Doug McHenry Movies

The proprietor of a beauty salon that serves as the one remaining thread that ties her community together finds her last bastion of unity threatened by eminent domain in Barbershop director Mark Brown's adaptation of Shelly Garrett's hit stage play Beauty Shop. Jenny (Vivica A. Fox) owns a modest neighborhood beauty parlor that is hugely popular with the folks who reside on her street, but mom-and-pop businesses are going belly-up all over the place and lately a corporate giant has been clamoring to set-up shop on the block. Despite formidable pressure from the Department of Water and Power, however, Jenny refuses to accept the offer made for her shop and decides to test her luck against the DWP in the local courthouse. Monica Calhoun, Kym Whitley, Darrin Henson, and Terrence Dashon Howard co-star in an underdog comedy that shows just how fierce some people are willing to fight in order to maintain their sense of community. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Love really is a battlefield in this war of the sexes comedy that marks the directorial debut of Def Jam's How to Be a Player (1997) screenwriter Mark Brown. Vivica A. Fox stars as Shante, a knowledgeable veteran of the dating game who thinks she's found the perfect mate in the handsome Keith (Morris Chestnut). When Keith is spotted stepping out with Shante's arch-rival Conny (Gabrielle Union), the spurned lover institutes what she labels the "ten-day plan," an all-out assault on Keith designed to make him come crawling back to her. Shante's scheme includes sexy lingerie, home cooking, aloofness, and other tactics intended to make Keith regret his errant ways, but Keith is receiving contradictory advice from his allegedly worldly wise buddy Tony (Anthony Anderson). Two Can Play That Game is produced by Doug McHenry, director of Jason's Lyric (1994) and Kingdom Come (2001). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Four successful men find themselves easing into long-term relationships, but they're not all that comfortable about it, in this intelligent comedy-drama. Terry (Shemar Moore), Jackson (Morris Chestnut), Brian (Bill Bellamy), and Derrick (D.L. Hughley) are four close friends who get together once a week to play basketball and compare notes on their problems with women. And as it turns out, they have a lot to say in that area. Terry has just gotten engaged to BeBe (Susan Dalian), who is more than a bit controlling. Jackson has a deep fear of commitment, symbolized by a recurring dream in which he's attacked by women wearing wedding gowns; what's more, he's started seeing Denise (Gabrielle Union), who he learns once had a fling with his dad (Clifton Powell). Brian is a lawyer who has discovered his next court date will see him pleading a case in front of a judge who used to be his girlfriend (Angelle Brooks). And Derrick's marriage to Sheila (Tamala Jones) is falling apart at the seams. The Brothers also features one-time Jeffersons regular Marla Gibbs, and Jennifer Lewis as Jackson's mother, who may be giving his father a second chance after many years apart. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

After the low-budget Squeeze (1996), Boston director Robert Patton-Spruill climbed to a higher plateau by assembling a strong cast of top names for this art-heist actioner, but even so, the film went straight to video in the USA. Four men botch a Boston art museum theft, blaming Latino Chino (John Leguizamo) for the death of group leader Crane (Forest Whitaker). Security-systems expert Pike (Ving Rhames) wants to get to Miami to sell the stolen paintings solo, but eroding trust keeps the group together as Pike, Chino, driver Hobbs (David Caruso), and Booker (Donnie Wahlberg) travel south through Maryland and West Virginia. An argument between Booker and Hobbs ends with Booker's death, so Hobbs then turns his attention to baiting Chino, while flashbacks recap the original robbery plan. Then suddenly the road movie veers in another direction as the gang gives a lift to a woman (Linda Fiorentino) sporting a black eye after a car crash. Forest Whitaker is seen only in the flashbacks. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Using relatively unknown actors, first-time screenwriter-director Preston A. Whitmore II examines the effects of the Vietnam War on four black Marines sent on a doomed prisoner-of-war rescue mission. The four men are what's left of a platoon that's been decimated after landing behind enemy lines. In charge is Sergeant Barkley (Joe Morton), a no-nonsense, Bible-quoting preacher who is leading three privates to find a POW camp in an abandoned temple. Cole Evans (Allen Payne) is an intellectual who is highly political, racially proud, and a devoted family man. Joe Brooks (Vonte Sweet) is a cheerful, naïve, and brave young soldier. Hoover Branche (Eddie Griffin) is a dope-smoking, foul-mouthed rebel who hates the war and fights the sergeant constantly. They eventually are joined by a crazy, bloodthirsty white soldier, Pippins (Roger Floyd). Flashbacks reveal why each character joined the Marines. Pippins entered the recruiting office to escape rival gang members who were trying to kill him. Brooks enlisted to impress his girlfriend. Branche signed up after being fired from a meat-packing plant for stealing a ham that he used as admission to a party where he wanted to woo a girl. Evans enlisted because bigoted real estate agents prevented him from buying a decent home for his family in L.A. -- he intended to become a Marine officer so that he can get free housing. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

This drama, set in a gritty part of Houston's outskirts, pits brother against brother as the two men try to cope with their childhood family tragedy. Jason and Joshua are opposites. Jason, an ambitious young TV salesman, is the straight arrow. Joshua, an aimless coke-head and frequently jailed petty criminal, is the black sheep. Their father, Maddog was a bitter and maimed Vietnam vet with a penchant for battering his wife, Gloria. To protect herself and her sons from Maddog, she throws him out of the house. In the ensuing fight one of the brothers fatally shoots Maddog. Jason is in love with Lyric, a feisty waitress. As he courts her, his brother Josh plans a bank robbery with his gang. In the end both brothers must face their past and do so in a violent shoot-out. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The ruthless leader of a New York City drug syndicate battles to maintain his power and avoid imprisonment in this fast-moving action drama. While the film's heroes are Scotty (Ice-T) and Nick (Judd Nelson), a pair of tough, streetwise cops, the main focus is their target, drug lord Nino Brown (Wesley Snipes). A criminal businessman with no room for pity or emotion, the flashy but severe Brown has built an empire and transformed an abandoned Harlem apartment building into a well-defended fortress. He begins to consider himself invincible, but his lust for power and the unpredictable actions of a former client turned police informer threaten to bring about his potential downfall. First-time director Mario Van Peebles keeps the traditional plot moving at an appropriately rapid pace, with stylish action sequences and energetic performances. The film's violence was somewhat controversial on its initial release, especially after shooting incidents marred showings in several theaters. However, the film's moral message is clearly anti-drug and anti-crime, its main intent to provide a high-powered, modern take on the gangster movie. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide