Antwon Tanner Movies
For athlete/musician-turned-actor Antwon Tanner life is all about goals. From his early days on the south side of Chicago to a flourishing screen career that has included roles in such hits as The Wood, Never Die Alone, and Coach Carter, Tanner cites every successful career step taken as a direct result of well-defined goals and unwavering faith in God. Tanner is good-humored and has a handsome screen presence; his likable persona plays as well on the small screen as the silver screen. He has also become a familiar face to television viewers thanks to prominent supporting roles in such shows as Boston Public and One Tree Hill. With Tanner's substantial role opposite Samuel L. Jackson in the acclaimed 2005 sports drama Coach Carter it appeared as if his career was finally about to break big. Though the streets of Chicago offered little in the way of creative inspiration during Tanner's formative years, the athletically inclined youth made quite a name for himself in the two-guard position during his time at both Corliss and King high schools. After graduating from high school, Tanner eschewed sports in favor of developing his musical talents following a chance meeting with an agent who represented a close friend. It didn't take the aspiring talent long to parlay his musical abilities into an acting career. A role opposite former Cheers star Rhea Pearlman in the 1996 basketball drama Sunset Park served as an ideal introduction to the screen for the former baller with numerous supporting roles in both film and television serving to increase his public profile. In 1997 Tanner received the chance of a lifetime when he received the opportunity to appear on screen opposite personal role model Samuel L. Jackson in the downbeat drama One Eight Seven. A successful run during the millennial changeover found the increasingly in-demand star coming into his own as an actor, and following an appearance in the Takeshi Kitano gangster drama and a turn as a wisecracking thug in Never Die Alone, Tanner could once again be seen opposite Jackson -- basketball in hand -- in 2005's Coach Carter. In 2005, Tanner strapped on his spurs for a role opposite David Carradine in the revisionist Western Brothas in Arms. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Principled gangsters take on a corrupt moneyman in this period Western. Robert Driscol (David Carradine) is a ruthless and power-hungry man who owns a small New Mexico town lock, stock, and barrel, and isn't shy about dealing with anyone who gets in his way. Linc Malone (Gabriel Casseus) and his brother Zane (Antwon Tanner) are a pair of African-American cowboys who've run afoul of Driscol and are looking for revenge. Linc and Zane put together a team of gunmen to rob Driscol's bank, but the heist goes awry when Driscol's men surround the building, and the gunfighters are trapped inside. Brothers in Arms also features Ed Lauter, Kenya Moore, and rapper Kurupt. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Carradine, Gabriel Casseus, (more)
The true-life story of a coach who tries to teach his players that there's more to life than basketball is brought to the screen in this sports drama. Ken Carter (Samuel L. Jackson) was once a star player on the Richmond High School basketball team in Richmond, CA, and years later, after establishing himself in publishing and marketing, he returns to the school and to the team as the new basketball coach. Carter quickly sees that his work is cut out for him -- the team is having an awful season, and their fights off the court are more decisive than their play on the court. While Carter wants to make the Richmond cagers into a winning team, he also wants a lot more -- to teach the boys to respect themselves and one another, and that they must excel in the classroom as well as in the gymnasium. Under Carter's guidance, the team turns their losing season around, with the state title a genuine possibility. However, when Carter learns that a number of his players have let their grade point averages slip below 2.3, as mandated in a contract he entered into with the students, he decides to lock the team out of the gym and send them into study hall until their marks improve. Carter's plan quickly becomes a subject of controversy among parents and team boosters, and their objections are soon picked up by the local news media, many of whom are not sympathetic to Carter's belief that his players must have goals beyond college ball or the NBA. Coach Carter also features Rob Brown and Rick Gonzalez as members of the team, and R&B diva Ashanti in her film debut as the girlfriend of one of Carter's players. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Ri'chard, (more)
