Angelle Brooks Movies

Subtitled "The Definitive Reason Why Men Are Dogs", Book of Love is a mockumentary following the lives of three L.A. bachelors (Eric K. George, Anthony "Treach" Criss, and (Richard T. Jones) as they recover from a series of unhealthy relationships. The team of average Joes are no match for their manipulative girlfriends (Robin Givens, Mari Morrow, and Salli Richardson) , however, and the over eager men are taken for all they're worth. It's this manipulative, self-serving treatment that drives the young bachelors into behaving like "dogs" themselves. Directed by Jeff Byrd, Book of Love was produced by both BET Studios and 5th Gear Entertainment, and eventually released by Strange Fruit Films. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Director at the 2001 Urbanworld Film Festival, Blue Hill Avenue focuses on the rise of the drug trade in Boston, as seen through the eyes of three childhood friends. The time is the late '70s, and Tristan (Allen Payne), Money (Aaron D. Spears), E-Bone (William Johnson), and Simon (Michael Taliferro) are all high-school pals and petty thieves on the mean streets of the city's South Side. Their antics bring them to the attention of Benny (Clarence Williams III), a charismatic drug dealer who takes the four friends under his wing. The most straight-and-narrow of the bunch, Tristan manages to keep his nefarious trade under the radar of his parents. As the years pass, however, the dealers introduce crack to their line of narcotics, and Tristan's sense of guilt over his neighborhood's demise leads to an inevitable betrayal of Benny, followed by a grisly showdown. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi

A domestic drama that explores the dysfunctional dynamics at work beneath an affluent African-American family's veneer of ostensible perfection, Ritual stars Clarence Williams III as patriarch and former '60s student activist Leron Becker. While Becker refuses to believe that anything is wrong with his family, his wife Sylvia (Denise Nicholas) is an alcoholic who forsakes any domestic responsibilities for liquor. Her daughter Teresa (Angelle Brooks) has assumed Sylvia's duties, and fawns over her father with almost unnatural devotion. Meanwhile, son Mason (Shawn Michael Howard) has dropped out of college to "save" his family. Although he dotes upon his mother, Mason, who is gay, is constantly at odds with his father, who claims that Mason's sexuality stems from being a mama's boy. Tensions reach a breaking point when, on Mason's dime, Leron and Sylvia take a vacation to the Bahamas, leaving their son and daughter to duke it out for psychological supremacy in the family. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi

In view of her well-publicized divorce from singer Tommy Lee, star Pamela Anderson Lee reverts to just plain Pamela Andersonas the tongue-in-cheek action series V.I.P. enters its third season in syndication. Otherwise, things haven't changed much since Season Two: Anderson's character, gorgeous professional bodyguard Vallery Irons, is still the figurative head of the V.I.P. security agency, still proving her worth to her doubting (and eminently more qualified) coworkers Tasha (Molly Culver), Nikki (Natalie Raitano), Quick (Shaun Baker) and Kay (Leah Lail). Dustin Nguyen, previously seen on recurring basis in the role of VIP's resident martial-arts whiz Johnny Yuh, is now a full regular, acknowledged as such in the opening credits of each episode. The celebrity cameos which were so much a part of the series' previous seasons have diminished to trickle this year, though we are still graced with the presence of such luminaries as Engelbert Humperdinck and Weird Al Yankovic. Otherwise, the Big Names appearing herein--Stephanie Zimbalist, Corben Bernsen, George Takei et al--are relegated to standard guest appearances as characters other than themselves. Also weaving throughout the season's proceedings is a shadowy assassin named The Owl, who befitting his mysterious nature is nearly always portrayed by an uncredited actor. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Statuesque professional bodyguard Vallery Irons (Pamela Anderson Lee and her coworkers at the Vallery Irons Protection Agency continue to safeguard their high-profile clients and occasionally take time off to save the world from annihilation as the cheeky adventure series V.I.P begins its second season in syndication. Taking a cue from the series' fans, the producers place special emphasis on the sexiness of the leading characters and the spectacular nature of the action sequences rather than bother with such inconsequentials as story values and character development. Although the series' fondness for celebrity cameos is not quite as pronounced as it had been in the previous season, the viewers are still treated to such well-knowns as Donny Osmond, Marie Osmond, Jay Leno, Hugh Hefner and Bronson Pinchot are sprinkled throughout Season Two. There are also quite a few recording stars in non-cameo roles, notably Ice-T as the recurring "arch nemesis" The Prophet. Plus, Dustin Nguyen, introduced in Season One in the one-shot role of Japanese martial-arts star Johnny Yuh, makes several return appearances this year, laying the groundwork for his ultimate emergence as a series regular in Season Three. And finally, the episode "The Ransom of Red Val" features an uncredited performance by Tommy Lee, then the husband of series star-producer Pamela Anderson Lee. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Freshly arrived in LA from the midwest, buxom Vallery Irons (Pamela Anderson Lee) is soon being squired around by a variety of handsome hunks, including a certain macho movie star. When this star is jumped by assailants, Vallery accidentally saves the man's life--whereupon, to avoid embarrassment, the star informs his fans that Vallery is actually a professional bodyguard. Picking up on this story are the employees of Colt Arrow Security Services, a deeply-in-debt protection agency. Hoping to avoid closing up shop, the Colt personnel invite Vallery to sign on as head bodyguard and spokesperson, going so far as to rename the organization Vallery Irons Protection (V.I.P.) Assured that she will merely be a sexy "front" and kept far out of harm's way while the rest of the V.I.P. personnel--ex-spy Tasha (Molly Culver), former boxer Quick (Shaun Baker), munitions expert Nikki (Natalie Raitano) and mousy computer wonk Kay (Leah Lail--do all the heavy lifting, Vallery petulantly insists upon being allowed to live up to her reputation and pitch in when the going gets rough. For reasons that may be hard to comprehend, most of Vallery's perilous assignments require her to wear extremely revealing costumes. That's the situation facing us as V.I.P. launches its first season of 22 episodes, in which Vallery and company tackle all manner of risky bodyguarding assignments for a vast array of A-list clients. During Season One alone, the VIP's list of subscribers includes the likes of Coolio, Charles Barkley, Pauly Shore, #Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Bill Maher, Robin Leach, Shannon Tweed, Erik Estrada and Jerry Springer! And in the episode "The Last Temptation of Evil", Dustin Nguyen makes his first appearance as Japanese martial-arts superstar Johnny Loh, who will join the cast on a regular basis in the seasons to come. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

With his impending divorce nearly finalized, an increasingly troubled Hank (Jeffrey Tambor) begins exhibiting increasingly bizarre behavior and hitting on guests Sarah Jessica Parker and Mary Gross. With his desperation spiraling increasingly out of control, Hank hits on a visibly distressed Darlene (Linda Doucett) before checking into a hotel to embark on a hollow frenzy of sex and drugs. When the network begins to catch wind of Hank's plunge into darkness, Artie (Rip Torn) sets out to convince his old friend to stay away from destruction and join his old friends in the land of the living. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi