Mekhi Phifer Movies
Although he had almost no prior acting experience, Mekhi Phifer made a highly auspicious screen debut as Strike, a 19-year-old petty drug dealer in Spike Lee's gritty urban drama Clockers (1995). A veteran of the Harlem streets, Phifer got his break when he attended an open casting call with only photo booth pictures of himself to give to interviewers. Displaying a rare charisma and intensity that was perfect for the role of Lee's ambitious protagonist, the novice actor beat the considerable odds against him and out-acted nearly 1,000 other applicants for the part.Following the success surrounding his Clockers debut, Phifer appeared in The Tuskegee Airmen, a powerful drama starring Laurence Fishburne that first aired on the HBO cable network. In 1997, Phifer made another strong impression playing the volatile but good-hearted Lem in George Tillman Jr.'s comedy drama Soul Food. The following year, he took part in the rage of teen horror films as one of the stars of I Still Know What You Did Last Summer and further established himself as one of Hollywood's more photogenic up-and-comers by starring alongside Julia Stiles and Josh Hartnett in O (2000), a loose adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello that saw Phifer as a high-school basketball star betrayed by his jealous best friend.
Though a well-known performer, Phifer didn't have a bona fide hit until 2002 when he played Future alongside hip-hop star Eminem in the urban drama 8 Mile. That same year, Phifer found success on the small screen as well, joining the cast of NBC's long-running hit medical series ER. Phifer played the role of Dr. Greg Pratt for six seasons before exiting the show at the beginning of season 15 in 2008. Phifer continued to stick with television work after leaving the series, first joining the cast of Fox's crime-drama Lie to Me as an FBI agent, and then playing a CIA agent on the fourth season of the BBC's Torchwood. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
Two sets of crooks and one reluctant hero square off in this blend of comedy and action. Tripp (Patrick Dempsey) has been trying to catch the eye of pretty bank teller Kaitlin (Ashley Judd), and he thinks he's come up with just the thing to get himself noticed -- he shows up just as the bank is about to close for the day and asks her to break a hundred-dollar bill into loose change. But Tripp's attempt to meet cute goes wrong when two different sets of thieves invade the bank at the same time. Three are savvy criminals (Mekhi Phifer, Matt Ryan, and John Ventimiglia) who have carefully worked out a plan for clearing out the vault, while the other two (Tim Blake Nelson and Pruitt Taylor Vance) are half-bright rednecks who intend to crack open the ATM machines and take the cash inside. Before long, both teams of crooks are trapped in the bank and find themselves constantly in each other's way, while Tripp is trying to find a way to protect Kaitlin and himself while foiling the robbers, though the fact he's delusional and has stopped taking his medication is making things rather complicated. Flypaper was written by Scott Moore and Jon Lucas, who penned the script years before they enjoyed their commercial breakthrough with The Hangover. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Patrick Dempsey, Ashley Judd, (more)
A suburban wife (Catherine Bell) must confront her secret past as a CIA agent when her husband (Anthony Michael Hall) is kidnapped and the crime is connected to the death of a fellow agent. ~ Rhoda Charles, Rovi
- Starring:
- Catherine Bell, Anthony Michael Hall, (more)
- 2011
This documentary explores the possibility that hip-hop culture, especially the music, has been co-opted by those looking to make a profit on it. In the process, the directors argue, the mass culture that produced this movement is no longer being served by it. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- 2007
- PG13
- Add Nora's Hair Salon 2: A Cut Above to Queue Add Nora's Hair Salon 2: A Cut Above to top of Queue
The stars of Nora's Hair Salon return, along with some fresh new faces, in this sequel that finds Nora's estranged nieces at odds over what to do with their aunt's bustling business. Nora has willed her salon to her beloved nieces Lilliana (Tatyana Ali) and Simone (Stacey Dash), and now the two girls can't agree on whether to sell the business and cash in or continue to cater to their loyal client base. Lilliana is tired of trying to raise a son while constantly playing the role of peacekeeper between feuding stylists Delicious and Xenobia, but the salon holds a special place in her heart that she isn't quite ready to give up. But Simone has decided to sell the shop and make a pretty penny, leaving the conflicted Lilliana to choose between taking the quick payout and using all of her energy to keep the salon in business. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tatyana Ali, Stacey Dash, (more)
Upon gathering together under one roof for the first time in seven years, an estranged family celebrating Christmas rediscovers long-forgotten bonds in this holiday family reuniondrama starring Delroy Lindo, Regina King, and Mekhi Phifer. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Delroy Lindo, Idris Elba, (more)
- 2007
- R
Onyx rapper Sticky Fingaz directs and stars in this hip-hop musical about a gangster who becomes caught up in a bloody war between two feuding crime families while struggling to leave the streets behind. When Black's family raids one of Stick's drug houses and kills two of his men, Stick is forced to choose between leaving it all behind or seeking revenge and feeding the cycle of violence. It's a difficult decision that's made even more arduous when Stick's girlfriend reveals that she's pregnant. Word on the street is that Black has just put out a contract on Stick, and now a pair of detectives is hot on his trail. Desperate, Stick decides to flee the country with his girlfriend and start over. Just as they're about to board their flight, a gunfight erupts at the airport and all hell breaks loose. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sticky Fingaz, Faizon Love, (more)
A cop trying to clear the name of a woman he loves falls deep into a morass of corruption in this crime thriller. Ford Cole (Ray Liotta) is the district attorney in a crime-ridden town where he's contemplating a run for mayor in a bid for greater power. Cole is also having an affair with one of his assistants, Nora Timmer (Jolene Blalock), though he tries to keep that a secret. One evening, while Cole is chatting with journalist Trippin (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Timmer arrives with startling news -- she claims to have been sexually assaulted by Isaac Duparde (Mekhi Phifer), a clerk at a nearby music store who broke into her apartment. Making matters more complicated is the fact that Duparde is currently dead in her flat, leaving Cole to find a way to protect Timmer while not staining his own reputation. Cole realizes this may be harder than he imagined when Luther Pinks (LL Cool J) arrives on the scene to tell him that Timmer actually lured Duparde back to her apartment on purpose, in an effort to get information on a well-connected organized crime figure. Slow Burn was the first directorial effort from screenwriter Wayne Beach. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ray Liotta, LL Cool J, (more)
Two hapless stoners who have grown tired rehab become willingly locked into a dangerous scheme to rip off the city's most feared criminal kingpin in this smoked-out comedy starring Danny Masterson and Mekhi Phifer, and rolled in the red-eyed tradition of such Cheech and Chong classics as Up in Smoke. In the world of pot-heads Larry (Masterson) and Rico (Ronnie Warner), the name Mr. Big is a name to be both feared and respected. Thrills are hard to come by these days though, and when Larry and Rico decide to ditch rehab for a shot at the big time, they quickly discover that you don't get a big reputation without playing a big game. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- 2005
Larry (Larry David) locks himself out of his car, and learns that the drive-thru window at Jack-in-the-Box does not accept walk-thru customers. He despairs until Peter (Frank Whaley), a friendly passing motorist, agrees to give him a lift. Jeff (Jeff Garlin) arrives, and gives Larry the bad news about Richard (Richard Lewis): he needs a kidney transplant. Because the comic's cousin refuses to give up any of his organs while he's still alive, Richard is hoping that a close friend will come through. Larry's response is, "I have to choose healthier friends." Eventually he gets into a conflict with Jeff about which of them should offer to give Richard a kidney. Also, Larry aggravates two different receptionists, one by revealing too little information, the other by revealing too much. He also argues with Cheryl (Cheryl Hines) over what constitutes "snuggling" ("I'm using the ass as a lever to draw you in! That's all!") and debates the rules of "Eenie Meenie Minee Mo" with Jeff. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
- 2005
Richard (Richard Lewis) is low on the kidney transplant list, so he's hoping that Larry (Larry David) will come through for him. Richard wishes he were more famous, like his hero, Mickey Mantle, whose 500th home-run ball he owns. Richard offers to give Larry the valuable ball in exchange for his kidney. But then Larry runs into George (George Lopez) at the hospital, and George tells him that the head of the local "Kidney Consortium," Ben Heineman (Stuart Pankin), is an Orthodox Jewish Yankee fan who is willing to bend the rules for his friends. In an effort to get Richard moved up on the list of kidney recipients, Larry decides to befriend Heineman by inviting him and his daughter, Rachel (Iris Bahr), to Jeff's (Jeff Garlin) cabin for a ski trip. Larry decides to further ingratiate himself by pretending to be an Orthodox Jew. Of course, this will only work if Susie (Susie Essman) pretends to be his wife. Larry also gets into a dispute with Lisa (Mo Collins), Richard's allegedly larcenous nurse, about the alleged size of her genitalia. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
The MC: Why We Do It is a documentary that compiles interview footage with about two-dozen figures in the rap community. They discuss their art, their careers, and what they are trying to do with their music. Among the luminaries who appear are Kanye West, Nas, KRS-One, 50 Cent, RZA, Redman, and Mobb Deep. Also included is archival footage of such figures as Grandmaster Flash, N.W.A., and A Tribe Called Quest. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
The feature-film debut of director Zack Snyder, Dawn of the Dead is a modern retelling of George Romero's 1978 horror classic, which was actually the second film in a trilogy that began with Night of the Living Dead and concluded with Day of the Dead. Sarah Polley and Ving Rhames star as two of the last remaining people on an earth that has been ravaged by flesh-eating zombies. After escaping to a shopping mall with a handful of other survivors, they decide that they only way to truly elude the approaching throng of undead is to somehow make their way to an island that is supposedly zombie-free. Jake Weber and Mekhi Phifer also star. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, (more)
Directed by Hoop Dreams producer Peter Gilbert, With All Deliberate Speed is a reflection on the state of civil rights in America 50 years after the May 17, 1954, unanimous Supreme Court ruling stating that the doctrine of "separate but equal" was inconsistent with the constitution of the United States. This documentary offers a glance into the lives of the unsung heroes in the struggle for America's desegregation. A series of intimate interviews, eyewitness accounts, and unique original footage helps to illustrate the stories of the teachers, students, lawyers, and judges whose commitment would have a profound effect on African-Americans for decades to come. Among the film's participants are the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall's son, Thurgood Marshall Jr., as well as the Reverend Joe Delaine, Barbara Johns, Vernon Jordan, and Julian Bond. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
Season ten of ER finds Dr. John Carter (Noah Wyle) returning to Chicago County after a brief sojourn with a Doctors Without Borders project in a war-torn Congolese field hospital. Reportedly, Carter's co-worker in this project, Dr. Luka Kovac (Goran Visnjic), was killed in the fighting -- but this report proves to be slightly exaggerated when Kovac himself reappears at the ER. In a related development, the romance between Carter and nurse Abby Lockhart (Maura Tierney) is stifled by the news that Carter has had a fling with his Doctors Without Borders co-worker Kem Likasu (Thandie Newton), who is carrying his baby. Elsewhere, Parminder Nagra joins the cast as nervous new med student Neela Rasgotra, who is mentored by Michael Gallant (Sharif Atkins), who in turn is now a doctor. Neela catches the eye of Gallant's longtime rival Dr. Pratt (Mekhi Phifer), arousing the jealousy of Dr. Deb Chen (Ming-Na). Later on, Neela passes her medical boards, but the more experienced Abby does not. Another newcomer to the cast is Glenn Howerton as Dr. Nick Cooper, a second-year resident. This season marks the departure of Paul McCrane as irascible Dr. Robert Romano, who has become all the nastier since being fitted out with a prosthesis after losing his hand and forearm in a helicopter accident; ironically, it is another helicopter, this one crashing off the hospital roof, which ultimately seals Romano's doom. Even more ironically, Romano's death saves the job of Dr. Archie Morris (Scott Grimes), whom Romano had just caught smoking pot on the job. In other developments, Dr. Elizabeth Corday (Alex Kingston) recovers sufficiently from the death two seasons ago of her husband, Mark Greene, to enter into a hot-and-heavy romance with Dr. Eddie Dorset (Bruno Campos), who happens to be married; later on, she is made head of surgery and juggles dating two other men at the same time. Susan Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) strikes up an unusual friendship with a suicidal architect (brilliantly portrayed by Bob Newhart). And Kerry Weaver's (Laura Innes) parter, paramedic Sandy Lopez (Lisa Vidal), gives birth to a baby boy, Henry; however, Kerry's euphoria is tragically cut short when Sandy later dies in a fire and Kerry ends up in a bitter custody battle with Sandy's family over the child. The season ends on another cliffhanger, as doctors Pratt and Chen are seriously wounded in a particularly nasty case of "road rage." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Noah Wyle
- 2003
- PG13
- Add Honey to Queue Add Honey to top of Queue
Dark Angel-lead Jessica Alba stars in the title role of this film, the feature debut from music-video director Bille Woodruff. Honey is a girl from the streets who works in a record store, teaches the occasional dance class at a community center, and treks downtown every weekend to hit the clubs and try out some new moves. There, she meets a music video producer (David Moscow) who offers her a chance to be a choreographer -- but at a price she eventually learns she's unwilling to pay. Determined to pick herself back up, Honey goes back to the inner-city of her youth with plans of starting a dance school. Lil' Romeo co-stars as Honey's protege; other real-life musicians (including Missy Elliott, Tweet, Jay-Z, and Ginuwine) appear as themselves. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jessica Alba, Mekhi Phifer, (more)
Paid in Full marks the feature debut of director Charles Stone III, who rose to fame after creating Budweiser's "Wassup" commercials. The urban gangster drama is loosely based on the true story of 1980s Harlem drug kingpins AZ, Rich Porter, and Alpo. (This story was also the basis for a documentary, Game Over (Part 1).) Ace (Wood Harris) works at a laundromat, struggling to get by, while his friend Mitch (Mekhi Phifer) lives the high life selling heroin. His sister's boyfriend, Calvin (Kevin Carroll) also sells drugs, and looks down on Ace for struggling to earn a living. Out delivering laundry one day, Ace meets Lulu (Esai Morales), a big time coke dealer, who lives better than anyone Ace has ever known. When Lulu leaves some coke in the pocket of a coat he's having cleaned, Ace returns it to him, and Lulu rewards him for his honesty by letting him keep the drugs. When Calvin gets busted, Ace hesitantly takes his place in the neighborhood, and starts working for Lulu. As the crack business takes off, Ace finds himself making more money than he knows what to do with. Mitch goes to jail for a short time, where another inmate, Rico (rapper Cam'ron in his acting debut), defends him in a fight. By the time Mitch gets out of prison, Ace is running the neighborhood. Ace makes Mitch his right-hand man, and when Rico gets out of jail, he joins the crew. The drugs and money flow, and Ace tries to keep everyone happy, but there are some who want what's his, and will stop at nothing to get it. Paid in Full was shown at the 2002 Urbanworld Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
- Starring:
- Wood Harris, Mekhi Phifer, (more)
Controversial rap star Eminem makes his acting debut in this hard-edged urban drama, inspired in part by incidents from the musician's own life. Jimmy Smith (Eminem), known to his friends as Rabbit, is a young man trying to make his way out of the burned-out shell of inner-city Detroit. Rabbit's entire life has been a hard climb, and it certainly hasn't gotten any easier lately; Rabbit has just been dumped by his girlfriend, forcing him to move back in with his emotionally unstable mother, Stephanie (Kim Basinger), and he's getting along especially poorly with Stephanie's new boyfriend. Rabbit has a factory job that's tough, demeaning, and doesn't pay especially well, and he's convinced his skills as a rapper are his only real hope at a better life. Rabbit makes music with a crew of DJ's and MC's who call themselves Three One Third, among them his close friend Future (Mekhi Phifer), but his status as a white kid making music in a predominantly African-American community and culture is extremely intimidating, and after Rabbit freezes up in the midst of an MC battle, he's convinced he's missed his chance and that he's doomed to lead a marginal life as a factory rat for the rest of his days. With the help of his friends, and his new girlfriend Alex (Brittany Murphy), Rabbit struggles to work up the courage and the confidence to take one more shot at making his dream a reality. 8 Mile was shot on location in Detroit; the name refers to 8 Mile Road, a thoroughfare along the city's perimeter which effectively separates the middle-class suburban neighborhoods from the lower-class inner-city. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Eminem, Kim Basinger, (more)
As season nine of ER opens, a grieving Dr. Elizabeth Corday (Alex Kingston) elects to return to the ER after the death of her husband, Mark Greene. Meanwhile, Dr. John Carter (Noah Wyle) and Abby Lockhart (Maura Tierney) have survived the smallpox scare that caused the lockdown and riot at Chicago County at the end of season eight -- and as a bonus, they have fallen in love. Elsewhere, lesbian Dr. Kerry Weaver (Laura Innes) comes to grips with her pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage, and puts her job on the line by giving secret medical treatment to an alderman who still hasn't "come out." Dr. Romano (Paul McCrane) becomes even more irascible after losing his right hand and forearm in a helicopter mishap; no longer able to operate, he is placed in charge of the ER, where his erratic behavior soon proves to be not only annoying but dangerous. Troubled East European émigré Dr. Luka Kovac (Goran Visnjic) is accused of hitting on a nurse, becomes involved in a fatal traffic accident, and puts his job in jeopardy with a disastrous misdiagnosis. The tensions escalating between African-American ER staffers Gallant (Sharif Atkins) and Pratt (Mekhi Phifer) explode when both are temporarily held as suspects in a murder at the doctors' favorite watering hole, Magoo's -- and later, Pratt is on the verge of exiting the ER, but he redeems himself by saving the life of a mother whose baby was cut from her womb. Mercurial Dr. Chen (Ming-Na) reveals that she once gave up a child for adoption. Plagued by the psychological problems of her mother and brother, recovering alcoholic Abby begins drinking again. Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) returns from a brief holiday with a new husband (Donal Logue) in tow. And several episodes are built around Paul Nathan, an overaged medical student (Don Cheadle) suffering from Parkinson's disease. The year's most noteworthy newcomer is Leslie Bibb as brash, outspoken med student Erin Harkins. Season nine ends with the culmination of a story arc begun when Carter finds himself re-examining his priorities after a brush with a dedicated storefront-clinic doctor (Ed Asner). Ultimately, Carter joins Kovac in a Doctor Without Borders project, tending to the sick and wounded in a dismal Congolese field hospital while a political revolution rages around them. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Noah Wyle
This long-delayed science fiction thriller from director Gary Fleder was actually filmed prior to his box-office hit Don't Say a Word (2001), which preceded it in theaters by several months. Based on a 1953 short story by Philip K. Dick, the film shares that schizophrenic author's long-running obsessions with concealed identity and humanity's potential inferiority to alternative life forms. Gary Sinise stars as Spencer John Olham, a respected government scientist in the year 2079 trying to devise a secret weapon that will help his fellow humans win a decade-long war with invading aliens that are cloning human subjects and using the replicas as walking time bombs. Suddenly, Olham is accused of being an alien spy and a nationwide manhunt to capture him ensues. With even his doctor wife (Madeleine Stowe) unsure that she can trust him, Olham must uncover the truth on his own, even as he's relentlessly pursued by Hathaway (Vincent D'Onofrio), a federal agent charged with destroying the clones. Imposter has a complicated history, originally produced in early 2000 as a 30-minute short to be included in an anthology entitled "The Light Years Trilogy," a project that never got off the ground. So impressed was Dimension Films with the completed piece, however, that the footage was incorporated into a new feature version. That film was then shuffled around the release schedule for more than a year as effects were completed, reshoots were ordered, and the film was recut for a PG-13 rating instead of its original R. The R-rated "director's cut" was later released on DVD. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gary Sinise, Madeleine Stowe, (more)
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