J.D. Smith Movies

Denzel Washington stars in this adaptation of the novel by African-American crime author Walter Mosley, the first of his stories to reach the screen. Ezekiel Rawlins (Washington), known to his friends as "Easy," has just lost his job at an aircraft plant in post-WW II Los Angeles, a time when good-paying jobs for black men are hard to come by. He's wondering how to make his mortgage payment when he's approached by De Witt Albright (Tom Sizemore), who describes his job as "doing favors for friends." It seems that a woman named Daphne Monet (Jennifer Beals) has gone missing; Daphne is the former girlfriend of wealthy mayoral candidate Todd Carter (Terry Kinney) and a known habitué of the black jazz clubs and night spots on L.A.'s Central Avenue. Albright offers Easy $100 to help him find Daphne, and while he doesn't have any detective experience, the price is right, so Easy agrees. After a passionate affair with a friend of Daphne's, Coretta James (Lisa Nicole Carson), leads to that woman's murder, Easy enlists the help of his friend Mouse (Don Cheadle), who seems to know just a bit too well how to use a gun, which gives Easy all too clear a look at the lower depths of L.A.'s upper crust. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This action-packed sequel to the live-action adaptation of Toshiki Takaya's popular comic-book series stars David Hayter as Sean Barker, the young hero capable of summoning the powers of the Guyver, an alien technology that armors his body with a powerful bio-mechanical exoskeleton. Sean/Guyver's battle against the reptilian creatures known as "Zoanoids" continues when an archaeological dig uncovers the ancient alien vessel which originally carried the Zoanoids to Earth. As in the previous installment, both government agents and the minions of the Chronos Corporation continue their secret dalliances with the Zoanoids' biomechanical technology, with both sides planning to abscond with any alien artifacts recovered from the site. Eventually the dig's security chief, Crane (Bruno Giannetta), is revealed as a Chronos plant and takes the other team members hostage, surrounding them with Zoanoid soldiers. Sean summons up his powers to combat Crane, who then reveals his wild card -- a second Guyver module found aboard the ship, which transforms Crane into a powerful and malevolent super-Guyver. With somewhat higher production values than its predecessor, this entire film still plays like an extended episode of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (which in turn owes a debt to Ultraman), flavored with many familiar ingredients from such Hong Kong action-fantasy epics as A Chinese Ghost Story. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Sylvester Stallone returns to the character which made him famous in this wildly successful sequel. Rocky III starts with the Italian Stallion so famous that his likeness is everywhere, including pinball machines. Fame and complacency soon cause Balboa to lose his title to young thug Clubber Lang (Mr. T), who inadvertently causes the death of Rocky's beloved trainer, Mickey (Burgess Meredith), before their first championship bout. After sinking into a depression, Balboa must regain the love and support of his family, as well as the elusive "eye of the tiger," the hungry need to beat the opponent which former foe Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) teaches him during this film's de rigueur training sequence. In the end, Balboa faces off against Lang for a second time. "Eye of the Tiger," the theme song Stallone commissioned from the band Survivor, became a huge hit single. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide