Rosanna Carter Movies
- 1997
Amazingly, Season Eight of Law & Order begins with the cast from Season Seven intact, with no additions or deletions. The case at hand: the murder of a pizza delivery man, which the detectives believe was deliberate and not a random shooting. As it turns out, the dead man was the victim of a thrill killing committed by a pair of teenagers (Rob McElhenney, Michael Marrona). Complications: Each teen blames the other for the murder, an eyewitness saw only one of the boys pulling the trigger, and the key clue is the recording of a Confessional -- which cannot be admitted as evidence. In the course of events, detective Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) receives some bad news. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
Theodore Bikel guest stars as millionaire Sol Bregman, a longtime friend of District Attorney Adam Schiff (Steven Hill). When his son is snatched by kidnappers, Bregman refuses to cooperate with the police. The reasons for Bregman's behavior go far beyond mere concern for his son's well-being. This is one of the few Law & Order episodes in which stalwart series regular Steven Hill is allowed to carry the ball dramatically. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1992
Carolina Skeletons is based on a prize-winning novel by David Stout. Louis Gossett Jr. plays a former Green Beret colonel who returns to his home town after thirty years. As a child, Gossett was forced to look on in horror as his brother was tried and executed on a trumped-up murder charge. Now that he's back, Gossett seeks out new evidence, intending to bring the real killer to justice. Unfortunatel, there are several people in town who'd prefer that the past remained buried-and aren't averse to burying Gossett should the need arise. Made for television, Carolina Skeletons debuted September 30, 1991. An R-rated version was later prepared for cable TV. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1992
While on a shopping excursion with her former babysitter Mrs. Whitaker (Leila Danette), Pam (Erika Alexander) is shocked to discover that the chain supermarket in Mrs. Whitaker's neighborhood charges higher prices for lower-quality items than the store owned by the same chain in the Huxtable's neighborhood.. After sharing her outrage with her friends Lance (Allen Payne) and Charmaine (Karen Malina White), Pam sets up a "penny plan" whereby Mrs. Whitaker and her friends can shop at the supermarket with the more reasonable prices. This strategy proves both rewarding and exhausting for Pam and her pals, who are now committed to shuttling the little old ladies back and forth--nonstop! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
In a fictionalized replay of the notorious Tawana Brawley incident, African-American teenager Astrea Crawford (Kisha Miller) claims that she was gang-raped by white policemen. As Greevey (George Dzundza) and Logan (Chris Noth) pursue their investigation, assistant D.A.'s Stone (Michael Moriarty) and Robinette (Richard Brooks) attempt to build a case against the accused -- if indeed there is a case. The inevitable racial tensions are exacerbated by the interference, and inflammatory rhetoric, of flamboyant black congressman Ronald Eaton (J.A. Preston). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Susan Seidelman directed this loose adaptation of Fay Weldon's novel The Life and Loves of a She-Devil concerning the extreme revenge exacted by a dumpy housewife on her philandering husband. Mary Fisher (Meryl Streep) is a best-selling romance novelist of the manner of Danielle Steel or Jackie Collins. One night at a glamorous dinner party, Ruth (Roseanne Barr), the frumpy housewife of Bob (Ed Begley Jr.), accidentally spills wine over Mary's pink evening gown. Bob rushes to Mary's assistance, they look into each other's eyes, and it is lust at first sight. After a few clandestine interludes, Bob abandons his wife and his two smart-aleck kids to live with Mary at her palace by the seaside. As a result, Ruth goes into high gear to seek vengeance. She deposits her kids with Bob and then, with the help of a collection of other abused women -- including Ruth's mother (Sylvia Miles), nursing home attendant Hopper (Linda Hunt), and dim-witted secretary Olivia Honey (Maria Pitillo) -- she systematically sets out to destroy Bob's life. Bob calls Ruth a she-devil, and Ruth plays the role to the hilt; first she destroys his home life, then his career, then his freedom. And when he has nothing left, she proceeds to haunt and stalk him, bringing Bob to his knees. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Meryl Streep, Roseanne, (more)
Gathering of Old Men was based on the novel by Ernest J. Gaines, who'd previously written The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. Like Pittman, Gathering builds its narrative upon a tapestry of deep-bred racial intolerance in the South. When a bigoted white Louisiana tenant farmer is killed, black sharecropper Louis Gossett Jr. is the most likely suspect. Plantation manager Holly Hunter, fearing a lynching, rallies Gossett's friends to form a united front to ward off any vigilantes. Sheriff Richard Widmark arrives to arrest Gossett, whereupon his old friends, in Spartacus fashion, all confess to the killing. Even threats of violent retaliation cannot dissuade these elderly black men from displaying their pride to the white powers-that-be. Adapted for television by Charles (A Soldier's Story) Fuller, it was first broadcast on May 10, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
- R
- Add The Brother from Another Planet to QueueAdd The Brother from Another Planet to top of Queue
Filmmaker John Sayles' first bonafide box-office success, Brother from Another Planet centers on a black escaped slave from a faraway planet (Joe Morton) who finds himself on the mean streets Harlem. Though the locals are put off by the slave's inability to speak, they are won over by his technical wizardry. He is adopted as a "brother" by his new friends, who protect him from pursuing white aliens played by director Sayles and David Strathairn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Morton, Darryl Edwards, (more)
- 1980
- R
The protagonists are secondary and uni-dimensional in this unlikely actioner about a divorced father (James Brolin) tearing through New York chasing the man who kidnapped his daughter (Abby Bluestone). Sean Boyd (Brolin) is an ex-cop with an enemy on the force out to kill him. Between dodging his would-be assassin, fighting off street thugs, and getting crashed into by one car after another, Boyd is not about to give up or get seriously hurt. In the meantime the police themselves are too inept to catch the kidnapper (Cliff Gorman), and the winsome Marie (Julie Carmen) has decided to hang out with Boyd and help him find his daughter. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Brolin, Cliff Gorman, (more)
- 1974
Good Times moved to a Tuesday-night slot for this first episode of the series' second season. The Evans family is bewildered by the bizarre behavior of mom Florida (Esther Rolle). Son Michael (Ralph Carter) thinks that Florida is going through menopause, while her best friend Willona (Ja'net DuBois) is convinced that she is merely bored with her life. But could it actually be that Florida is in the early stages of a nervous breakdown? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
