Joseph Merhi Movies

A thief seeks to get back together with his ex-wife while working to keep a young boy out of harm's way in this action thriller starring Val Kilmer. John Cologne (Kilmer) has just pulled off the heist of a lifetime, and now he's got exactly one hour to make the ultimate deal. He's convinced that he can win back his ex-wife now that he's soon-to-be rich, but after meeting a young boy in the park the deal starts to unravel. With time running out, John must protect his young friend, outsmart the police, and avoid the wrath of a seriously unhinged gangster while finding a way to meet up with his family in Florida. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Tom Arnold, Heather Locklear, Beverly D'Angelo, and Tom Sizemore headline this topical drama set in L.A., where five families involved with a children's soccer team contend with social and racial discrimination. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

David Mamet writes and directs the political thriller Spartan. Respected Secret Service agent Robert Scott (Val Kilmer) is assigned to the kidnapping case of Laura Newton (Kristen Bell), the missing daughter of a high-ranking political figure. Scott is teamed up with rookie Curtis (Derek Luke). Aided by the FBI and the CIA, the team discovers a human trafficking operation that may lead to Laura's kidnappers. Meanwhile, political operative Stoddard (William H. Macy) refuses to cooperate with the rescue mission. Scott and Curtis are forced to quit the investigation when the media reports Laura's death. Believing her to be alive, Curtis is motivated to start up a dangerous unofficial investigation of his own. Spartan premiered at the Bangkok International Film Festival in 2004. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Rob Reiner directs Luke Wilson and Kate Hudson in Alex & Emma, a romantic comedy about an author and his secretary. Gangsters will kill Alex (Wilson) in 30 days if he doesn't pay back his gambling debts. The only way he can do that is to finish his new novel. He hires sassy court stenographer Emma (Hudson) to transcribe his dictation. The film intercuts between the two of them writing the story, and the story within the story. Hudson plays three roles in the film, and Wilson plays two. Sophie Marceau and David Paymer round out the cast. The premise is (very) loosely based on a series of events that befell Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Those intrepid LAPD detectives Chase McDonald (Wolf Larson)--the white, reckless one--and Austin Brooks (Steven Williams)--the black, sensible one--continue to dodge bullets, embark upon hectic car chases, and narrowly escape being blown to smithereens as the 60-minute action series L.A. Heat enters its second season. The two protagonists also try really, REALLY hard to avoid imitating Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, the stars of the series' blatant "role model", the Lethal Weapon films. This season's crop of 22 episodes begins with "Fangs", a Night Stalker derivation wherein McDonald and Brooks track down what appears to be a genuine vampire. The obligatory "hero is accused of murder" plotline is the basis of the season's second entry, "F is for Framed"; while another reliable plot hook, a vicious Neo-Nazi organization, figures prominently in Episode Three, "Burning Sanctuary." And of course, no cop show of the 1990s would be complete without the occasional drop-in of a bevy of nearly naked exotic dancers--as witness the season's fourth and fifth episodes, "Strip Show" and "Eyewitness". This last-named episode also serves to introduce Gary Hudson in the role of ruthless, "untouchable" criminal mastermind Bobby Cole, who would remain the detectives' most deadly adversary throughout the rest of the year. Arguably the season's most poignant episode is "Little Saigon", which probes deeply--perhaps too deeply--into the troubled past of Detective August Brooks. And one of the most harrowing installments is "Call of the Wild", in which a desperate Chase must hunt down and neutralize a serial killer before the felon is able to bump off both August and his wife Kendra. Other episodes worth noting include "Faces of Fear", with Chase taking a page out of Miami Vice by going undercover as infamous drug lord Jake Rheams; "In Harm's Way", featuring Tina Louise, of all people, as a homicidal bank robber; and "Legacy of a Buffalo Soldier", an elaborate flashback to the Old West in which Steven Williams plays the dual role of August Brooks and his namesake great-great-grandfather. The series comes to a rousing conclusion with "Vengeance", as McDonald and Brooks defy orders from their police superiors--and the FBI--to take down the elusive Bobby Cole for keeps! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Actor Ben Zook co-wrote and co-directed this broad comedy, in which he stars as Randy Rubio, the leader of a small-time dance troupe who hasn't let his 260-pound girth get in the way of his dreams. When Randy and his fellow hoofers are told their 15-year run at a Topeka, Kansas theme park has come to an end, they decide to pack up their bus and move to Hollywood, where he's convinced fame and fortune await them. Randy's dance partners include Saturday Night Live's Melanie Hutsell and comic Margaret Cho; Janeane Garofalo, Illeana Douglas, Noah Wyle and Laura Innes also make cameo appearances. Satirizing sad-sack showbiz hopefuls and 1980's pop musicals such as Flashdance and Footloose in equal measure, Can't Stop Dancing milks its characters' big ambitions and small talent for all they're worth. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Season One of the unabashedly derivative and highly entertaining action series L.A. Heat begins with the pilot episode "Daybomber", in which loose-cannon white LAPD detective Chase McDonald (Wolf Larson) is teamed with level-headed black detective Austin Brooks (Steven Williams) for the very first time. In their efforts to bring a deranged anti-technology activist to justice, Chase and Austin somehow manage to keep alive despite innumerable car crashes and explosions--not to mention the volatile verbal remonstrations of their superior officer, Captain Jensen (Kenneth Tigar). If all this sounds like a rehash of the Lethal Weapon pictures--well, you wanna make something out of it? Later episodes this season include "In Transit", the plot of which bears a marked resemblance to (surprise, surprise!) Lethal Weapon 2; "Electra", in which Chase's actual first name "Chester" is revealed, much to his embarrassment; "Cop Star", wherein the partners are saddled with babysitting the arrogant production crew of a TV reality series; "Rage", featuring series regular Renee Tenison in the dual role of Brooks' wife Kendra and her twin sister Rosie; "Words Will Never Hurt Me", pitting the detectives against a Howard Sternish radio "shock jock" (Robert B. Martin Jr.); "Rap Sheet", in which Brooks demonstrates a hitherto untapped talent as a rap singer; "Old Scores", wherein a murder draws August back into his previous life as a pro boxer; "211 Kidney", a grim new spin on an old urban legend; "Captain Crimestopper", featuring Peter Breck (The Big Valley) as the former star of a popular 1960s "superhero" TV show; and "Kiling on Lily Lane", which marks the last series appearance of Chase's long-suffering girlfriend Jody (Dawn Radenbaugh). The season finale, "Wake-Up Call" provides a valuable service for novice viewers of L.A. Heat) by offering a compendium of highlights from previous episodes--not to mention a compelling guest appearance by Abby Dalton (Falcon Crest) as Chase's mother. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Traci Lords served as executive producer as well as star for this thriller concerning murder and infidelity. Elizabeth (Traci Lords) has given up a career in business to pursue her dream of becoming a full-time journalist, winning an internship at an upscale lifestyle magazine where her editor, Griffin, (Jeff Fahey) alternately praises her for her great potential and treats her a bit better than dirt. None of this pleases her husband Eric (Jack Kerrigan), who looks upon her writing career as a glorified hobby and resents the loss of her previous income. While the magazine is preparing a special issue on contemporary attitudes about sex, Elizabeth strikes up a friendship with Ann (Maria Diaz), who openly discusses an ongoing and very satisfying extramarital affair. Elizabeth is convinced Ann's story is perfect for the magazine, but Ann's romantic joyride soon jumps the tracks when she's murdered. Elizabeth finds herself tempted by Ann's former lover, Bob (Brian Bloom), while she wonders if the neat way these events fit together is just a bit too coincidental. The film is surprisingly light on nudity given the star and the themes (Lords appears to be developing a sense of modesty after all these years). Extramarital is an erotic thriller with the emphasis on "thriller," and features an unexpectedly strong performance from Lords, who is the best reason to watch this film. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The animal movie Hollywood Safari features a case of mistaken identity. Kensho, a trained lion used on film sets, is mistaken for a mountain lion that has killed people after he becomes separated from his handlers and goes into the wild. Troy and Jane, the animal trainers who control Kensho, realize what is happening and must, with the help of their sons, stop an overly enthusiastic deputy from killing the wrong creature. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

