Randy Feldman Movies
After the death of his beloved wife, Helen (Lynne Moody), wealthy African-American suburbanite William Campbell (James Earl Jones) finds that Helen has left behind a "living will" in the form of a videotape. As William watches the video, his late wife urges him to take his huge personal library down to the tough inner-city neighborhood and to establish a reading room. Though confused by this request, William does exactly that, only to find that none of his new neighbors seem inclined to read -- not until he posts a sign reading FREE SODA. Ever so slowly, a few "regulars" trickle into the reading room, among them an idealistic young special-ed teacher (Joanna Cassidy), a high-schooler (Keith Robinson) studying for his SATS, and a little girl (Gabby Soleil) who hopes to get her mother to learn to read. For the most part, however, William's little sanctuary is the target of break-ins and the hangout for local gang members, and with this in mind it isn't surprising that several people encourage him to pack up and get out -- none more adamantly than the Reverend Rashid Rahim (played by George Stanford Brown, the film's director), a self-appointed urban activist who perceives in William a threat to his supremacy. Eventually, whether or not William stays or goes boils down to his attempt at "redeeming" a youthful thief named Javier (Douglas Spain) -- and it is at this point in the narrative that William finally understands why Helen wanted him to open up the reading room in the first place. Filmed with the endorsement of the National Center for Family Literacy, The Reading Room was produced for cable's Hallmark Channel, where it first aired on November 26, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Earl Jones, Georg Stanford Brown, (more)
Eddie Murphy once again finds himself exchanging both wisecracks and gunfire in this comic action-thriller. Scott Roper (Murphy) is a hostage negotiator with the San Francisco Police Department; Roper has his own way of doing things, which doesn't always mean following department proceedure, but he's good at his job and has the respect of his colleagues. Roper has been given a new partner, Kevin McCall (Michael Rapaport), a former SWAT team member whom Roper is training in the fine art of handing dangerous criminals with words as well as weapons; in his spare time, Roper tries to smooth out his stormy relationship with his girlfriend, Ronnie Tate (Carmen Ejogo), and deal with his addiction to gambling. However, Roper has his hands full when Michael Korda (Michael Wincott), a psychotic criminal, claims some hostages in the midst of a jewel heist. Roper finds it hard to be cool and detached in dealing with Korda, since the thief killed a cop who was one of his best friends, and one of the people taken by Korda happens to be Ronnie. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Michael Rapaport, (more)
An escaped convict fights for his rights while hiding out from the law in this action drama. Sam Gillen (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is a thief who, despite his criminal past, is an essentially decent man; he ended up behind bars after taking a murder rap for his partner. Sam escapes from prison in a daring jailbreak, and he hides out on a remote farm while on the run from police. A young boy named Mookie (Kieran Culkin) finds the fugitive and takes him in; it seems that the farm belongs to his mother Clydie (Roseanna Arquette), and soon Mookie and his sister Bree (Tiffany Taubman) have become friends with Sam, and Clydie and Sam fall in love. However, Franklin Hale (Joss Ackland), an unscrupulous land developer, wants to buy Clydie's farm and isn't taking no for an answer. When Hale's thug Dunston (Ted Levine) tries to use force to drive Clydie off her property, Sam is ready to fight fire with fire. Nowhere to Run was co-authored by noted screenwriter Joe Eszterhas; Richard Marquand received his story credit posthumously. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Claude Van Damme, Rosanna Arquette, (more)
Sylvester Stallone tries his luck with his first cop buddy movie in Tango and Cash, directed by Andrei Konchalovsky. Stallone is Ray Tango, a Los Angeles narcotics cop who dresses in fancy suits, wears wire-rim glasses, and talks to his stockbroker more than he talks to his mother. Kurt Russell is Gabriel Cash, another Los Angeles narcotics cop who has long, disheveled blonde hair and dresses in worn-out sweatshirts. Together, Tango and Cash are the two best narcs in LA, which causes drug baron Yves Perret (Jack Palance) no end of distress. Since Yves controls a billion-dollar drug empire, Tango and Cash have to be taken out of the picture in some way. So Yves arranges for Tango and Cash to be framed for a crime. But the duo accepts a plea bargain that will give them 18 months in a minimum-security prison. Unfortunately, Yves arranges for their destination to be diverted to a maximum-security hell-hole where Yves's minions proceed to torture Tango and Cash --although they still have time to trade quips with each other. Ultimately, they escape from their torture chamber and seek out Yves and his gang. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell, (more)
