Richard Gabai Movies

A hot-shot college card player and a retired poker legend team-up to take Sin City for all its worth, only to find themselves going toe-to-toe in the ultra-high stakes World Poker Tour. Alex Stillman (Bret Harrison) is a Yale senior with a knack for Texas Hold 'Em. But while Alex dreams of the day he'll be able to dominate the tables out in Las Vegas, he hasn't mastered the art of the cards just yet. Alex's luck begins to change, however, after a chance encounter with legendary poker player Tommy Vinson (Burt Reynolds). Tommy gave up gambling twenty years ago in hopes that he could save his family. He recognizes the potential in Alex, and he's beginning to regain his confidence after two decades of maintaining a low profile. Alex agrees to become Tommy's protégé, and together the pair wins every tournament they enter. But Alex's attraction to beautiful Las Vegas call girl Michelle (Shannon Elizabeth) has caused his attention shift away from the tables, and that distraction has opened up a deep chasm between the emerging talent and the undisputed master. Later, after Alex and Tommy calls off their partnership, they find themselves on opposite sides of the table at the prestigious World Poker Tour. Who will take the top prize? Will it be the old pro who promised he would never gamble again, or the newcomer who learned all of his tricks from the true master of the trade? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Two siblings find themselves competing on and off the racetrack in this action-packed drama. K.C. Carlyle (Steve Howey) and his kid brother, Trip (Mike Vogel), are both racers in the rough and tumble world of supercross, a revved-up variation on motocross racing in which specially modified motorcycle negotiate specially built dirt tracks that send riders through tricky twists and turns, over rough terrain, and off high-flying jumps. Both are talented racers, but K.C. has a wilder and more reckless approach, while Trip follows a more cautious path. A more profound difference between them arises when K.C. is offered a lucrative deal to ride for a factory-sponsored team; he takes the deal, and leaves his brother behind to race on his own dime. However, when an accident takes Trip out of the running on the supercross circuit, he and K.C. set aside their differences as Trip helps coach his older brother so he can succeed in his drive to the championship. Made with the cooperation of a leading supercross race promoter, Supercross: The Movie also stars Sophia Bush and Cameron Richardson as the brothers' love interests, and Robert Carradine as a determined race coach. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Richard Gabai's family-friendly sports film Moto X Kids stars Lorenzo Lamas as Evan Hanson, a motocross coach. His daughter, Callie (Alan Austin), is one of the best racers in the country. They must win a more personal contest when a biker gang threatens to take over their hometown racetrack. The leaders of the gang (Gary Busey and Evan Marriott) agree to race against the protagonists with the winners taking possession of the track. A key injury leads to a last-minute unconventional driver racing against the bikers. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Grey's Anatomy star Chyler Leigh headlines this martial arts thriller focusing on the bitter feud between two Miami Beach kickboxing dojos. Danny (Christopher Khayman Lee - Chyler's real-life brother) is a former kickboxer whose old martial arts academy is gearing up for a bout against a rival school. The stakes are high for this particular match, because this is a fight for ownership -- the winner will become the owner of their rival's school. Danny isn't about to let his friends lose their dojo, but he's still recovering from the trauma of accidentally killing a competitor in the ring, and fighting doesn't come easy for him these days. As the fight draws ever closer, Danny wonders if he'll be able to summon the courage needed to step in the ring again. Danny's grim outlook on life begins to shift, however, when he meets and falls for the beautiful Cindy (Leigh), who accepts the damaged fighter, fears and all. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

It's Greek versus Geek once again in this sequel to the broad comedy Assault of the Party Nerds. Evil but slow-witted frat boy Bud (Christopher Dempsey) hasn't changed much in the five years since he graduated from college -- he somehow convinced his well-meaning former girlfriend, Muffin (Michelle Bauer), to marry him even though he's doing more than his share of fooling around on the side and her father, Randolph (Burt Ward), has given Bud a job in the family business. However, Bud and Randolph's duplicitous secretary, Heady (Tane McClure), have hatched a plan to take Randolph's business away from him. Randolph is certain Bud is up to something, so he calls in a private detective to follow him; the detective turns out to be none other than Richie Spencer (Richard Gabai), Bud's "Party Nerd" nemesis from his college days. While Richie digs up the dirt on Bud, he also signs on to help another client, Norm Witherspoon (Arte Johnson), who has a hunch his wife, Tina (Rhonda Shear), is being unfaithful to him. Assault of the Party Nerds 2: The Heavy Petting Detective also features Linnea Quigley and Robert Dorfmann. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

No sooner did Jurassic Park score at the box office than the imitations began turning up like bad pennies. The redoubtable Fred Olen Ray, once more delivering a bankable project at the least possible cost, was responsible for Dinosaur Island. Typical of the Ray ouevre is the presence of several top-heavy young ladies, whose costumes can be mercifully described as immodest. The dinosaurs are rubber novelty-shop creations that wouldn't convince a dim-witted duck, but they serve their purpose in forcing the females in the cast to jiggle past the camera in abject horror. Ross Hagen, a veteran of this sort of fare, heads the cast of Dinosaur Island, doing an excellent job of convincing us that the dialogue he's been given is actually worth reciting. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Three randy teen boys wreak havoc after they infitrate a boarding school for Catholic girls. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

When a movie star's ghost takes to haunting a writer's home on the beach, the two put their heads together to uncover the truth behind her suspicious demise. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide