Billy Williams Movies

In the world of the emperor penguin, a simple song can mean the difference between a lifetime of happiness and an eternity of loneliness. When a penguin named Mumble is born without the ability to sing the romantic song that will attract his soul mate, he'll have to resort to some fancy footwork by tap dancing his way into the heart of the one he loves. Directed by Babe mastermind George Miller, Happy Feet tells the tale of one penguin's quest for love, and features an all-star cast of vocal talent that includes Robin Williams, Hugh Jackman, Elijah Wood, Nicole Kidman, and Brittany Murphy. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Back on active duty, Bobby Simone (Jimmy Smits) reteams with Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) to investigate a bar shooting. The suspect, an off-duty corrections officer, turns out to be terminally ill, and may not have been responsible for his actions. In another development, the squad converges upon the hideout of a serial rapist. And although she hasn't formally announced her pregnancy, Gina (Lourdes Benedicto) accepts Martinez' (Nicholas Turturro) marriage proposal. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this politically- and racially-themed satire, Bruford Jackson Jr. (Eriq LaSalle) is an African-American advertising man working for a major agency who has been assigned to campaigns selling Mumblin' Jack Malt Liquor and General Otis' Fried Chicken (complete with the Confederate flag on the bucket) to the black community. Bruford swallows his misgivings and goes along with his employer's wishes for the sake of his high-paying job. One day, Bruford is visited by the D.R.O.P. Squad (D.R.O.P. standing for "Deprogramming and Restoration Of Pride"). The Squad leader, Rocky Seavers (Vondie Curtis-Hall), uses extreme but non-violent psychological methods to teach African-Americans who are helping to destroy their community the error of their ways. However, his partner Garvey (Ving Rhames) has started to wonder if non-violence is really the best way to deal with the enemies of the Black community. Drop Squad was executive produced by Spike Lee, who also makes a cameo appearance endorsing the new "Gospel-Pak" of General Otis' Fried Chicken (complete with bible verses on the napkins). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Set in 1969 Los Angeles, this movie aims at nostalgia but really is more a depiction of the tragedy of a dysfunctional family. Young Andrew, a 13-year-old male on the brink of manhood, is saddled with a Father who is a compulsive gambler and a Mother who is immersed in constant battle with him because of it. Often desperate for money, their dependence on Andrew's older sister for money is one more cause of tension and anxiety in an already unhappy household. As Andrew cares for himself and his younger sister, the symbol of his coming of age--his approaching bar-mitzvah--comes to symbolize more than just a rite of passage. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi

In this made-for-TV drama, Jessica Tandy plays Grace McQueen, an elderly woman who has grown bored and restless following the death of her husband. Grace has always loved telling stories to children, and as a way of keeping herself occupied she comes up with an idea for a public access television series in which she will read great children's books aloud. The show becomes a local favorite -- enough so that a pair of advertising executives approach her with the idea of selling the show to a major network. Grace agrees, but when the marketing experts and network brass are finished with the idea, the simple format of "The Story Lady" has been transformed into a garish program called "Granny Goodheart," and Grace must decide if she should pursue the money and success that's being offered to her or stand up for her ideals. The Story Lady also features Stephanie Zimbalist, Lisa Jakub, Richard Masur, and Ed Begley, Jr.; Tandy Cronyn, Jessica Tandy's daughter, is appropriately cast as Meg, Grace's daughter. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Robin Harris, Christopher Reid's foul-mouthed and irascible father from the original House Party film, died in the interim, but he has a university named after him in this follow-the-dots sequel. Kid (Christopher Reid) has finally made it to college in House Party 2, but not without problems. Sent to Harris University on a scholarship check given to him by his local church congregation, he finds himself broke before he can even buy the books for his college courses. He can thank his old pal Play (Christopher Martin) for his financial straits, since Play borrowed the money to pay a phony music producer named Shelia (Iman), who has headed off to parts unknown. Kid tries to pay for tuition by working in the college cafeteria but is thrown out because he is not considered a student. Problems compound when his girlfriend Sidney (Tisha Campbell) spends more time studying than with him. He also receives lectures on political correctness from her strident roommate Zora (Queen Latifah). Still, Kid's main concern is finding the money for college. Finally Kid agrees to go along with Play's scheme -- to hold a surreptitious late-night pajama party in the faculty hall to raise funds to pay for Kid's education. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

This special effects-heavy science fiction sequel moves the action from the first film's Amazon forest to the urban jungle of L.A. Danny Glover stars as Lt. Mike Harrigan, an LAPD detective baffled by his latest case, the ritualistic slaughter of several drug dealers by a devastating killer who leaves no traces. As Harrigan and his partners, Danny Archuletta (Ruben Blades), Leona Cantrell (Maria Conchita Alonso), and Jerry Lambert (Bill Paxton), try to figure out who or what killed the criminals, FBI investigator Stephen Keyes (Gary Busey) attempts to warn the team away from investigating further. When two of his team are killed in a particularly grisly way, Harrigan uncovers the truth -- their quarry is an alien creature that hunts humans for sport. Attracted to violence, its latest choice of prey is gun-toting Jamaican drug dealers. Keyes and his team know all about the nasty extraterrestrial and its bloody pastime because they've been studying it for ten years, and they've come up with a possible means of dispatching the beast. When that plan backfires, however, it comes down to Harrigan and an extremely irritated otherworldly foe, slugging it out in a rooftop confrontation. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Set amidst the furor of an election, a campaign manager uses shady means to see that his candidate for New York Mayor is elected in this grim political drama. African-American executive Leon Hunter is the campaign manager, and handsome, white, and shallow Carl Rydell, is the candidate he has been hired to promote. Though Rydell is a real smooth talker, it doesn't take Hunter long to realize that the man is only capable of spouting useless rhetoric and is clueless as to the real issues facing the city. This is not true of Rydell's competitor, the dynamic, earnest and honest Bill Arrington, who could easily be the city's first black mayor. Knowing that Arrington really knows his stuff and has a strong platform, Hunter decides to look for a publicity issue to boost his client's status. He finds it when he learns that a bigoted white cop has shot a black, unarmed bicycle courier during a suspected robbery. The downed courier was sent to the hospital, and due to paperwork errors was listed as dead. Hunter uses down-and-dirty tactics to help Rydell exploit the situation to its fullest. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Kojak is sidetracked by a lovely girl while investigating the activities of a corrupt drug lord. ~ Rovi