MGM

Snakes on a Plane director David R. Ellis follows up his high-flying tale of reptilian terror with this horrific frightener concerning a group of college students who discover that their dormitory was once a mental hospital presided over by a sadistic doctor. As the semester gets under way, it begins to appear as if the spirit of the malevolent M.D. has decided to remain in the haunted hallways in order to continue his experiments on the latest crop of students. Written by Ethan Lawrence and starring Sarah Roemer, Mark Rolston, Ellen Hoffman, Travis Van Winkle, Cody Kasch, and Jake Muxworthy, Asylum features state-of-the-art special effects work by Academy Award-winning artist David LeRoy Anderson (Dawn of the Dead [2004], Men in Black, and The Nutty Professor). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

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

A brilliant hacker inadvertently sets the wheels of World War III into motion after hacking into a restricted online gaming network and learning of a national defense system designed to identify fledgling terrorist cells in this belated sequel to the popular 1982 thriller. There isn't a system on the planet that Will Farmer (Matt Lanter) can't hack into with a little work, so when he manages to breach the security of a restricted online gaming network known as R.I.P.L.E.Y., he's convinced that his skills are still as sharp as ever. But what Matt hasn't realized is that R.I.P.L.E.Y. is actually a highly classified government defense system, and he's just become its next target. Now the system knows his identity, and his entire hometown faces the threat of an automated military response. In order to clear his name, Matt will have to beat the computer at its own game. The game turns deadly, however, when R.I.P.L.E.Y. suddenly raises the stakes, threatening Armageddon in a time when the world is already dangerously unstable. With no time left to lose before the missiles start to fly, Matt must now use his formidable hacking skills to save the world from the government's own hopelessly flawed doomsday device. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Cult director Larry Cohen (It's Alive) directed this violent blaxploitation film. Nasty racist John McKinney cripples a black shoeshine boy, who grows up to be Tommy Gibbs (Fred Williamson), the Godfather of Harlem. The crimelord now has his tormentor McKinney (Art Lund) in his pocket, based on the cop's mob ties. Tommy's traitorous girlfriend Helen (Gloria Hendry) hands over the evidence, and McKinney moves in for the kill. But he may have underestimated the violent Tommy, who makes him shine his shoes in blackface while singing "Mammy." Rick Baker provided makeup effects, and James Brown did the music for this bloody oddity, followed the same year by Hell Up in Harlem. Cohen and Williamson got together 23 years later for an interesting (if unsuccessful) attempt at reviving the genre, Original Gangstas. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

The irrepressible Stargate team faces their biggest challenge yet as they set out in search of the ancient artifact with the power to defeat the villainous Ori before they launch a devastating attack on planet Earth. The Ori are determined to exterminate all traces of mankind, but not if Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks), Teals (Christopher Judge), Vala (Claudia Black), Sam (Amanda Tapping), and Cam (Ben Browder) have anything to say about it. With a scheming I.O. operative aboard the Odyssey, the final fight for humanity begins to unfold in the deepest reaches of outer space. Beau Bridges co-stars. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide