Jorge Garcia
When the spirit of Christmas compels a small-town New Englander to decorate his home with enough lights to make it visible from space, much more is set to be decked than just the halls in this holiday comedy featuring Danny DeVito and Matthew Broderick as two warring neighbors determined to outdo each other in creating the best lighting display on the planet. Christmas is without question the most wonderful time of the year for Cloverdale, MA optometrist Steve Finch (Broderick). Unfortunately, the same can't be said for Steve's wife, Kelly (Kristin Davis), and the pair's two children, Madison (Alia Shawkat) and Carter (Dylan Blue). Despite Steve's annual holiday zeal, the rest of the Carters have grown to resent the seemingly endless family rituals leading up the Winterfest carnival over which their terminally cheerful patriarch presides. Though it seems that nothing in the world could dampen the spirits of the local "King of Christmas," Steve soon finds his royal status challenged when used-car salesman Buddy Hall (Danny DeVito) moves in next door and covers his house with enough festive lights to make it visible from the deepest crater of the moon. His Yuletide thunder effectively stolen, Steve resorts to desperate measures in regaining his crown when Buddy's lavish decorations make him a local celebrity, his wife strikes up a warm friendship with the neighbor's outspoken better half, Tia (Kristin Chenoweth), and even the kids seem to warm to the car salesman's air-headed twin daughters, Ashley and Emily (Sabrina and Kelly Aldridge). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny DeVito, Matthew Broderick, (more)
Lost's Jorje Garcia stars alongside Nathan Stevens and Cameron Richardson in this comedy about a rebellious high school sophomore whose life crumbles into chaos after his best friend is accused of murder. The year is 1976, and high school sophomore Jay Skibness is perfectly content to hang out with good friends, listen to good music, and smoke good reefer. But when Jay's best friend is linked to the murder of a kid from a rival clique, the laid back teen finds his conscience in direct conflict with his sense of character. His best friend consumed by guilt, Jay gradually begins forms a bond with free spirited beauty Wendy. Wendy sees Jay as dangerous, and as the two grow closer Jay quickly realizes that both his loyalties and lifestyle are rapidly shifting. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nathan Stevens, Cameron Richardson, (more)
The Darwinian plight of a small Arizona town's youthful but aimless population leads to a series of strange confrontations in Lansdown director Tom Zuber's slacker-themed slice of life. While trim-and-tidy outward appearances give Little Athens the illusion of calm tranquility, a look at the life of the post-high school populace struggling to make ends meet betrays first impressions. Over the course of 24 hours, a revealing look at the population of Little Athens reveals a paranoid EMS worker named Heather (Erica Leerhsen), whose suspicions that her boyfriend is cheating drive her to drastic measures; a debt-ridden pizza delivery buy named Jimmy (John Patrick Amedori), who has turned to dealing drugs as a means of restoring his financial stability; an STD-infested teen whose boyfriend is itching for revenge; and a pair of pool-cleaning roommates (DJ Qualls and Jorge Garcia) whose fledgling business doesn't turn enough coin to cover the rent. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shawn Hatosy
- 2004
It's a beautiful Sunday, and Larry (Larry David) and Jeff (Jeff Garlin), can't play golf, because they haven't heard back from the "restricted" golf club about their membership applications. They want to go to the next night's Dodger game, which is sold out. Larry remembers that Marty Funkhouser (Bob Einstein) has season tickets, and probably won't feel like going since his father died recently. "It doesn't hurt to ask," says Larry, but when they do, Marty tells them he's going to the game, and the second ticket is "spoken for." Later, Cheryl (Cheryl Hines) surprises him with tickets to the game. Larry tells Cheryl he plans to get out of jury duty. "I would serve if they made me foreman," he explains, "but I can't serve under another foreman. That's not gonna work." He ends up getting out of it by making a racist comment during jury selection. He also decides to buy some marijuana for his father (Shelley Berman), who suffers from glaucoma. When a street dealer (Jorge Garcia of Lost) offers him some expensive hydroponic weed, a very nervous Larry explains, "I'm not looking for a sound system," and ends up overpaying for some "schwag." The next day, Jeff cancels on him, and Larry decides to hire Monena (Kym Whitley), a prostitute, to ride in his car with him so he can use the car pool lane, beat traffic, and get to the game on time. She insists on going to the game with him, leading to a couple of awkward encounters. Ken Howard and James Sikking guest star. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
A passenger jet breaks apart in mid-air, crash-landing on a tropical island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Left without the creature comforts and basic necessities of civilization, the 48 survivors are forced to rely upon one another to stay alive -- and given the personality quirks of these survivors, this won't be easy during the first season of the ABC hit series Lost. Generally with the help of flashbacks, viewers learn a number of deep dark secrets about the castaways on a need-to-know basis, especially the demons plaguing Dr. Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox) and one-hit-wonder rock star Charlie Pace (Dominic Monaghan). Every so often, a crisis arises for the principal purpose of revealing a hitherto unknown and unsuspected aspect of one of the characters. Inevitably, hostilities both minor and serious arise from the basic fundamental differences among the survivors: Korean couple Jin and Sun Kwon (Daniel Dae Kim, Yunjin Kim) are unable to uphold their family traditions under the circumstances, while their inability to speak English creates an additional barrier between themselves and the others; and the MacGyver-like resourcefulness of former Iraqi Republican Guard Sayid (Naveen Andrews) is not enough to overcome the racism of some of his fellow passengers. Then there is the unfriendly aura of the island itself, with its inscrutable topography, and the bizarre menagerie of wild animals, ranging from a polar bear to a (possible) dinosaur! Also, the discovery in one episode of two long-dead bodies certainly does nothing to uplift the rescue hopes of the hapless survivors. And finally, there seems to be someone else on the island...someone not on the passenger list...someone who kidnaps two of the castaways and threatens to kill off the rest one by one. The one overriding question near the end of season one is: who among the "major" characters will not make it to season two? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew Fox, Emilie de Ravin, (more)
For those who find Lars von Trier's film movement Dogma 95 too highbrow, the folks at Troma films created Dogpile 95. Tales from the Crapper, the first production to wear the Dogpile label, stars softcore queen Julie Strain in a frenetic omnibus of gore and nudity. Allegedly shot over three years with six directors and 15 writers, the film is hosted by Troma founder Lloyd Kaufman and also features fat guys, talking penises, lesbian love scenes, vampires, UFOs, and appearances by infamous porn star Ron Jeremy and rockers New Found Glory. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- 2003
Thirty-five years after his first television appearance in the feature-length Prescription: Murder, rumpled, raincoat-clad Lt. Columbo (who else but Peter Falk?) is still on the job in this made-for-TV movie. This time, Columbo moves about uncertainly in the Los Angeles rave scene, investigating the highly suspicious suicide of a tabloid reporter. The principal suspect is promoter Justin Price (Matthew Rhys), who had been confronted with incriminating photographs by the dead journalist. Additional intrigue is heaped upon the narrative when a mobster's son, who happens to be the ex-husband of Price's girlfriend Vanessa (Jennifer Sky), mysteriously vanishes. While the story is both entertaining and intriguing, the viewers could confidently depend upon two things: That Price is guilty as hell and that the disheveled Columbo will, at one point or other, pause before leaving the room with a "Just one more question...." Columbo Likes the Nightlife premiered January 30, 2003, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Falk, Matthew Rhys, (more)
