather than go home to deal with his loveless marriage to Karen (Sharon Stone), who is convinced she's losing her looks and turns to shoplifting for comfort. Even though Gary bullied Bill when they were in high school together, when they meet by chance at the office one night Gary is thrilled to see him, and suggests they get together with another fellow classmate, Travis (Pruitt Taylor Vince). However, as they spend time together, the three men are only reminded of their emotional isolation, and how their lives have not turned out as they dreamed. When A Man Falls In The Forest was produced in part by co-star Sharon Stone; the film received its American premiere at the 2007 South By Southwest Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

An teenage orphan and an intergalactic warrior join forces to prevent the world from being taken over by a ruthless race of aliens plotting to enslave mankind in this sci-fi action movie starring Mark Dacascos and Billy Zane. Rykker (Dacascos) is a benevolent alien who has become trapped on planet Earth. He's made it his mission to protect the human race from the evil Syndicate - an alien fifth column that is determined to claim Earth as their own. In the aftermath of a fierce highway battle between Rykker and a particularly troublesome gang of Syndicate agents, top Syndicate leader Saylon (Zane) arrives on Earth to construct the wormhole that will allow his warriors to launch a full-scale invasion. But in order to make that happen, ruthless Syndicate heavy Isis (Amelia Cook) must first gather the parts needed to assemble the portal. Upon hijacking a truck that is transporting the parts she needs, Isis makes the fatal mistake of murdering Julie (Emma Lahana)'s entire family. Now suddenly left alone in the world and determined to make Isis pay for her transgression, Julie teams with Rykker to take out the Syndicate at the highest level. But while Rykker doesn't believe that a human can help in the fight against such powerful otherworldly forces, Julie ultimately proves her worth by saving his life. Later, after a hair-raising cross country battle against Syndicate assassins, Rykker and Julie face off against Saylon and Isis in the volatile nuclear reactor where Saylon is constructing his interplanetary wormhole. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A man who is suddenly without feelings is motivated by a love he isn't quite sure is there in this offbeat independent comedy. Hudson (Matthew Perry) is a screenwriter who has enjoyed a modest success in Hollywood, but one day he suddenly and inexplicably sinks into a strange funk -- he feels strangely removed from the world around him, as if reality has slipped away and he can't physically or emotionally feel his surroundings. Hudson's writing partner Tom (Kevin Pollock) is more than a bit disturbed by the sudden change in Hudson's demeanor, and on his advice he begins seeing the first of several psychiatrists, most of whom prescribe a dizzying variety of drugs, except for Dr. Blaine (Mary Steenburgen), who is turned on by Hudson's condition and ends up having an affair with him. As Hudson seems to be running out of ways to reconnect with himself, he meets Sarah (Lynn Collins), a beautiful woman who is quite taken with him and decides to introduce him to as many positive and compelling experiences as possible. The first feature-length directorial project for screenwriter Harris Goldberg, Numb received its North American premiere at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this family comedy, a dad and his two kids undergo a cross-country move from Los Angeles to Edmonton on Christmas Eve. They visit the local mall to do some last-minute Christmas shopping, and while they're there, they stumble upon a pile of counterfeit cash, and inadvertently catch the criminals behind it. It would all seem like a decidedly magical sequence of events, but that just might be because there's something magical residing in the West Edmonton Mall. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide

Max Havoc: Ring of Fire stars Mickey Hardt as the title character, a former professional kickboxer now working as a photographer. While at a stylish resort in order to snap pictures of a sporting event, Max discovers that the owner of the resort has connections to some very bad men. Soon he must fall back on his lethal skills in order to survive. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

When a device more powerful than a nuclear bomb starts a chain reaction that threatens to destroy the entire world, the same scientists responsible for creating it must now figure out how to reign in it's power in this apocalyptic sci-fi action film starring Stephen Baldwin and William B. Davis. Dr. Daniel Gray (Baldwin) works in a top-secret military base alongside some of the greatest scientific minds on the planet. Recently, this crack team of scientists has created the ultimate weapon: something so revolutionary that it could give unlimited power to the military that wields it. But the weapon is experimental and unstable, and the destructive power unleashed when it soon fails threatens to consume entire continents. Now, with time running short and eager weapons dealers determined to unlock the secrets of this diabolical device, the same scientists who created it must shut it down before it's secrets are leaked and more lives are lost. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

