Bill Cobbs Movies
Character actor Bill Cobbs began his acting career relatively late in life after working odd jobs in Cleveland, OH. At the age of 36, he moved to New York and joined the Negro Ensemble Company, making his Broadway debut in First Breeze of Summer. His film career started in the late '70s with small film roles and guest appearances on television. In the early '80s, he worked on several performances for the NBC Live Theatre series and a PBS anthology with Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee. Usually cast as the token old black man dispensing words of wisdom, Cobbs' weathered-yet-honest looks got him several guest spots on TV shows from Good Times to The West Wing. He did end up with a few reoccurring roles on sitcoms like The Slap Maxwell Story, The Gregory Hines Show, and The Michael Richards Show. He even had a part in The Others, the NBC sci-fi drama answer to The X-Files. Perhaps his most memorable television appearance is his role as Regina Taylor's father on I'll Fly Away as well as in the TV movie version I'll Fly Away: Then and Now. Throughout his film career, he has built a long list of credits playing kindly fathers, grandfathers, and even Moses (in The Hudsucker Proxy). He was Whitney Houston's manager in The Bodyguard, an old man in New Jack City, and Grandpa Booker in The People Under the Stairs. Though he appears in nearly all genres of Hollywood films, he occasionally gets meatier roles in made-for-TV dramas like Carolina Skeletons, Nightjohn, and Always Outnumbered. In 2002, he played wisened elders in Sunshine State, Enough, and Sweet Deadly Dreams. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- 1977
- Add A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich to QueueAdd A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich to top of Queue
Adapted from Alice Childress' inspirational novel of the same name, director Ralph Nelson's sentimental addiction drama tells the story of an intelligent yet alienated ghetto youth seduced into the world of hard drugs. Unable to stand being in the same apartment as his gruff but caring foster-father Butler (Paul Winfield), inner-city high school student Benjie (Larry B. Scott) opts to pass the time smoking grass and drinking with his good friend Jimmy Lee (Kenneth Green) and small-time drug dealer Carwell (Erin Blunt). Before long Benjie is hooked, and hanging out with local pusher Tiger (Kevin Hooks) in order to get the hard stuff. Increasingly alienated from both his foster-father and his grandmother (Helen Martin), young Benjie must rely on the assistance of a caring social worker (Claire Brennan) in order to stay clean and get back on his feet. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cicely Tyson, Paul Winfield, (more)
The heartwarming story of a boy, his dog and a basketball forms the basis of this family comedy from Disney. Snively (Michael Jeter) is an unfunny clown whose appearances at children's parties are usually upstaged by his dog Buddy, who has learned how to shoot a basketball. Snively is tired of being upstaged by the pooch, and he eventually abandons him. Buddy is taken in by Josh (Kevin Zegers), a shy boy whose father recently died. Josh's mother Jackie (Wendy Makkena) moves them to a small town in Washington, where the naturally withdrawn Josh doesn't quite fit in. Too shy to try out for the basketball team, he instead becomes team manager, and he practices on his own after the team goes home. One night, Josh discovers Buddy that can not only shoot hoops, but he's a better shot than anyone on the team. Coach Barker (Stephen E. Miller), hungry for victory, adds Buddy to the team and soon the dog with game is famous -- just famous enough, in fact, for Snively to return, demanding the return of his pet. Buddy the Dog was spotted by the film's producers shooting baskets on the "Stupid Pet Tricks" segment of The Late Show with David Letterman. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Jeter, Kevin Zegers, (more)
Michael Apted (Gorillas in the Mist) directed this Walter Mosley script adaptation of Mosley's short story collection, Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned. Ex-con Socrates Fortlow (Laurence Fishburne) returns to L.A., looks for work, becomes friends with Right Burke (Bill Cobbs), is told he's too old for a construction job, helps youngster Darryl (Daniel Williams), and romances cafe-owner Iula Brown (Natalie Cole). Socrates provides a moral uplift to the neighborhood, while Burke's voiceover narration has a Sunset Boulevard twist. The TV movie premiered March 21, 1998 on HBO. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laurence Fishburne, Bill Cobbs, (more)
- 2003
