Anthony Bishop Movies

Director Neill Blomkamp teams with producer Peter Jackson for this tale of extraterrestrial refugees stuck in contemporary South Africa. It's been 28 years since the aliens made first contact, but there was never any attack from the skies, nor any profound technological revelation capable of advancing our society. Instead, the aliens were treated as refugees. They were the last of their kind, and in order to accommodate them, the government of South Africa set up a makeshift home in District 9 as politicians and world leaders debated how to handle the situation. As the humans begin to grow wary of the unwelcome intruders, a private company called Multi-National United (MNU) is assigned the task of controlling the aliens. But MNU is less interested in the aliens' welfare than attempting to understand how their weaponry works. Should they manage to make that breakthrough, they will receive tremendous profits to fund their research. Unfortunately, the highly advanced weaponry requires alien DNA in order to be activated. When MNU field operative Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley) is exposed to biotechnology that causes his DNA to mutate, the tensions between the aliens and the humans intensifies. Wikus is the key to unlocking the alien's technology, and he quickly becomes the most wanted man on the planet. Ostracized and isolated, Wikus retreats to District 9 in a desperate bid to shake his dogged pursuers. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

In this drama, a South African exile returns to his homeland to find that justice hasn't brought peace. Vusi Madlazi (Ice Cube) is a student and political activist living in San Francisco; he was born in South Africa, but his connection to anti-apartheid rebels made his family fear for his life, so he was sent to the United States, where he's been ever since. When he attends his father's funeral, Vusi visits South Africa for the first time since the fall of apartheid and Nelson Mandela's rise to power. However, he discovers that not all the changes in his country have been for the better; drugs and gang violence have begun to overtake Soweto, and his older brother, once a dedicated anti-apartheid activist, isn't sure what to do with his life now that the changes he fought for have come. Vusi's mother asks a favor before he returns to America; his younger brother Steven (Eric Miyeni) has run away, and she wants Vusi to look for him. While searching for Steven, Vusi meets his brother's girlfriend Karin (Elizabeth Hurley), who works as an exotic dancer. It turns out that both Karin and Steven have become addicted to crack, and Steven's disappearance is probably linked to a $15,000 debt he owes to crime kingpin Muki (Ving Rhames). Director Darrell J. Roodt's previous film was Cry the Beloved Country (1995), the first major film produced in South Africa after the collapse of apartheid. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this comedy drama, Spike Fumo (Sasha Mitchell) is a Brooklyn streetfighter with pugilistic aspirations. With Spike's mafioso father in Sing Sing, mobster and former fighter Baldo Cacetti (Ernest Borgnine) looks out for Spike by getting him some bouts and every once in a while convincing the fighter to throw a match. When Spike meets and falls for Baldo's daughter Angel (Maria Patillo), Baldo suddenly sours on Spike. The father wants Angel to marry the college-bound son of a cocaine-snorting congresswoman (Sylvia Miles), and Baldo only envisions Spikes' future as being a mob enforcer. Eventually, Spike moves away from his embittered lesbian mother (Geraldine Smith) and moves in with the Puerto Rican boxer Bandana (Rick Aviles). He soon has two women pregnant in two different neighborhoods as he contemplates his future. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Someone to Watch Over Me, a mystery thriller directed by Ridley Scott is the story of a police officer who falls in love with the woman he is hired to protect and the effect of this affair on his marriage and his life. Claire (Mimi Rogers) an extremely wealthy socialite is the sole witness to a mob murder and is in great danger. Mike (Tom Berenger), a happily married NYC police officer is assigned to protect her and takes up residence in her foyer while she waits to testify. A romance develops between the unlikely couple which threatens Mike's marriage to Ellie (Lorraine Bracco). All of this sounds more exciting than it is, and while the film fails to generate much suspense, the love story and Mike's dilemma are interesting. All the performances are excellent, particularly that of Bracco as the no-nonsense wife. The score is exceptional and the photography and set decoration are all fine. Someone to Watch Over Me is a fine police thriller and love story. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi

This modest teen comedy has the usual themes revolving around sex: how to handle it, how to relate to it, and how to do just about everything except engage in it. The focus is on two teenagers, one is the serious Natalie (Jennifer Connelly). She has her eyes set on becoming President of the U.S. and one day heads off to Washington D.C. on a special visit for "Future Leaders." A certain presidential aide brings a romantic touch to her idealized vision. The other teen is Polly Franklin (Maddie Corman) whose infatuation with a baseball player takes her to New York -- where a photographer steps in as a pinch-hitter. A few other subplots move circumstances around in the two teens' lives, though their romantic exploits take center stage. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In Rappin', Mario Van Peebles is John Hood, a con who when released from jail goes back to his neighborhood to find his girl shacked up with a nasty gang-leader named Duane (Charles Flohe). Duane is on the take with a corrupt contractor who plans to tear down Hood's neighborhood and he and his gang serve as ruffian rowdies who help evict the tenants. John Hood will not put up with this nonsense; he throws a community rap session and gets everybody aligned against the bad guys. His rappin' is so ratin' that he impresses a record company and wins his gal back. ~ Rovi