Oley Sassone Movies

Now that Gabrielle's unholy daughter, Hope, has killed Xena's son, Solan, an action that also cost Hope her life, Xena (Lucy Lawless) and Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) are bitter enemies. But before they can act upon their mutual hatred, the two former comrades are transported to Illsuia, a dream world patterned after tarot cards. Here, with the help of several series semi-regulars, Xena and Gabrielle are forced to confront their feelings -- and, possibly, find forgiveness. This is the celebrated "musical" episode, with everyone expressing their emotions in song (even the war god Ares [Kevin Smith]!) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

It is off to Brittania for Xena (Lucy Lawless), Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor), and Khrafstar (Marton Csokas), the high priest of a new monotheistic cult. The trio's mission: to thwart the impending invasion of Julius Caesar (Karl Urban). But the battle may be lost before it begins when Gabrielle, tricked into shedding the blood of an innocent, is forced into an unholy union with satanic god Dahuk. Among other events, a certain well-known archaic British landmark comes into being in this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Headstrong young dragon Braxus goes on a murderous rampage, intending to wipe out all friends and associates of Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) and Iolaus (Michael Hurst). The woefully misguided Braxus has been sent on this violent path by the warlord Adamis (Rene Naufahu) and the beautiful but wicked Cynea (Catherine Bell). It is up to Hercules and Iolaus to stop Braxis -- and to help the beast separate the real good guys from the real bad guys. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The third and last film in a trilogy of features produced jointly by the Playboy publishing and cable television empire and Paramount Pictures, this erotic thriller was directed by Oley Sassone, whose previous film, The Fantastic Four (1994) was permanently shelved. Charles Grant stars as David Burgess, a corporate executive experiencing marital troubles with his wife Sara (Tawny Kitaen). Seeing her colleague's problem as her ticket to a brighter future, David's coworker Karen Stone (Shannon Whirry) engineers a sexual encounter between Sara and company CEO Gil Braman (George Hamilton) that is photographed by a private eye (Harry Dean Stanton). Predictably, David sees the photos and has a career-destroying clash with Gil, putting Karen in line for promotion. Realizing what has happened, David and Sara reconcile and set about destroying Karen and Gil while saving the company from a destructive pending merger. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Unreleased to the general public and infamous for its poor quality within geek circles, this Roger Corman adaptation of the Marvel Comics supergroup is an interesting cult item that ranks up there with the dismal Captain America feature and the cheap Hulk TV movies. The story of the film goes back to the late '80s when Marvel Comics were licensing out their characters for mild profit in a time when the comic industry was failing. Enter a German company called Neue Constantin and producer Bernd Eichinger, who held the rights for almost four years before their contract was about to run out. In order to retain the rights to future remake/options and get out of paying a five-million-dollar fee, Neue were forced to put something to film, so they made a deal with Roger Corman's New Horizons studio to make the film quick and on the cheap for $1.5 million. Once the film was finished, Eichinger bought out Corman's interest, then turned around and sold it to 20th Century Fox, who were then prepping a $50 million adaptation with director Chris Columbus. The film then dove into virtual obscurity, save for the comic convention bootlegs and later through the internet. The storyline follows the basic framework of the comic, with the exception of a few minor details, including the introduction of a new villain, The Jeweler, who directly becomes responsible for the team's mishap in space and takes liberally from another one of the comic's famous villains, The Mole Man. In reference to its underground popularity, Corman now regards it as his most profitable film that never saw release, while Marvel president Avi Arad reportedly burned Fox's only print. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

When a well-known music-video star turns up dead, it is up to her sister and an inexperienced police officer to track down the killer. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

Action hero Don "The Dragon" Wilson appears in this third, quickie sequel to Bloodfist. Wilson plays Jimmy Boland, who has been sentenced to a California maximum-security prison for a murder that he didn't commit. When he sees some black prison inmates sodomizing his friend, he flies into a rage and kills the gang leader. The prison warden, in an effort to do Jimmy in, transfers him to the black wing of the prison, where he is sure the black prisoners will dispatch him quickly. This looks to be a safe bet, since the gang member Jimmy had killed was a drug supplier to Blue, the leader of the black prison gang. Wheelhead, a white inmate and leader of a group of white supremacists, takes Jimmy under his wing and offers Jimmy support if he joins the gang. Jimmy refuses, preferring to stay neutral. Meanwhile, Jimmy warms up to his cellmate Stark (Richard Roundtree), and Stark invites Jimmy to join a multi-racial group of prisoners who tend the rooftop prison garden. Jimmy has managed to maintain his neutrality, but at a price. Now both Blue and Wheelhead want to see him dead. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi