Rony Clanton Movies
- 2004
In an episode inspired by the capture of the notorious "BTK Killer", the police find a note duct-taped to an abandoned baby containing cryptic clues as to the mother's whereabouts. As SVU detectives Stabler (Christopher Meloni), Benson (Mariska Hargitay), Munch (Richard Belzer) and Tutuola (Ice-T) follow a trail of increasingly ominous (and often gruesome) clues, it is apparent that the mother has been kidnapped--and likely murdered--by a cunning serial killer known as RDK. But in assembling the pieces of this grim puzzle, the detectives arrive at another, even more frightening conclusion: They may be dealing with a copycat killer who intends to surpass RDK with his own murder spree. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Set in 1953, Mona Lisa Smile tells the story of Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts), a new young art history professor at Wellesley College, an all-female campus with a prestigious reputation for academic excellence. Unfortunately for free-minded Berkeley grad Watson, her East Coast teaching stint comes during a less-progressive time that finds most of her students -- among them Betty Warren (Kirsten Dunst), Joan Brandwyn (Julia Stiles), and Giselle Levy (Maggie Gyllenhaal) -- more interested in nabbing a good husband than achieving scholastic and intellectual growth. Watson challenges her students and the Wellesley faculty to think outside of the current mores of the community and redefine what it means to be a success; meanwhile, she tries to come to terms with her own heart's desires. Mona Lisa Smile co-stars Marcia Gay Harden, Juliet Stevenson, and, as Watson's conflicting love interests, Dominic West and John Slattery. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, (more)
- 2001
It is extremely likely that this episode was inspired by the real-life romance between a prominent rap singer and a famous Hollywood film star. A fatal shooting at an exclusive Manhattan nightclub involves a number of celebrities, including popular hip-hop artist G-Train (Cyrus Farmer). The subsequent investigation is complicated by a distinct lack of cooperation amongst the parties involved. Once the case gets to court, it is clear that G-Train is more concerned with shielding a very special person in his life -- and his carefully cultivated "gangsta" public image -- than in preserving his own freedom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
A high school girl is beaten to death, and it looks as if a neo-fascist youth group is responsible. Conventional wisdom is to prosecute the teens who actually committed the crime. But assistant D.A. McCoy (Sam Waterston) aims his sights a bit higher (or, perhaps, lower) by going after Tom Willis (Michael Cumptsy), the adult white supremacist who fomented the violence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
After a drunken driver kills three people in the same accident, Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) deliver the perpetrator to the D.A.'s office. Still grieving over the death of his former partner, Claire Kincaid, in a similar DUI accident, McCoy (Sam Waterston) intends to charge the driver with first-degree murder, a determination which results in conflict between McCoy and his current partner Ross (Carey Lowell). The ensuing trial degenerates into a media circus, helped not at all by the ruthless behavior of a politically ambitious judge. Cliff Gorman makes his first Law & Order appearance as Judge Gary Feldman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Cinematographer Ernest R. Dickerson directed and co-wrote this crime drama about a group of friends who get involved in a robbery. Bishop (Tupac Shakur), Q (Omar Epps), Raheem (Khalil Kain), and Steel (Jermaine Hopkins) are four Harlem friends who spend their days skipping school, getting in fights, and casually shoplifting. The only member of the group who has plans for the future is Q, who dreams of becoming a deejay. But one day Bishop happens to see James Cagney in White Heat and the film inspires him to buy a gun. His plan is to rob a corner store and split the money. Everyone goes along with the plan except for Q, who is competing that night in a deejay contest. At the club, Q is a rousing success, but he spies the stern faces of his friends through the cheering crowd and realizes that he has to go along with the robbery, which goes completely wrong. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Omar Epps, Tupac Shakur, (more)