The survivors of an unusual aviation tragedy race to save the granddaughter of their fallen friend when the young girl develops psychic powers and gets targeted by the government. The year was 1965; a group of American fighter pilots were flying over the Bermuda Triangle when they spotted an unidentified spacecraft. Before they could act, one of the planes was shot down. Though the surviving pilots vow never to speak of the incident again, strange things start happening to the son of the missing pilot and his family. The son's daughter has developed "sending" powers, and now the military is planning to kidnap her. But what is the government trying to cover up? As the race for the psychic child begins, all bets are off. Michael Madsen, R. Lee Ermey, Robert Vaughn, and Dyan Cannon star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

In this eccentric comedy, Jacob (Andy Velasquez) is a young man from Israel whose father has long regarded him as a test presented to him by God. Jacob's mind runs on a path all his own, and he has a mild handicap -- his feet stick out at right angles from his legs, giving him a very curious walk. Having little luck finding his place in the world at home, and depressed after his girlfriend leaves him, Jacob learns of a land of wonder and opportunity called Canada, and he soon relocates to Toronto. Jacob isn't in town long before he is befriended by a thief (Giancarlo Giannini) who shows him the ropes of life in the big city, when he's not busy knocking over ATMs. Jacob spends his days wondering the streets of Toronto and meets a woman named Selma (Joanna Pacula), who not only becomes his new girlfriend, but finds him work impersonating Charlie Chaplin in a street-theater act with a pig and a rock band. Omar Sharif makes a brief appearance as the author and philosopher Khalil Gibran, and Leonard Cohen plays a man who impersonates Leonard Cohen. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Joseph Merhi's crime thriller Last Man Standing tells the story of police officer Kurt Bellmore, who, after the death of his partner, becomes enmeshed in a web of corruption that leaves him unable to know whom he can trust with his life. In addition to former allies turning against him, he must contend with bad guy Snake Underwood. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

The mythical, urban-legendary "men in black" make a lower-rent appearance here than in the movie of the same name. Jack Scalia stars as Rafferty, a secret service agent whose impressive marksmanship and survival skills are not enough to save a California senator from an assassination at the hands of some mysterious, otherworldly men clad in black. The killers are aliens disguised as human beings, working as an advanced force for their race, which intends to conquer Earth. A handful of humans knows about the aliens' invasion plot and that the killers have been sent to eliminate those who know -- and silence those who suspect -- the truth. Enter Comdor (Dennis Christopher), an eccentric, New Age sort of alien from a different intergalactic species, sent to Earth in an effort to help the humans defeat the space menace. Comdor teams up with Rafferty, who discovers that his new partner has a purpose in pursuing the villains that goes deeper than a simple quest for justice -- they are responsible for the death of his family. The duo's quest takes them into blazing gun battles, a freeway chase, and a goofy UFO convention, leading up to a brutal final confrontation. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi