Laz Alonso Movies

A Hollywood screenwriter and his wife come under attack from her ex-flame and his vicious friends in director Rod Lurie's remake of Sam Peckinpah's 1971 home-invasion classic. In the wake of her father's death, Amy (Kate Bosworth) returns to her rural Southern hometown with her husband, David (James Marsden). Her goal is to put her childhood home on the market while David works on his latest screenplay. Meanwhile, David hires Amy's high school boyfriend Charlie (Alexander Skarsgård) and his crew to rebuild the roof on the secluded country home. But the more time Charlie's work crew spends working on the roof, the greater tensions begin to grow between Amy and David. Every time Amy walks outside, the work stops and the ogling begins. When David attempts to avert confrontation by firing the crew before the job is finished, former high school football star Charlie snaps, deciding that if he can't have Amy on his own terms, he'll take her by force. Later, when night falls, Charlie's gang besieges the house, forcing David and Amy into a desperate fight for their lives. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

When NBA All-Star Scott McKnight (Common) suffers a debilitating injury, tough-talking physical therapist Leslie Wright (Queen Latifah) pulls out all the stops to get him back on his game. But their professional relationship turns personal when Leslie finds herself falling for Scott, and discovers the feeling may be mutual. Paula Patton co-stars in a romantic comedy penned by Michael Elliot and directed by Sanaa Hamri. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A paraplegic ex-marine finds a new life on the distant planet of Pandora, only to find himself battling humankind alongside the planet's indigenous Na'vi race in this ambitious digital 3D sci-fi epic from Academy Award-winning Titanic director James Cameron. The film, which marks Cameron's first dramatic feature since 1997's Titanic, follows Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a war veteran who gets called to the depths of space to pick up the job of his slain twin brother for the scientific arm of a megacorporation looking to mine the planet of Pandora for a valued ore. Unfortunately the biggest deposit of the prized substance lies underneath the home of the Na'vi, a ten-foot-tall, blue-skinned native tribe who have been at war with the security arm of the company, lead by Col. Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang). Because of the planet's hostile atmosphere, humans have genetically grown half-alien/half-human bodies which they can jack their consciousnesses into and explore the world in. Since Jake's brother already had an incredibly expensive Avatar grown for him, he's able to connect with it using the same DNA code and experience first-hand the joys of Pandora while giving the scientific team, led by Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) and Norm Spellman (Joel David Moore), some well-needed protection against the planet's more hostile forces.

On a chance meeting after getting separated from his team, Jake's Avatar is rescued by Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), a Na'vi princess, who brings him into her tribe in order to give the humans a second chance at relating to this new environment. When word gets out of his increasing time with the alien species, Quaritch enlists Jake to do some reconnaissance for the company, as they'd like to persuade the tribe to move their home before taking more drastic measures to harness the treasure hidden below. Yet as Jake becomes one with the tribe and begins to understand the secrets of Pandora, his conscience is torn between his new adopted world and the wheelchair-bound one awaiting him when the psychic connection to his Avatar is broken. Soon battle lines are drawn and Jake needs to decide which side he will fight on when the time comes. The film was shot on the proprietary FUSION digital 3D cameras developed by Cameron in collaboration with Vince Pace, and offers a groundbreaking mix of live-action dramatic performances and computer-generated effects. The revolutionary motion-capture system created for the film allows the facial expressions of actors to be captured as a virtual camera system enables them to see what their computer-generated counterparts will be seeing in the film, and Peter Jackson's Oscar-winning Weta Digital visual-effects house supervises Avatar's complex special effects. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

A young man finds that the moves he learned on the street may help him make a better life for himself in this youth-oriented musical drama. DJ Williams (Columbus Short) is a 19-year-old growing up in Los Angeles; while DJ is at heart a good kid and a gifted street dancer, he runs with a dangerous crowd, and one night an underground dance competition turns into a brawl and DJ ends up in jail. DJ's younger brother has already died a violent death, and his mother, hoping to put him back on the straight and narrow, sends DJ off to Truth University, a historically African-American college in Atlanta. At first, DJ feels like a misfit at Truth, but when he gets a chance to show off his dancing skills, he attracts the attention of two campus fraternities. Greek life is a major presence at Truth, and each year the fraternities take part in a "stepping" competition, in which the members show off their synchronized dance moves. DJ joins the ONO house, and is eager to help them take the championship away from their campus rivals, but in time he also comes to understand the brotherhood and community service that's a key part of his fraternity's background. DJ also has more on his mind than dancing and studying when he meets April (Meagan Good), a beautiful coed. Produced under the title Steppin', Stomp the Yard also stars Ne-Yo, Brian J. White, and Jermaine Williams. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

When the traditionally minded pastor of a fundamentalist Baptist church suffers a debilitating stroke, the energetic young preacher brought in as a temporary replacement draws the ire of both his ailing predecessor and the jealous deacon who seeks to sabotage the stylish but sincere clergyman's career. Reverend Robert Gibbs has a decidedly unconventional means of preaching the gospel, so when he is recruited to stand-in for the debilitated Reverend Matthews during the latter's convalescence the congregation is at first somewhat taken aback. Eventually, however, the congregation warms to their new pastor, gradually embracing his hip style of preaching. As attendance at the California-based church begins to perk up, Reverend Gibbs makes the acquaintance of a pretty local teacher named Divine who lost her faith after losing her mother to cancer. Later, as Reverend Gibbs does his best to help restore the woman's faith, he discovers that she is in fact the daughter of the disapproving Reverend Matthews. When it begins to look as if Reverend Matthews may not be able to return to his post after all, the scheming Deacon Wells digs deep into Reverend Gibbs' past on a mission to prevent him from both becoming the permanent pastor and winning the heart of the lovely Divine. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director Terrah Bennett Smith teams with writer/executive producer Tiayoka McMillan to tell the tale of a tale of an old love that just can't seem to die, and the friendships that keep our spirits raised even in the darkest of times. Having just received the unfortunate news that his college friend Lucky (Tech Holmes) has recently passed away, Dr. Preston Scott (Miguel A. Nunez) begins contacting his old group of friends to organize a memorial service for the recently departed. The only problem is that one of Preston's old friends just so happens to be his ex-girlfriend Rain Jones (Robin Givens). When Preston tells Rain that he has found the woman of his dreams, the lingering pain over their break-up immediately comes back to the surface, prompting bitter Rain to respond with a fabricated story about her engagement to the perfect man. Now, as the memorial service draws near and old friends (Mel Jackson, Randy Goodwyn, Jazmin Lewis, Bianca Lewis) gather to celebrate the life of their fallen college friend, Preston and Rain are compelled to re-examine their past and face up to the fact that sometimes old love has a way of lingering even after romance has died. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A young man gets a crash course in the madness of war in this fact-based drama from director Sam Mendes. Anthony "Swoff" Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal) decides to join the Marines, just like his father and his father before him, and signs on just in time to be sent to Iraq to fight in the Gulf War in 1991. After experiencing the rigors of boot camp, Swofford and his pal Troy (Peter Sarsgaard) are trained to be snipers, and under the leadership of Sgt. Sykes (Jamie Foxx) and Lt. Col. Kazinski (Chris Cooper), the two land in the middle of a desert where they're up against an enemy they can't always see under a blazing sun with hours of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror. Swofford, Troy, and their fellow soldiers rely on the wits, their sense of humor, and their friendship of their brothers in arms to deal with a situation that doesn't much resemble what they saw on television at home. Jarhead was based on the memoirs of the real-life Anthony Swofford, who did serve as a sniper in the 1991 Gulf War; the title comes from military slang for a Marine enlistee. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

An ordinary man with an extraordinary gift must save the planet from evil in this action-packed fantasy. Unknown to most people, the world is crowded with spirits both good and evil who walk among us in human guise. One of the few who can see these spirits is John Constantine (Keanu Reeves), but the responsibility of his vision is more than he can stand, and he tries to kill himself. Saved from death, Constantine must now atone for his actions by acting as a guardian in the middle ground between Paradise and Hell. Constantine also makes the acquaintance of Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz), a police detective who becomes aware of his unusual gift while looking into the death of her sister; he leads her into the unknown world of the spirits and soon circumstances demand that they join forces in a desperate bid to save humanity from evil. Constantine also features Tilda Swinton, Peter Stormare, and Gavin Rossdale, the latter best known as the lead singer of the rock group Bush. Michelle Monaghan (Made of Honor) was originally in the film (cast as a half-breed demon) but director Francis Lawrence cut her scenes. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A politically correct accountant and a womanizing real-estate agent find their lives suddenly thrust into chaos as their generally reliable roommate announces plans to leave while handing over his keys to a beautiful actress and model from New York in a topical comedy about just getting along in life. Despite their current status as housemates, Royce (Ben Watkins) and Damien (Laz Alonso) couldn't be any less alike. Royce is a conservative numbers man whose relationship with a longtime girlfriend has just gone bad, and Damien is an opinionated playboy to whom the word "commitment" simply does not compute. When Royce and Damien's housemate Will (Mailon Rivera) announces that he has found a job in New York and that emerging actress Toni (Shawna Rodgers) will be taking his place on the lease, the duo who can't seem to agree on anything are strangely connected by their mutual discomfort with the situation. Despite some initial misgivings that make adjusting to life on the West Coast somewhat difficult for the former New Yorker, the arrival of Toni's outspoken best friend Nicole (Barri Whittaker) ultimately proves the connecting factor that can bring the reluctant new roommates together during the turbulent transitionary period. Todd Bridges and Reynaldo Rey co-star in a film that's all about dealing with the hand dealt to you by life, no matter how strange it may seem when the cards are first revealed. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Writer-director Christopher Scott Cherot (Hav Plenty) based his second feature, G, on F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel The Great Gatsby. Tre (Andre Royo), a writer for a music magazine, goes out to the Hamptons to interview a wealthy and mysterious rap mogul, Summer G (Richard T. Jones), who's recently bought a home there. Tre first stops in on his cousin Sky (Chenoa Maxwell, who also starred in Hav Plenty) and her control-freak millionaire husband, Chip (Blair Underwood). Tre soon learns that Chip is brazenly cheating on Sky, and he even witnesses Chip smack his girlfriend around. Tre doesn't have much luck getting close to Summer G, until the music impresario finds out that Tre is related to Sky, whom he dated in college. Summer G asks Tre to arrange a meeting with Sky, and Tre, apparently upset with the way Chip has been treating Sky, helps Summer G connect with his old flame. Summer G tells Sky that he still loves her, and she begins an affair with him. The snobby old-money Chip, already predisposed to dislike Summer G because of his hip-hop lifestyle, suspects that there's something going on, and plots to have Summer G chased from their exclusive Hamptons neighborhood. G was produced by Andrew Lauren, fashion designer Ralph Lauren's son, who also appears in the film as Adam Gordon, Summer G's manager. G was shown at the 2002 Tribeca Film Festival and at the 2002 Urbanworld Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi