Obba Babatunde Movies
A young mother and her daughter end up on the streets in this grim made-for-television movie. Mare Winningham stars as Theresa Johnson, a young mother whose life falls apart when she finds herself suddenly single, unemployed and homeless. With nowhere to turn, Theresa and her daughter Hillary (Grace Johnston) drift through the social system, wandering from shelter to shelter with little hope for the future. Gripping in its portrayal of the cycle of poverty, the film offers no simple solutions -- much like real life. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
Michelle Pfeiffer is Married to the Mob in this comedy. The wife of Mafia hitman Alec Baldwin, Pfeiffer regularly chastizes her husband for his underhanded line of work. Baldwin refuses to entertain any thoughts of quitting the mob-and besides, he's got a good thing going with Nancy Travis, the promiscuous girl friend of gang boss Dean Stockwell. When Stockwell catches on to Travis' peccadilloes, he murders both his mistress and the unlucky Baldwin. At Baldwin's funeral, Stockwell is overwhelmed by Pfeiffer's beauty, and immediately begins plying her with expensive gifts. But Pfeiffer is through with this sort of thing, and with her young son in tow, she leaves town, hoping to start life anew. Upon making the acquaintance of bumbling, seemingly sincere Matthew Modine, Pfeiffer is convinced that Modine is just another mob flunkey. But it's even worse: Modine is an FBI agent, ordered to get to Stockwell by using Pfeiffer as bait. Reluctantly (he's grown quite fond of her himself), Modine blackmails Pfeiffer into setting up a rendezvous with Stockwell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Modine, (more)
Based on the late Charles Willeford's series of hard-boiled crime novels featuring Miami cop Hoke Moseley, the Jonathan Demme-produced Miami Blues opens with the prison release of Frederick Frenger Jr. (Alec Baldwin), a deranged killer who has barely de-boarded his plane before he's killed a Hare Krishna in the airport. Checking into his hotel, Frenger meets up with Susie Waggoner (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a young prostitute with dreams of domestic life, and the two quickly become romantically involved. Meanwhile, the Hare Krishna murder case is given to Moseley (Fred Ward), a grizzled vet who vows to hunt down Frenger, but may be getting too long in the tooth for the demands of his job. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alec Baldwin, Fred Ward, (more)
- 1990
Whitley (Jasmine Guy) faces the challenge of a lifetime when Dwayne (Kadeem Hardison) bets her that she can't go an entire day without flirting. Elsewhere, a nervous Ron (Darryl M. Bell) organizes a roast for Colonel Taylor (Glynn Turman), inviting the Colonel's former Vietnam comrade Frank Benning (Obba Babatunde) as the surprise guest speaker. But Taylor is less than thrilled at this turn of events: Benning had lost a leg in the war, and the guilt-ridden Colonel has always held himself responsible for this tragedy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this multiple Oscar-winning thriller, Jodie Foster stars as Clarice Starling, a top student at the FBI's training academy whose shrewd analyses of serial killers lands her a special assignment: the FBI is investigating a vicious murderer nicknamed Buffalo Bill, who kills young women and then removes the skin from their bodies. Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn) wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into this case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out. Lecter does indeed know something of Buffalo Bill, but his information comes with a price: in exchange for telling what he knows, he wants to be housed in a more comfortable facility. More important, he wants to speak with Clarice about her past. He skillfully digs into her psyche, forcing her to reveal her innermost traumas and putting her in a position of vulnerability when she can least afford to be weak. The film mingles the horrors of criminal acts with the psychological horrors of Lecter's slow-motion interrogation of Clarice and of her memories that emerge from it. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, (more)
Set in contemporary Los Angeles as well as the Los Angeles of the 1940s, Dead Again explores a romance between two star-crossed lovers -- and the doomed passion they shared in their last lifetime. Los Angeles detective Mike Church (Kenneth Branagh) comes to the aid of mute, amnesia-victim Grace (Emma Thompson) and falls in love with her. He sets out to discover her true identity and the source of her terrible nightmares. Mike is aided in his investigation by hypnotist/furniture dealer Franklyn Madison (Derek Jacobi) who discovers that in a past life Grace was Margaret Strauss (also played by Thompson), who may have been mudered by her husband Roman (Branagh). ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, (more)
- 1992
This adaptation of playwright Oscar Wilde's memorable romantic comedy about two wealthy noblemen who begin calling themselves Ernest in hopes of winning the love of two beautiful girls is set in modern times. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wren T. Brown, Daryl Roach, (more)
- 1993
- R
Based on horror author H.P. Lovecraft's writings, Necronomicon: Book of the Dead includes three short stories devoted to the deadly and mysterious "Necronomicon." When Lovecraft (played by Jeffrey Combs) manages to smuggle the legendary book out of a heavily guarded library, he quickly finds himself immersed in its passages, and three short stories take form as he sets off to record the information. In the first, Bruce Payne plays a disgruntled man whose inheritance of an old motel turns out to be more than he bargained for, as there are a nasty group of demons populating its basement. The second story follows a young reporter in search of a doctor who allegedly found the path to immortality, though, like the unwitting motel owner, he wouldn't realize how far in over his head he was until it became too late. The last story features Signy Coleman as a tough-as-nails police officer who descends into a strange set of catacombs in order to find her missing partner -- little does she know that an infamous serial killer is already living inside its subterranean depths. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeffrey Combs, Tony Azito, (more)
At the time of its release, Jonathan Demme's Philadelphia was the first big-budget Hollywood film to tackle the medical, political, and social issues of AIDS. Tom Hanks, in his first Academy Award-winning performance, plays Andrew Beckett, a talented lawyer at a stodgy Philadelphia law firm. The homosexual Andrew has contracted AIDS but fears informing his firm about the disease. The firm's senior partner, Charles Wheeler (Jason Robards), assigns Andrew a case involving their most important client. Andrew begins diligently working on the case, but soon the lesions associated with AIDS are visible on his face. Wheeler abruptly removes Andrew from the case and fires him from the firm. Andrew believes he has been fired because of his illness and plans to fight the firm in court. But because of the firm's reputation, no lawyer in Philadelphia will risk handling his case. In desperation, Andrew hires Joe Miller (Denzel Washington), a black lawyer who advertises on television, mainly handling personal injury cases. Miller dislikes homosexuals but agrees to take the case for the money and exposure. As Miller prepares for the courtroom battle against one of the law firm's key litigators, Belinda Conine (Mary Steenburgen), Miller begins to realize the discrimination practiced against Andrew is no different from the discrimination Miller himself has to battle against. The cast also includes Antonio Banderas as Andrew's partner, Joanne Woodward as Andrew's mother, and Stephanie Roth as Joe's wife. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, (more)
Nick and Nora Charles are updated to a touchy-feely couple of the 1990s who take a break from the action to raise their eleven-month-old child. Kathleen Turner and Dennis Quaid star as Jane and Jeff Blue, two CIA super-agents who have abandoned the daily grind to devote quality time to their baby but find trouble on vacation in New Orleans. First a group of muggers try to take advantage of Jeff as he walks down the street with his baby in tow. Jeff teaches the boys a humiliating lesson, but one of the creepy bad guys, Muerte (Stanley Tucci), vows revenge, and he spends the rest of the movie dogging Jeff and Jane and getting kicked in the teeth in the process. But Muerte is small potatoes compared to Novacek (Fiona Shaw), a former Czech agent. Convinced to return to work by their superiors, Jeff and Jane have to catch Novacek red-handed buying illegal explosives from a New Orleans traitor so that the government can send her back to the Czech republic. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kathleen Turner, Dennis Quaid, (more)
- 1994
In the conclusion of the series' two-part Season Five opener, up-and-coming singer Ashley (Tatyana M. Ali) has put her future in the hands of famous record promoter Gordy Berry (Obba Babatunde)--leaving her original manager Will (Will Smith) out in the cold--and, briefly, out of the Banks house. Predictably, Ashley's ego swells to gargantuan dimensions...and equally predictably, the girl is riding for a very painful fall. Former Three's Company regular Norman Fell shows up in his customary role as a grouchy landlord in this episode, which also features guest appearances by Quincy Jones and Little Richard. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
Carl Lumbly stars as an unlikely super-hero in this made-for-television sci-fi movie. Lumbly stars as Dr. Miles Hawkins, a wheel-chair bound scientist who concocts a device that not only liberates him from his chair, but turns him into a crime-fighting super hero. The idea was later developed into a popular TV-series of the same name, also starring Lumbly. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gina Torres
- 1994
Season Five of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air begins with the series' 100th episode--actually the first half of a two part story (originally telecast on the same evening). When Ashley (Tatyana M. Ali) begins to build up local popularity as a singer, Will (Will Smith) appoints himself his cousin's manager--relegating Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro) to the position of his sister's toady. It isn't long before success goes to Ashley's head and Will is fired, as the aspiring vocalist is taken under the wing of famous R&B promoter Gordy Berry (Obba Babatumbe). Ross Bagley makes his first appearance as little Nicky Banks, who in true sitcom fashion has aged several years since the previous season; and as bonus, the inimitable Jazz (Jeff Townes) makes several pointed comments indicating that he knows he's merely a character on a comedy show. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
Angel though she may be, Monica (Roma Downey) has more than her share of human failings--and that includes a mortal fear of water. Even so, Monica is determined to fulfill her assignment as spirtual guide to Angela Evans (Nia Peeples), a diehard boating enthusiast. Married to US Senate nominee Carter Evans (Obba Babatunde), Angela has never revealed the terrible secret that she was once a call girl. When her former pimp (Rick Rossovitch) threatens to expose her past and destroy her husband's career unless she forks over a huge sum of money, Angela sees no way out but to commit suicide--and Angel of Death Adam (Charles Rocket) sternly warns Monica that she is forbidden to physically intervene! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The unbreakable bond forged between a troubled boy and a gorilla forms the basis of this family-oriented children's adventure. Fourteen-year old Rick has become quite rebellious since his father abandoned them. Margaret Heller, his mother, is a behavioral scientist who studies communication with gorillas. She is finding it increasingly difficult to communicate with the sullen, isolated Rick. The story opens just as Rick, who had stolen his mother's van for a joyride, is released from jail. To punish him, Margaret forces him to clean out the animal research lab. Rick is especially loathe to clean out the gorilla cage. In that cage is a gorilla adept at sign language, Katie, whom Rick immediately despises. In time, he and Katie begin conversing, and the two become friends. But then Katie's legal owner, the cruel Gus Charnley, reclaims her and forces her to perform caged up in a carnival act. The degradation of his friend is more than Rick can handle, so he frees her and together they hit the road. Mayhem and adventure ensues until the two end up in court where Katie makes a touching plea on their behalf. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wil Horneff, Helen Shaver, (more)
In this zany comedy, Michael Keaton is Doug Kinney, a man with too many tasks and not enough time to complete them. When he feels too much pressure, his temper explodes with disastrous results. So when researcher Dr. Owen Leeds (Harris Yulin) offers him a somewhat unusual remedy for his problem, he gives it a try. Soon, a fully grown clone of Doug is delivered, complete with his memories up to the time of its "birth." Being in two places at once offers some advantages, but problems arise when Doug #2 can't handle the stress of overwork any better than the original. Perhaps Doug #2 could benefit from having his own helper. Versions of Doug multiply, each of them emphasizing some facet of his character, and complications multiply. For instance, having more of him around doesn't make life simpler for Doug's wife Laura (Andie MacDowell). ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Keaton, Andie MacDowell, (more)
Tom Hanks made his directorial debut in this bright comedy set in the mid-1960's about a rock group and their brief fling with fame. Guy Patterson (Tom Everett Scott) works as a salesman at his father's appliance store and plays the drums in his spare time, fancying himself a jazz musician. One day, a buddy of Guy's tells him a local rock band, The One-Ders (it's pronounced "wonders"), are in need of a drummer -- they have Battle of the Bands coming up and their usual timekeeper has broken his arm. Guy agrees to sit in, but when it's time to play their best original, a love ballad called "That Thing You Do," Guy lays in a sharp, driving beat that turns the tune into an uptempo pop-rocker. Lead singer Jimmy (Johnathon Schaech) isn't happy at first, but guitarist Lenny (Steve Zahn) and the nameless Bass Player (Ethan Embry) think the song sounds better that way -- and they notice the girls like it just fine. Soon people are actually requesting the song at their shows, and the One-Ders scrape together some money to press a single of "That Thing You Do" to sell between sets. A DJ puts the song on the radio, and opportunity knocks in the form of Mr. White (Tom Hanks), who works for the very major Play-Tone Records label. Play-Tone buys the rights to "That Thing You Do" and puts the band on the road as their song makes it way to the top of the national charts. But what can The Wonders (as Play-Tone have re-named them) do for an encore? And what should Guy do about his infatuation with Jimmy's girlfriend, Faye (Liv Tyler)? Real-life 60's obsessed rocker Chris Isaak has a small part as a recording engineer, and fans of real 60's garage bands will appreciate the wealth of small, accurately observed details (for example, halfway through the film, when a few "That Thing You Do" royalty checks have presumably kicked in, the band's inexpensive Danelectro guitars disappear and the Wonders are suddenly playing on brand new Fender gear -- the height of rock style in 1965). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Everett Scott, Liv Tyler, (more)
This original HBO production documents, in dramatic form, the rivalry between Jackie Robinson, Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson to see who would be the first African-American to play Major League Baseball. Paige (played by Delroy Lindo) and Gibson (Mykelti Williamson) are more aggressive about seizing the opportunity that arose in the mid-'40s with the death of baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who had publicly avowed that the color line in baseball would never be broken. Branch Rickey (Edward Herrmann), the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, is the first to seize that opportunity, sending his scouts to check out all the stars of the Negro Leagues. He narrows his choice down to Robinson, in part because of Paige's age (he was around 40) and Gibson's health (he behaved erratically in public, though it rarely affected his game). Rickey was looking for a player with the talent to compete in the big leagues and the character not to allow the inevitable harassment that would come his way to get to him. Robinson was signed in October 1945 and made his big-league debut in April 1947. Paige made it to the big leagues in 1948; Gibson died at the age of 36 in 1947 of a brain tumor. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Delroy Lindo, Mykelti Williamson, (more)
- 1997
Disgruntled Ross (David Schwimmer) thinks that Rachel's (Jennifer Aniston) new co-worker Mark (Steven Eckholdt) is a bit too friendly, while Rachel's former boss Gunther (James Michael Tyler) gets all moony-eyed. Monica (Courteney Cox) dates a poetic and somewhat xenophobic busboy named Julio (Carlos Gomez). And Joey (Matt LeBlanc), anxious to land a job in a Broadway musical, claims on his resumé that he is an expert dancer -- with disastrous results. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
- R
Two private eyes -- one a rugged ex-cop, the other a beautiful woman from England -- become warm for each other while hot on the trail of $8 million dollars in jewels -- the loot from a high-stakes robbery. However, as one might expect, the thieves aren't interested in giving up an $8 million payday without a fight. The cast includes Malcolm McDowell, Shannon Whirry, Lydie Danier, and Charles Napier. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Malcolm McDowell, Shannon Whirry, (more)
Comedians Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence team up for a story that wouldn't appear to have many immediate humorous possibilities -- two men serving life sentences in prison for a crime they did not commit. Life opens in Harlem in 1932, where Ray Gibson (Eddie Murphy) is a small-time con man in debt to Spanky, a gangster (Rick James). Ray spots would-be bank teller Claude Banks (Martin Lawrence) at a gambling spot and, figuring him for an easy mark, lifts his wallet -- only to discover Claude is broke. Ray and Claude's mutual need to raise some cash brings them together when Spanky offers them a job bringing back a load of moonshine from bootleggers in the deep south. However, things don't go well for Ray and Claude, and they're arrested by a sheriff in Mississippi who recently killed a man and needs someone on whom he can hang the charge. Since Ray and Claude are black, from out of town and have been caught red-handed with a load of illegal liquor, the sheriff figures they're easy pickings and frames them for the murder. Soon the two men are inmates in a Southern work camp, where they spend the next 55 years learning to get along with the other inmates, avoiding the wrath of the guards, seeing younger prisoners come and go and never losing hope that someday, somehow, their innocence will be proven and they'll be released. Life is the second screen pairing for Murphy and Lawrence, who also shared screen time in 1992's Boomerang, and was scripted by Robert Ramsey and Matthew Stone from an original idea by Murphy. The supporting cast includes Ned Beatty, Clarence Williams III, Bernie Mac, Nick Cassavetes and R. Lee Ermey. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence, (more)
Dorothy Dandridge was a singer, nightclub entertainer, and actress who became the first African-American woman to receive an Academy award nomination as Best Actress (for her standout performance in 1954's Carmen Jones; she lost to Grace Kelly). However, despite her striking beauty and obvious talent, Dandridge was a sexy, glamorous black femme fatale at a time when Hollywood pin-up queens were supposed to be giggly blondes. The film industry didn't know what to do with her, and while her nightclub act was a bit too smooth for the Southern roadhouse circuit, as a black performer she wasn't allowed to stay in many of the hotels and resorts where she performed. Dandridge also had a sad personal life, filled with tragedy and romantic disappointment, and she died of an overdose of pills in 1965, at the age of 41. This made-for-cable biographical drama stars Halle Berry as Dorothy Dandridge, supported by Brent Spiner, Obba Babatunde, and Klaus Maria Brandauer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Halle Berry, Brent Spiner, (more)
A cast of distinguished veterans and promising newcomers headline this stark prison drama from first-time writer-director Jordan Walker-Pearlman. Hill Harper stars as embittered inmate Alex, sentenced to serve time for a rape he claims that he didn't commit. His link to the outside world is his upper-middle class bother Tony (Obba Babatunde), the only family member who's come to visit him in the half-decade he's been in jail. On his latest visit, Alex pleads with Tony to have the rest of the family visit him, admitting that he's in the final stages of his battle with AIDS. Through flashbacks, dream sequences, and real-time encounters, Alex interacts with the people who have shaped his life -- his parents (Marla Gibbs and Billy Dee Williams), his old friend (Rae Dawn Chong), and his therapist (Phylicia Rashad) -- and attempts to overcome the seething anger and resentment that have punctuated his time in prison. The Visit was greeted with much acclaim when it premiered at the 2000 Method Fest Independent Film Festival. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hill Harper, Obba Babatunde, (more)
Nelson George directs the made-for-TV movie One Special Moment, based on the romance novel by Brenda Jackson. Hollywood film star Silver (Kirk Taylor) falls for schoolteacher Colby (Tamara Taylor) after they join together for a business deal promoting hip-hop fashions. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirk Taylor, Tamara Taylor, (more)
