Ice-T Movies
Often cited as the founding father of gangsta rap, Ice-T has also crafted a successful film career from his hardened street persona. Despite the fact that his early roles stuck closely to his public image as a thuggish West Coast pimp, T has since proved both his versatility and his sense of humor by appearing as everything from a mutant kangaroo (Tank Girl [1995]) to, in a surprisingly effective about-face, a police officer (New Jack City [1991]). Born Tracy Marrow in Newark, NJ, in 1958 and later adapting his better-known persona as a tribute to pimp-turned-author Iceberg Slim, T moved to Califorina following the death of his parents in a car accident. Ice-T soon began to develop an obsession with rap music, and after serving a two-year stint in the Army, he began recording and appeared in the films Breakin' and Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo (both 1984). Following a near death auto accident in 1986, T devoted his life to music and released his debut album, Rhyme Pays, the following year. T gained positive accolades for his first major film role in 1991's New Jack City, in which he played a dedicated police officer, and the irony was not lost on fans the following year when he caused a stir with a song entitled "Cop Killer." After sticking close to the streets in Ricochet (1991), Trespass (1992), and Surviving the Game (1994), T took a sci-fi detour with Tank Girl and Johnny Mnemonic (both 1995). Generally appearing in straight-to-video schlock from the mid-'90s on, Ice-T could be seen as a naval pilot in Stealth Fighter (1999) and stealing a magic flute from a vengeful green meanie in Leprechaun in the Hood (2000). Though his appearances in such films grew nearly too frequent to count, T occasionally appeared in such theatrical releases as 3000 Miles to Graceland and Abel Ferrara's 'R Xmas (both 2001). After offering curious insight into the life of a pimp in the documentary Pimps Up, Ho's Down, T continued to expound on the life of a hustler in Pimpin' 101 (2003). He also took on a recurring role on the Law & Order spin-off Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and later joined the cast as a regular in the show's second season. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide- 2002
Rap artist-cum-actor Ice-T was both the producer and host of the weekly, 60-minute cable "reality" series Beyond Tough. In keeping with the "everyday hero" motif popularized during the dark days surrounding 9-11, the series focused on people who worked in dangerous and death-defying "everyday" jobs. Professions thus profiled included sulfur-pit workers, steeplejacks, and demolition experts. Even the streetwise Ice-T was in awe of these hardy souls, though he suggested that some of the on-the-edge professionals were "just crazy." Beyond Tough first aired on September 18, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ice-T
- 2002
West Coast rap legend Ice-T joins forces with New York underground hardcore rappers Smoothie Da Hustler and Trigger Tha Gambler to form the group SMG (aka Sex, Money & Gunz). This concert video, recorded during a show in New York City, finds SMG rocking the house with a handful of very special guests, including Method Man, Flavor Flav, Slick Rick, Grand Master D, Li'l Cease, and Afrika Bambaataa. Selections include "Loot Loot," "Broken Language," "You Asked for It," "Bang Bang," "O.G. Medley," "Coat Room," "Ziplock Medley," and more. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Sleeping with your boss's wife could get you fired, but one man discovers that's the least of his worries in this tense erotic thriller. Kyle Griffin (Christian Oliver) is a college student pursuing a degree in architecture. Kyle thinks he's landed on his feet when he scores a job at a large and prestigious firm, but he soon discovers there's more to the job than he imagined when he's drawn into a kinky affair with Barbara (Michelle von Flotow), his boss's wife. Kyle becomes uncomfortable with his relationship with Barbara, however, when he discovers she has a voracious appetite for bondage and S&M; but his attitude goes from uneasy to frantic when he learns that Barbara has a few very dark secrets in her past. And he's in the wrong place at the wrong time when a dead body appears that may somehow be tied to his affair with Barbara. Ice-T and Yvette Nipar co-star as a pair of police detectives assigned to investigate the murder. P.J. Soles also appears in a cameo. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ice-T, Yvette Nipar, (more)
Cult favorite Abel Ferrara directed and co-wrote this story set in New York City in 1993, before Mayor Rudy Giuliani's much-publicized crusade against street crime put a dent in semi-public drug dealing in the city. It's a few days before Christmas, and a Latin American couple living on the city's Upper East Side (Lillo Brancato Jr. and Drea de Matteo) are watching their daughter (Lisa Valens) perform in her school's holiday pageant. Afterward, the couple drop the child off with a babysitter and set out to run some errands. They have two items on their agenda: get their daughter the doll she's been asking for (a nearly impossible task, since the toy has become the must-have item of the season), then head to their work space uptown, where they prepare and package heroin for street distribution. While the wife has her qualms about the ethics of drug dealing, both she and her husband know there's plenty of money to be made in heroin -- more than most Hispanic immigrants could make working legitimate jobs in New York -- and the business has been highly lucrative for them. The couple discovers one of their lower-level dealers may be talking to the police, but they soon have a bigger problem to deal with when the husband is lured to the Bronx by a fence who can get him the toy he's been looking for. The husband finds he's been lured into a trap, and a kidnapper (Ice-T) gives the wife less than a half hour to collect and pay a huge ransom, or her husband will be killed. As in Ferrara's Bad Lieutenant, the audience never learns the names of most of the major characters in 'R Xmas; also like Bad Lieutenant (as well as King of New York and The New Rose Hotel), Ferrara invited pioneering gangster rapper Schooly-D to contribute to the film's score. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Drea de Matteo, Lillo Brancato Jr., (more)
Think of it as Willard in the hood, the debut feature from director Leslie Small finds a Isaiah Washington playing a kindly man who turns maniacal with revenge and enlists the help of some man-eating rodents. Living in a rat-infested apartment building, Max is pushed to the edge when his handicapped brother is killed due to the conditions of the inner-city slum. With the rats as his willing soldiers, Max sets out to avenge the senseless death. Hood Rat also stars rapper-turned-actor Ice-T. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
After squaring off in 1995 with competing movie biographies of frontier lawman Wyatt Earp, actors Kurt Russell and Kevin Costner co-star in this action crime caper as former cronies engaged in a series of double-crosses over some stolen loot. Michael Zane (Russell) and Thomas Murphy (Costner) are the leaders of a gang of ex-convict thieves using an Elvis Presley impersonator convention to pull off a daring heist in a Las Vegas casino. The gang also includes Gus (David Arquette), Hanson (Bokeem Woodbine), and Franklin (Christian Slater). Although they manage to retrieve the money, the crooks turn on each other in bloody fashion and Murphy (who believes he's actually the illegitimate son of Elvis) makes off with the illegal funds. In hot pursuit are the police and Michael, who's encumbered by his girlfriend Cybil (Courtney Cox-Arquette) and her young son Jesse James. Written and directed by music video creator Demian Lichtenstein, 3000 Miles to Graceland also stars Kevin Pollak, Ice-T, and Howie Long. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kurt Russell, Kevin Costner, (more)
Hip hop stars Ice T, Snoop Dogg, and Ja Rule appear in this gritty drama about two young men working on the lowest rungs of a criminal syndicate. Billy and Jackie imagine that crime ought to be paying better than it has been, and they're eager to move on to bigger and better things. When the two are approached by the leader of another crime syndicate to perform a high-level assassination, they agree, but they soon bring chaos to their neighborhood and a world of danger upon themselves. Crime Partners was the debut feature from director J. Jesses Smith; the film was based on a novel by Al C. Clark, a pen name for the controversial African-American author Donald Goines. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tyrin Turner, John "B.J." Bryant, (more)
- 2001
Follow popular rap artists and the "sex professionals" these rap artists frequently consort with in this exploration of how the rap music and prostitution worlds often intertwine. Rappers such as Too Short, Ice-T, and Pimp Scorpio appear, as well as cast members from HBO's popular documentary, Pimps Up, Ho's Down. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide
Ed Raymond's science fiction disaster film Black Horizon concerns a group of astronauts who become stranded in space when a meteor strikes the space station onto which they have docked. They must escape before the limited amount of oxygen they have left disappears. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Dudikoff, Ice-T, (more)
- 2001
- Add Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Season 03 to QueueAdd Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Season 03 to top of Queue
The so-called "repressed memory syndrome" figures heavily into "Repression," the opening episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit's third season. Subsequent episodes worth noting include "Wrath," in which Detective Benson's (Mariska Hargitay) relentless pursuit of rapists (motivated, in part, by the fact that she herself was conceived in rape) may bring about her death at the hands of one whom she'd sent to prison. Similarly character-driven are such episodes as "Stolen," in which Captain Cragen (Dann Florek), skipper of the SVU unit, takes it upon himself to reopen a illegal-adoption case he'd worked on a dozen years earlier; "Redemption," wherein Det. Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) is partnered with a detective whose professional zeal sends him spiralling into depression and public humiliation; "Execution," a story built around the recurring character of forensic psychiatrist Dr. George Huang (B.D. Wong), who races against the clock to determine if a condemned murderer is responsible for an unsolved crime; "Guilt," wherein Assistant DA Alex Cabot (Stephanie March) puts her career on the line by covertly enlisting the aid of the SVU team to trap a child molester; and "Denial," in which Det. Fin Tutuola takes a special interest in a heroin addicted rape victim. The season concludes with "Silence," a timely story about a pedophilic priest. Having ended its second season as the 25th highest-rated network program in the U.S., Law & Order: Special Victims Unit enjoyed a healthy influx of new viewers during season three, skyrocketing to 12th place in the ratings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Meloni, Mariska Hargitay, (more)
When the movie opens, John Kross (Mario Van Peebles) is a U.S. soldier on a covert mission deep inside Iraq on the eve of the Gulf War. What he sees from behind a sand dune is some sort of mysterious excavation, but things go badly and Kross is discovered and wounded. He awakens with vague memories of a baby being born and stolen -- and with hideous symbols carved into his torso. Years later, as a detective for the L.A.P.D., Kross' episode catches up with him when Tel-Al, an invisible, body-shifting supernatural entity, arrives in Los Angeles to claim the stolen child, now a young boy. Meanwhile, Kross is dealing with stopping the flow of a new street drug called Chaos, which is being sold by a malevolent disco owner (Ice-T) and is also connected to the Iraqi excavation that unloosed the evil spirit. The demon takes over Kross' partner's body (James Remar), just as Kross discovers the whereabouts of the boy who is "the chosen one." ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mario Van Peebles, James Remar, (more)
- 2001
Two legends of old-school hip-hop -- Ice-T and Kool Moe Dee -- star in this hard-edged urban drama. Slim is a boxer whose days in the ring are over; he's too old and too slow to be a contender any more, but he's too young and too broke to retire. Desperate for a new job, Slim is hired by a pimp to act as bodyguard for the prize girl in his stable. However, Slim and the hooker soon become infatuated with each other, and as they edge into an affair, Slim finds himself the target of the pimp's gangster henchmen. Out Kold also features action star Tommy "Tiny'' Lister Jr. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ice-T, Tom "Tiny" Lister, Jr., (more)
- 2000
- Add Hip Hop 2000: Join the Revolution to QueueAdd Hip Hop 2000: Join the Revolution to top of Queue
In this gritty tale of the underbelly of the music business, novice rapper J-Dub is looking for someone who will release his song "Paper Chasin," which he's sure has the makings of a hit record. T-Hun, the owner of a record store, is given a demo of the tune, and begins selling it as a download on the Internet. The song quickly finds a large audience, but once J-Dub finds out that T-Hun has been selling his music without his permission, T-Hun has ran off without cutting J-Dub in for a taste of the profits. Determined to get paid, J-Dub scours the streets looking for T-Hun. Rudy Ray Moore serves as narrator, and Too $hort and Ice-T appear in interview segments, discussing the business side of the rap music game. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Desi Arnez Hines II, Troy Hunter, (more)
Fire captain Jack Thomas (John Bradley) has his hands full when greedy developer Wendell Mays (Tom Arnold) arranges for his industrial refinery near the city to catch fire and explode for the insurance money. Not only are Thomas' firemen overtaxed and his veteran hero (Michael Dudikoff) in grave danger, but the nearby hospital is inadequate to handle the disaster, leaving the head doctor (Amanda Pays) to cope with internal politics as well as internal medicine. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
Everyone's favorite bloodthirsty Irish gnome invades the world of hip-hop in the fifth film in the Leprechaun series. Stray Bullet, Butch, and Postmaster P are three young rappers trying to raise money for their first record. They break into the studio of powerful producer Mack Daddy (Ice-T), hoping to steal something salable or do some recording. Instead, they discover the secret behind Mack Daddy's multi-platinum success: a magic flute. The rappers take the flute with them, and their careers take a dramatic upswing; but Mack Daddy wants the flute back, and he has reinforcements: the Leprechaun (Warwick Davis), who has an agreement with Mack Daddy and isn't happy when people cross him. Leprechaun in the Hood was directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith, who also directed the third and fourth Leprechaun films. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warwick Davis, Ice-T, (more)
- 2000
Marine fighter pilot Sykes (Cyril O'Reilly) and his three fellow pilots are on trial in a military court, accused of massacring innocent civilians in a fiery raid against South American drug smugglers. Sykes makes a plea bargain that keeps his men from prison, but in court, the politically motivated General Prescott (Alex Cord) reneges on the deal and sends them all to prison -- Sykes for life. The pilots escape the clutches of the feds, only to wind up as passengers on a commercial 747 flight that includes Prescott. Sykes and his men commandeer the plane, asking for $100 million in ransom. But they weren't counting on feisty flight attendant Kelly (Kim Oja) putting up quite the fight she does with a coffee pot, or the delivery by Stealth aircraft of Matt Marshall (Ice-T) and his elite counter-terrorist unit. Viewers should fasten their safety belts and place all weapons in the safety mode for landing.
~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ice-T, Cyril O'Reilly, (more)
- 2000
Terror flies at 30,000 feet in this tense action thriller. Jeremy Barrett (Michael Harris) is a brilliant but unbalanced criminal genius who, while being transported to a penal facility aboard a commercial airliner, breaks free and takes control of the jet, holding the passengers hostage, blowing a hole in the cockpit, and threatening to crash the plane into a heavily populated area of a major city if his demands aren't met. Barrett may have met his match, however, in Nick Halton (James Russo), a former Navy SEAL and current FBI agent who is willing to take the potentially deadly assignment of being dropped by helicopter into the runaway jet to disarm Barrett and bring the jet safely to the ground. Sonic Impact also features Ice-T, Mel Harris, and Brittany Daniel. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Russo, Ice-T, (more)
- 2000
- Add Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Season 02 to QueueAdd Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Season 02 to top of Queue
The second-season opener of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is the episode "Wrong Is Right," in which the efforts by SVU detective Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) to shelter his family from the sordid details of his work are shattered when his daughter Maureen (Erin Broderick) witnesses a horrific crime. Also in this episode, Michelle Hurd makes her final appearance as Detective Monique Jeffries, the partner of the deliciously cynical and paranoid Det. John Munch (Richard Belzer). Recurring character Det. Fin Tutuola (Ice-T) is elevated to regular status by becoming Munch's new partner. Two weeks later, in the episode "Honor," Stephanie March joins the cast as dedicated Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cabot, as she and the SVU team investigate a sex murder that is somehow tied in with the Taliban (and this was still during the pre-9/11 era!). Of the remaining episodes, "Closure" is a true curiosity: the concluding half of a two-part story that began in the middle of season one, this episode focuses on a rape victim who relentlessly stalks her recently released attacker. The season ends with "Scourge," the riveting story of a man driven to serial murder by a freak medical condition. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit closed out its second year on NBC as America's 25th most popular program. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Meloni, Mariska Hargitay, (more)
- 1999
- R
In this suspense thriller, President Fallbrook (John Beck) is doing poorly in the polls a week before he's up for re-election. To boost his popularity, one of his advisors comes up with a plan -- stage a kidnapping, and when the chief executive is released under seemingly heroic circumstances, he'll be a shoo-in for another term. However, after Fallbrook and several of his wealthy and powerful friends are grabbed from under the eyes of Secret Service agents, the crooks hired to fake the kidnapping decide to make it into the real thing. One of the Secret Service agents (Eric Roberts) now has his work cut out for him as he tries to rescue Fallbrook from the supposed hoax. Also released under the title Agent of Death, The Alternate also stars Michael Madsen, Ice-T, and Bryan Genesse. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Roberts, Bryan Genesse, (more)
- 1999
- Add Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Season 01 to QueueAdd Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Season 01 to top of Queue
The first season of the popular Law & Order spin-off Law & Order: Special Victims Unit begins with the episode "Payback," with the SVU investigating the murder and sexual mutilation of a former Serbian soldier -- who also happened to be a rapist. Quickly establishing their characters, Det. Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) conducts the investigation in a cool, detached manner, while Det. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), a child of rape, cannot help but sympathize with the murderer rather than the victim. Later episodes introduce new characters or further develop the personalities of the familiar regulars. In "Closure," Benson and first-year Detective Brian Cassidy (Dean Winters) spend the night together; in "Limitations," Michelle Hurd joins the cast as streetwise Detective Monique Jeffries; and in the season finale, circumstances dictate that a forensic psychologist recommends that Stabler, outwardly the most "normal" member of the team, be removed from the SVU for emotional instability. The season's most intriguing episode is the aforementioned "Closure," a two-part story which would not be resolved until season two. And finally, "Entitled" finds Law & Order: Special Victims Unit involved in a crossover plot with its parent series, Law & Order, allowing the casts of both series to work in concert. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Meloni, Mariska Hargitay, (more)
The streets of Detroit are cleared of all gang members and their various illegal activities through the intervention of a top secret governmentally-funded goon squad. ~ All Movie Guide
Straight from the Streets chronicles some of the milestones that faced the African-American community during the early '90s, beginning with the Los Angeles riots of 1992 and concluding with the Million Man March of 1995; however, the focus of the film is not so much on the events themselves, but the profound impact they had throughout modern black America, particularly in the inner cities. Among the speakers include actor Denzel Washington and civil rights activist Louis Farrakhan, while Snoop Doggy Dogg, Ice T, Ice Cube, and Kurupt appear in several rarely seen performances. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- 1999
After a group of thugs rob a delivery truck, the stolen goods move from one person to the next, with each person who took part in the original heist being marked for death. This thriller features Ice-T, Amy Locane, Luke Perry, and David Faustino in its eclectic cast. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
Modern-day pirates and a disaster at sea set the stage for this action drama. The sister ship of the Titanic has been refurbished and restored to service for a final cruise, and a number of wealthy celebrities and socialites are on board for the occasion, including film star Gloria (Erika Eleniak) and her bodyguard Aaron (Dylan Walsh). However, Josef (Ice-T), a daring and ruthless thief, sees a golden opportunity and invades the ship with a crew of henchman, intending to steal the many valuables on board. An explosion tears into the ship while Josef and his men are looting the cabins, and it falls to Aaron to capture Josef and his men before the ship meets its fate at the bottom of the ocean. Final Voyage also stars Claudia Christian and Jonathan Fuller. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
This sci-fi thriller finds the world in imminent danger when a collision in outer space sends huge pieces of interstellar debris on a path headed straight for Earth. A scientist has designed a system that would stop the largest meteor fragments from striking the earth, but a fanatical religious cult have made it their business to stop him. A convicted murderer (Ice-T) with ties to the group must now join forces with an FBI agent (Suzy Amis) to free the scientist from the cult's clutches and prevent millions of needless deaths. Mario Van Peebles and Linden Ashby appear in supporting roles. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
