Roy Anderson Movies

Dark Angel-lead Jessica Alba stars in the title role of this film, the feature debut from music-video director Bille Woodruff. Honey is a girl from the streets who works in a record store, teaches the occasional dance class at a community center, and treks downtown every weekend to hit the clubs and try out some new moves. There, she meets a music video producer (David Moscow) who offers her a chance to be a choreographer -- but at a price she eventually learns she's unwilling to pay. Determined to pick herself back up, Honey goes back to the inner-city of her youth with plans of starting a dance school. Lil' Romeo co-stars as Honey's protege; other real-life musicians (including Missy Elliott, Tweet, Jay-Z, and Ginuwine) appear as themselves. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Our America is the story of LeAlan Jones and Lloyd Newman two inner-city Chicago teenagers who eloquently distilled their lives on the Mean Streets into an award-winning Public Radio documentary (and later, a book) titled Our America: Life and Death on the South Side of Chicago. When a local NPR broadcaster conducts a search for "two young, intelligent African Americans to be on the radio", Jones (played by Roderick Pannell) and Newman (Brandon Hammond) smooth-talk their way into the offices of radio producer David Isay (Josh Charles), and as a result both young men are hired as reporters. For the next week, LeAlan and Lloyd amble through the Projects, tape recorders in hand, the better to assemble a "sound portrait" of their 'hood. But with the resultant success and fame, Jones and Newman must suffer the admonitions and threats of their neighbors, who feel that the two have sold out to "Whitey" and are exploiting their own people. Things come to a startling climax when, in the course of their investigative reporting, LeAlan and Lloyd put their lives on the line to tell the whole story of a 4-year-old boy who was tossed from a 14th story window to his death by a rampaging gang. Our America made its Showtime cable network debut on July 28, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Paid in Full marks the feature debut of director Charles Stone III, who rose to fame after creating Budweiser's "Wassup" commercials. The urban gangster drama is loosely based on the true story of 1980s Harlem drug kingpins AZ, Rich Porter, and Alpo. (This story was also the basis for a documentary, Game Over (Part 1).) Ace (Wood Harris) works at a laundromat, struggling to get by, while his friend Mitch (Mekhi Phifer) lives the high life selling heroin. His sister's boyfriend, Calvin (Kevin Carroll) also sells drugs, and looks down on Ace for struggling to earn a living. Out delivering laundry one day, Ace meets Lulu (Esai Morales), a big time coke dealer, who lives better than anyone Ace has ever known. When Lulu leaves some coke in the pocket of a coat he's having cleaned, Ace returns it to him, and Lulu rewards him for his honesty by letting him keep the drugs. When Calvin gets busted, Ace hesitantly takes his place in the neighborhood, and starts working for Lulu. As the crack business takes off, Ace finds himself making more money than he knows what to do with. Mitch goes to jail for a short time, where another inmate, Rico (rapper Cam'ron in his acting debut), defends him in a fight. By the time Mitch gets out of prison, Ace is running the neighborhood. Ace makes Mitch his right-hand man, and when Rico gets out of jail, he joins the crew. The drugs and money flow, and Ace tries to keep everyone happy, but there are some who want what's his, and will stop at nothing to get it. Paid in Full was shown at the 2002 Urbanworld Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

A man must decide if his greater loyalty is to his family or to justice in this made-for-TV movie based on a true story. In 1963, several members of a Southern Ku Klux Klan chapter bombed an African-American church in Birmingham, AL. Four young girls died in the blast, but the police were unable to prosecute the most case at the time because no one was willing to testify against the most likely suspects, or even say what they knew about them. Tom Cherry (Tom Sizemore) is the son of Bobby Frank Cherry (Richard Jenkins), who moved from Alabama to Texas not long after the bombing. Now a grown man in middle age, Tom has known since he was a boy about his father's involvement in the Ku Klux Klan and his participation in the Birmingham church bombing, but he's never been able to bring himself to tell the police what he know, or turn his dad over to authorities. However, when investigators reopen the case and begin asking both Tom and Bobby Frank tough questions, Tom struggles to decide what he should do, with his good friend Garrick Jones (Ving Rhames) urging him to help the authorities bring the guilty parties to justice. For a look at the facts behind the Birmingham church bombing case, viewers should also take a look at Spike Lee's acclaimed documentary 4 Little Girls. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Notoriously obsessive director Michael Mann and star Will Smith devoted nearly two years and over 100 million dollars from the coffers of Columbia Pictures and other financiers to creating this biography of boxing great Muhammad Ali, which focuses on the ten-year period of 1964-1974. In that time, the brash, motor-mouthed athlete quickly dominates his sport, meets and marries his first wife (Jada Pinkett-Smith), converts to Islam (changing his name from Cassius Clay), and defies the United States government by refusing to submit to military conscription for duty in Vietnam. His world heavyweight champion title thus stripped from him entirely for political reasons, the champ sets about to win back his crown, culminating in a legendary unification bout against George Foreman (Charles Shufford) in Zaire, dubbed the "Rumble in the Jungle." In his travels, Ali becomes a symbol of power to disenfranchised African-Americans everywhere and meets such luminaries as Malcolm X (Mario Van Peebles), Martin Luther King Jr. (LeVar Burton) and Maya Angelou (Martha Edgerton). Ali features an all-star supporting cast that includes Jon Voight, Giancarlo Esposito, Jamie Foxx, Nona Gaye, Michael Michele, Joe Morton, Paul Rodriguez, Ron Silver, Mykelti Williamson, and Jeffrey Wright. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

This comic spoof is spun off from a character that first appeared on The Chris Rock Show, and is written and directed by Louis C.K., one of that show's producers. Lance Crouther stars as Pootie Tang, a crime fighting superhero and recording artist who speaks in an unintelligible gibberish that seems to be a combination of Ebonics and street slang. Despite his communication problem, Pootie is a hero to children, whom he attempts to protect from the evil Dick Lecter (Robert Vaughn), a corporate fat cat out to corrupt America's youth with alcohol, tobacco, and junk food. Pootie also runs up against an artistic imitator (David Cross) and a sleazy recording executive (Andy Richter) Pootie Tang co-stars Chris Rock, Dave Attell, and Bob Costas and Conan O'Brien as themselves. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Returning to his action feature terrain after a short hiatus, Steven Seagal plays Orin Boyd, a maverick Detroit detective with an unconventional way of taking down foes. After a failed intervention in a terrorist kidnapping case that humiliates his superiors, Boyd -- who is hailed as a top-drawer investigator but frowned upon for his tactics -- is forced to do time in a tough downtown precinct. After discovering the covert drug operation performed by several corrupt cops at his new assignment, he decides to break the rules yet again. While the cops are planning a massive heroin deal with big-time gangster Latrell Walker (DMX), Boyd finds that Latrell is not who he once was, and Boyd persuades him to assist in bringing an end to the amoral police influence that helped ruin him. Exit Wounds is the second film from cinematographer-turned-director Andrzej Bartkowiak (Romeo Must Die) and also features Tom Arnold, Isaiah Washington, and Jill Hennessy. ~ Jason Clark, Rovi

A man struggles back from madness to avenge the death of someone he knew in an intelligent thriller based on the acclaimed novel by George Dawes Green. Romulus Ledbetter (Samuel L. Jackson) once had a career as an acclaimed concert pianist, a position at the Juilliard School of Music, and a loving wife and children. But Ledbetter's life has been devastated by paranoid schizophrenia; now homeless, Ledbetter wanders the streets of New York City as he rails against Cornelius Gould Stuyvesant, a man whom he believes controls all the evil in the world while following his movements from a perch atop the Chrysler Building. Most nights, Ledbetter takes shelter in a cave in Central Park, earning him the nickname "the Caveman." One morning, Ledbetter discovers a frozen corpse caught in the branches of a tree near his cave; the body is that of Scotty (Sean MacMahaon), a homeless drug addict who was close friends with his pal Matthew (Rodney Eastman). Ledbetter is determined to get justice for Scotty, and he's also eager to prove himself to his daughter Lulu (Aunjanue Ellis), now a New York City police officer. While Ledbetter is at first convinced that his nemesis Stuyvesant is responsible for Scotty's death, in time he focuses on another suspect: David Leppenraub (Colm Feore), a famous photographer known for his controversial erotic images of young men, who occasionally hired Scotty as a model. As Ledbetter attempts to investigate Leppenraub's possible role in the murder, he soon gains an unexpected ally -- Moira (Ann Magnuson), a noted sculptor and Leppenraub's sister. The Caveman's Valentine marked the major-studio debut for director Kasi Lemmons, who made an impressive debut in 1997 with the independent drama Eve's Bayou. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The toll that drugs and crime have taken on an economically-depressed African-American neighborhood in Baltimore paints the backdrop for this miniseries produced for and initially aired by the premium cable network HBO. Gary McCullogh (T.K. Carter) was once a hard-working man with an education and a solid career, but after succumbing to the lure of heroin, Gary has lost his job, home, and wife -- and now steals whatever he can find to support his habit. Gary lives with his girlfriend Fran Boyd (Khandi Alexander), who is also addicted to heroin. While she's all too aware of the pitfalls of her life and wants to clean up, she has trouble getting medical help and her willpower is too weak for her to kick the habit by herself. Fran's 15-year-old son DeAndre (Sean Nelson) has seen enough of his mother's troubles to be wary of using drugs, but while he would prefer to stay on the straight and narrow, dealing crack is one of the few job options open to him in his neighborhood, especially after his allergy to seafood causes him to lose a job in a restaurant. The Corner was based on the book of the same name by Edward Burns and David Simon, which examined one year in a real-life Baltimore neighborhood; Simon collaborated on the teleplay with David Mills, and noted actor Charles S. Dutton directed. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Prakazrel Michel, better known as Pras from the top-selling R&B group The Fugees, stars in this urban drama based on both his solo album Ghetto Superstar and his novel of the same name. Diamond (Pras) is an up-and-coming musician who is trying to use his creative gifts to work his way out of the ghetto after the traumatic death of his mother. But he soon discovers that the music industry is nearly as corrupt and dangerous as the streets he's trying to leave behind, and Diamond is guided into a life of crime by his shady friend Gage (Ja Rule). In addition, Diamond must content with the unexpected pregnancy of his girlfriend Tamara (Tamala Jones), and attempts by his father Cliff (Vondie Curtis-Hall) to mend their contentious relationship. Turn It Up, which was produced under the title Ghetto Superstar, also features Eugene Clark and Patricia Velasquez. Madonna helped to produce the film through her production company, Madguy Films. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Vocal artist Natalie Cole comments on her own life, beginning with her acclaimed father's singing career and descending into the depths of her heroin addiction. Her story of finally defeating the drug addiction is inspired by the legacy of her father Nat King Cole; through her memory of him, she is able to overcome her own problems. The creation of the album that serves as a tribute to her parental inspiration is also featured in Livin' for Love: The Natalie Cole Story. ~ Sarah Sloboda, Rovi

Literally picking up where the original Universal Soldier left off, this made-for-cable sequel (with Matt Battaglia taking over the role played by Jean Claude Van Damme in the original) concerns a soldier who has been forced to take part in a secret military operation. He schemes to expose the unethical doings of his commanding officers before they can turn more unsuspecting recruits into mindless killing machines. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this Canadian film, overweight piano prodigy Junior Brown (Martin Villafana) searches for a piano because his goofy mother (Lynn Whitfield) severed the strings on the family piano. Since paranoid Miss Peebs (Margot Kidder), his piano teacher, won't let him finger her keyboard, he has to run scales on her dining room table. Fortunately, Junior has a friend -- troubled Buddy Clark (Rainbow Sun Francks) who lost his family in a fire when he was a young child. Buddy goes out with a teen runaway (Sarah Polley), and he helps eccentric school janitor Mr. Pool (Clark Johnson) construct a model of the solar system in the school basement. Junior's frustrations mount as his quest continues. Music includes Chopin's "Prelude No. 4". Shown at the 1997 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi