Mos Def Movies
Mos Def may seem, to the casual observer, like a rare example of a musician successfully transitioning into acting, but in truth, his acclaimed music career did not take off until long after he'd cemented himself as a working actor. Nonetheless, the man has built both his music and film careers on a foundation of integrity, earning him critical praise and audience approval for both. His contributions to the underground hip-hop scene started with the 1996 single "Universal Magnetic," a rare example of introspection in a genre dominated by blustering and callousness. Def's film debut, however, came almost ten years before, when he appeared in the 1988 TV movie God Bless the Child at the age of 15. Then going by his birth name, Dante Terrell Smith, Mos Def landed appearances on shows like Here and Now, The Cosby Mysteries, Brooklyn South, Spin City, and NYPD Blue. The spots sustained his career throughout the '90s, as did his roles in feature films like Bamboozled and MTV's Carmen: A Hip Hopera. Slowly but steadily becoming a recognizable face in acting, Mos Def continued to take parts in high-quality films, even if this meant a lower profile for himself as an actor. His supporting roles in Monster's Ball, Brown Sugar, The Italian Job, and The Woodsman, however, garnered him attention on talent alone. In 2004, he co-starred in the HBO movie Something the Lord Made with Alan Rickman and was honored with an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie, along with Rickman. By the time Def appeared in 2005's Golden Globe award-winning HBO miniseries Lackawanna Blues alongside Terrence Howard and S. Epatha Merkerson, he was a recognized and sought-after face in film. Def soon afterward donned a British accent for a leading role in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, giving audiences a taste of his comedic skills. His next role was far more dramatic in nature, however, when he played a key witness hoping to avoid assassination in Richard Donner's 16 Blocks, co-starring with Bruce Willis. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide- 2009
A sheltered teenager with a weak heart discovers that there is more to life than he ever imagined when he becomes smitten with a world-weary, alcoholic ex-stripper. Milla Jovovich stars as the exotic dancer who becomes charmed by the infatuated teen's naïveté, with Mos Def, Steve Buscemi, and William H. Macy rounding out the cast of this coming-of-age drama that marks the directorial debut of longtime actor Macy. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Buscemi, Mos Def, (more)
- 2008
Since his incarceration in 1982 for allegedly shooting a Philadelphia policeman to death, Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal has awaited execution on Death Row, vociferously protesting his innocence; he now qualifies as one of the most famous Death Row inmates in the world. Currently an author of five tomes and an on-air personality who broadcasts over the phone from prison, Abu-Jamal carries the support of no less than Nelson Mandela and the administrators of Amnesty International, who believe in and fervently argue his innocence. Filmmaker Marc Evans's documentary In Prison My Whole Life witnesses William Francome, a British man who was born on the same day as the shooting, traveling to the prison where Abu-Jamal is held to investigate the details of the man's case. The film witnesses Francome learning about the initial events of that terrible night that led to Abu-Jamal's arrest and conviction, the allegations that the trial itself was unfair, and the city where it all happened - and investigating the moral and ethical dilemmas that have turned Abu-Jamal into a touchstone for the global crusade against capital punishment. Participants include belletrist Alice Walker, social activist Noam Chomsky and rapper Snoop Dogg. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Francome, Noam Chomsky, (more)
- 2008
Writer/director Caran Hartsfield's black comedy Bury Me Standing (2008) observes four family members in the wake of a 26-year-old relative's death from homicide. Mos Def and Alfre Woodard co-star. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mos Def, Alfre Woodard, (more)
- 2008
A young boy grows up among a makeshift family of oddballs and dreamers in this adaptation of Ruben Santiago-Hudson's acclaimed one-man show. Ruben Junior (Marcus Carl Franklin) is a young boy who was born in the late '40s into a family that started crumbling not long after he was born. Ruben Junior's parents were from Lackawanna, a city in Upstate New York, and were living in a rooming house run by Nanny Crosby (S. Epatha Merkerson), whose place was a hub for the local African-American community. When Ruben Junior's parents split up, he and his mother return to Lackawanna and Nanny's rooming house; with mother overworked physically and in sad shape emotionally, Nanny takes Ruben Junior under her wing, and offers him the sort of nurturing she gives all her boarders. Nanny's house is full of people struggling for a fresh start in life, ranging from former convicts to recovering drug addicts, and she opens both her doors and her heart to them as they strive to make themselves better people. Ruben Junior finds a loving home amidst the colorful eccentrics in Nanny's circle of friends, but as America changes over the course of the 1950s and '60s, so does the neighborhood where Nanny and her tenants live -- and not for the better. Produced for the premium cable network HBO, Lackawanna Blues features a stellar supporting cast, including Delroy Lindo, Louis Gossett Jr., Rosie Perez, Jimmy Smits, Jeffrey Wright, Mos Def, and Ernie Hudson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- S. Epatha Merkerson, Julie Benz, (more)
- 2004
- Add Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry: Season 04 to QueueAdd Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry: Season 04 to top of Queue
Season four of the improvisational, uninhibited HBO series Def Poetry Jam offers a full ten half hours -- three more than any previous season. Accordingly, this batch of episodes features the series' biggest and most stellar talent lineup, performing their own angry, outrageous, profane, profound, and occasionally uproarious verse compositions. Among those introduced at New York's The Supper Club by host Mos Def are Oscar Brown Jr., Kim Fields, Ruby Dee, Doug E. Fresh, and Mike Epps, not to mention such Def Poetry Jam "regulars" as Bassey Ikpi, Lemon, Georgia Me, Mayda Del Valle, muMs, Ishle Park, and Flowmentalz. Oh, and did we mention Rives, MC Lyte, KRS-One, Floetry, Flaco Navaja, Laura "Piece" Kelly, Triple Black, Jus Cus, Faraji Salim, Dead Prez, Kendra Urdang, Red Storm, Beau Sia, Speech, and on into the night.... ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Russell Simmons
The true story of two medical pioneers -- one celebrated, one overlooked -- is brought to life in this made-for-cable drama. Alfred Blalock (Alan Rickman) is chief surgeon at Johns Hopkins University, where he is pioneering new techniques in heart surgery. Blalock makes the acquaintance of Vivien Thomas (Mos Def), a carpenter hired to work at the University, and to his surprise discovers a man of keen intelligence who has a great interest in medicine. However, as a poor black man in the Jim Crow South, Thomas lacks the financial resources to obtain a medical degree, though he certainly has the knowledge and the desire. Blalock takes Thomas on as his lab assistant, and together they develop a technique that allows them to correct a common congenital heart defect in children. However, while they work side by side in the lab and in the operating room, Blalock and Thomas do not walk the same paths in society, and Thomas develops a deep resentment that he has been given little credit for his contribution to a medical innovation that makes Blalock famous. Produced for the premium cable network HBO, Something the Lord Made also features Gabrielle Union, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Charles S. Dutton. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Rickman, Mos Def, (more)
- 2003
- Add Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry: Season 03 to QueueAdd Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry: Season 03 to top of Queue
The third season of the improvisational performance art series Def Poetry Jam offers the property's biggest lineup of talent yet. In the course of its seven half-hour episodes, the series features such returnees from previous seasons as Black Ice, Danny Hoch, Steve Colman, Jamie Kennedy, Poetri, and muMs, along with the stellar likes of Smokey Robinson, Lou Reed, and Richard Montoya. Others contributing poetry both sacred and profane this season include Bassey Ikpi, Poem-cees, Mayda Del Valle, Lemon, Ras Baraka, Ishle Park, Gemineye, Rock Baby, Mike 360, Amalia Ortiz, Jimmy Santiago Baca, Salt, Quincy Troupe, Shihan, Bao Phi, Roscoe P. Coldchain, Maggie Estep, Joel Chmara, Flowmentalz, and Georgia Me. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Russell Simmons
- 2002
