Anna Maria Horsford Movies

I Tried stars the members of Bone Thugs N Harmony in a gritty urban thriller that offers one example of how the members lives might have turned out had they not become hip-hop superstars. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Kel Mitchell of Good Burger and Mystery Men does double-duty in this showbiz comedy, playing the lead character Ricky as well as Ricky's uncle. After winning a songwriting contest, Ricky expects to hit the big time but instead finds himself working in the record label's mailroom, and his song is stolen and made into a hit by sexy Kennedy (Bombay). Deciding not to take things lying down, Ricky sets out to makes things right, but Kennedy proves to be quite a foil. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Many changes have taken place between the end of the third and the beginning of the fourth season of The Shield. The Strike Team has been disbanded. Shane (Walton Goggins) is now working vice. Lem (Kenny Johnson) is with the Youth Authority, leaving Vic (Michael Chiklis) and Ronnie (David Rees Snell) working the AGC money-laundering sting operation at The Barn. Aceveda (Benito Martinez) is finally getting ready to leave to begin his work on the city council, and his replacement, Monica Rawling (Glenn Close), who got her start patrolling Farmington, has arrived and is preparing to take over. Dutch (Jay Karnes) and Claudette (CCH Pounder) arrive on the horrific scene of the drowning of a family of four. Because of Claudette's conflict with the DA last season, her and Dutch have been blackballed, and Aceveda assigns the high-profile case to another detective, Billings (David Marciano). It's discovered that the family's youngest child is missing from the scene, and when clues point toward gang involvement, Vic takes Monica out on the street with him to hook up with his sources. They stop in on Antwon Mitchell (Anthony Anderson), an ex-con who is now presenting himself as a community activist. Vic and Monica (who has her own history with Antwon) are not buying it, and believe that Antwon is still running the One-Niners. Recognizing how dangerous Antwon is, Vic makes a surreptitious trip to see Dead-Eye (Marcuis Harris), a One-Niner dealer who Antwon is pushing out of power, and offers to set him up if he helps Vic put Antwon back in jail. Later, Monica tells Vic that she's planning to set up a special gang task force at The Barn, and she wants him to run it, but she's not sure if she can trust him. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Monica (Glenn Close) takes command of The Barn, and tells the troops that they will be implementing an asset-seizure program. She puts Vic (Michael Chiklis) in charge of all gang-related felonies. Units working under Vic are assigned to take Polaroids of all gang members, and their ink, in order to build a database. Vic now knows that Shane (Walton Goggins) and his partner, Army (Michael Pena), are working with Antwon (Anthony Anderson), and he lets Lem (Kenny Johnson) and Ronnie (David Rees Snell) know. Vic says they should keep Shane close and keep IAD off him, or it will come back to them. There's a gang war erupting in Farmington, and Monica wants it headed off quickly. Vic reluctantly goes to Antwon for help in stopping the violence between the One-Niners and the Spookstreet Soldiers. Choppa (Six Reasons), a drive-by suspect from the Soldiers, is brought in for questioning. He doesn't want to talk, so Monica threatens to seize his mother's house, which he paid for with drug money. She feels conflicted about throwing the family out on the street. When Choppa turns out to have made a pornographic rap video with Bounce (Tanya Alexander), the girlfriend of Puppethead (Kamil Beale), a member of the One-Niners, Vic thinks he's found what initiated the escalating gang violence, and reluctantly turns to Antwon for help in stopping it. Dutch (Jay Karnes) and Claudette (CCH Pounder) are still being blackballed by the DA, so they're assigned to catch a convenience store robber who buys a hot cup of coffee then throws it in the clerk's face. Dutch pressures Claudette to apologize to the DA. She refuses, and his frustration grows. He finally decides to go behind her back to make a deal. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Scott McKinsey's inspirational drama Guarding Eddy stars Brian Presley as Eddy, an 18 year old who dreams of playing pro hoops for the L.A. Clippers. Hampering him in his quest is the fact that he is developmentally disabled. He sneaks away to the City of Angels to try and make his dream come true, but eventually ends up spending time with Mike (Kiko Ellsworth), a former pro baller who now works at a shelter. Their friendship blossoms into something that sustains both of them, and helps Mike get over the bitterness he feels about how his career ended. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Reggie Rock Bythewood makes his directorial debut with this sharp comedy-drama about love, compromise, and TV. The film opens with the parallel childhoods of Tomasina "Tommy" Crawford (Nicole Ari Parker) and George Washington (Isaiah Washington). Both were utterly shaped by television -- watching Roots was one of the few times that Tommy's parents stopped fighting long enough to sit on the couch together, while George was traumatized by being banned from TV for a month after swiping some church donation cash. As adults, George is a programming executive at the WPX network where fledgling writer Tommy tries to pitch shows. On the strength of both her passion for her craft and her striking good looks, George decides to champion her show called "Just Us," a serio-comedy about a juvenile offender adopted by a judge. They shoot the pilot, the network greenlights the project, and eventually they fall in love. Even though Tommy longs to present her characters in an uncompromised, unvarnished manner, pressure from network execs and advertisers forces her to water down the plot. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Season four of The Wayans Bros. ended with aspiring actor Marlon Williams (Marlon Wayans) landing a regular role on the network sitcom "Everybody Loves Everybody," and Shawn Williams (Shawn Wayans) finding himself without a means of support when his newsstand burns to the ground. Thus, season five finds the brothers' "roles" hilariously reversed: Marlon is now the responsible breadwinner, and Shawn is the wheeler-dealer -- serving as Marlon's agent, and taking a 50 percent cut of his brother's earnings! Most of the season's episodes are built around the brothers' misadventures in show business. In one episode, Marlon is aghast to learn that his TV role may require him to kiss another guy; in another, Shawn attempts to rescue Marlon from the influence of a drug-abusing fellow actor; and in still another, Marlon becomes so popular that he is kidnapped by a female fan -- and when Shawn tries to save him, he gets snatched himself! Elsewhere, the brothers' restauranteur dad, Pops (John Witherspoon), runs for city council, and the stars' real-life sister Kim Wayans makes a return appearance as Marlon and Shawn's country cousin Sheila. Other guest stars appearing in the fifth and final season of The Wayans Bros. include Missy Elliott and Paula Abdul. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season three of The Wayans Bros. is distinguished by the presence of Ja'net DuBois in the recurring role of Grandma Ellington, who presumptively moves in with her nonplussed grandsons Shawn and Marlon Williams (Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans). Alas, the toothsome Paula Jai Parker has left the series, leaving Shawn and Marlon without a "regular" leading lady their own age. In the season's crop of episodes, Shawn goes "yuppie" and spurns his old homies, forcing Marlon to bring him back to earth -- and in a reversal of the same basic situation, Marlon lands a job in a malt-liquor commercial, only to be accused by friends and family of perpetuating negative racial stereotypes. Elsewhere, the brothers' restauranteur dad, Pops (John Witherspoon), rejoins his old singing group; and "Life Without Marlon" is the series' obligatory It's a Wonderful Life spoof, with Shawn briefly assuming the Clarence character. Guest stars on season three of The Wayans Bros. include Pam Grier, cast as an older woman who captures Shawn's heart; and as themselves, actor Adam West, pro ballplayer Kenny Lofton, and musician Keith Sweat, the latter appearing in order to set up the season-ending "cliffhanger." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Premiering January 11, 1995, the WB sitcom The Wayans Bros. actually stars only two members of that large and apparently ever-expanding family of African-American entertainers. Fresh from their In Living Color success, siblings Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans (who also co-created this series) star as Shawn and Marlon Williams, polar-opposite brothers sharing the same New York brownstone. Shawn was the "serious" brother, who during the first season held down a solid job with an overnight delivery service and was diligently saving up enough money to marry Lisa Saunders (Lela Rochon), daughter of a prominent doctor. In contrast, Marlon lived to have fun, only occasionally showing up for his job as kitchen help at Pops' Place, a restaurant owned by the brothers' dad, John "Pops" Williams (John Witherspoon), a former boxer and R&B singer. Also working at Pops' during season one were counter girl Lupe (Joanna Sanchez) and cook Benny (Benny Quan). Losing his job and his girlfriend at the outset of season two, Shawn set up a newsstand in the lobby of the Niedermayer Building, which also housed his dad's restaurant. The building's main security guard had been diminutive Lou Malino (Jill Tasker) during the first season; she was replaced by Anna Maria Horsford as the corpulent Dee Baxter. Also added to the cast in season two was Paula Jai Parker as Monique Lattimore, a wealthy young lady who took a job in a nearby card shop when she lost her fortune -- and who during her single season on the series provided a verbal combatant for Shawn and an "unattainable dream" for the moonstruck Marlon. In season three, Ja'net DuBois joined the cast as the Williams boys' feisty Grandmother Ellington, who briefly moved in with the brothers. Weaving in and out the proceedings were a pair of shady street characters, White Mike (Mitch Mullany) and T.C. (Phill Lewis). In season four, Marlon launched an acting career and Shawn lost his newsstand to a fire. Come the next season, the brothers' "roles" had reversed: Marlon was now the responsible breadwinner, holding down steady employment as a regular on the TV sitcom "Everybody Loves Everybody," while Shawn was the wheeler-dealer, serving as Shawn's agent -- and skimming 50 percent off the top of each paycheck! The Wayans Bros. proved to be one of the fledgling WB's most popular early offerings, and went on to even greater success in off-net reruns after its September 9, 1999, cancellation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Bankses' veddy proper butler Geoffrey (Joseph Marcell) falls in love with Karen Caruthers ( played by future Wayans Bros. regular Anna Maria Horsford), who has led him to believe that she is a maid in the new neighbor's house. Once Geoffrey discovers that Karen is actually the house's wealthy owner, he is reluctant to marry "above his station" and does everything he can to sabotage his budding romance. Meanwhile, Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro) is worried that Philip (James Avery) may be simultaneously losing all his hair and all his business. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Whenever there's a TV movie about a "lone holdout" juror, you can bet that reality will be left behind at the front door. Killer Among Us is no exception. A Different World's Jasmine Guy plays a doubting jury member on a homicide case. She not only believes the defendant innocent, but suspects that the foreman of the jury, played by Dwight Schultz, is the guilty party. To make a long story short, which the scriptwriter didn't, Guy ends up being stalked by the real murderer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Artist Jill Clayburgh is divorced by her doctor husband James Farentino. Despite the obvious fact that Farentino is a louse, the loyalties of the couple's friends are divided. Left with precious little money, Clayburgh tries to make a go of it as a single mother, but finds that many of her so-called "close friends" don't want to have much to do with her anymore. Despite its melancholy tone and moments of dead seriousness, the made-for-TV Who Gets the Friends is a comedy, and at times a very funny one. Its bittersweet tone is, however, compromised by an out-of-the-blue happy ending. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide