Felon

A production from Sony’s new low-budget DVD premiere line, Stage 6 Films, Felon makes an impact in all departments as a no-holds-barred prison drama. Stephen Dorff gets a rare chance to play the good guy here, Wade Porter, a man who is put behind bars in a brutal prison after he accidentally kills a burglar. He gets a quick education about the politics, racism and corruption that comes with prison life thanks to his cellmate, a meditative murderer (an unrecognizable Val Kilmer). Writer/director Ric Roman Waugh, a former leading stunt coordinator, impresses with his accomplished cinema verite style, electrifying fight sequences and sharp scripting. The top-notch cast also includes Sam Shepard, Harold Perrineau and Marisol Nichols (TV’s 24) as Wade’s wife, who is going through her own hell while he’s in prison.

Shelf Talk: You can’t get more male-oriented than Felon, and Sony is targeting men with Internet coverage on such Web sites as IGN and UGO, in addition to print ads in Maxim, Playboy and other men’s magazines. The cast and premise—similar to Tom Selleck’s An Innocent Man—are the key selling points.