Writer-director Spike Lee's epic portrayal of the life and times of the slain civil rights leader Malcolm X begins with the cross-cut imagery of the police beating of black motorist Rodney King juxtaposed with an American flag burning into the shape of the letter X. When the film's narrative begins moments later, it jumps back to World War II-era Boston, where Malcolm Little (Denzel Washington) is making his living as a hustler. The son of a Baptist preacher who was murdered by the Ku Klux Klan, Little was raised by foster parents after his mother was deemed clinically insane; as an adult, he turned to a life of crime, which leads to his imprisonment on burglary charges. In jail, Little receives epiphany in the form of an introduction to Islam; he is especially taken with the lessons of Elijah Mohammed, who comes to him in a vision. Adopting the name 'Malcolm X' as a rejection of the 'Little' surname (given his family by white slave owners), he meets the real Elijah Mohammed (Al Freeman, Jr.) upon exiting prison, and begins work as a spokesman for the Nation of Islam. Marriage to a Muslim nurse named Betty Shabazz (Angela Bassett) follows, after which X spearheads a well-attended march on a Harlem hospital housing a Muslim recovering from an episode of police brutality. The march's success helps elevate X to the position of Islam's national spokesperson. There is dissension in the ranks, however, and soon X is targeted for assassination by other Nation leaders; even Elijah Mohammed fears Malcolm's growing influence. After getting wind of the murder plot, X leaves the Nation of Islam, embarking on a pilgrimage to Mecca that proves revelatory; renouncing his separatist beliefs, his oratories begin embracing all races and cultures. During a 1965 speech, Malcolm X is shot and killed, reportedly by Nation of Islam members. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, (more)
Hangin' with the Homeboys follows four young men--two Black, two Puerto Rican--over the course of one night in the Bronx. During the night, they have several misadventures as they talk, argue, play and get into accidents. This coming-of-age film was directed by the late Joseph B. Vasquez and features an early performance by John Leguizamo. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Doug E. Doug, Mario Joyner, (more)
Writer/producer/director James Bond III also stars in this innovative supernatural thriller as Joel, a divinity student from rural North Carolina who has a serious crisis of faith and travels to New York to seek the advice of his friend, aspiring actor K (Kadeem Hardison). In an effort to loosen up his conservative companion, K gives him a taste of New York nightlife -- personified by an alluring club vamp with the less-than-subtle name of Temptation (Cynthia Bond). Although her true nature as a soul-stealing succubus is more than obvious to the audience (particularly after several scenes of unsuspecting wannabe players torn limb-from-limb), Temptation nevertheless ensnares naïve, innocent Joel in her devilish spell, prompting K to investigate the woman's background with a little help from a detective (Bill Nunn) determined to connect her with several murders. Bond's intelligent morality play is a step above simple homage to horror and blaxploitation genres of the '70s, avoiding many of those films' stereotypes to present three-dimensional characters and realistic dialogue. The vibrant, color-rich cinematography is the work of frequent Spike Lee collaborator Ernest R. Dickerson. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Bond III, Kadeem Hardison, (more)
- 1990
- R
In this actioner, Eddie Baker is brutally murdered by drug dealers. Later expatriate, reformed drug-dealer Superfly is conned into returning to the US from Paris by federal drug agents. He then must let his former cronies know that he wants back into the drug business. Superfly hasn't been a dealer for over twenty-years, and doesn't realize that drug dealing has become a deadly game. His sudden reappearance rouses the suspicion of the two crooked cops controlling the city's drug flow. They are unsure which side of the law he is on and are not anxious to allow him a piece of the action. Fortunately for "Fly" a good buddy fills him in on modern drug trafficking. He decides to go back to Paris, but then the US agents force him to change his plans. Later Superfly is beaten by the drug lord's men and his lady friend is shot. Now nothing will prevent the enraged hero from getting his revenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nathan Purdee, Margaret Avery, (more)
- 1990
This paranoid thriller begins as Eric Roberts' girlfriend (Janine Turner) is taken away in an ambulance and he can't find her. She's been taken prisoner by Eric Braeden, a crazed doctor who kidnaps people and sells their bodies for spare parts. Roberts hooks up with pretty cop Megan Gallagher to solve the mystery. A campy, action-packed thriller from cult director Larry Cohen (It's Alive), The Ambulance features a cameo by Marvel Comics prez Stan Lee and lots of tongue-in-cheek humor. It's as quirky as Cohen's other genre forays, and is entertaining enough for a rainy day rental, with clever photography by Jacques Haitkin and a tense score by Jay Chattaway. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Roberts, James Earl Jones, (more)
- 1987
In the first episode of a three-part story, Hunter (Fred Dryer) finds himself up against a crooked judge, a coven of Satanists, and a serial killer known only as Big Foot. The intrigues commence when McCall is pressured to drop charges against Judge Warren Unger (Robert Reed), who was caught in a police sting with a teenage prostitute. Later on, the hooker tells Hunter that she thinks her best friend has been kidnapped by the Satanists--one of whom may well be the elusive Big Foot. Shelley Taylor Morgan returns in the role of flamboyant undercover cop Kitty O'Hearn in this adaptation of a novel by former police detective Dallas L. Barnes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