When a keen-eyed scientist discovers that a large asteroid is currently on a deadly collision course with the planet Earth, she must seek the help of a military outcast to jump into action and save humanity from annihilation in a tense, end-of-the-world thriller starring Rae Dawn Chong, Antonio Sabato, Jr., and Michael Moriarty. Dr. Madison Kelsey (Chong) has made a terrifying discovery, but time isn't on her side and in order to prevent the largest disaster ever known to man she is going to have to act fast. Though ex-military scientist Richard Donovan (Sabato, Jr) may be able to help, he is still reeling after being ejected from the armed forces due to his homosexuality. There's little time for old grudges in these final days, however, and when Dr. Kelsey and Donovan agree to work together for the good of mankind, the rest of the world waits with baited breath to receive word of their ultimate fate. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Suspecting that her husband Russell (David Millbern) is cheating on her, Jessica Landers (Erika Eleniak) concludes that his indiscretions are her fault: She just isn't exciting enough to please Russell. Hoping to inject some spice in her life--and to find a shoulder to cry on--Jessica makes contact with Marcus Declan (Michael Bergin), a former classmate on whom she'd once had a major crush. What Jessica doesn't know is that Marcus has a history of stalking and terrorizing innocent women. As it turns out, whether or not Jessica will survive her reunion with Marcus rests in the hand of an intense young woman named Lisa (played by Juliet Landau, daughter of Martin Landau and Barbara Bain). First telecast on February 10, 2005, the US-Canadian coproduction Fatal Reunion was seen on the Lifetime cable network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Art professor Jill Thompson (Daphne Zuniga) receives the shock of her life when the police inform her that her husband has just been murdered. You see, up to that moment, Jill had been convinced that her hubby had died ten years earlier! Investigating this phenomenon on her own, our heroine diligently digs into her husband's past and uncovers a virtual labyrinth of lies, infidelity, embezzlement and worse! A few interesting Hitchcockian touches, plus an occasional exhibit of artwork created by the film's costar Duncan Regehr), adds a bit of zing to this overly familiar "Had she but known" yarn. Produced for cable's Lifetime channel, Secret Lives originally aired on July 18, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

16-year-old Lindsay Dearborn (Brooke Nevin) is "Too Cool for Christmas," and wants no part of the family celebration being planned by her two male homosexual parents (Adam Harrington and Barclay Hope) and her kid sister Alexa (Jodelle Ferland. Nope, Lindsay is gonna spend the holidays skiing with her best buds, and that's the way it is. Her disdain for the Yuletide season comes to surface at the mall, where she disses a department store Santa Claus (played by George Hamilton) for his tacky beard and out-of-date clothing. Surprisingly, Santa agrees with Lindsay and asks her to help him undergo a complete "fashion makeover" so that he can win back the affections of Mrs. Claus (played by Donna Mills) Out of sympathy for the old guy, Lindsay does what he asks, then is informed that he's the genuine, bonafide, not-a-phony Santa Claus--and further, that he needs her help to deliver all his presents on Christmas Eve. Agreeing on the condition that she'll be back in town in time to go skiing, Lindsay embarks upon the thrill ride of her life--and in the course of the long winter's night, she learns a few lessons about the true meaning of Christmas. An alternate version of the film, which exchanges the homosexual couple for a straight one, was named A Very Cool Christmas and appeared on the Lifetime channel in December 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this thriller, Ben Keats (Gil Bellows) is a top executive at a leading information technology firm. Ben is happy with his job and doesn't want to leave, but that isn't about to stop Vincent Palmer (Christian Slater) from trying to lure him away. Vincent is a head-hunter who recruits personnel for leading companies and earns a seven-figure salary for getting whoever his clients want, no matter what it takes. Vincent starts with the traditional offers of more money, more power, and better perks, but when Ben refuses to be swayed, Vince starts playing hardball with his tactics escalating into violence and death threats against Ben's family. Will Ben fight fire with fire or will he be forced to do Vincent's bidding? Pursued also stars Michael Clarke Duncan, Conchita Campbell, and Estella Warren. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide