Dominic Hoffman Movies

Tim Allen and Chiwetel Ejiofor co-star in writer/director David Mamet's martial arts drama Redbelt. Ejiofor plays Mike Terry, a jujitsu master who co-runs a very modest martial arts studio in Los Angeles with his bossy wife, Sondra (Alice Braga). Mike demonstrates an unwavering commitment to his craft and draws a cadre of defiantly loyal pupils including Joe (Max Martini), an LAPD cop. All told, it appears that he has chosen a peaceful and conflict-free path in life. The dedicated martial artist's fate takes an unanticipated turn, however, one evening when a young woman named Laura (Emily Mortimer) bursts into the academy in a state of near hysteria, and reaches for a policeman's gun when he tries to restrain her. One thing leads to another, and before long, Laura is regularly receiving martial arts lessons from Mike. As master begins to teach pupil and his martial arts philosophies emerge, his path also crisscrosses with that of a Hollywood movie star, Chet Frank (Tim Allen), when he saves the fellow from a beating at a local club and gets invited (along with Sondra) to Chet's house for dinner. Chet extends gestures of friendship, and Mike's guard breaks down; he speaks openly and candidly of a special martial arts method he employs that requires one of the participants to "assume a handicap." In time, the association with Chet leads to involvement in the motion-picture industry, and relations with a bevy of characters who aren't exactly what they seem -- including a pay-per-view fight mogul (Ricky Jay) and Chet's slimy and manipulative manager (Joe Mantegna). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Based on the play Dearly Departed by David Dean Bottrell and Jessie Jones (who also penned this screenplay), this new comedy from the director of Jason's Lyric looks at a family gathering after one of their clan dies of a stroke. In the midst of a sweltering summer, the Slocumb family convenes. They include Charisse (Jada Pinkett Smith), the long-suffering, frustrated wife of philandering Junior (Anthony Anderson); there's also the Bible-spouting Marguerite (Loretta Devine), who prays to save her hard-living son Royce (Darius McCrary) from a life on welfare. Lucille (Vivica A. Fox) is the devoted family peacekeeper who is struggling with a money-grubbing funeral director, and her husband Ray Bud (L.L. Cool J) has major contempt for his family and wishes he were burying them instead. Kingdom Come also features Cedric the Entertainer as an intestinally challenged reverend and Whoopi Goldberg as the family matriarch. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide

Sylvia Buchman (Cynthia Harris), the notoriously hard to please mother of Paul Buchman (Paul Reiser), suddenly decides that she wants no part of a non-refundable Caribbean vacation. As a result, Paul and wife Jamie (Helen Hunt) pose as Paul's parents, a scheme that quickly gets out of control. Vitial ingredients to the proceedings include the hammock toss, "Splink! Splink!" and the ability to lie multilingually. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dwayne (Kadeem Hardison) is unpleasantly surprised when his friend Zellmer (Blair Underwood), an Army reservist, is called to active duty in the Persian Gulf. Nonetheless, Dwayne organizes a "guy's only" farewell party for his pal--which is memorably crashed by Whitley (Jasmine Guy), Jaleesa (Dawnn Lewis), and Kim (Charnele Brown), who perform "The Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy From Company B". Meanwhile, Freddie (Cree Summer) can barely say a word to Zellmer due to her opposition of the US' intervention in the Gulf. This episode was cowritten by series regulars Jasmine Guy and Dominic Hoffman (Julian Day). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this earnest, socially conscious drama, a prominent young lawyer rethinks his yuppie lifestyle and risks it all to become a staunch defender of homeless people's rights. Look for Martin Sheen (a strong advocate for the homeless) in a cameo role as a street person. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Whitley (Jasmine Guy) is convinced that she is the inspiration for Dwayne's poem "My First Love." Actually, Dwayne (Kadeem Hardison) wrote the poem as a paean to mathematics--and its true inspiration turns out to be the spirit of William Shakespeare (John H. Francis), in one of his rare TV appearances. Meanwhile, Freddie (Cree Summer) suffers intense guilt pangs when she begins dating both Ron (Darryl M. Bell) and a dreamy pro-environmentalist named Livingston (Alex Gilbert). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dominic Hoffman makes his first appearance as Julian Day, a handsome exchange student from Georgetown. Though Whitley (Jasmine Guy) is fascinated with Julian, she is somewhat put off by his fierce anti-apartheid activism. Likewise affected by Julian's political fervor is Kim (Charnele Brown), who may lose out on a scholarship funded by a corporation which does business with South Africa (where apartheid was still very much in force when this episode originally aired in 1990). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the first episode of a two-part story, the gang decides to spend Spring Break at a rented cottage on Devil's Island, South Carolina. Unfortunately for Dwayne (Kadeem Hardison) and Ron (Darryl M. Bell), they stumble upon evidence that the cottage is being used as a rendezvous by a pair of dangerous drug dealers. Elsewhere, Ernest (Reuben Grandy) messes up his "big chance" with Freddie (Cree Summer) by downing one too many drinks. Cast as the niece of the owner of the cottage is frequent Different World scriptwriter Susan Fales. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the final episode of A Different World's third season, Dwayne (Kadeem Hardison) is visited by his mother Adele (Patti LaBelle) as he prepares to be inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Confusion reigns when, while planning Dwayne's celebration party, Mrs. Wayne is mistaken for the "hired help". And upon learning that Julian (Dominic Hoffman) wants all the advantages of a sexual relationship without any of the responsibilities, Whitley (Jasmine Guy) turns to Dwayne (Kadeem Hardison) for a shoulder to cry on. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this taut outdoor actioner, a pair of teens head into the Rockies as part of a course in survival and end up having to use all of their skills to survive when they find themselves hunted by a pack of crazed mercenaries. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In the late '80s, good-time girl Stacy (Lea Thompson) and her timid friend, Melissa (Victoria Jackson), decide to hit a health spa for singles in hopes of spicing up their unfulfilled sex lives. Afraid of AIDS, Stacy has gone celibate, while Melissa has only ever managed to get it on with two lame guys. Arriving at the resort, the women spend their time working out, flirting with staff members, making friends and enemies with their fellow singles, and avoiding the attentions of the oafish Vinny (Andrew Dice Clay). When a cruel psychologist plays mind games with Melissa, she finds solace with Vinny, then flees the spa, interrupting an incipient romance between Stacy and a cute aerobics instructor. Wendy Goldman and Judy Toll adapted their own stage play, while Casual Sex? provided director Genevieve Robert her only feature credit to date. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Fraternity and sorority members clash with the other students at a historically black university in this politically charged musical, which marked the sophomore feature from director Spike Lee. Dap (Laurence Fishburne) is a politically conscious brother who leads anti-apartheid demonstrations and eschews the social climbing of the Greek system. But Half-Pint (Lee), his craven young cousin, is willing to endure any humiliation to join the manly Gamma fraternity. As Half-Pint tries unsuccessfully to impress the Gammas with his inept womanizing, Dap engages in philosophical debates with Rachel (Kyme), his girlfriend. Meanwhile, the light-skinned, straight-haired sisters of the Gamma Ray sorority battle it out in a beauty parlor with their darker-skinned, Afro-headed fellow co-eds. Eventually, Half-Pint gets the chance to join the frat, but only after a degrading episode with Jane (Tisha Campbell), the soon-to-be ex-girlfriend of his house president, causes Dap to lose all respect for him. Based in part on the director's experiences at Atlanta's Morehouse College, School Daze was also written and produced by Lee. Despite production numbers that included "Straight and Nappy", a dis-fest between the "wannabes" and "jigaboos" on campus, the biggest hit on the film's soundtrack was the go-go anthem "Da Butt", E.U.'s ode to shaking one's backside. Supporting players Kadeem Hardison and Jasmine Guy also co-starred on the TV comedy A Different World, another look at life on a primarily African-American campus. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide