Darrow Igus Movies
- 2002
When teenaged auxiliary officer Heather Peterson is murdered, she leaves behind a diary which details explicitly the sexual habits of the uniformed officers of the 15th precinct. These revelations result in a lot of suspicion and recriminations volleying back and forth between the uniforms and the detectives. Meanwhile, McDowell (Charlotte Ross) and Ortiz (Jacqueline Obradors) deal with an uncooperative stabbing victim; Jones (Henry Simmons) and Haywood (Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon) team up to trap a con artist specializing in phone-scamming senior citizens; and Andy's son Theo (Austin Majors) balks at sharing a room with baby Michelle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Simmons
In this hip-hop slanted horror opus, a group of stuggling rap musicians think they've gotten their big break when they're tapped to record with star-making producer Dr. Bones. But the rappers soon learn that Dr. Bones has more than music on his mind; he's using their music to turn listeners into zombies -- and then force his willing slaves to join him in a bid to take over the world! Veteran comic actor Darrow Igus stars alongside newcomer Larry Bates and Sarah Scott. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Darrow Igus
- 1998
Bobby (Jimmy Smits) and Diane (Kim Delaney) are definitely in love, but are they ready to make their commitment permanent? As for Andy (Dennis Franz), though his surgery was successful, he still isn't quite 100 percent -- but try getting him to tell that to Sylvia (Sharon Lawrence). Back on the job, when the semen-drenched bodies of a used car salesman and prostitute are found, the detectives split up to investigate each individual homicide. One of the suspects seems to be guilty, but Bobby and Andy think that there's a flaw in this theory, so they help the suspect prepare for his grand-jury appearance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this broad fish-out-of-water comedy, Nisi (Halle Berry) and Mickey (Natalie Desselle) are African-American women with two ambitions -- marry rich men who will give them lots of money, and open the world's first combination hair salon and soul food restaurant. However, eligible bachelors and business opportunities are in short supply in Decatur, Georgia, so when Nisi hears rapper Heavy D is auditioning dancers in Los Angeles for an upcoming video and concert tour, the pair hit the road for California. They fail the audition but are approached by a man named Antonio (Luigi Amodeo) with a business proposition. Antonio is the chauffeur for Mr. Blakemore (Martin Landau), a millionaire in poor health. As a young man, Mr. Blakemore was in love with a black maid who worked in his household; Antonio and Blakemore's nephew Isaac (Jonathan Fried) think Nisi bears a resemblance to the girl Blakemore once loved, so they offer her a hefty payment plus room and board to pose as the granddaughter of Blakemore's lost love. Nisi and Mickey believe that this ruse is intended to make Blakemore feel better, but in fact Isaac wants to get his hands on his uncle's fortune, and he hopes that Nisi's presence will make him easier to manipulate. Meanwhile, Nisi and Mickey look like a hurricane that hit a cut-rate clothing store, so manservant Manley (Ian Richardson) teaches them social graces and gives them advice on how to dress. In time, Manley and Mr. Blakemore become friends with Nisi and Mickey; the men learn to be less stuffy and enjoy life, while the ladies become more respectable. B.A.P.S. stands for "Black American Princesses." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Halle Berry, Martin Landau, (more)
- 1995
In the opening episode of ER's second season, Carter (Noah Wyle) gets off to a bad start on his first day as new surgical sub-intern by showing up extremely late and woefully unprepared. Also on hand is new third-year student Harper Tracy (Christine Elise), who endures an ordeal by fire thanks to a psychotic patient -- and who catches the eye of the still-unattached Carter. Elsewhere, Greene (Anthony Edwards) ruffles more than a few feathers with his choice of new chief resident: the contentious and highly irritating Kerry Weaver (Laura Innes). With this episode, William H. Macy returns in the role of ER chief Dr. David Morganstern. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
If a comedy is to be made from the plight of the homeless, who have to scrape through their days returning deposit bottles and cleaning car windshields to get their daily bread as the rich get richer and more heartless, it may as well be Mel Brooks' Life Stinks. The trademark Brooks humor dominates this fable about a ruthless billionaire, Goddard Bolt (Mel Brooks), who wants to obliterate a poor section of Los Angeles and build a high-tech commercial center in its place. His only problem is that he owns only half the land needed for the construction, the other half belonging to equally ruthless billionaire Vance Craswell (Jeffrey Tambor), who has his own ideas for the land. The two try to buy each other out until, finally, a deal is struck: Craswell bets that Bolt cannot survive a month on the streets as a homeless man. If Bolt makes it, he gets the property. If he doesn't, Craswell gets it. Bolt agrees and, as a poor man, he begins to feel the pain of being uprooted and alone, even meeting a friendly homeless woman, Molly (Lesley Ann Warren) with whom he forms an attachment. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Brooks, Lesley Ann Warren, (more)
- 1989
Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is off to Jamaica, there to visit an old friend living on a sprawling plantation. No sooner has she arrived than Jessica is plunged into family intrigue, stemming from the decision by the plantation heir to wed the daughter of an Obeah priest. This not only dashes the hopes of the family merging with another prosperous Jamaican plantation clan, but it also leads to murder--apparently the fulfillment of an ancient voodoo curse! Musical stage star Shani Wallis makes a rare American TV appearance in this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
- R
This comical adventure pokes fun at Rambo as it chronicles the exploits of Traxx, a Texas Highway patrolman who leaves the state police to become a soldier-of-fortune in Hadleyville where he gets into baking funky cookies and working as a sort of town bouncer helping to clean up the burg. While there he and the Mayor, Alexandria Cray have a passionate affair. Real trouble comes to town in the form of the fearsome Uzi-toting Guzik brothers who have come to throw the do-gooder out. To draw him out, the nefarious brothers kidnap the town Little League team. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shadoe Stevens, Priscilla Barnes, (more)
- 1983
- R
Convicted of murdering his father, 17-year-old Eric Stoltz is sentenced to death. While in prison, Stoltz begins a pen-pal correspondence with fortysomething prostitute Monica Carrico. A long distance romance results, culminating in Carrico helping Stoltz escape from death row. When he finally makes it to the outside, it turns out that Stoltz was innocent all along-and a fat lot of good this does him. Best to ignore the haphazard plot of Running Hot and concentrate on the performances and the action highlights. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monica Carrico, Eric Stoltz, (more)
- 1980
- PG
Smokey (Gene Price) is the good guy (sort of) in this low-budget chasefest. Our law-officer hero copes as best he can with three larcenous young lasses. Whenever the action lags, the audience has plenty of exposed female epidermis to gape at. Featured in the cast of Smokey and the Judge is veteran actor Wade Preston. If the name doesn't ring a bell, try to recall the popular late-1950s western series Colt .45 ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Following the phenomenal box-office success of his seminal horror classic Halloween, director John Carpenter teamed up with producer Debra Hill for a second independent horror project, this time in the mode of an old-fashioned ghost story. The end result was The Fog, a spooky romp about a dark secret that returns to haunt the Pacific fishing community of Antonio Bay on the 100th anniversary of the town's charter. Carpenter sets the mood in the film's prologue, which features grizzled old sea salt Mr. Machen (John Houseman) spinning ghost stories for a group of local children. For his final tale, he recounts the legend of the Elizabeth Dane -- a ship which crashed 100 years ago against the very rocks upon which the children are sitting. Meanwhile, as the clock strikes midnight on the fateful anniversary of that disaster, eerie phenomena begin to plague the town as a dense fog bank creeps toward the bay. Seeming to appear from nowhere and emitting a ghostly glow, the fog surrounds a small trawler filled with drunken fishermen, who glimpse the vague outline of a decrepit sailing vessel before being brutally killed by shadowy figures brandishing hooks and swords. That morning, news of their disappearance is relayed to the town by Stevie Wayne (Adrienne Barbeau), owner and operator of the local radio station. The news reaches the wife of one of the fishermen, city councilwoman Kathy Williams (Janet Leigh) and local boy Nick Castle (Tom Atkins), who takes a trip out to the abandoned boat to investigate, accompanied by teenage drifter Elizabeth Solley (Jamie Lee Curtis). As the day progresses, a grim series of events paints a decidedly unpleasant picture of Antonio Bay's founders, and foreshadows the ghostly retribution that awaits the town's present-day residents. When Mrs. Williams visits local priest Fr. Malone (Hal Holbrook) about a benediction for that night's centennial ceremony, he relates a ghastly tale discovered in his grandfather's journal, which details the town fathers' decision to murder a group of lepers who had planned to build a commune outside of Antonio Bay. Just as the night's proceedings are haunted by the horrors of the past, the ghosts of the murdered dead have returned to seek symbolic revenge by claiming the lives of six townspeople, arriving amid the ominous fog bank which has completely engulfed Antonio Bay. Carpenter reportedly shot and inserted additional gory scenes after the original 'PG' cut failed to impress preview audiences. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adrienne Barbeau, Hal Holbrook, (more)
One of the bigger non-cartoon moneymakers for Disney in the 1970s, The North Avenue Irregulars is predicated on the premise of the "Neighborhood Watch" system. Priest Michael Hill (Edward Herrmann), newly arrived on North Avenue, decides to buck the patriarchal notions of his superiors by delegating church responsibilities to the neighborhood women. Since the ladies include Vickie, Jane, Anne, Claire and Rose (Barbara Harris, Karen Valentine, Susan Clark, Cloris Leachman and Patsy Kelly), we're well primed for a surfeit of feistiness. Father Michael entrusts the church funds to Rose, who loses it all at the race track. In trying to retrieve the cash, he comes up against an influential bookie ring, controlled by several of the above-suspicion town officials. The wily priest responds by organizing the ladies of his congregation into the North Avenue Irregulars, a two-fisted crimefighting unit. There's slapstick aplenty within the film's 99 minutes, including the expected comic car crash. North Avenue Irregulars is based on a (drawn-from-life?) novel by the Reverend Albert Fay Hill. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Herrmann, Barbara Harris, (more)
Dick Harper (George Segal) and his wife Jane (Jane Fonda) have always lived way beyond their means. Just because Dick has just lost his high-paying job is no reason for Jane to stop spending like there's no tomorrow. To make ends meet, Jane takes up a new career: armed robbery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Segal, Jane Fonda, (more)
Michael Schultz directed this kinetic, hyperventilating comedy (scripted by Joel Schumacher) concerning the crazed events that go on within a single 10-hour period at a Los Angeles car wash. The cast of colorful car-wash employees includes Lonnie (Ivan Dixon), an ex-con; Duane (Bill Duke), a militant black activist; and Lindy (Antonio Fargas), an obnoxious homosexual. Sully Boyar plays Mr. B, the frazzled car-wash owner who has to deal with his screwball employees along with his over-educated slip of a son, Irwin (Richard Brestoff), who quotes Mao and wants to radicalize the workers. Also along for the wash and wax are Miss Beverly Hills (Lauren Jones), with a wild assortment of wigs; Marsha (Melanie Mayron), the distracted car wash secretary; a mad bomber (Prof. Irwin Corey), who is terrorizing the neighborhood; and Daddy Rich (Richard Pryor), the founder of the Church of Divine Economic Spirituality, who sports a gold limousine. Danny de Vito, Brooke Adams and others were originally in the cast but their scenes were ultimately deleted. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Franklyn Ajaye, Sully Boyar, (more)
