Avi Lerner Movies

A runaway train barrels through the Mexican countryside, and the only hope for its passengers is a special agent with one gun and a whole bag of tricks in this pulse-pounding effort from low-budget action king Yossi Wein. A band of escaped prisoners have armed themselves and boarded a train, and it's only a matter of time before they begin to execute the frightened passengers. As the high-speed train thunders across the countryside, the safety of everyone on board lies in the hands on one man -- Special Agent Ryan (Bryan Genesse). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

This $17 million direct-to-video production by Hong Kong director Ringo Lam is the story of a fire-obsessed serial killer (Jean-Claude Van Damme) and the recently retired cop (Michael Rooker) intent on stopping him. After finding his hair follicle at a crime scene, a secret government agency clones the killer in the hopes that the replicant will aid in the search. Although he's full-grown, the clone (also played by Van Damme) has the emotional and mental capacity of a young child. Soon the naïve replicant begins to have visions of past murders and an abusive mother, leading him to escape and seek the killer on his own. ~ Skyler Miller, Rovi

Actor, writer, and director Tim Blake Nelson adapts this grim look at the Holocaust from his own play, based on Miklós Nyiszli's book, Auschwitz: A Doctor's Eyewitness Account. The film centers on the Sonderkommando: Jewish concentration camp prisoners whose job was to herd their fellow Jews into the gas chamber, and to dispose of the bodies following the execution. In return, these prisoners received food and a little more time before their own executions. As the members of the sonderkommando struggle to orchestrate what would be the only armed insurrection in Auschwitz, a group of them discover a 14-year-old girl who somehow survived the gas chamber. The girl becomes a symbol for their own spiritual salvation and they become obsessed with keeping the girl alive, even if it endangers the uprising that could save thousands. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Following up his critically acclaimed debut Insomnia (1997), Norwegian director Erik Skjoldbjaerg makes his first English-language feature with this adaptation of the book by Elizabeth Wurtzel. Christina Ricci stars as Lizzie, a prize-winning student heading off to Harvard where she intends to study journalism and launch a career as a rock music critic. However, Elizabeth's fractured family situation including an errant father (Nicholas Campbell) and a neurotic, bitterly hypercritical mother (Jessica Lange) has led to a struggle with depression. When her all-night, drug-fueled writing binges and emotional instability alienate her roommate and best friend, Ruby (Michelle Williams), as well as both her first (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) and second (Jason Biggs) boyfriends, Lizzie seeks psychiatric counseling from Dr. Diana Sterling (Anne Heche), who prescribes the wonder drug Prozac. Despite success as a writer that includes a gig writing for Rolling Stone and some mellowing out thanks to her medication, Lizzie begins to feel that the pills are running her life and faces some tough choices about her future. Prozac Nation (2001) is a longtime dream project of star Ricci, who also serves as one of the film's co-producers. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

A cop on the edge, Nettles (Tom Sizemore), must team up with the cool-headed leader of the bomb squad, Glass (Steven Seagal), to stop the terrorist Swann (Dennis Hopper) from continuing his series of deadly bombings. Jaime Pressly co-stars as the woman who could finger the mad bomber. Singing stars Chilli (from TLC) and Nas co-star in this action drama. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Bob Misiorowski's thriller Air Panic features an unhinged computer whiz named Cain who plans to kill a number of innocent victims unless a federal agent with the capacity to match wits with him can thwart the plan. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Somewhere in L.A., Peter (Kenneth Branagh), a washed-up British playwright, struggles to duplicate his past glory as he surfs a foul-smelling tide of disenchantment. His wife, Melanie (Robin Wright Penn), manages to maintain an optimistic outlook even as she longs for the baby that her husband is hesitant to help her conceive. When Peter befriends Amy (Suzi Hofrichter), a neighborhood girl who has mild cerebral palsy, their friendship softens him to the idea of fatherhood and propels Melanie's maternal yearnings into hyperdrive. As if baby fever weren't enough, Peter is plagued by a seemingly benevolent stalker (Jared Harris), his neighbors' incessantly noisy dog, and the flighty cast and crew of his latest play. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi

Follow a skilled computer hacker and a determined computer-crimes expert on a thrilling, cat-and-mouse race through cyberspace in this high-tech tale of intrigue from Halloween 6 and prolific television director Joe Chappelle. Based on actual events, this thriller follows top cyber-schemer Kevin Mitnick (Skeet Ulrich) as he uses the latest technology to break into sensitive websites and glean valuable information. Realizing that top computer cop Tsutomu Shimomura (Russell Wong) is hot on his tale, Kevin quickly utilizes his cyber space expertise to cover his tracks and elude the electronic arm of the law. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Dean Cain and Thomas Ian Griffith star in this science fiction adventure set in the distant future. As the Planet Earth has descended into a state of constant war, two colonies of human beings are established on a world far from ours. The colonists create a thriving new civilization, but sadly they have also inherited the worst impulses of their forebearers, and years later war breaks out among the settlers, leaving the new cities they have created in ruins. Decades later, the children of the settlers are still fighting a war for a cause no one can remember, and it falls to a handful of brave teenagers to bring peace to the Earthling colony. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Sailors in the course of a dangerous mission are confronted with a new kind of terror in this monstrous thriller. A terrorist wanted in several nations is captured by authorities and sent to America to stand trial. The criminal is being transported aboard a heavily guarded submarine, in hopes of foiling any escape attempts, but the sub is forced to pass through "the Devil's Eye," a region at sea where a number of ships have been lost. The submarine's crew soon learns the secret of "the Devil's Eye" when the ship is attacked by a giant, prehistoric octopus. In the confusion, the terrorist escapes to a passenger ship, and the crew must find the fugitive as they fend of the vicious sea creature. Octopus stars Jay Harrington, David Beecroft, and Carolyn Lowery. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Writer Audrey Wells (The Truth About Cats and Dogs) makes her directing debut in Guinevere, which won the screenwriting award at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, where it made its world premiere. The film concerns Harper Sloane, a twenty-something upper class pre-law student who falls for Connie, a bohemian photographer 30 years her senior. Shy, waifish, and camera shy, Harper feels her life is mapped out for her, coming from a long line of successful, Harvard-educated lawyers living in San Francisco. At her older sister's wedding, Harper meets Connie, who photographs her privately. When he shows her the photos, Harper (whom Connie refers to only as Guinevere) is intrigued, and a passionate romance and sexual attraction begins. Harper moves in with Connie to become his student, against her mother's wishes. Harper also learns that she isn't Connie's first Guinevere; in fact, there have been a half-dozen others, all of whom have remained friends. As the relationship takes its ups and downs, Harper comes out of her shell to become a stronger woman, more in control of her life and destiny than she would have ever dreamed possible. As Connie slowly dies from poverty and alcoholism, all of his Guineveres, including Harper, come together to remember (and drink to) his work and his life. ~ Arthur Borman, Rovi

A soldier comes out of retirement to confront a former friend who betrayed his loyalties in this action thriller. Casey Sheppard (Michael Worth) and Frank Ratliff (Damian Chapa) were once members of an elite Navy SEALs squadron; while close friends, Sheppard is a disciplined, by-the-book warrior, while Ratliff has an emotional hair trigger and a strong reckless streak. One night, Ratliff snaps and after a violent incident he disappears, eventually surfacing as a rogue agent for hire; the shock of the incident causes Sheppard to leave the Navy. Years later, it's discovered that Ratliff has joined the payroll of an international terrorist network after he kidnaps Dr. Jane Burrows (Kate Connor), a renowned nuclear physicist who has been working with U.S. defense projects. Ratliff is demanding a billion dollars for Burrows' safe return, but while she's in his custody, Ratliff forces Burrows to create nuclear warheads to arm several missiles he's purchased on the black market. As Ratliff plays both sides against one other in a bid for untold wealth and power, Sheppard is persuaded to come out of retirement to rescue Burrows and bring Ratliff to justice. However, Sheppard discovers that Ratliff's base of operations is a former Russian missile base that's also the site of a methane gas leak; the use of guns or bombs could cause the entire compound to explode, so Sheppard assembles a team skilled in martial arts and hand-to-hand combat, including Kamiko (Karen Kim), Sheppard's former love whose father and twin sister were brutally murdered by Ratliff. An in-name-only sequel to U.S. Seals, U.S. Seals 2 also features Marshall Teague, Sophia Crawford, and Hakim Alston. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this offbeat drama, a group of people who have nothing in common are having breakfast at the same diner, with Denise the waitress (Amanda Plummer) serving them coffee. As we view the unrelated strands of their lives, the patrons are suddenly and dramatically brought together when a lunatic with a gun opens fire on the diner, as a SWAT team attempts to bring him down and restore order while protecting the lives of the people inside. October 22 also features Colm Meaney, Ernie Hudson Richard Schenkman, and Tate Donovan. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi