Max Perlich Movies

Trained to kill but determined to cheer their school's team to the championship game, three lethal cheerleading ninjas must put down their pom poms and pick up their katanas when their sensei is abducted by the mob. April, Courtney, and Monica may just be college freshmen, but they can take out an army of ninja assassins with the skill of an ancient master. Schooled in the ancient martial arts by the esteemed Sensei Hiroshi (George Takei), these three beauties spend their days in the classroom and their nights in the strip club - where they work the poles to pay for their college tuition. Then one day, Sensei Hiroshi is abducted and their lives are suddenly turned upside down. Now, in order to rescue their master, April, Courtney, and Monica will have to summon the skills he once taught them and take on a virtual army of mob assassins. With a nosy cop closing in on one side and suspicious parents asking questions on the other, these girls will have to work overtime in order to keep anyone from finding out what kind of destruction they're truly capable of. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

In order to find out if a future world ruled by the Avatars will indeed be a utopia as they claim it will, Piper (Holly Marie Combs) trades powers with Phoebe (Alyssa Milano). Unfortunately, the demon Zankou (Oded Fehr) interrupts the transference process -- and as a result, the girls' powers are dispersed to a wide variety of mortal "innocents," who wreak considerable havoc with their ill-gotten magic skills. Elsewhere, Brody's (Kerr Smith) true intentions are revealed in a violent fashion, prompting Paige (Rose McGowan) to glean "firsthand" information regarding Brody's tortured past. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Avatars proceed with their plan to create a utopian society by subjecting the entire world, and its population, to a complete makeover. With the help of Leo (Brian Krause), this transformation is imposed upon the Charmed Ones as well. But can it be that the Avatars' vision of the future is not as rosy as it seems? Meanwhile, Zankou (Oded Fehr) takes control of Brody's (Kerr Smith) body in order to wreak havoc on the girls' sense of security. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Told from the vantage point of two young runaways who are forced to sell their bodies in order to survive on the streets, director Glenn Klinker's somber drama follows the grim plight of Cat and Nolan as they become hopelessly ensnared in a dangerous world of sex, drugs, and violence. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The detectives at the 15th precinct go to great lengths to avoid meeting their new skipper, the notorious by-the-book disciplinarian Lt. Susan Dalto (Denise Crosby). Also new to the precinct is Lt. Tony Rodriguez (Esai Morales), whose impact will not be felt until the next episode. In other developments, a cash-register thief (Max Perlich) tries to get a lighter sentence by offering to lead the detectives to the dead body of a teenaged crack whore. And Eddie Gibson (John F. O'Donohue) doesn't like being in the middle of the romantic intrigues between his niece Cynthia and Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz). With this episode, James McDaniel makes his final appearance as Lt. Arthur Fancy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Some six months after the cancellation of the popular, hard-hitting TV cop series Homicide, most of the cast members were reunited for a two-hour TV movie, which deftly (and somewhat surprisingly) combines stark, raw realism with Sartre-esque flights of fantasy. Several members past and present of the Baltimore Police Department's homicide squad are brought back together when their former skipper and current mayoral candidate, Al "G" Giardelli (Yaphet Kotto), is gunned down by a would-be assassin. As former partners Frank Pembleton (Andre Braugher) and Tim Bayliss (Kyle Secor) conduct their own personal search for the perpetrator, the comatose "G" discovers that not all police review boards are conducted by the living. Like its weekly predecessor, Homicide: The Movie was co-produced by Baltimore native Barry Levinson. The film made its first NBC network TV appearance on February 13, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the seventh and final season of Homicide: Life on the Street, Baltimore detectives Pembleton (Andre Braugher) and Kellerman (Reed Diamond) have resigned in the wake of the bloody shoot-out between the homicide cops and the minions of criminal mastermind Georgia Rae Mahoney (though Kellerman will return in a later episode as a private detective). Seriously wounded in the fray, detectives Bayliss (Kyle Secor) and Ghary (Peter Gerety) eventually return to work, but it is clear that some emotional scars will never heal. Former recurring character Det. Terri Stivers (Toni Lewis) has become a regular, while new cast members include Michael Michele as Detective Rene Sheppard, a former beauty queen, and Giancarlo Esposito as FBI agent Mike Giardello, the long-estranged son of homicide lieutenant Al Giardello (Yaphet Kotto). Before the year is out, Mike will make Al a grandfather; Detective Munch (Richard Belzer) will finally propose to his long-suffering girlfriend, Billie Lou McCoy (Ellen McElduff); detectives Det. Laura Ballard (Callie Thorne) and Falsone (Jon Seda) will enter into a romance so torrid that Giardello is forced to warn them to cool things down or they'll be suspended; and Rene Sheppard will endure both a serious injury and a humiliating suspension. Episode highlights include yet another crossover with Law & Order, this one involving an investigation conducted by a Kenneth Starr-like special prosecutor and appropriately titled "Sideshow," and the devastating "Line of Fire," in which the homicide cops try and fail to negotiate with a reluctant murderer. Homicide caps its seven-season run with good news for Giardello; the unauthorized shootdown of a killer who has managed to slip through the legal cracks; and a literal "full circle" for Bayliss (Kyle Secor), whose career with the Baltimore PD began with the series' first episode...and ends with the last one. ~ All Movie Guide

For her second feature, Canadian director Kari Skogland (The Size of Watermelons) treads Tarantino turf with the violent visuals of this crime drama. Small-time hoods Eddie (Donal Logue) and Lucas (Gregory Sporleder) go to a rural area to collect a debt but instead get a dose of sexual humiliation from thugs they encounter there. With stoned Mamet (Callum Keith Rennie) accompanying them, they return to the farm, battle it out, and leave with a big cocaine stash, property of druglord Horace Burke (Paul Sorvino). Soon the trio is pursued by both criminals and cops. Skogland made TV commercials and music videos before her first feature. Her Men With Guns is not to be confused with John Sayles' Men With Guns, released the same month. Shown at the 1998 Rotterdam Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

There's quite a shakeup at Baltimore PD's homicide division as Homicide: Life on the Street begins its sixth season. Detective Kay Howard and videographer J.H. Brodie are gone, while the others are rotated. Paul Falsone (Jon Seda) has moved to homicide from auto-theft, and former beat cop Stuart Gharty (Peter Gerety) has been promoted to detective. Also new to the force is Laura Ballard (Callie Thorne), a homicide detective from Seattle. And gone beyond recall is former squad member Beau Felton, whose headless body has been discovered. The season's first story arc involves the ethical dilemma faced by Lt. Al Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) when he is obliged to probe a murder involving highly respected community activist Felix Wilson (James Earl Jones). Other plot threads involve the investigation into Det. Kellerman's (Reed Diamond) highly suspicious shooting of drug kingpin Luther Mahoney, which also sparks a long campaign of vengeance masterminded by Mahoney's grim and unforgiving sister Georgia Rae (Hazelle Goodman); and Falsone's seemingly endless court battle over the custody of his son. Individual episodes of note include "Baby It's You," the conclusion of a rape case that began on the NBC series Law & Order; "Mercy," in which Alfre Woodard recreates her St. Elsewhere role as Dr. Roxanne Turner; and "Subway," a tour de force for guest star Vincent D'Onofrio, which inspired a behind-the-scenes special on PBS. Season six ends with the tragic consequences of the Luther Mahoney affair: an all-out bloodbath between Luther's sister and the detectives which leaves three of the principal characters seriously wounded. ~ All Movie Guide

Acathla, a demon turned to stone by an ancient knight, is dug up during the construction of a new housing project. Angel (David Boreanaz) steals Acathla in hopes of using the demon for the stultifyingly original purpose of opening a portal to Hell. Meanwhile, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Willow (Alyson Hannigan) discover the disk Jenny (Robia La Morte) saved the spell to restore Angel's soul on (see "Passion"). Despite Giles' (Anthony Stewart Head) protestations, Willow readies herself to cast the spell. Unexpectedly, Kendra (Bianca Lawson) shows up with the blessed sword of the knight who turned Acathla to stone. Soon, Angel lures Buffy away from the library and Drusilla (Juliet Landau) leads an attack to capture Giles. Subsequently, Kendra is killed. As this is the first part of the second season finale, the episode is peppered with flashbacks to other episodes highlighting important events, such as Darla (Julie Benz) siring Angel in "Angel." ~ All Movie Guide

An armed murder suspect takes refuge in the headquarters of the African Revival Movement, a pro-social organization headed by a former Baltimore cop. In their investigation of the case, Munch (Richard Belzer) and Pembleton (Andre Braugher) are roadblocked every inch of the way -- even though the killer's victim was an A.R.M. member. When the crisis threatens to erupt in full-scale violence, Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) defies orders from his higher-ups and takes a hand in the matter. Meanwhile, Stivers (Toni Lewis) begins to question the circumstances surrounding the recent killing of drug kingpin Luther Mahoney. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the final episode of Homicide: Life on the Street's fifth season, a grieving Howard (Melissa Leo) wants to be primary investigator of the death of her former colleague (and intimate) Beau Felton (Daniel Baldwin), but Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) insists upon placing a more objective individual in charge. Elsewhere, Kellerman (Reed Diamond) and Cox (Michelle Forbes) are forced to confront their inner demons; Bayliss (Kyle Secor) continues appearing and disappearing from view without warning; and Pembleton (Andre Braugher) offers to give up his job for the sake of his marriage. As the episode ends, a number of radical changes are promised for the series' next season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide