Omar Epps Movies
Bearing talent and good looks in equal measure, African American actor Omar Epps first became visible to audiences and critics alike with his 1992 film debut in Ernest R. Dickerson's urban drama Juice. Epps shone in his role as one of a group of four Harlem friends trying to make good, with the praise he earned for his work paving the way for steady industry employment.Born Omar Hashim Epps in Brooklyn, New York, on July 23, 1973, Epps was raised by his mother, an elementary school principal. He nurtured his interest in acting at both the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and the New York High School for the Performing Arts. After his breakthrough in Juice, Epps ran the risk of being typecast, playing athletes in a series of films. However, his performances were consistently solid, and he earned particular acclaim for his portrayal of a young man attending college on an athletic scholarship in John Singleton's Higher Learning (1995). Around this same time, Epps also excelled in a brief recurring role as an emotionally stressed intern on E.R.; he would later identify that role as the one that made it possible for audiences to finally put a name to his face.
A brief but memorable role in Scream 2 (1997) signaled a degree of Hollywood acceptance for Epps; two years later he could be seen starring in no less than four films in the same year. Two of these, a remake of The Mod Squad and Alan Rudolph's disastrous adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions, were all-out turkeys, but Epps did strong work in both The Wood, in which he played one of a group of close-knit high school friends; and In Too Deep, which featured him as a police detective trying to bring down an underworld boss (L.L. Cool J. The following year, he returned to the college sports realm in Love and Basketball, a romantic drama that premiered at the 2000 Sundance Festival. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- 2007
- R
Onyx rapper Sticky Fingaz directs and stars in this hip-hop musical about a gangster who becomes caught up in a bloody war between two feuding crime families while struggling to leave the streets behind. When Black's family raids one of Stick's drug houses and kills two of his men, Stick is forced to choose between leaving it all behind or seeking revenge and feeding the cycle of violence. It's a difficult decision that's made even more arduous when Stick's girlfriend reveals that she's pregnant. Word on the street is that Black has just put out a contract on Stick, and now a pair of detectives is hot on his trail. Desperate, Stick decides to flee the country with his girlfriend and start over. Just as they're about to board their flight, a gunfight erupts at the airport and all hell breaks loose. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sticky Fingaz, Faizon Love, (more)
Charles S. Dutton's feature-length directorial debut Against the Ropes is based on the real-life story of Jackie Kallen, a Jewish woman from Detroit who became a successful boxing manager. Played by Meg Ryan, Kallen works her way up in the world of boxing by believing in the fighting skills of Luther Shaw (Omar Epps). Director Dutton appears as veteran trainer Felix Reynolds, whom Kallen encourages to come out of retirement. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
This remake of Lewis Gilbert's 1966 film of the same name features Jude Law filling the shoes Michael Caine once wore in the title role of Alfie. As with the original, Law occasionally speaks directly to the camera while his character talks of the opposite sex. Under the direction of Charles Shyer, Alfie follows a charming, if morally lacking, womanizer from one bed to the next. While his actions arise more from nonchalance than malice, Alfie nonetheless faces a moral dilemma when considering that he's impregnated one of his latest girlfriends. Alfie also includes performances from Marisa Tomei, Susan Sarandon, and Nia Long. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jude Law, Marisa Tomei, (more)
Barry Sonnenfeld directs this kissing cousin of his own 1995 hit Get Shorty, a comic caper adapted by Robert Ramsey and Matthew Stone from the novel by newspaper humorist Dave Barry. When two New Jersey hitmen (Dennis Farina and Jack Kehler) show up in Miami to whack crooked businessman Arthur Herk (Stanley Tucci), they happen to creep into his backyard at the same time as Matt (Ben Foster), a high school kid with his own assassination plans. Only, Matt plans to use nothing heavier than a squirt gun on Jenny (Zooey Deschanel), Arthur's daughter, as part of a school-wide game of "killer." When the plans collide, mayhem ensues, and Matt's struggling ex-columnist dad (Tim Allen, loosely modeled on Barry), Arthur's bored wife (Rene Russo), and two confused police officers (Janeane Garofalo and Patrick Warburton) are also called to the scene. Shift to the next day and there's more craziness to follow. Two dimwitted petty criminals (Tom Sizemore and Johnny Knoxville) choose the exact moment Arthur is transacting a nuclear arms deal to hold up the dive bar where they're regulars, which is actually a front for the Russian mob. Soon the whole motley cast -- including an agreeable drifter (Jason Lee), a buxom maid (Sofia Vergara), and a pair of ruthless FBI agents (Heavy D and Omar Epps) -- are caught up in a hostage scenario in which the weapon accidentally gets brought aboard a hijacked plan. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Allen, Rene Russo, (more)
