Dwight H. Little Movies

Directed by Dwight H. Little, Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid is the sequel to 1997's tongue-in-cheek Anaconda, though none of the original cast have returned. The film chronicles a fateful mission ordered by a pharmaceutical giant: to travel deep in to the jungles of Borneo, where a rare black orchid -- one that can be used to attain immortality -- has bloomed for hundreds of years, unbeknownst to man. The eager horticulturists sent have no idea that an indigenous population of bloodthirsty anacondas has been privy to the orchid's properties for years. Not only have the orchids augmented their already phenomenal size, strength, and vitality, they've substantially increased the snakes' appetites for flesh. Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid features Peter Curtis, Johnny Messner, Morris Chestnut, and Eugene Byrd. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

The lingering illness and death of his beloved wife has left young Appalachian farmer Grins Jenkins (Scott Bakula) a melancholy shell of his ebullient former self. As Christmas approaches, Jenkins can find no discernable reason for going on with his own life. But Grins' four spunky and resourceful children not about to let their father wither and die of a broken heartt. Based on a novel by Collin Wilcox Patton and Gary Carden, and filmed on location in Alberta, Papa's Angel was broadcast by CBS on December 3 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A police detective finds that looking into a murder is anything but routine when one of the suspects is the President of the United States. When the nude and bloodied corpse of an attractive woman is found in a bathroom at the White House, Harlan Regis (Wesley Snipes), a top detective with the Washington D.C. police force, is assigned to investigate. However, Regis soon learns that the Secret Service, headed by Nick Spikings (Daniel Benzali), is launching their own investigation, and they want Regis to stay out of their way. While Alvin Jordan (Alan Alda), National Security Advisor to President Jack Neil (Ronny Cox), intervenes in Regis' favor, it becomes obvious that no one wants him poking his nose into a case in which the suspects include both the President and his ill-tempered son Kyle (Tate Donovan). Eventually, Regis finds an ally in Nina Chance (Diane Lane), a member of the Secret Service's team, while the President tries to fend off the investigation in the midst of an international crisis. Comedian Dennis Miller also appears as Regis' partner Stengel. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Two unlikely friends -- a boy and a killer whale -- are reunited under potentially dangerous circumstances in this sequel to the successful family adventure Free Willy. Jesse (Jason James Richter) has finally found stability and contentment with his foster parents Glen and Annie Greenwood (Michael Madsen and Jayne Atkinson), but he is confronted with a new emotional challenge when his birth mother (a drug addict who abandoned him when he was young) dies, and his troubled half brother Elvis (Francis Capra) comes to live with the Greenwoods. Jesse also deals with new feelings when he develops a serious crush on Nadine (Mary Kate Schellhardt), the goddaughter of Randolph (August Schellenberg), an animal trainer at the theme park where Jesse helps out. But a much bigger problem is on the horizon when the safety of Willy, the killer whale he befriended and helped return to the wild, is threatened. An oil spill spoils the ocean environment where Willy and his family now live, and an unscrupulous owner of an oceanarium, Wilcox (M. Emmet Walsh), attempts to capture Willie and put him back into captivity as a performing attraction. While Free Willy featured Keiko, a trained whale who (ironically) was living in captivity when the film was shot, Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home instead utilized mechanical models and digital animation to bring "Willy" to life. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In Marked for Death, Steven Seagal is told to "try to find the gentle person inside yourself." But he doesn't spend too much time looking, preferring instead to crack the spines of his victims. Seagal plays John Hatcher, a burned-out narcotics agent who resigns from the Drug Enforcement Administration after his partner is killed. He returns to his hometown and finds the city in the thrall of a vicious Jamaican drug gang, led by the nasty Screwface (Basil Wallace). He meets an old friend, now a high school football coach, who tells John about losing his best player and his 13-year-old nephew to drug overdoses. Soon John's family is threatened and his prize Mustang stolen, so John joins forces with his buddy to take on Screwface and the drug gang themselves. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

And still they come? This fourth entry in the Halloween franchise focuses on Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris), the niece of ubiquitous masked-killer Michael Myers (George P. Wilbur). Jamie tries to lead a normal life, but she can't escape the vengeance of her "funny uncle," who once more escapes from the looney bin. The only echo of the original Halloween -- and a faint one at that -- is the casting of Donald Pleasence as Dr. Loomis, who manages to get through his "We must stop him!" scenes as if mouthing the words for the first time. Though as predictable as they come, Halloween 4 etc. is at least well acted, directed and photographed. For the record, the German version of the film had to be shorn of practically all its gore before the censors would permit a general release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Edward Albert stars as Taggar, a wealthy industrialist who lives for danger. Together with luscious secret agent Paige Starsen (Audrey Landers), Taggar takes on rival businessman King Kenderson (Joe Don Baker). Having gotten hold of a poison gas which consumes human flesh, Kenderson threatens to unleash the gas over the city of Dallas unless he's paid a $50 million ransom (the film, incidentally, was originally titled Hostage: Dallas). The last 20 minutes of Getting Even is a thrill-packed helicopter chase over, around, and through the Dallas skyline. Barely released theatrically, the film enjoyed a robust "second life" on video. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide