Marcus Turner Movies

Filmmaker and noted basketball fan Spike Lee presents a close-up look at a day in the life of one of the game's biggest stars in this documentary. Kobe Bryant is one of the top players on one of the NBA's top teams, the Los Angeles Lakers, and he receives the kind of adulation (and paychecks) that most folks will never experience. But for Bryant, playing basketball is a job like any other, and in Kobe Doin' Work he allows Lee and his camera crew to follow him through an ordinary business day. In this case, Bryant and the Lakers are playing a crucial late-season game against the San Antonio Spurs at L.A.'s Staples Center, and Bryant (who wears a microphone at all times) grants us a rare insider's glimpse as he arrives as the arena, warms up with the team, meets with coaches, goes through his pre-game rituals and hits the court for a hard-fought game. Bryant also offers his thoughts on teamwork, how he continues to learn from the game, and his life outside of sports. Kobe Doin' Work was produced for the ESPN cable television network, and it received its world premiere at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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 coeds. 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, Rovi