In a small American town called Midland City, Dwayne Hoover (Bruce Willis) -- a loyal father, a successful car dealer, and a respected member of the community --lives with his wife Celia (Barbara Hershey), who's addicted to pills and TV shows, and his son Bunny (Lukas Haas), who is a weakling. What's more, his best friend and employee Harry Le Sabre (Nick Nolte) is a paranoid red-lace-lingerie fetishist. Dwayne finds short-term consolation in the arms of his secretary and mistress, Francine (Glenne Headley). As the American Dream slowly becomes his nightmare, Hoover begins to retreat into a fantasy world, filled with strange voices and fearful visions. It takes only the arrival of third-rate science-fiction writer Kilgore Trout (Albert Finney) -- whose novels are turned into fourth-rate porno comics -- at the Midland City Art Festival for things to explode. Hoover's only hope is Kilgore, whom he has raised to the status of a guru in his fantasies. However, the two men meet when time, space, and reality have already lost their meaning. Now it is only nonsense that makes sense and madness that reigns; the American dream has turned into lunacy. Breakfast of Champions, which had its world premiere during the 49th International Berlin Film Festival in 1999, is the outcome of a project in the making for over twenty years. Director Alan Rudolph wrote the script when the novel by Kurt Vonnegut was first published. However, it took all this time (and perhaps the casting of someone like Bruce Willis in order to get it financed) for the project to be realized. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Willis, Albert Finney, (more)
Internationally acclaimed director and Japanese media phenomenon Takeshi Kitano follows up his well-regarded Kikujiro with this straight-ahead gangster saga with a cross-cultural twist. The film focuses on Yamamoto (Kitano), a yakuza forced out of the country when a gang war all but wipes out his clan. Armed with a fake credit card, a forged passport, and a bag of money, he journeys to the strange and foreign land of Los Angeles to join his half-brother Ken (Claude Maki), who works as a low-rent street tough alongside fast-talking hustler Denny (Omar Epps). With brutal efficiency, the poker-faced Yamamoto starts staking out turf and organizing Ken's mob into one of the most powerful criminal syndicates in the city. As his gang grows in number and power, he is joined by Kato (Kitano regular Susumu Terajima), his former lieutenant from Japan, who entreats Little Tokyo's pathological crime boss Shirase (Masaya Kato) to join the group. Yamamoto seems unstoppable until his gang runs afoul of the Mafia. Soon, all that he built quickly and bloodily starts to unravel as every member in his gang is marked for death. This film was screened at the 2000 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Beat Takeshi Kitano, Claude Maki, (more)
Conviction is a biopic about Carl Upchurch, a hardcore felon who managed to educate himself and developed a spiritual awakening during one of his numerous stints inside prison. He began to spread his message to other inmates, and soon he was asked to help mediate problems between some of the most feared street gangs in the country. Directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan, Conviction stars Omar Epps as Upchurch and features supporting turns from Dana Delany and Charles S. Dutton. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Omar Epps
In this chilling made-for-cable-television outing, the population of the United States is nearly wiped out by a sexually transmitted disease. In order to stop its spread, those infected are sequestered in special camps. To make sure no infected person is allowed to go free, a group of vigilantes begins terrorizing city streets in search of carriers. The story is based on an off-Broadway play by Alan Browne. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
This made-for-cable thriller stars Omar Epps as Ofusu, one of nine asylum-seeking African refugees who sneak aboard a Russian cargo vessel en route to France. When the ship's captain (Joss Ackland) discovers the stowaways, he is reminded by his aggressively ambitious executive officer (Sean Pertwee) of France's current crackdown on illegal immigration, which could result in criminal and financial penalties for the crew and their parent company. To avoid embarrassment, the captain gives in to his exec's suggestion to murder the unwanted passengers and secretly dispose of their bodies at sea. Thus ensues a deadly game of cat-and-mouse, as Ofusu and his compatriots attempt to outwit their malevolent hosts -- who in turn must keep their murderous machinations hidden from a nosy representative of the shipping company (David Suchet). Slick, stylish, and suspenseful, this otherwise conventional thriller employs slasher-movie clichés in a unique setting and benefits from Epps' compelling performance. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Omar Epps, Joss Ackland, (more)
- 1996
Greene (Anthony Edwards) is a changed man after the departure of Susan Lewis -- and the change is not for the better. Surreptitiously checking into Jeanie's (Gloria Reuben) confidential file, Greene learns the truth about her HIV status. Meanwhile, Carter (Noah Wyle) is taken aback by Keaton's (Glenne Headly) travel plans, and Benton (Eriq La Salle) bears down even harder on Gant (Omar Epps). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Fresh from the recently closed South Side hospital, new ER chief of staff Anspaugh (John Aylward) imperiously asserts his authority by imposing patient quotas on each doctor. Though they resent Anspaugh, the staff is more politely inclined to the other South Side expatriates, doctors Abby Keaton (Glenne Headly) and Maggie Doyle (Jorja Fox). Elsewhere, Jeanie (Gloria Reuben) has trouble keeping her HIV-positive status a secret from Weaver (Laura Innes), while Benton (Eriq La Salle) is uncertain that Jeanie should even continue working; and Greene (Anthony Edwards) is taken aback when Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) suggests that they both take a vacation to Hawaii. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
In the opening episode of ER's third season, Benton (Eriq La Salle) and Jeanie (Gloria Reuben) get the results of their HIV tests, forcing Jeanie to make a difficult decision. Carter's inaugural assignment as a first-year intern is to temporarily replace Benton as ER surgical consultant; Carter (Noah Wyle) also finds time to befriend another first-year man, Dr. Dennis Gant (Omar Epps). Having been promoted to full-time attending physician (and, incidentally, full-time ER regular), Weaver (Laura Innes) is more insufferable than ever. And in two separate Fourth of July festivities, a couple of the other main characters experience uncomfortable reunions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
While on helicopter-flight rotation, Greene (Anthony Edwards) and Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) try to help a family of four, seriously injured in a van-and-truck accident. But upon arriving at County with the victims, the two doctors are stymied by the incompetence and obstreperous behavior of "floater" nurse Rhonda Sterling (Jill O'Hara). Elsewhere, Keaton (Glenne Headly) confronts Benton (Eriq La Salle) over his rampant egomania. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Halloween apparently brings out the worst in Benton (Eriq La Salle), who has a heated confrontation with Gant (Omar Epps). Elsewhere in the ER, the staff treats an eight-year-old trick or treater and her father, both of whom had been mowed down by a hit-and-run driver; and Greene (Anthony Edwards) pines for the vacationing Lewis (Sherry Stringfield). And on the street, Ross (George Clooney) and Carol (Julianna Margulies) are in for quite a few shocks and surprises as they ride along on the roving Health Mobile, which provides emergency treatment to the homeless. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
During Christmas week, Ross (George Clooney) again tries to extend a helping hand to surly homeless teenager Charlie (Kirsten Dunst); Doyle (Jorja Fox) comes to the aid of a battered wife (Gloria LeRoy); and a mangy orphaned dog is "adopted" by Greene (Anthony Edwards), who is under the impression that the mutt would make a good gift for his daughter, Rachel (Yvonne Zima). In another development, Greene and Weaver (Laura Innes) try to forge a policy regarding HIV-positive employees, an action which may force Jeanie (Gloria Reuben) out in the open. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Ross' (George Clooney) one-night stand with a girl (Lisa Darr) whom he picked up in a bar threatens to turn into tragedy when she is stricken with an epileptic seizure and rushed to the ER. The staff can't shake the notion that Ross was somehow responsible for this, and he hardly helps matters by revealing that he doesn't even know the girl's name. In other developments, Carter (Noah Wyle) loses Benton's (Eriq La Salle) lecture notes when his apartment building catches fire; and Jeanie (Gloria Reuben) and Greene (Anthony Edwards) experience new romantic adventures. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