Actress Lisa Gay Hamilton makes her directorial debut with the documentary Beah: A Black Woman Speaks, a biography of actress and writer Beah Richards, whom Hamilton had worked with on The Practice and Beloved. The production of this project spanned many years; Hamilton realized, early on, that Richards was dying, and thus secured her participation during the actress's final year - though the picture wasn't realized until after three her death. Born in Mississippi, Richards moved to New York City in 1950 to begin acting in off-Broadway productions. In addition to her distinguished acting career, she was also an accomplished poet, playwright, teacher, and social activist. In 1967, she was nominated for an Academy Award for her supporting role in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Shortly before her death in 2000, she won an Emmy for her guest starring role on The Practice. The original musical score is provided by Bernice Johnson Reagon from Sweet Honey in the Rock. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Beah Richards, Marylouise Patterson, (more)
Forest Whitaker stars as the brilliant jazz saxophonist Charlie "Bird" Parker in this elegiac biopic. Director Clint Eastwood pays full homage to Parker's musical genius, but also devotes ample time to the musician's twin demons--drugs and alcohol-which accelerated his death at the age of 34. In his struggles to gain widespread acceptance for his music, "Bird" is forever stymied by his own self-destructiveness, and forever bailed out by the love of his life, Chan Richardson Parker (Diane Venora). The film bemoans the decline of the brand of jazz fathered by Parker, which came to be replaced by more conventional material -- as illustrated by the "descent" into the mainstream of Parker's mentor Buster Franklin. Also starring in Bird is Samuel E. Wright as Dizzy Gillespie. That's the real Charlie "Bird" Parker on the film's soundtrack, though most of the background music has been re-orchestrated. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Forest Whitaker, Diane Venora, (more)
- 1992
Carolina Skeletons is based on a prize-winning novel by David Stout. Louis Gossett Jr. plays a former Green Beret colonel who returns to his home town after thirty years. As a child, Gossett was forced to look on in horror as his brother was tried and executed on a trumped-up murder charge. Now that he's back, Gossett seeks out new evidence, intending to bring the real killer to justice. Unfortunatel, there are several people in town who'd prefer that the past remained buried-and aren't averse to burying Gossett should the need arise. Made for television, Carolina Skeletons debuted September 30, 1991. An R-rated version was later prepared for cable TV. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
- R
Director Frank Perry brings Susan Issacs' comedic whodunit novel to the screen with Susan Sarandon as a Long Island housewife who tries to escape her deadening suburban life by trying to solve the murder of a philandering local dentist. The dentist, Bruce Fleckstein (Joe Mantegna), is the kind of swinging ladies' man who wears gold chains and jazzy clothing. He also arranges to meet his lonely housewife patients in hotel rooms for afternoon quickies. When he is found murdered in his office, the suspects are as numerous as the names in the Nyack telephone directory, especially since Fleckstein had the habit of taking incriminating Polaroid snapshots during his one-on-one sessions. Judith Singer (Sarandon) is an ex-Newsday reporter and bored wife of Bob Singer (Edward Herrmann), a stuffy business executive, and she was one of the last people to see Fleckstein alive. Considered a suspect by police detective David Suarez (Raul Julia), she determines to solve the case herself, interviewing suspects and searching for evidence. If she solves the crime, Judith hopes to write an article about it and get her old job back at the newspaper. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Sarandon, Raul Julia, (more)
Originally airing on the Hallmark Hall of Fame, this made-for-television adaptation of a novel by John William Corrington tells the story of a retired judge who decides to find out why his old pal is refusing to accept the Medal of Honor he should have been awarded years before. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
The plot of this action film begins in 1996, with Los Angeles in a violence-crazed conflagration. One of the LAPD's most notorious cops, John Spartan (Sylvester Stallone), known as "the demolition man," is in hot pursuit of blonde-haired psychopath Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes), who is so nasty he even kills sometimes just because he feels cranky. John captures Simon, but not before Simon kills innocent hostages. John is blamed for the deaths of the hostages, and both he and Simon are cryogenically frozen to remove their brand of ultra-violence from a society that is simply just too violent. The film shifts to the future world of 2032, where Los Angeles has become a megalopolis called San Angeles. There is no poverty, Arnold Schwarzenegger was (at one time) president of the United States, and Taco Bell is the sole survivor of the Franchise Wars. Into this peaceful and bland society, Simon is summarily defrosted by reigning benevolent dictator Dr. Cocteau (Nigel Hawthorne) to have Simon murder Edgar Friendly (Denis Leary), the leader of a group of underground rebels. But Cocteau bites off more than he can chew when the melted-down Simon proceeds to go on a murder-and-looting spree. Reluctantly, Cocteau defrosts John to hunt down his old adversary. As John adjusts to self-driving cars and having sex wearing helmets, he pairs up with Lenina Huxley (Sandra Bullock), a bored cop with a nostalgic fascination for 20th-century culture. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes, (more)
Dominick Luciano (Thomas Hulce) is the moderately retarded twin brother of highly intelligent young intern Eugene (Ray Liotta). Anxious to become a successful doctor, Eugene finds he must devote most of his time to caring for Dominick. For his part, Dominick has been contributing to the family unit as a trash collector; in fact, it is his earnings that keeps food on the table. All Dominick wants out of life is a house by the lake where he and his brother can be together for all time. But the ambitious Eugene can't always bring himself to share that vision. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Hulce, Ray Liotta, (more)
An aging societal outcast and a motherless duck set out to find shelter and meaning in a future where people are separated by as many degrees as they are connected. The year is 2009, and the last public park in Los Angeles has been closed to the public. The city is a desert, and dispossessed widower Arthur Pratt (Philip Baker Hall) has outlived his usefulness. A retired history professor who spent all of his savings caring for his beloved late wife, Arthur sets out to the park where his son and dearly departed are buried to pay his final respects before ending his own life. Arthur's grim westward march hits an unexpected hitch, however, when an orphaned duckling that has recently cheated death adopts the homeless septuagenarian as a surrogate mother figure. Once again displaced when their park becomes a landfill and their pond is drained, the unlikely pair embarks on a Sisyphean journey to find shelter and meaning in a world where their lives seem to have little value. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philip Baker Hall, Bill Brochtrup, (more)
- 1996
Having missed a bone tumor on a child's x-ray, Ross (George Clooney) is none too anxious to tell the patient's grandfather (Bill Cobbs) about the mistake -- especially since four months have elapsed and the tumor has gotten worse. Meanwhile, Chloe (Kathleen Wilhoite) sweeps back into Lewis' (Sherry Stringfield) life, insisting upon full custody of little Suzy. Carter (Noah Wyle) worries himself into a stomach ache over his much-anticipated residency at County General. And Greene (Anthony Edwards), newly shed of his marital status, radically changes his image. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
If, in the world of the movies, a dog can play basketball and a donkey can play football, why can't a chimp play baseball? That question is answered in the family comedy Ed. Jack "Deuce" Cooper (Matt LeBlanc) is a struggling baseball pitcher who has great natural talent but keeps choking under pressure. Traded to a class A minor league team, Deuce is appalled to discover his third baseman -- and roommate on the road -- is a chimpanzee named Ed Sullivan. While Ed can actually hold his own on the diamond, Deuce feels there's something a bit undignified about having to look after a monkey, and it doesn't help that Ed has poor hygiene and a chronic case of flatulence. Ed was Matt LeBlanc's first starring vehicle following his success on the TV series Friends. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matt LeBlanc, Jayne Brook, (more)
A Cinderella story turns into a nightmare when a former waitress' perfect marriage gives way to adultery and physical abuse in this combination of domestic drama and revenge thriller. Motherless young woman Slim (Jennifer Lopez) works in a San Francisco diner with her best friend, Ginny (Juliette Lewis). After almost succumbing to the slick flirtation of an insincere customer (Noah Wyle), she is rescued by another dashing diner named Mitch (Bill Campbell). A few years later, the now happily married couple seem to have it all -- a perfect house, a precocious daughter (Tessa Allen), and a comfortable life. Then, Slim discovers that Mitch is actually a lothario who has been sleeping with other women behind her back. When she protests, he slaps her around and uses daughter Gracie as leverage to keep her in line. Slim enlists the help of her friends to escape with her child, though Mitch attacks and very nearly kills her in the process. Going on the lam, Slim adopts a series of new identities, wigs, and residences to avoid the goons Mitch has sent to retrieve her. Along the way, she receives help from Joe (Dan Futterman), a friend and old flame from college. Ultimately, Mitch and his unexpected allies so terrify Slim that she must turn the tables and transform herself from hunted to hunter. In doing so, she receives some surprise assistance of her own -- from Jupiter (Fred Ward), the rich father who abandoned her mother years ago. Although the soundtrack to Enough features the music of star J. Lo, the title song was written especially for the film by Magnolia tunesmith Aimee Mann. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Lopez, Bill Campbell, (more)
- 1990
This political drama takes a look at the underground network that helps South American refugees travel safely to the US. The story centers on a freedom fighter from Central America who uses the underground to get to the US and settle in a small town. His wife lies to a restaurant owner, telling him her husband is dead, and gets a job as a waitress. Soon after, the owner's son falls in love with her. Meanwhile a crooked CIA agent leads a death squad in pursuit of the former freedom fighter and things get worse when the local sheriff threatens to reveal his hideout to the hunters. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Quirky comedy, intense drama, and warm nostalgia are all combined in this eccentric look at one night in 1964 amongst the residents of the Five Corners neighborhood of the Bronx. The bulk of the film concerns Linda (Jodie Foster), a young woman who finds herself stalked by a disturbed rapist fresh out of prison. Needing protection, she turns to her formerly tough ex-boyfriend, only to discover that a recent political awakening has transformed him into a pacifist. The tension of Linda's situation is leavened by the film's attention to its bizarre subplots, which include a stolen penguin, partying teenagers who encounter trouble with an elevator, and a pair of detectives investigating a series of mysterious bow-and-arrow attacks. The script by John Patrick Shanley, who won the 1987 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Moonstruck, manages to (for the most part) bring these seemingly unrelated stories together into a fairly logical conclusion. Even though numerous critics felt that Five Corners' mixture of widely disparate tones was not completely successful, the end result is a surprisingly charming and unique tribute to a time and a place. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jodie Foster, Tim Robbins, (more)
A man learns to be a better person when he turns into a dog in this thoughtful and surprisingly somber drama for the family. Tom (Matthew Modine), a businessman, is so driven to succeed that he all but ignores his wife Carol (Nancy Travis) and their son Brian (Max Pomeranc). Tom's perspective changes when he dies in an auto accident and is reincarnated as Fluke, a big brown dog. Fluke wants nothing more than to be with Carol and Brian, but he gets lost as he tries to make his way home. He's adopted by a homeless woman, and with her, Fluke truly learns to give and receive love for the first time, but when she dies, the dog is left with nowhere to go. Fluke is soon befriended by Rumbo (voice of Samuel L. Jackson), a guard dog at a junkyard who teaches him how to survive on the street, but before long, Fluke once again hears the call from his heart to find Carol and Brian. Fluke also stars Eric Stolz, Ron Perlman, and Jon Polito. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew Modine, Nancy Travis, (more)
- 2000
This made-for-TV fantasy was based on Rod Serling's "A Stop at Willoughby," a 1960 episode of Serling's classic anthology series Twilight Zone. The story begins in the year 2000, with advertising executive Charles Lattimer (Mark Harmon) escaping his hectic professional life and increasingly dissatisfying marriage to wife Kristen (Catherine Hicks) by obsessively tinkering with his elaborate model-train set. Through the aid of a magic stopwatch, Charles boards a real train and is whisked back to 1896, where he inaugurates a romance with attractive widow Laura Brown (Mary McDonnell). Traversing back and forth through the years, Charles ultimately finds that he will never truly be happy until he chooses between the "real" world and the world fashioned by his nostalgic imagination. Filmed in Alberta, For All Time made its CBS network debut on October 18, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This is a long-awaited film telling the story of the trials of Medgar Evers' killer. Medger Evers (James Pickens, Jr.) was a black civil-rights activist in Mississippi who was shot to death in 1963. Despite very persuasive evidence that Byron De La Beckwith (James Woods) was indeed his killer, the all-white juries hearing his case at that time acquitted him (he was tried twice). In this film, with the aid of Ever's widow Myrlie (Whoopie Goldberg), Bobby DeLaughter (Alec Baldwin), a young lawyer, gathers enough new evidence to bring Beckwith in for a third trial. Woods' performance as a wise-cracking bigot is one of the film's highlights. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg, (more)
- 1976
J.J. (Jimmie Walker) is invited to speak at a re-election campaign rally for fatuous local alderman Fred Davis (Albert Reed). Correctly sensing that Davis is several miles removed from honesty, J.J. refuses the invitation. The result: intense political pressure, and a terse eviction notice for J.J.'s nonplussed mom, Florida (Esther Rolle). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
- PG
Based on the life story of NASCAR auto racing champion Wendell Scott, this film, starring Richard Pryor as Scott, covers his struggles -- from the end of World War II to 1971-- to overcome racism and gain the freedom to demonstrate his winning auto-racing skills to everyone. He is not without support: he has Mary Jones (Pam Grier), his loving wife, a sense of humor, and quite a few good friends, including the white race-car driver Hutch (Beau Bridges). Filmed in the Atlanta area, this movie features performances by folksinger Richie Havens, Julian Bond (later a Congressman), and Maynard Jackson (at one time Atlanta's mayor). ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Pryor, Beau Bridges, (more)
Actor/director Forest Whitaker (Waiting to Exhale) helmed this romantic drama about a one-time high-school beauty queen who returns to her hometown of Smithville, TX. The Steven Rogers screenplay begins in Chicago, where blonde Connie (Rosanna Arquette, uncredited) appears on a trashy daytime talk show and tells a nationwide TV audience about her affair with the husband of her best friend, Birdie Pruitt (Sandra Bullock). Walking into the ambush, Birdie is paraded forth for a public humiliation as Connie's claim is confirmed by husband Bill (Michael Paré). Birdie and her young daughter, Bernice (Mae Whitman), then move back to Texas to live with Birdie's eccentric mother, Ramona (Gena Rowlands), a taxidermist who has filled the house with stuffed animals. Since most of Smithville saw the TV show, embarrassment keeps Birdie sitting around the house in her pajamas; however, her moment of glory as the homecoming "Queen of Corn" has not been forgotten by handyman Justin Matisse (Harry Connick Jr.), the first guy who kissed her back in high school, so a romance soon begins. "Just give hope a chance to float up and it will," says Birdie. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sandra Bullock, Harry Connick, Jr., (more)
- 1998
- R
- Add I Still Know What You Did Last Summer to QueueAdd I Still Know What You Did Last Summer to top of Queue
I Know What You Did Last Summer was one of the two teenaged horror movies responsible for bringing the horror genre into the 90's (the other being Wes Craven's Scream). Both of those films came from the pen of screenwriter Kevin Williamson, and both of them generated sequels. I Still Know What You Did Last Summer is the continuation of Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt), a tortured college co-ed who accidentally almost killed a man and left him for dead one night. One year later, that man, named Ben Willis, came back to kill all of Julie's friends. Now, another year later, she still suffers from nightmares over the horrible incidents. When Julie's roommate Kate (Brandy) wins an all-expenses paid trip to the Bahamas on a radio promotion by guessing the capital of Brazil, she decides to take her roommate Julie, her boyfriend (Mekhi Phifer), and their new friend (Matthew Settle) on the retreat. Once there, they discover that besides being the rainy season, they were also followed by Julie's nemesis who is still seeking revenge. Slowly the islanders turn up murdered, leaving Julie no choice but to explain her past actions to her friends and fight to stay alive. It will entail the final showdown between her and Ben Willis once and for all. ~ Chris Gore, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze, Jr., (more)
In this noirish thriller, a world-weary hit-man is assigned by his boss to kill his own lover and steal from her a valuable CD-Rom. When killer Hardin tells evil Rena about the grim assignment from his boss Rushton, she makes a suggestion. Instead of killing her, why don't they shoot her angelic twin, Kathy, instead? It sounds like a good plan until Hardin gets to know Kathy and finds himself attracted to her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Madsen, Jennifer Tilly, (more)
- 2003
Baldwin Jones (Henry Simmons) goes after the low-life who may be hiding the identity of the stalker who attacked Valerie Haywood (Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon). A murder brings Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) in contact with a lapsed alcoholic and a former loan shark who claims to have mended his ways. And in her efforts to prevent the parents of her scummy brother-in-law, Frank, from gaining custody of baby Michelle, Connie (Charlotte Ross) tracks down Frank's sister, Adrian (Katy Selverstone), who may have been raped by a member of her own degenerate family. Chandra West makes her first appearance as Dr. Jennifer Devlin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Simmons