As another semester draws to a close at the University of Dreyskill, a simple game dreamt to help students avoid studying becomes a bloody battle for survival in this stalk-and-slash frightener from filmmaking duo Brian Hooks and Deon Taylor. Dreyskill may have a reputation as a prestigious private school, but a group of students known as "The Crew" are sick of studying for finals and looking to have a little fun. In order to pas the time, they create a game called "75." The rules of 75 are simple: the participant in the game calls a random telephone number and attempts to scare the party on the other end of the line for 75 seconds; should the recipient of the call laugh or hang up, the player loses, and the player with the best call emerges victorious. By the time exams are over, 75 has become a popular campus pastime among all the students, and one rich classmate invites the Crew to his massive mansion in the Colorado hills for a wild weekend of partying. But when one of the Crew accidentally calls the wrong person, the once-playful scares become all too real. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Hooks, Antwon Tanner, (more)
Kel Mitchell of Good Burger and Mystery Men does double-duty in this showbiz comedy, playing the lead character Ricky as well as Ricky's uncle. After winning a songwriting contest, Ricky expects to hit the big time but instead finds himself working in the record label's mailroom, and his song is stolen and made into a hit by sexy Kennedy (Bombay). Deciding not to take things lying down, Ricky sets out to makes things right, but Kennedy proves to be quite a foil. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kel Mitchell, Bombay, (more)
- 2002
A high schooler with a huge collection of video games is murdered and a three-year-old girl is shot and killed in her crib. Investigating the high-school case, the detectives are stymied by contradictory evidence, and by the presence of a weird suspect named Swirly (Josh Zuckerman), who lives with his even weirder mother. And while tackling the case of the dead three-year-old, Connie (Charlotte Ross) and Rita (Jacqueline Obradors) trace the gunfire to an engagement party on a lower floor. In off-the-job developments, John Jr. (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) tries to reach out to his taciturn dad (Joe Spano); Andy (Dennis Franz) and Connie may get together; and gay cop John (Bill Brochtrup) prepares to visit Africa with his new significant other. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Simmons
From a script from first-time scribe James Gibson comes this filmed adaptation of ex-gangster Donald Goines' 1974 novel Never Die Alone. Directed by Ernest R. Dickerson (Juice, Bones), the films stars David Arquette as Paul Pawlowski, a reporter who takes an interest in gang kingpin King David, played by rapper/actor DMX. When King David is killed, Pawlowski happens upon the criminal's journal and envelops himself in his story. From there, the rise and fall of King David is covered in flashbacks as Pawlowski makes his way through the diary. Aisha Tyler and Jennifer Sky co-star. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- DMX, David Arquette, (more)
Four-and-a-half years after the searing and surprising events that marked their final days at Tree Hill High, old friends return to their North Carolina hometown. Some of them reached the goals they set as teens: Lucas (Chad Michael Murray) published his novel; Brooke (Sophia Bush) rocked the fashion world as an acclaimed couturiere; and Haley (Bethany Joy Galeotti) became the teacher she always yearned to be. Some didn't: Peyton (Hilarie Burton) crashed and burned in L.A., and Nathan (James Lafferty) saw his promise of pro hoops glory evaporate in a single, violent moment. But once they're back home, everyone discovers so much is the same: love, friendship, challenges, triumphs, laughs, tears...and dreams. All 18 episodes of 2008's Season 5 are collected in this five-disc set.
- Starring:
- Chad Michael Murray, James Lafferty, (more)
- 2000
Even though her brother died of a drug overdose, a young, angry black girl named Charnelle (Kenya Williams) is on the brink of becoming a hopeless addict herself. Fortunately, Monica (Roma Downey) has shown up to help Charnelle write a school essay about finding "a piece of yourself in history." With the help of her fellow angels, Monica tells Charnelle the cautionary story of famed blues singer Billie Holliday, who likewise nearly allowed drugs to overwhelm her as she prepared her first public performance of the anti-lynching anthem "Strange Fruit". But in the end, Monica is not nearly as effective with Charnelle as the girl's own grandmother Georgia (Mary Alice), who has a story of her own to tell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