As the staffers at County General anxiously await news as to which hospital in their county is going to be closed down, a number of personal dramas play themselves out. Both Greene (Anthony Edwards) and Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) strike out with their respective blind dates; Jeanie (Gloria Reuben) begins to understand the negative effect that being HIV-positive will have on her life; and Carter (Noah Wyle) plots revenge against Benton (Eriq La Salle) for making his first day as an ER intern so miserable. John Aylward makes his debut appearance as Dr. Donald Anspaugh, the ER's new chief of staff. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Greene (Anthony Edwards) treats mentally incompetent Sherry Dunleavy (Ann Hearn) without getting her consent. Benton (Eriq La Salle) publicly berates Gant (Omar Epps), an incident that will have long-ranging tragic consequences. Before leaving for Pakistan, Keaton (Glenne Headly) makes a parting shot at her most egocentric colleague. Carol (Julianna Margulies) is forced by budget cuts to dismiss two of her nurses. And when homeless teenager Charlie (Kirsten Dunst) pops up again at the ER, she accuses Ross (George Clooney) of beating her up. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Benton (Eriq La Salle) tries to save the life of a 13-year-old gang member who's already been declared dead, thereby creating even more friction amongst the ER staffers. Meanwhile, "floating" nurse Rhonda (Jill O'Hara) continues to make disastrous mistakes. And on the domestic front, Greene (Anthony Edwards) worries that Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) may be dating Morganstern (William H. Macy), while Carter (Noah Wyle) grows ever closer to Keaton (Glenne Headly). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this drama, a young drug dealer is sent to a strict and difficult boot camp in hopes that discipline and self-confidence will help him create a better life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Omar Epps, Delroy Lindo, (more)
This drama examines the personal, political, and racial dilemmas facing a group of college freshmen as they begin their first semester at Columbus University. Malik (Omar Epps) is an African-American student attending on a track scholarship; academics are not his strong suit, and he goes in thinking that his athletic abilities will earn him a free ride through college. Fudge (Ice Cube), a "professional student" who has been at Columbus for six years so far, becomes friendly with Malik and challenges his views about race and politics in America, while Professor Phipps (Laurence Fishburne), a black man who teaches political science, firmly tells Malik that he will not be graded on a different standard either because of his race or his ability to run quickly. With Deja (Tyra Banks), Malik finds a girlfriend, a tutor, and a training partner all rolled into one. Meanwhile, Kristen (Kristy Swanson), a somewhat naive young woman from California, meets a boy named Billy (Jay R. Ferguson) after both have had too much to drink at a beer blast; Kristen soon becomes a victim of date rape and becomes involved with a campus feminist group to deal with the painful experience. While working with the women's group, Kristen gets to know Taryn (Jennifer Connelly), a strong but understanding woman who is also a lesbian, and she finds herself becoming attracted to her. And Remy (Michael Rappaport) is a confused young man from the Midwest who feels lost in the multi-cultural atmosphere of Columbus. He is approached by Scott (Cole Hauser), a member of a group of racist skinheads, who believe that Remy is a perfect candidate to help carry out his group's violent goals. Keep an eye peeled for Gwyneth Paltrow, who has a bit part as a student; rap stars Busta Rhymes, D-Knowledge and Mista Grimm also appear in supporting roles. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Omar Epps, Kristy Swanson, (more)
The misanthropic title character of the Fox hospital series House growls, grunts, glowers, winces and limps his way through a variety of curious and bizarre medical cases during the series' first season on the air. For starters, Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) must determine if a schoolteacher is suffering from a fatal tumor that is somehow causing her to speak fluent gibberish. Other patients suffer from hallucinations, the consequences of rough sex, and a apparent case of stigmata. Through it all, House maintains his nasty, abrasive façade, breaking as many rules as humanly possible to get the right results and save the lives of his charges--even those who flat-out don't want to be saved. Among the season's high points is a wager made by Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital's dean Lisa Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) that House can keep away from his precious Vicodin for a week, which results in unexpected side effects that may adversely affect House's patient. Then there's the story arc involving billionaire Edward Vogler (Chi McBride), who wants to purchase Princeton-Plainsboro and fire House as an economy measure--and, failing that, force the reluctant House to dismiss at least one member of his loyal medical team. Finally, House endures a visit from his ex-girlfriend Stacy Warner (Sela Ward), whose husband may be dying and whose lingering presence will vex our "hero" throughout most of the next season. House closed out its successful first season by garnering an Emmy award for series writer-producer David Shore, honoring his teleplay for the episode "Three Stories". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hugh Laurie, Lisa Edelstein, (more)
Season Two of House begins as the gloriously obnoxious and abrasive Dr. Gregory House, head nephrologist at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, stubbornly (and somewhat perversely) trying to save the life of a seriously ill death-row inmate over the objections of his colleagues. Perhaps House is being more contrary than usual because he doesn't like being forced to work in close quarters with his ex-girlfriend Stacy (Sela Ward). Elsewhere, House's colleague Dr. Allison Cameron (Jennifer Morrison) is herself faced with a life-or-death crisis when evidence indicates that she is HIV-positive; House's superior-in-name-only Dr. Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) clashes with him over the treatment of a man who suffered an injury while working on Cuddy's roof; neurologist Eric Foreman (Omar Epps) briefly becomes House's boss, with both men pushing the envelope to see which one will go ballistic first; and after separating from his wife, oncologist James Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) moves in with House--who despite his anger over having to share his space with anyone is reluctant to let Wilson leave because the guy is such a great cook! And in the two-part episode "Euphoria", House races against time to determine the malady that is causing a wounded policeman to literally laugh himself to death--things getting uncomfortably personal when Foreman begins showing the same symptions! The second ends when House is shot and wounded by the husband of a former patient--and those fans aware of the series' many references to Sherlock Holmes will get a kick out of the name of the assailant. Among the honors bestowed upon House during its second season on the air was the prestigious Peabody Award for "Best of Electronic Media." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hugh Laurie, Lisa Edelstein, (more)
Although he has recovered from the gunshot wound administered by the husband of a former patient at the end of House's second season, Season Three finds the unabashedly misanthropic Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) still suffering from a plethora of emotional wounds, wracked with self-doubt about his efficiency as a nephrologist specializing in unusual medical cases, and asking himself if he should actually start treating (and regarding) his patients as human beings. This self-reflection doesn't last long, and soon House is his old obnoxious self, the holy terror of Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. Nor does he let up on the overuse of prescription drugs like Vicodin and Ketamine to ease the agony of his leg pain (an experimental treatment to alleviate the pain this season only makes matters worse). In fact, one of the year's most omnipresent--and ominous--storylines involves a detective named Michael Tritter (David Morse), who enters the clinic as a patient and ends up as Inspector Javert to House's Jean Valjean, dogging the doctor's trail and persecuting his colleagues in hopes of ultimately throwing House in the slammer for drug abuse and falsifying perscriptions. In other major Season Three developments, a romance blossoms between House's longtime associates Dr. Robert Chase (Jesse Spencer) and Dr. Allison Cameron (Jennifer Morrison). And after a medical misjudgment which totally shatters his self-confidence, Princeton-Plainsboro's ace neurologist Eric Foreman (Omar Epps) abruptly resigns. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
During his fourth season, the dyspeptic medical detective (Hugh Laurie) is consumed by his search for a new team of associates to replace Foreman and Cameron (Omar Epps, Jennifer Morrison), who quit on him, and Chase (Jesse Spencer), whom he fired. The winnowing process begins with an unmanageable 40 applicants, so House gives them numbers and behaves like Simon Cowell, MD: firing people arbitrarily (by where they are sitting, at one point) and ordering others to wash his car. Eventually, he narrows the field to Jeffrey Cole (Edi Gathegi), Amber Volakis (Anne Dudek), Chris Taub (Peter Jacobson), Lawrence Kutner (Kal Penn) and "Thirteen" (Olivia Wilde). He also hires a CIA doctor (Michael Michele) who doesn't want the job---only to fire her when she reconsiders. House dismisses Cole and Volakis (also known as "cutthroat bitch") as well, but she doesn't go away. Instead, she starts a relationship with Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard). Meanwhile, House's sexually tense love-hate relationship with Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) intensifies, and Foreman, Cameron and Chase all return to Princeton/Plainsboro, although only Foreman returns to House's team. And through it all, House continues to perform his unique brand of medicine. In one episode, he diagnoses a psychiatrist (Mira Sorvino) who is stranded in an Antarctic research station via Webcam. And in another he kidnaps an unbelieving soap star (Jason Lewis) after noticing disturbing symptoms while watching him on television. ~ Paul Droesch, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hugh Laurie, Lisa Edelstein, (more)
