Reed R. McCants Movies
Project X is a top-secret government undertaking involving trained chimpanzees. Grounded pilot Matthew Broderick, assigned to teach the chimps how to operate a flight simulator, discovers that his charges are to be subjected to high levels of radiation to test potential human endurance. Risking a court martial, Broderick links up with Helen Hunt, the researcher who has taught the chimps sign language, to save the simians from destruction. The serious subtext of Project X is forgotten during a Disneyesque comic finale, wherein the lovable chimps nearly trigger a nuclear meltdown! Without taking anything away from human stars Matthew Broderick and Helen Hunt, we must note that the most engaging performance in Project X is delivered by Willie the Chimp, who essays the challenging role of Virgil the Chimp. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew Broderick, Helen Hunt, (more)
- 1989
The Road Raiders was not, as might be expected, an American rip-off of The Road Warrior. It is instead a made-for-TV combat film, set during World War II. Bruce Boxleitner heads a group of "Black Sheep Squadron" style misfits, stationed on a lonely South Pacific island (along with the requisite voluptuous nurses). When they can find the time, Boxleitner's raiders bedevil the Japanese. Road Raiders had all the earmarks of a pilot film for a proposed series--including a quickie TV playoff when the series didn't sell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Strapped for cash, Kim (Charnele Brown) takes a night job at funeral parlor in addition to her regular job at The Pit. Distressed by this news, the gang contrives to "stuff" the Pit's tip box--but instead of being grateful, Kim is outraged. Elsewhere, Dwayne (Kadeem Hardison) and Ron (Darryl M. Bell) prepare to appear in a TV commercial in which they will show off their basketball skills, little imagining that their opponents are former NBA stars Rick Barry and Walt Hazzard. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Mare Winningham stars in this made-for-cable TV movie about a woman who, after a lifetime of bad luck, ends up on death row -- where she insists the sentence be carried out promptly. Film was co-produced by author and noted feminist Gloria Steinem. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Television director Neema Barnette directs the forceful drama Civil Brand, based on a story by Preston A. Whitmore II. Shot with a micro-budget of 500,000 dollars, the film stars confrontational rap and hip-hop artists Mos Def, MC Lyte, and Da Brat. The story concerns a women's prison that exploits its largely African-American inmate population as cheap labor to manufacture products for a corporation. Mostly incarcerated due to domestic violence situations, the inmates also face sexual abuse as the hands of the prison staff, headed by Captain Deese (Clifton Powell) and Warden Nelson (Reed McCants). Accused of murder, Frances Shepard (Lisa Rae) joins forces with inmates Little Momma (Lark Voorhies), Wet (Monica Calhoun), and Nikki Barnes (N'Bushe Wright), as well as law student Michael (Mos Def), in order to start an uprising. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
