Jermaine Dupri Movies
- 2008
This edition of the DVD magazine features appearances by a number of rap acts including Mook Diamonds, Shawty Lo, Red Café, and Remo Da Rapstar. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Arlis Michaels, Mook Diamonds, (more)
A film crew sets out on a journey across the country to discover how money is made in the world of hip-hop. Director Maxie Collier takes us inside the process as he selects his Paperchasers crew and travels across the United States, interviewing people making a living off hip-hop, from street rappers selling tapes out of their trunks, to clothing designers, a hairdresser, DJs, record producers, and recording artists. They're all out to make money, and Collier wants to learn how it is done. In Atlanta, the crew catch rap superstar Ludacris and his crew just months before they sign a record deal and blow up. Collier documents his crew's struggles to land interviews with media bigwigs like Rap-A-Lot's J. Prince and Def Jam founder Russell Simmons. Collier also captures the fluctuations in his personal relationships with producer Yvette Plummer, also the mother of his son, and soundman Marquez Edmond (aka "Marquez the Greatest"), as the pressures of making the film wear on the bare-bones crew. Paperchasers, featuring appearances by Fat Joe, Damon Dash, Flava Flav, and James Brown, had its world premiere at the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
Ball Above All is an action-packed basketball video produced by HoopsTV.com, a website dedicated to celebrating basketball from the playground to the NBA. The program includes brief segments on a wide range of subjects, including tattoos, Shaquille O'Neal's custom-made car, and white men who really can jump. Throughout, the video features no-name athletes who know how to move, proving that you don't have to be Michael Jordan to throw down a winning dunk or pull off a no-look pass. Sinbad provides comic commentary. Rap music adds zest, while sports-beverage product placements add a twinge of commercialism. ~ Betsy Boyd, Rovi
- 2001
- Add On the Come Up at the Source Awards to Queue Add On the Come Up at the Source Awards to top of Queue
Three hip-hop lovin' gals from New York attempt to hustle their way into the sold-out Source Awards in this documentary that shows anything is possible if you put your mind - and body - to it. From stripping down for a skinny-dipping session in the pool of a four-star hotel, to exposing their charms in hopes of coaxing a free dinner out of a desperate diner, there's nothing these ladies won't do to make their dreams of mingling with the hip-hop elite come true. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Paid in Full marks the feature debut of director Charles Stone III, who rose to fame after creating Budweiser's "Wassup" commercials. The urban gangster drama is loosely based on the true story of 1980s Harlem drug kingpins AZ, Rich Porter, and Alpo. (This story was also the basis for a documentary, Game Over (Part 1).) Ace (Wood Harris) works at a laundromat, struggling to get by, while his friend Mitch (Mekhi Phifer) lives the high life selling heroin. His sister's boyfriend, Calvin (Kevin Carroll) also sells drugs, and looks down on Ace for struggling to earn a living. Out delivering laundry one day, Ace meets Lulu (Esai Morales), a big time coke dealer, who lives better than anyone Ace has ever known. When Lulu leaves some coke in the pocket of a coat he's having cleaned, Ace returns it to him, and Lulu rewards him for his honesty by letting him keep the drugs. When Calvin gets busted, Ace hesitantly takes his place in the neighborhood, and starts working for Lulu. As the crack business takes off, Ace finds himself making more money than he knows what to do with. Mitch goes to jail for a short time, where another inmate, Rico (rapper Cam'ron in his acting debut), defends him in a fight. By the time Mitch gets out of prison, Ace is running the neighborhood. Ace makes Mitch his right-hand man, and when Rico gets out of jail, he joins the crew. The drugs and money flow, and Ace tries to keep everyone happy, but there are some who want what's his, and will stop at nothing to get it. Paid in Full was shown at the 2002 Urbanworld Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
- Starring:
- Wood Harris, Mekhi Phifer, (more)
In this crime thriller, L.L. Cool J is a underworld boss so powerful that his nickname is "God." He has his fingers in 80% of the drug traffic in Cincinnati, has won over nearly every adversary through bribery or intimidation, and seems practically untouchable. New police detective Jeffrey Cole (Omar Epps), convinced that he's the man who can bring down "God" and his empire, assumes a criminal identity that allows him to infiltrate "God"'s organization. However, the longer Cole remains inside the underworld, the more he finds himself caught up in it, and getting out of "God"'s empire becomes more difficult than getting in. The supporting cast includes Stanley Tucci as Cole's superior, Nia Long as Cole's girlfriend , and Pam Grier as an undercover detective, as well as hip-hop artists Nas and Mya. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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, Rovi
- Starring:
- Beyoncé Knowles, Mekhi Phifer, (more)
Television actor-turned-director Brian Robbins follows up Varsity Blues (1999) and Ready to Rumble (2000) with another sports comedy. Keanu Reeves stars as Conor O'Neill, an underachiever and inveterate sports gambler who needs a bailout loan from a friend to pay off his mounting debt. As a condition for receiving the necessary funds, Conor is saddled with coaching a corporate-sponsored Little League baseball team for underprivileged youth in Chicago's notorious Cabrini Green housing project. Reluctant at first, Conor slowly begins to enjoy his new authority role, especially when he makes the acquaintance of his players' attractive teacher, Elizabeth Wilkes (Diane Lane). Based on the real-life chronicle Hardball: A Season in the Projects by Outside magazine editor Daniel Coyle, Hardball also stars D.B. Sweeney and Mike McGlone. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Keanu Reeves, Diane Lane, (more)
In this comedy, a cop assumes a new identity in his valiant battle against crime: an elderly grandmother! Malcolm Turner (Martin Lawrence) is an FBI agent who is a master of disguise and will stop at nothing to get his man. When a bank robber escapes from prison and goes on a violent crime spree, Malcolm is assigned to bring him in. The thief's girlfriend Sherry (Nia Long), who is also the mother of his child, lives in a small Southern town, and Malcolm plans to set up a stake-out in the house across the street from Sherry's. However, the house is owned by Big Momma (Ella Mitchell), an older woman with a sharp tongue and no patience for back talk, and when Big Momma has to leave town, it leaves her house suspiciously empty. Determined to maintain his cover, Malcolm disguises himself as Big Momma, and now has to convince Sherry (and everyone else in the neighborhood) that Big Momma's still in town. Big Momma's House gained considerable pre-production publicity when Lawrence fell into a coma while jogging in a heat wave before the film's start date; Lawrence claimed that he was trying to lose weight to fit more comfortably into his character's "fat suit." ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Martin Lawrence, Nia Long, (more)
Pint-size rap music star Lil Bow Wow shows that he can play ball as well as he raps in this youth-oriented comedy about a young boy whose dream comes true in an unexpected way. Calvin Cambridge (Lil Bow Wow) is a 14-year-old boy, who, since the death of his parents, has been living in an orphanage run by the unpleasantly eccentric Stan Bittleman (Crispin Glover). While the tough but caring Sister Theresa (Anne Meara) tries to encourage the kids, Calvin knows that he and most of the other kids his age are poor prospects for adoption. Calvin loves basketball and idolizes Michael Jordan, but he's too short to be much of a challenge to the older kids when shooting hoop at the playground. One day, Calvin discovers a pair of old basketball sneakers with the initials "MJ" written on the inside. Calvin is convinced they once belonged to Michael Jordan, but he can hardly believe what happens when he puts them on -- suddenly he's able to make superhuman jump shots and dunks just like a miniature version of Air Jordan himself. Calvin's newly developed talent on the court comes to the attention of Frank Bernard (Eugene Levy), the manager of the Los Angeles Knights, an NBA team having a humiliating season. Bernard brings Calvin to the team as a novelty item, but with the help of Coach Wagner (Robert Forster) and the new kid's can-do attitude, the Knights start to climb out of the cellar and look like possible season champs. However, Tracey Reynolds (Morris Chestnut), who used to be the team's star player, isn't happy to have his thunder stolen by a 14-year-old boy -- especially when he's made Calvin's roommate and de-facto guardian on the road. Like Mike also features cameo appearances by a number of pro basketball stars, including Allen Iverson, Chris Webber, and Jason Kidd. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lil' Bow Wow, Morris Chestnut, (more)
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