Seven new half-hour sessions of hilarious, haunting, profane, and profound improvisational poetry are dished up in the second season of HBO's Def Poetry Jam. Produced by Russell Simmons of Def Comedy Jam and hosted by rapper Mos Def, the series, taped at The Supper Club in New York, launches season two with a performance by future Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx, reciting his own composition Fashizzle My Nizzle. Subsequent guest artists include Danny Hoch, Black Ice, Taylor Mali, Erykah Badu, and, light-years away from The Cosby Show, Malcolm-Jamal Warner. Curiously, the DVD release of Def Poetry Jam's second season edits out the performances by Talib Kweli and Rakim, among others. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Russell Simmons
- 2001
- Add Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry: Season 01 to QueueAdd Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry: Season 01 to top of Queue
The inaugural season of Russell Simmons' raw and uninhibited Def Poetry Jam consisted of four half-hour telecasts, originally presented live at The Supper Club in New York. With rapper Mos Def serving as host, the series offers an impressive array of improvisational ethnic poetry, running a gamut from tense and poignant to loud, obscene, and hilarious. Artists represented in this quartet of episodes include singer Jewel, comedians Cedric the Entertainer and Dave Chappelle, and such brilliant performance artists (individually or in groups) as Last Poets, Suheir Hammad, Sarah Jones, Yellow Rage, Danny Hoch, Black Ice, Sarah Jones, Beau Sia, muMs, Poetri, Nikki Giovanni, Steve Colman, and Amiri Baraka. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mos Def, Russell Simmons, (more)
Previously, and brilliantly, adapted as an opera by Georges Bizet, the Prosper Merimee novel Carmen served as the inspiration for this updated made-for-cable movie. Set in contemporary Los Angeles, the film stars Beynoce Knowles of Destiny's Child as the seductive Carmen, no longer an employee in a cigarette factory but instead an aspiring actress. The "Don Jose" character has become a cop named Sgt. Derek Hill (Mekhi Phifer), who after being ordered by his corrupt superior officer Frank Miller (played by rapper Mos Def) to arrest Carmen for her involvement in a bar fight, falls hopelessly--and tragically--in love with her. After leading Hill down the path to perdition, Carmen deserts him, not out of love for bullfighter Escamillo but for a top-40 rap star named Blaze (Casey Lee). Although the familiar Bizet melodies are heard as linking music, the main musical score is a complete original, composed by Kip Collins. MTV's Hip Hopera: Carmen first aired over the titular cable network on May 9, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Beyoncé Knowles, Mekhi Phifer, (more)
A man who fails to respect the dead pays a high price for his arrogance in this horrifying thriller. For decades, the city of New York has buried the bodies of the unknown and the destitute on Hart Island, a tiny slip of land near the Big Apple's harbor, with inmates from a nearby prison on hand to do the labor. Now, multi-millionaire land developer Mr. King (Malcolm McDowell) has decided to buy the island and build a resort. King scoffs when he's told it's bad luck to disturb the resting place of the dead, but he soon learns there's a kernel of truth in their warnings -- Hart Island is also home to huge swarms of disease-carrying flies, and when King, his associates, and a crew of prisoners are trapped on the island, there's no telling if they'll make it out alive as the insects try to claim the humans as their prey. Island of the Dead also stars Bruce Ramsay, Talisa Soto, and hip-hop artist Mos Def. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Talisa Soto, Bruce Ramsay, (more)
The pioneers and current purveyors of the vibrant art of freestyle hip-hop mingle in this hour-long documentary about the origins and future of the style. Shot in New York City, L.A., and San Francisco, Freestyle alternates between informed commentary -- by rap stalwarts such as The Last Poets, Mos Def, Supernatural, and Cut Chemist -- and impromptu vocal performances. Throughout, the filmmakers trace the social consciousness of the genre and suggest that it may be making a comeback. Director Kevin Fitzgerald previously made his name as a deejay on L.A. radio station KPFK. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- 2000
Despite the best efforts of Danny Sorenson (Rick Schroder), street informant J.B. Murphy is unable to kick his drug habit; when J.B. is found dead at the scene of a fire, Danny goes off the deep end, thoroughly alienating his girlfriend, Mary (Sheeri Rappaport). Elsewhere, Jill (Andrea Thompson) is convinced that so-called kleptomaniac Lucy Sperling (Hynden Walch) is actually stealing on orders from her no-good husband, Harvey (Daniel Blinkoff). But when she tries to protect Lucy from her husband's wrath, Jill is unexpectedly thwarted by well-meaning cop Ed Laughlin (Anthony Mangano) -- with disastrous results. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
The victims of a robbery-homicide turn out to be two old friends of Detective Danny Sorenson (Rick Schroder). While helping Sorenson investigate this incident, Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) also lobbies to reopen the Suarez murder case -- which hits a snag when Suarez is killed in prison. Elsewhere, John (Bill Brochtrup) fills in for PAA Dolores Mayo (Lola Glaudini), who hasn't been showing up for work lately. Later, while investigating a killing at a strip club, Diane (Kim Delaney) and Jill (Andrea Thompson) are surprised to find Dolores among the club's patrons. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Back on active duty, Bobby Simone (Jimmy Smits) reteams with Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) to investigate a bar shooting. The suspect, an off-duty corrections officer, turns out to be terminally ill, and may not have been responsible for his actions. In another development, the squad converges upon the hideout of a serial rapist. And although she hasn't formally announced her pregnancy, Gina (Lourdes Benedicto) accepts Martinez' (Nicholas Turturro) marriage proposal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
An overnight drug shipment is sent to the wrong recipient, prompting a frantic race to recover the package before the contents are revealed in this fast-paced crime comedy starring Donald Faison, Mos Def, and Mike Epps. When Brody (Epps) and Guch (Wood Harris) receive a package containing ten kilos of grade-A cocaine, they assume their financial woes are a thing of the past. The package was intended for their next-door neighbors, but the whacked-out courier (Donald Faison) delivered it to the wrong address. Recognizing the possibility for profit, Brody and Guch plan to sell the cocaine to Brody's drug-dealing cousin (Omari Hardwick). Meanwhile Jesus (Cisco Reyes) and his girlfriend, Chita (Yasmin Deliz), the intended recipients of the cocaine, set out to procure the package before notorious drug lord Bodego Diablo (Emilio Rivera) realizes it's gone missing. But Bodega is no slouch; he already knows the shipment was botched, and he's determined to get his drugs back no matter what the cost. Later, as Brody and Guch prepare to seal the deal that will set them up for life, the guns are drawn and the chaos begins. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald Faison, Mike Epps, (more)
Directed by TV veteran Darnell Martin, the musical drama Cadillac Records documents the compelling true-life story of the Chicago record label that helped the world discover such legendary artists as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, and Chuck Berry. Founded in 1950 by Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody), Chess Records quickly gained a reputation as home to some of the most talented and influential blues artists ever to step into a recording studio. But giving these musicians an opportunity to bring their music to the world was no easy task, because along the way there was enough sex, drugs, and rock & roll to ensure that things around Chess Records never got boring. Featuring Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters, Gabrielle Union as Geneva Wade, Beyoncé Knowles as Etta James, Mos Def as Chuck Berry, Cedric the Entertainer as Willie Dixon, and Eamonn Walker as Howlin' Wolf. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright, (more)
- 2006
- R
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Eric Eason's stylish sophomore film, the crime thriller Journey to the End of Night, features Scott Glenn and Brendan Fraser as a father and son who unknowingly have each bet their individual futures on a stolen suitcase. Catalina Sandino Moreno plays Glenn's wife, and her motivations are as questionable as everyone else's. Set in the seamy underworld of São Paolo, Brazil, Journey to the End of the Night had its world premiere at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Glenn, Brendan Fraser, (more)