- R
This uneasy mix between a slasher film and a police story focuses on a series of murders in a luxury Manhattan apartment building and the main suspect in the case, an eccentric doorman (Ian McShane). The chief detective sent to unravel the crimes, Lt. Dinardo (Mike Connors) is involved with Kate (Anne Archer), an undercover cop who installs herself in the apartment building to lure the killer into action. This makes the lieutenant particularly interested in the outcome of Kate's ploy. Although potentially prone to high suspense and dramatic turns, the story is not quite as tension-filled (or gory) as its outlines suggest. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Connors, Anne Archer, (more)
In Rappin', Mario Van Peebles is John Hood, a con who when released from jail goes back to his neighborhood to find his girl shacked up with a nasty gang-leader named Duane (Charles Flohe). Duane is on the take with a corrupt contractor who plans to tear down Hood's neighborhood and he and his gang serve as ruffian rowdies who help evict the tenants. John Hood will not put up with this nonsense; he throws a community rap session and gets everybody aligned against the bad guys. His rappin' is so ratin' that he impresses a record company and wins his gal back. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edye Byrde, Rony Clanton, (more)
Combining electric song and dance performances with drama (both on and off screen), Francis Ford Coppola's The Cotton Club (1984) looks back to the 1920s-1930s peak of the legendary Harlem nightclub where only blacks performed and only whites could sit in the audience. Mixing historical figures with characters loosely based on actual people, Coppola and co-writers William Kennedy and The Godfather's Mario Puzo create a panorama of love, crime, and entertainment centered on the Club. Among them are cornet player Dixie Dwyer (Richard Gere, playing his own solos), who escapes psycho gangster "benefactor" Dutch Schultz (James Remar) for a George Raft-type Hollywood career as a gangster film star; Schultz's nubile mistress Vera Cicero (Diane Lane), who loves Dixie against her mercenary instincts; Cotton Club Mob owner Owney Madden (Bob Hoskins) and close associate Frenchy Demarge (Fred Gwynne); Vincent (Nicolas Cage), Dixie's no-good Mad Dog Coll-esque brother; Club tap star Sandman Williams (Gregory Hines), who woos ambitious light-skinned Club singer Lila Rose Oliver (Lonette McKee); and cameos by Charles "Honi" Coles and Cab Calloway impersonator Larry Marshall. Complementing the period story, Coppola evokes the style of '30s gangster movies and musicals through an array of old-fashioned devices like montages of headlines, songs and shoot-outs. Conceived by producer Robert Evans as his crowning achievement and directorial debut, Evans had to hand over the troubled production to Coppola, but the budget spiraled out of control as the script was repeatedly re-written throughout the chaotic shoot. By the time it was released, The Cotton Club's epic production story of power struggles, financial bloat, and even a murder overshadowed the "reunion" of The Godfather's creative team. Neither a Heaven's Gate-sized failure nor a wallet-saving hit like Coppola's Apocalypse Now, The Cotton Club got some favorable critical notices (although it drew fire for subordinating the African American stories). It did not, however, find a large enough audience to justify its expense and controversy, becoming another mark against 1970s "auteur" cinema in increasingly blockbuster-driven 1980s Hollywood. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Gere, Gregory Hines, (more)
Paul Newman stars as an essentially decent cop patrolling that decimated, drug-and-gang-ridden borough known on the city maps as the Bronx, but known to its denizens as "Fort Apache". While Newman tries to hold on to his basic humanity and to treat even the sorriest of the people on his beat with dignity, he can't do much to convince his superiors that blind brutality is not the answer to social blight. When he witnesses fellow-cop Danny Aiello cold-bloodedly murdering a crime suspect, Newman is advised to sweep the whole incident under the rug. He refuses to do so, and as a result becomes "persona non grata" to his former friends on the force. Ed Asner co-stars as the beleaguered captain who has given up trying to treat his job as anything but a necessary evil, while Rachel Ticotin is Newman's love interest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Newman, Ed Asner, (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)
A surprisingly long and worthwhile film, The Education of Sonny Carson is based on a true story. Rony Clanton stars as Carson, a product of the Brooklyn ghetto. After several years of gang and drug activities, Sonny is sobered by his horrendous experiences in prison. He puts his priorities in order and finds a "born again" purpose in life under his new name, Iwina Lmiri Abubadika. The film ends in the 1970s, long before Abubadika's controversial involvement in New York politics. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
