Louis Gossett, Jr. Movies

This sequel to Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married reunites the cast from that earlier movie, again playing a group of eight friends who take an annual week-long vacation with each other. As they reconnect, Sheila (Jill Scott) discovers that her ex-husband, Mike, is planning to wreck her new marriage. Their troubles lead to the others facing some uncomfortable truths about their own relationships. The film co-stars Janet Jackson, Malik Yoba, Michael Jai White, and Louis Gossett Jr. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Oscar and Emmy-winning actor Louis Gossett, Jr. narrates this dramatic look at the people who raised their voices in song against racism and inequality. Change was in the air, and it was the singers and songwriters of such unforgettable melodies as "A Change is Gonna Come", "Blowin' in the Wind", and "People Get Ready who helped give the Civil Rights Movement it's anthems and soul. Hear firsthand accounts of how the Mississippi Freedom Riders used music to summon courage in the face of great danger, reflect on the brutality of enforced segregation with Billy Holiday's haunting ballad "Strange Fruit", and watch as the seeds of change that were planted in the 1960s blossoms in the music, politics, and culture of the decades that followed. Extensive interviews with Quincy Jones, Chuck D, Isaac Hayes, Gladys Knight, and others combine with never-before-seen historic footage to offer an absorbing account of a time of unprecedented social transformation. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Freddie Prinze Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt, Anne Bancroft, and Val Kilmer all lend their voices to this animated fantasy adventure set in a magical world divided by fear. As two dueling civilizations prepare to unleash the dogs of war, it's up to one troubled adolescent and his unlikely friends to save their world from unspeakable destruction. Chris Kattan, Malcolm McDowell, Michael Clarke Duncan, Eric Idle, Burt Reynolds, Kelly Ripa, and Sally Kellerman co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

William Dear (Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann) helms the period baseball drama The Perfect Game, a cinematization of real-life events that transpired in 1957. Clifton Collins Jr. stars as Cesar Faz, a 1950s baseball player who immigrated from Mexico to the U.S. with the intent of making it as a Major League player. After encountering racism and hostility that stand squarely in the way of his success, Faz high-tails it south of the border and decides instead to coach a Little League team, ultimately guiding it all the way to the Little League World Series. The film co-stars Emilie de Ravin (Lost); W. William Winokur authored the script. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Diary of a Mad Black Woman mastermind Tyler Perry turns the familiar Cinderella tale on its head with this story concerning a successful female attorney who falls in love with a financially strapped mechanic. Monty (Idris Elba) is struggling mechanic and single father of three from a poor neighborhood. Upon learning that custody of his beloved daughters has been awarded to his morally bankrupt, drug-dealing ex-wife Jennifer (Tasha Smith), desperate Monty enlists the aid of beautiful Ivy league-educated lawyer Julia (Gabrielle Union) -- whom he recently met during his brief stint as a chauffeur -- in ensuring that his daughters remain with him in a stable and loving environment. Despite the vast social and economical differences that divide them, Monty and Julia soon begin to find themselves unexpectedly falling in love with one another as they work together to save Monty's daughters from a life of crime and corruption. Now, in order to reconcile their blossoming romance and overcome the forces that threaten to destroy the only thing that Monty holds dear, the concerned father and powerful lawyer will have to bridge the gap that divides them by coming together to prove that true love really does have the power to prevail. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A medical student with mounting debts draws on her formidable poker skills in order to stay afloat in this gambling drama starring Dominique Swain and Michael Madsen. As a young girl, Alicia "Ace" Anderson (Swain) frequently accompanied her card shark father (Madsen) to clandestine gambling rooms for tense rounds of Texas Hold 'Em. As a result of her childhood spent watching her father fleece his opponents, Alicia became a fairly exceptional card player herself. These days Alicia has left behind the world of gambling in order to focus on medical school, but education doesn't come cheap and the tuition fees are fast piling up. Of course the one way that Alicia knows how to make a quick buck is to fall back on her old skills, and now with a bottomed out bank account and few options on the table the savvy student gambler enlists the aid of some fellow students in hitting it big at the local casino. Though her cohorts may be well schooled in the art of the bluff, this team will need much more than a good poker face if they truly intend to win out over some of the world's best card players. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The countdown to Armageddon continues as world leader Nicolae Carpathia (Gordon Currie) brings peace to the world in this installment of the popular Left Behind series inspired by the best-selling books by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. As world peace blossoms and the citizens of the planet attempt to put the horrors of war behind them, American president Gerald Fitzhugh (Louis Gossett Jr.) ensures his country that America will not stand in the way of the historical peace pact. When an assassin's bullet misses its mark and President Fitzhugh gets a horrifying glimpse into the future, he soon realizes that he has left his country defenseless against Nicolae Carpathia's deadly deception. Now, with the future of the entire planet hanging in the balance, President Fitzhugh must place his trust in investigative reporter Buck Williams' (Kirk Cameron) Tribulation Force to battle the powers of evil and dethrone Carpathia before the horrors of the Book of Revelation become reality. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Upon the death of his clergyman father, David Lewis (Louis Gossett Jr.), Bruce (John L. Adams) heads to Indianapolis for the funeral, bringing along his friend Johnny (Anthony Michael Hall) for emotional support. Brushing past the body of Pastor Lewis, Johnny experiences a strange vision which he inadvertently passes along to Bruce. Suddenly, Bruce is hurtled into a whole new existence -- precipitated by a completely revised past life, with events radically changed, but the principal characters remaining the same. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The time: June 1998. The place: The sleepy town of Jasper, TX. Three young, self-styled white supremists overpower a 49-year-old black man named James Byrd Jr., chain him to the back of their pickup, and literally drag him to death. What follows is a media firestorm, exacerbated by scores of network and cable-TV news services, the grim pronouncements of so-called pundits, and the intrusion upon Jasper of several extremist activists, ranging from members of the Ku Klux Klan to the newly formed Black Panthers. As the frenzy continues, the heretofore peaceful, if somewhat tenuous, relationship between the white and black residents of Jasper is severely strained, with echoes of past racism resounding throughout the area. In the center of the controversy are two decent, hard-working public servants: R.C. Horn, the first black mayor of Jasper, and Billy Rowles, the town's white sheriff. Also profoundly affected by the appalling murder of Byrd are the respective parents of the victim and the killers. Happily, when the dust clears, justice is done (two of the murderers are condemned to death, the third sentenced to life imprisonment), and, instead of being wrenched apart, the black and white communities of Jasper draw closer together than they have ever been. Made for cable TV, this feature-length reenactment stars Louis Gossett Jr. as Horn and Jon Voight as Rowles. Although certain liberties are taken (the actor playing Byrd is clearly much younger than his real-life counterpart and the Black Panthers and KKK are incorrectly shown descending upon Jasper the same day), the film is, by and large, accurate. Better still, there is a minimum of preaching and proselytizing. Previewed at the Philadelphia Film Festival, Jasper, Texas was given its official Showtime network cable premiere on June 8, 2003 -- almost five years to the day after Byrd's death. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Christian independent film company Cloud Ten Productions presents this science fiction-tinged thriller in the same vein of their other offerings, such as Left Behind. Directed by Andre vanHeerden, Deceived stars Judd Nelson as Jack Jones, a scientist brought in to help discern the purpose and source of a strange, extraterrestrial signal that seems to have a mysterious effect on the psychic abilities of those exposed to it. The film also stars Michelle Nolden, Stuart Beck, and Academy Award-winner Louis Gossett Jr. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Richard Pepin directs Academy Award winner Louis Gossett Jr. in the thriller Terminal Countdown. The Y2K bug threatens to launch a nuclear missile from a nearly forgotten bunker in South America. A specially trained group of commandos work together to eliminate the threat before time runs out. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

This made-for-TV drama is based on the true-life story of Dr. Lucille Teasdale (Marina Orsini), who was one of the first female surgeons to practice in Canada. After establishing a practice in Quebec, Teasdale was re-introduced to Dr. Piero Corti (Massimo Ghini), a fellow surgeon she first met while studying in Montreal. Corti persuaded Teasdale to join him as he traveled to Uganda, and they soon fell in love and got married. Corti and Teasdale dedicated themselves to helping heal the people of Uganda through poverty, plague, and bloody civil war; together they founded St. Mary's Hospital, which was regarded as one of the finest medical facilities in Africa, and they selflessly devoted 14 hours a day to treating their patients. Teasdale contracted the HIV virus when she cut herself while performing surgery on an infected patient in 1979, but continued her practice, using careful precautions to prevent her from spreading the disease, and displaying her devotion to the Ugandan people until her death in 1996. Originally produced for Canadian television, Dr. Lucille also features Louis Gossett Jr.. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi