Leon Grant Movies
- 1997
Paul's mother, Sylvia (Cynthia Harris), and Jamie's mother, Theresa (Carol Burnett), both purchase cribs for the Buchman's new baby. This sparks a family feud that makes the Hatfields and McCoys seem like pikers. Meanwhile, Paul (Paul Reiser) wins a poker game from handyman Marvin (Jeff Garlin), who squares his debt "in trade." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this comedy drama, three exuberant high-school graduates finally find a direction in life when they decide to fix-up a ramshackle Catskill resort and turn it into a little slice of rock & roll heaven for teens. They work hard to make the repairs and pay the over $8,000 in back taxes. When locals hear of their plans, they misunderstand and try to stop the young men as do wicked industrialists and the corrupt president of the town council who want to use the locale to dump toxic wastes. The lively soundtrack features songs by Phil Collins, Julian Lennon, Arcadia, and Pete Townshend. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Jordano, Matthew Penn, (more)
Jon Chardiet plays a Puerto Rican youth who targets subway walls for his graffiti renderings. For a while, it looks as though Chardiet's problems will carry the plotline, but before long the film's true raison d'etre comes to the surface. Rap-music deejay Guy Davis, in tandem with such like-minded individuals as music student Rae Dawn Chong, endeavor to stage a huge breakdancing presentation, featuring several musical artistes of the period. Harry Belafonte served as coproducer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rae Dawn Chong, Guy Davis, (more)
- 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)
The year 1979 saw an epidemic of American street-gang films, including Phil Kaufman's hit period drama The Wanderers. Set in the Bronx in 1963, the film concerns the titular gang of Italian-American teens and their ongoing power struggle with the rival "Fordham Baldies." Richard Price, upon whose novel this film was based, drew from his own experiences to weave his tale. Essentially a series of anecdotes-some tension-filled, some amusing -- The Wanderers climaxes on the occasion of the J.F.K. assassination, which for Price and hundreds and thousands of his aimless contemporaries served as a wake-up call. Viewed from the vantage point of the 1990s, one would wish that the current street gangs be shocked into adulthood with such suddenness (though not through the same tragic means). Ken Wahl, Karen Allen, and Linda Manz are among the standout performers in this richly detailed period piece. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Wahl, John Friedrich, (more)
