Christopher Williams Movies

The ruthless leader of a New York City drug syndicate battles to maintain his power and avoid imprisonment in this fast-moving action drama. While the film's heroes are Scotty (Ice-T) and Nick (Judd Nelson), a pair of tough, streetwise cops, the main focus is their target, drug lord Nino Brown (Wesley Snipes). A criminal businessman with no room for pity or emotion, the flashy but severe Brown has built an empire and transformed an abandoned Harlem apartment building into a well-defended fortress. He begins to consider himself invincible, but his lust for power and the unpredictable actions of a former client turned police informer threaten to bring about his potential downfall. First-time director Mario Van Peebles keeps the traditional plot moving at an appropriately rapid pace, with stylish action sequences and energetic performances. The film's violence was somewhat controversial on its initial release, especially after shooting incidents marred showings in several theaters. However, the film's moral message is clearly anti-drug and anti-crime, its main intent to provide a high-powered, modern take on the gangster movie. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

Vanessa L. Williams stars in this made-for-TV drama as Henriette Delille, a woman born in New Orleans before the abolition of slavery. Delille refused to accept the narrow boundaries society attempted to impose upon her as a mixed-race woman (who are routinely married off to wealthy European visitors). While Gerard Gaultier (Gil Bellows), a successful French doctor, attempts to win her hand, Henriette instead pledges herself to serve the community, opening a combination school and medical clinic to look to the needs of the city's black community. While set in Louisiana, The Courage to Love (also shown as The Quadroon Ball) was shot in another place with a rich French heritage, the Canadian city of Quebec. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this comedy from Kevin Tierney, four strangers from different parts of North America meet in Quebec to attend Isidore-du-Coeur-de-Jésus, an French language program for adults, where everyone seems to end up acting like teenagers. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi