Charla Driver Movies
- 2009
- R
- Add Black Dynamite to Queue
The city streets explode into violence when "The Man" kills Black Dynamite's (Michael Jai White) brother in this seamless recreation of the blaxploitation classics of the 1970s. He was the best agent that the CIA ever had, but these days Black Dynamite only answers to one boss -- himself. When "The Man" ices Black Dynamite's brother, starts pumping heroin into the local orphanage, and floods the ghetto with a secret weapon disguised as common malt liquor, the car chases, gunfights, and shirtless brawls that follow prove wild enough to make even Dolemite green with envy. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Jai White, Kym E. Whitley, (more)
Set against the backdrop of a small, west Texas border town, writer/director Jane Cusumano's modern-day take on William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet details the forbidden love affair between a working class teen and the wealthy son of a prominent cattle magnate. Lucas (Chad Allen) and Heather (Polly Cusumano) grew up together in the close-knit community of Vega, Texas. They've been close friends since childhood, and now that they're teens that bond is blossoming into true love. But Lucas' father (Marshall Teague) is the basketball coach and wealthiest man in town, and makes no attempt to hide the fact that he isn't pleased with the relationship. He wants Lucas to take over the family cattle business and marry the "right girl" rather than spend his life with the strong-willed free spirit who never even knew her father. Heather's mother (Tamara Clatterbuck) has worked hard to raise her daughter right, and that work has paid off in the form of a girl who is intelligent, independent, and completely non-judgmental. At first, Lucas and Heather's romance seems perfect; Heather is preparing to attend college and Lucas shows great promise as a young athlete. Things start to change, however, when Lucas' father attempts to steer his son's fate by force. Increasingly withdrawn and rebellious, Lucas is preparing to play in the basketball state championships when Heather reveals that she is pregnant with his child. Elated, Lucas vows to marry Heather and start a new life together despite his father's misgivings about the girl. Pushed too hard by his father during the big game, Lucas suffers a tragic injury that leaves him comatose for over a year. During that time, Heather gives birth to Lucas' son, sparking a bitter feud between the young mother and the disapproving grandfather. Later, upon emerging from his coma, Lucas slowly comes to terms with his turbulent past and pledges to do the right thing for everyone involved. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chad Allen, Polly Cusumano, (more)
A cast of distinguished veterans and promising newcomers headline this stark prison drama from first-time writer-director Jordan Walker-Pearlman. Hill Harper stars as embittered inmate Alex, sentenced to serve time for a rape he claims that he didn't commit. His link to the outside world is his upper-middle class bother Tony (Obba Babatunde), the only family member who's come to visit him in the half-decade he's been in jail. On his latest visit, Alex pleads with Tony to have the rest of the family visit him, admitting that he's in the final stages of his battle with AIDS. Through flashbacks, dream sequences, and real-time encounters, Alex interacts with the people who have shaped his life -- his parents (Marla Gibbs and Billy Dee Williams), his old friend (Rae Dawn Chong), and his therapist (Phylicia Rashad) -- and attempts to overcome the seething anger and resentment that have punctuated his time in prison. The Visit was greeted with much acclaim when it premiered at the 2000 Method Fest Independent Film Festival. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hill Harper, Obba Babatunde, (more)
When a hard-boiled Hong Kong cop arrives in Los Angeles to extradite a nefarious Chinese crime boss back to Hong Kong for trial only to discover that his elusive charge has once again gone missing, he quickly enlists the aid of a renegade cop and a beautiful Pai Gow dealer in bringing the gangster to justice in director Charla Driver's globe-trotting action entry. Charles Prince (Gary Daniels) is a cop with a mission, and he's not going home without his suspect in tow. It's not going to be as easy as he thought, though, and as a heated triad war in the heart of Chinatown threatens to blow the whole city sky high, Prince is going to need all the help he can get to find his man and get out of the city alive. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Daniels, Ken McLeod, (more)
In this martial arts actioner, a hot-tempered kickboxer finds his position on the US team endangered when he becomes obsessed with a young woman and finds himself victimized by a blackmailer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Worth
In this police drama, a cop opens up a youth center and endeavors to teach kids the fine art of boxing to help get them off the street. Things work out well until a powerful local drug dealer tries to ruin things. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1992
- NC17
Traci Lords stars as Vicki Stewart, an undercover cop on the trail of drug kingpin Salvador (Angelo Tiffe). ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
Julia Cole (Diane Salinger) is more than a little upset about turning 40. She's depressed about growing older, distressed at the lack of attention from her workaholic husband Charles (John Calvin), and bored with being a stay-at-home wife and mother. On her birthday, she finds a bottle of enchanted soap bubbles. Blowing them transports her to moments of happiness from earlier times in her life. Soon, she not only regains her youthful vigor, she cannot even remember how old she is. She changes her appearance, her personality is transformed from reclusive to outgoing, and her values change from strict to permissive. Eventually, she realizes that happiness is not age-dependent. George Clooney and Wallace Shawn are the biggest names in this low-budget, independently produced romantic comedy, also known as The Magic Bubble, directed by Deborah Taper Ringel and Alfredo Ringel. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Diane Salinger, John Calvin, (more)
One girl gets involved with guys from rival kickbox gangs which can only lead to one thing, and that's a showdown. That's exactly what happens in this West Coast gang high-stakes kickfest. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don "The Dragon" Wilson
In this thriller, a free-lance photographer is falsely convicted of possessing cocaine and is sentenced to jail time and 400 hours of community service. For the latter she must work with the LAPD and take favorable pictures of them doing their jobs for a public relations campaign. She willingly does this so she can regain custody of her young son. The trouble begins when she snaps a picture of Officer Eddie Martin, the cop who got her falsely arrested, killing a pimp. Unfortunately, the corrupt cop catches her catching him and now her life and the life of her son is in terrible danger. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Wings Hauser directed and stars in this mystery about a Las Vegas detective who learns that a woman believed dead is actually alive and well and involved in a blackmail plot. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wings Hauser, Darcy de Moss, (more)
American Gladiator Daron McBee stars as Garrett, the ex-con nephew of a former Drug Enforcement Agency operative, who hunts down a Latin American drug kingpin. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
During the late '80s, a terrible fad, wilding, came into vogue among troubled inner-city youth. Wilding involved nights of insane revelry, violence, and destruction of anything and anyone in the path of a youth gang. This made-for-TV drama is loosely adapted from the tale of a female victim who was beaten-up and gang raped in Central Park during a night of wilding. Afterward three suspects are arrested and a notorious defense attorney is assigned the case. Unfortunately he isn't sure he wants to handle them as they keep killing anyone who stands in the way of their acquittal including the prosecutor, the attorney's still loved ex-wife. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Wings Hauser both stars in and directs The Art of Dying. Hauser plays Jack, a vice cop who tries to unravel the mystery behind a series of murders in which each of the corpses has been found with stage makeup on its face. Turns out that the killer is Roscoe (Gary Werntz), a demented movie-maker whose overwhelming desire for realism has resulted in a variety of horrible deaths for his unwary actors. Each victim is dispatched in a manner evoking a famous film: one is killed in the shower, another dies while playing Russian Roulette a la The Deer Hunter, and so forth. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Cycle-flick habitue William Smith is top-billed in Emperor of the Bronx. Virtually wall-to-wall violence, this is the story of homicidal street gangs and their noxious, mob-connected leaders. The film makes a few tentative stabs at social relevance, but this obviously isn't its reason for being. So much mayhem occurs in the first 80 minutes that the bloodshed in the last reel is almost anti-climactic. As always, the ubiquitous Smith rises above his material. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Ex-football great Jim Brown co-stars in this blood-filled police actioner with former Welcome Back Kotter "Sweathog"Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs. In the story, Jon Chance (Jacobs) is a police detective with a very active fantasy life, who must be spurred into action by his captain (Brown). The case at hand involves a super-violent drug-dealer who is giving the police the run-around, and Jon's task is to bring him in. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Brown, Kevin Benton, (more)
