Matthew Perniciaro Movies

In this Chuck Russell-helmed sci-fi actioner, Max Thieriot plays a rebellious teen framed for murder in an upper-class boarding school that specializes in breeding world leaders. Dave Kalstein adapts his own book for the Intrepid Pictures production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

The true-life story of Darby Crash, who became a Los Angeles punk icon before taking his own life in 1980, provides the background for this gritty musical biopic. Not long after getting kicked out of an experimental high school in Los Angeles, charismatic misfit and major David Bowie fan Jan Paul Beahm (Shane West) announces that he wants to form a rock band. With his best friend Georg Ruthenberg (Rick Gonzalez), Beahm creates a group called the Germs, mainly because their first choice, "Sophistif--k and the Revlon Spam Queens" costs too much to put on a T-shirt. Beahm appoints himself lead singer, Ruthenberg becomes guitarist even though he has no command of the instrument, and Beahm creates new stage names for them -- George becomes Pat Smear, and Jan is now Bobby Pyn. After a few less-than-impressive attempts to putting Beahm's "five-year plan" into action, the Germs begin to click with the addition of sweet but musically inexperienced Lorna Doom (Bijou Phillips) on bass and Arizona transplant Don Bolles (Noah Segan) on drums. Bobby Pyn gives himself another new name, Darby Crash, and the Germs become the talk of the Los Angeles punk scene with their reckless but literate songs and Darby's aggressive performance style. The Germs become big fish in the small pond of L.A. punk, but when hard drugs enter into the picture, Darby begins alienating those closest to him, and after the Germs' collapse, he's at a loss for how to bring his grand scheme to the next level. The real Pat Smear served as a music producer for What We Do Is Secret, recreating the sound of the Germs and other seminal L.A. punk groups for the soundtrack, while the surviving members of the Germs played a series of reunion dates following the production of the movie, with Shane West standing in as lead singer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This collegiate farce directed by Theo Avgerinos had its world premiere at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. After a party thrown by his roommate, Coleman (John Hensley), violates their dorm-room probation, college freshman (at a thinly veiled New York University) Darren (Lou Taylor Pucci) loses his scholarship money and scrambles to raise the funds by selling 50 ecstasy pills given to him as an apology by Coleman over the course of a hectic day. While loading the pills off on fellow college students, friends, family, and Coleman's customers -- including a dominatrix named Petunia (Monica Keena) and an insanely off-kilter stock trader (Eddie Kaye Thomas) -- Darren must also finish a paper on Dante's Inferno, deal with his parents (Jane Lynch and John Kapelos) in New Jersey, who think he's gay, elude the mysterious Soul Man (Ron Yuan), and try to convince his crush, Grace (Kristen Bell), that he's not a sleazy drug dealer. Darren's crazy day comes to a head when some stupid but vengeful thugs led by Eduardo (Michael Pena) track down both Coleman and Darren at their dorm while the stock trader shows up looking for more pills. ~ Michael Buening, All Movie Guide

When a diverse group of lifelong friends comes together to celebrate the marriage of devoted couple Elise (Amy Adams) and Michael (Adam Garcia), the mixed-up relationships of the past pave the road to a weekend no one is likely to soon forget in the feature debut from filmmaker Matthew Cole Weiss. The setting is Los Angeles, CA, and the event is the wedding between a man and a woman who always seemed destined to be together. Unfortunately, all relationships can't be as healthy as Elise and Michael's is, and though best man and maid of honor Rich (Aaron Stanford) and Samantha (Melissa Sagemiller) seem to be preparing to take the plunge, the same certainly cannot be said for neurotic actress Lana (Mena Suvari). A free-spirited soul who has experienced flings with a variety of wedding attendees including the hapless Pockets (Jon Abrahams), alcoholic actor Simon (James Van Der Beek), and manic children's television program host Donovan (Ethan Embry), Lana attempts to sort out her past flings as lovelorn agent Quentin (Colin Hanks) pines for the bride's sister and the estranged father of the groom attempts to reconnect with his long-lost son. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide