Lanei Chapman Movies
They've kept television viewers laughing for nearly 20 years, and now the most popular animated family on the small screen makes the leap into theaters as Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart, ad Maggie embark on their first-ever feature-length adventure. Directed by David Silverman and written by a whole host of Simpsons veterans including Matt Groening and James L. Brooks, The Simpsons Movie also features special guest appearances by Albert Brooks among others. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, (more)
- 2007
- PG13
- Add Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls to QueueAdd Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls to top of Queue
Diary of a Mad Black Woman mastermind Tyler Perry turns the familiar Cinderella tale on its head with this story concerning a successful female attorney who falls in love with a financially strapped mechanic. Monty (Idris Elba) is struggling mechanic and single father of three from a poor neighborhood. Upon learning that custody of his beloved daughters has been awarded to his morally bankrupt, drug-dealing ex-wife Jennifer (Tasha Smith), desperate Monty enlists the aid of beautiful Ivy league-educated lawyer Julia (Gabrielle Union) -- whom he recently met during his brief stint as a chauffeur -- in ensuring that his daughters remain with him in a stable and loving environment. Despite the vast social and economical differences that divide them, Monty and Julia soon begin to find themselves unexpectedly falling in love with one another as they work together to save Monty's daughters from a life of crime and corruption. Now, in order to reconcile their blossoming romance and overcome the forces that threaten to destroy the only thing that Monty holds dear, the concerned father and powerful lawyer will have to bridge the gap that divides them by coming together to prove that true love really does have the power to prevail. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gabrielle Union, Idris Elba, (more)
A young girl learns to believe in herself and value her intelligence in this critically-acclaimed, family-friendly drama. Akeelah Anderson (Keke Palmer) is an 11-year-old being raised by her mother, Tanya (Angela Bassett), who was left on her own after the death of her husband. While Akeelah is a very bright girl, she's hardly a star student and seems afraid of acting like a bookworm around her friends and classmates. However, Akeelah's teacher sees genuine potential in her student and encourages her to enter the school's spelling bee, convinced Akeelah has the brains and the talent to win. Akeelah applies herself and emerges victorious in the local competition, but discovers the going gets tougher when she goes to a statewide bee, studying for the regionals under the aegis of strict English teacher Dr. Larabee (Laurence Fishburne), who consents to act as her coach A college professor who was a spelling-bee champ as a child, Larabee is a stubborn taskmaster who questions Akeelah's ability and commitment, but in time he develops a respect for his pupil and helps her prove her talent as she climbs the ladder to the National Spelling Bee. Meanwhile, Tanya feels intimidated when she finds the contests are dominated by children from wealthy families and privileged backgrounds, and argues that the competition may not be in Akeelah's best interest, believing instead that homework should be the one and only priority in Akeelah's life. It soon becomes apparent that if Akeelah has any intention of entering the national spelling bee championships in Washington, D.C., she will not do so with Tanya's permission or blessing. This marks the first onscreen reunion of Bassett and Fishburne since their Academy Award-nommed performances as Ike Turner and Tina Turner in Brian Gibson's 1993 biopic, What's Love Got to Do with It.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, (more)
- 2006
Cristina (Sandra Oh) agrees to keep secret the fact that Burke (Isaiah Washington) has been suffering from hand tremors since his surgery. Izzie (Katherine Heigl) pays a visit to the hospital for the first time since she walked out. Alex (Justin Chambers) is perplexed by his latest patient, a foster child named Megan (Abigail Breslin) who seems unfazed by her many injuries. Another patient's wife (Lanai Chapman) vents her wrath at her husband (Gabriel Casseus) over his repeated surgeries. Addison has a tense, terse meeting with Mark (Eric Dane). And George (T.R. Knight) insists that Callie (Sara Ramirez) find somewhere else to live (guess where!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A very loose remake of the classic multi-star comedy It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963), this madcap comedy is directed by Jerry Zucker, one third of the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker comedy team and director of Ghost (1990). John Cleese stars as an eccentric casino owner who devises a contest pitting six teams against each other in a race to claim two million dollars from a locker in New Mexico. The competitors are Owen (Cuba Gooding Jr., who ends up driving a bus full of Lucille Ball imitators, a foreigner (Rowan Atkinson) who hitches a ride in an organ donor vehicle, and a recently reunited mother and daughter (Whoopi Goldberg and Lanei Chapman) who anger a "squirrel lady" (Kathy Bates) -- much to their regret. There are also two con artist brothers (Seth Green and Vince Vieluf), the upright Nick (Breckin Meyer), who gets a lift from cute but psychotic pilot Tracy (Amy Smart), and the eccentric Pear family, headed up by Jon Lovitz. Rat Race also stars Dave Thomas, Kathy Najimy, Wayne Knight, Dean Cain, and Paul Rodriguez. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rowan Atkinson, John Cleese, (more)
- 1992
A series of bizarre occurences plagues the members of the Enterprise crew after an unexpected alien visit. It is soon revealed that the crew personnel are being kidnapped, one by one. The captives are then experimented upon by their alien abductors, then returned to the Enterprise, with only vague memories of the harrowing experiments. A clever spin on the old "Betty and Barney Hill" plot device, "Schisms" was scripted by Brannon Braga, from a story by Jean Louise Matthias and Ron Wilkerson. Curiously, when the episode first aired on October 24, 1992, its synopsis was missing from the pages of TV Guide. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Ron Shelton (Bull Durham) wrote and directed the basketball-oriented seriocomedy White Men Can't Jump. Woody Harrelson plays Billy Hoyle, a white con artist who hustles basketball games with black players, lulling his victims into the misguided notion that white men can't match up with black hoopsters. One of his victims, African-American Sidney Deane (Wesley Snipes), becomes Hoyle's "agent," arranging his various inner city scams. Deane doesn't feel as though he's selling out his own people; he goes along with Hoyle to provide a better life for his wife, Rhonda (Tyra Ferrell), and son. The film breezes through several zany sequences, including one liberal-baiting satirical moment set at a black/white "solidarity" basketball game arranged by an ambitious politician. Crooked gamblers intrude upon the last scenes of the film, but Hoyle is rescued by his girlfriend, Gloria (Rosie Perez), a Jeopardy freak who realizes a lifelong dream by winning big on the Alex Trebek-hosted game show. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Woody Harrelson, Wesley Snipes, (more)
- 1992
The old Star Trek intersects with the new version in this episode, which originally aired October 17, 1992. Responding to a distress call, Geordi and Riker come across the remains of a 75-year-old starship, whereupon they discover a crewman trapped in a transporter beam. The unfortunate fellow is none other than Scotty (James Doohan), chief engineer of the original Enterprise. Released from limbo, Scotty sullenly realizes that there's no place for him in the 24th century, but not before participating in a thrilling adventure with the Next Generation crew. "Relics" was scripted by Ronald D. Moore. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1992
This adaptation of playwright Oscar Wilde's memorable romantic comedy about two wealthy noblemen who begin calling themselves Ernest in hopes of winning the love of two beautiful girls is set in modern times. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wren T. Brown, Daryl Roach, (more)
- 1992
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A two-part made for TV effort, this special depicts the dysfunctional Jackson family, which has somehow managed to raise its children in such a way that they have managed to rise above their steel town backgrounds to the tops of the charts in the music field. Though obviously not delving into the more controversial and sensational aspects of their lives, this story is a somewhat rose-colored but still interesting pictorial history of the exceptional musical family. If nothing else, worth watching for the incredible music and choreography. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Angela Bassett, (more)
- 1991
Dispatched to rescue the endangered science vessel U.S.S. Britain, the crew discovers that all but one of the crew members have perished. The survivor, Andrus Hagan (John Vickery), is in a catatonic state, experiencing an acute case of dream deprivation. Before long, the Enterprise has fallen victim to the same malady, which goads its victims into acts of insanity, violence, and murder. Scripted by Pamela Douglas and Jeri Taylor from a story by Shari Goodhartz, "Night Terror" initially aired March 23, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
Like many other Next Generation episodes, this one offers two seemingly unrelated subplots which, by fadeout time, become inextricably linked. One story strand finds Geordi getting the chance to meet the "real" version of Dr. Leah Brahms (Susan Gibney), who he had previously recreated on the Holodeck. In the other subplot, the crew becomes a collective surrogate mother to a newborn alien "energy creature" whose mother Picard was forced to destroy. Originally aired March 16, 1991, "Galaxy's Child" was scripted by Maurice Hurley from a story by Thomas Kortozian. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
