Paul Colichman Movies

This crime comedy from director Craig Singer is the filmmaker's third independent feature and his second outing with screenwriter Robert Dean Klein and star Gary Stretch, who had contributed to 2001's Dead Dogs Lie, Singer's sophomore effort. Stretch plays Ronnie, a hitman who, three years prior, vouched for his pal and fellow contract killer, August, played by Michael Rapaport (Zebrahead, Mighty Aphrodite). Unfortunately for Ronnie, over the years, August has gotten himself into some trouble and made a few enemies. Now, over the course of one day, Ronnie has to somehow clean up all of August's messes or both men will be facing the consequences of their unhappy bosses. In addition to Frank Whaley and Seymour Cassel, the supporting cast boasts a bevy of 1980s artifacts including Ralph Macchio, Robin Givens, Deborah Harry, and Ally Sheedy. A Cold Day in August screened at Robert De Niro's 2003 Tribeca Film Festival under the title A Good Night to Die. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

They say that men are from Mars, but one woman finds happiness when her boyfriend is taken over by visitors from another part of the galaxy in this sexy sci-fi comedy. Amanda (Nicole Eggert) is an aspiring artist who supports herself working at a clothing store; she doesn't care for her job, and her boyfriend Charlie (Michael Bendetti) is chronically unfaithful to her. A pair of government agents, Emmitt (Stacy Keach) and Vint (Michael Dorn), have captured a space alien and are guarding it in a secret safe house; however, the alien escapes, and takes over the body of Flores (Alex Maneses), a woman working as a domestic at the house. Amanda meets "Flores" in a coffeehouse and realizes that the runaway alien lurks within; sympathetic to the space creature's plight, she offers to help it escape, and even gives it a new body to travel in -- Charlie's, which suddenly makes him a lot easier to get along with, and even a bit sexier. Onetime scandal queen Jessica Hahn makes a cameo appearance as the host of a TV show. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this awful black comedy, an aging bank robber tries to pull off one final caper. Things go awry and he ends up staying in a raunchy hotel. The crime is well-publicized, but fortunately the equally seedy residents there keep mum. Unfortunately, they are determined to literally nickel and dime him to death by making him pay dearly for even the smallest favors. Things look bleak until a kindly hooker falls in love with him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Billy Zane stars in this direct-to-video gem as a spectacularly unsuccessful car thief. Hoping to reform by leaving LA, Zane must scare up $400 worth of exit money. He decides to pull off one last job, stealing a TV from William Bastiani. An ill-tempered criminal, Bastiani stabs Zane, who then runs off blindly into a cemetary ("Blood" and "Concrete": get it?) Weaving around the tombstones, Zane makes the acquaintance of would-be suicide Jennifer Beals. Love blooms, but it might be too late for both of them: Bastiani is found murdered, and Zane is suspect number one-forcing him to hide out from both the cops and the mob. Luxuriating in its tawdriness and cheapness, Blood & Concrete: A Love Story actually has an offbeat charm all its own. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Inspired by the real-life rescue of several miners from a collapsed tunnel in North Carolina, this made-for-TV drama stars Mimi Rogers as Pat Bogen, superintendent of the Greymount Mine. Long concerned over safety issues at the mine, Pat finds that her worries are confirmed when a cave-in occurs, trapping seven workers. Among those entombed are Pat's own husband Chief (Ted Shackelford) and their son Rabbit (Ben Castles). With the oxygen supply running out -- and water surging into the mine's tunnel -- Pat feverishly oversees the Herculean rescue efforts, battling every inch of the way with the "instinct over technology" policies of the mine's former superintendent, her own father Cappy (Bruce Allpress). Cave In debuted May 2, 2003, on the PAX network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set in a grim post-WW III America, this sci-fi fantasy tells the story of a woman attempting to sell black-market computer chips that allow patrons to experience the nearly forgotten pleasures of sex and drugs. She is hanging out with the gang she works for in a local nightclub when the police raid the joint. She manages to escape and decides to double cross her gang and sell the chips for herself. But first she must escape both the police and the gangsters and make it to the New York underground. She is helped out when she runs into Plughead, an android covered with electrical outlets. He uses these to tap in to the fantasies of other people. The soundtrack by Deborah Holland provides a highlight. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Set the day after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, December focuses on five prep-school students (Wil Wheaton, Balthazar Getty, Brian Krause, Jason London and Chris Young) who are of enlistment age. Though encouraged by their headmaster to enter the army, the boys are wary of battle, and discuss the pros and cons of the situation. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

16 years ago, a little girl named Catherine was kidnapped by her nanny from the home of her wealthy parents. Now, a private detective has informed Catherine's mother Ellen (Joanna Cassidy) that her daughter has been relocated. Although Ellen welcomes the woman who identifies herself as Catherine (Tania Saulnier) with open arms, Catherine's new stepfather Charles (Greg Evigan) suspects that something is amiss. As it turns out, virtually everyone in the cast has a nasty little secret that would have best remained dead and buried (those, in fact, are the operative words: Dead and Buried). Produced for cable TV's Lifetime channel, Found originally aired September 20, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Gods and Monsters was promoted from the outset as an artistic drama, but the publicity tended to play coyly on the possibility of a homosexual romance between the retired film director James Whale, played by Ian McKellen and his hunky gardener Clayton Boone (Brendan Fraser). While the film does involve romance, the central relationship between the director and his gardener is about the development of a genuine friendship between two outwardly dissimilar but inwardly kindred spirits. In the story, Whale has been living for many years in peaceful, if not entirely contented retirement, under the loving and watchful eye of his contentious and argumentative Hungarian housekeeper (Lynn Redgrave). His earlier celebrity as the director of the original Frankenstein movie and its sequel, The Bride of Frankenstein, results in his being visited occasionally by disagreeable young men who have come to bask in the reminiscences of this creator of two "camp" classics. His reputation as a fairly outrageous homosexual comes into play here, when one particularly unpleasant and effeminate young man comes by seeking cinematic tidbits: the director challenges the boy to a game of stripping off one article of clothing for every revelation he shares about his moviemaking past. He had gotten the boy down to his briefs when he is stricken with one of his ever-recurring bouts of epilepsy, the result of a series of strokes. By way of contrast, while he is clearly interested in his gardener as a sex-object, gradually luring him into ever closer association, the openness and vulnerability of this awkwardly aggressive heterosexual boy inspires him to reveal the history of his heart. It turns out that, like the young man who is modeling for his supposed artworks, he came from a poor and difficult background. By the time naïve gardener learns of the director's homosexuality from the housekeeper, he has been drawn too deeply under the man's spell to stay away from their meetings for long. While the tension between the men never departs, a genuine relationship of caring develops between them. Meanwhile, Whale has been clearly observing the progressive deterioration of his mental faculties, and is increasingly being overwhelmed by vivid memories and visions. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Overhearing his parents Stephanie and David Carver having a heated argument, young Justin Carver (Cole Sprouse) retreats to his bedroom. A few minutes later, Justin peeks downstairs, only to see his mother Stephanie (Connie Sellecca) locked in a warm, romantic embrace with none other than Santa Claus. Unaware that mom's hirsute "lover" is actually his own father, David (Corbin Bernsen), who has dressed up as Santa in hopes of getting back in Stephanie's good graces, Justin is convinced that his parents' marriage is on the rocks -- just like the recently shattered union of his best friend's parents. Further convinced that jolly old Saint Nick is the cause of all the marital disharmony, little Justin goes on a one-boy vendetta, physically assaulting every department-store and sidewalk Santa who crosses his path. Very loosely based on the 1949 hit song of the same name, the made-for-TV I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus first aired December 9, 2001, on the PAX network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John Buechler's horror film Ice Crawlers begins with a team of scientists getting information in the Arctic. Their actions awaken some nasty creatures that have been lying dormant for centuries. Now, they are hunting the scientists down one at a time. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Two women are unwittingly thrown into the fight of their lives in an effort to protect one of America's most powerful men in this action thriller. The vice president of the United States (David Keith) is returning from a visit overseas when his private jet, Air Force Two, crash-lands on a remote South American island. It's the veep's poor fortune that he's stranded in a place dominated by insurgent forces at odds with U.S. policies, and a group of revolutionaries seize their opportunity and kidnap the vice president. While American Special Forces swing into action, the rebels intend to make the most of their opportunity, but a secret service agent (Mariel Hemingway) and the president's no-nonsense press secretary (Jill Bennett) realize there's no time to waste and devise their own plan to save America's second in command. Making matters more complicated is the powerful emotional relationship between the two women. In Her Line of Fire was produced in cooperation with here!, a premium cable service specializing in programming for gay and lesbian viewers. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide