Richard Belzer Movies

The entire Baltimore homicide squad quietly surrounds the apartment of a suspected serial killer, with all the detectives taking 24-hour stakeout shifts. Forced into closer proximity than usual with one another, the cops begin to unload their pent-up feelings and bare their souls. At least two of the detectives would rather be somewhere else: Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) worries that he won't be able to attend his daughter's wedding, while Bayliss (Kyle Secor) is on the verge of giving up police work for good. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The seedy New Moon Motel is the scene of a mysterious murder -- and it isn't the first time that this fleabag has "hosted" a major crime. Though most of the motel's tenants appear to be losers and down-and-outers, appearances can be deceiving. As Kellerman (Reed Diamond) follows the existing clues pertaining to the murder, Lewis (Clark Johnson) embarks on a hunt for the victim's missing boot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Released one year to the day after the 1995 Million Man March, in which a million African-American men marched peacefully in Washington, D.C. in a bid for greater unity and understanding, Spike Lee's Get On the Bus follows a group of black men who take a charter bus from Los Angeles to the rally in the nation's capital and watches as they interact and air their personal issues and concerns. George (Charles S. Dutton) is the organizer of the trip and de facto leader of the group. Evan Thomas (Thomas Jefferson Byrd) is a truck driver who travels to the march with his son (De'Aundre Bonds) chained to his belt by court order after the boy was arrested for petty theft. Kyle (Isaiah Washington) and Randall (Harry Lennix) are gay lovers who take no small amount of abuse from their fellow passengers. Gary (Roger Guenveur Smith) is the product of a mixed-race marriage who could pass for white but sees himself as black; he's also a cop, which does little to endear him to his peers. Flip (Andre Braugher) is an actor who seems more concerned with getting his next film role than the larger issues of the march. Jamal (Gabriel Casseus) is a good-natured young Muslim trying to lead a righteous life to make up for his violent past as a gang member. A film student (Hill Harper) is capturing the trip on videotape, and Jeremiah (Ossie Davis) sits in the back, reflecting on the struggles of African-Americans in the past and present. Financed by a private group of 15 black American men (among them Will Smith and Wesley Snipes), Get On the Bus speaks less of a single political goal than of the need for black men to set aside their differences to work for their common good. While the film falls short of openly criticizing Million Man March organizer Louis Farrakhan, it does present debate about Farrakhan's ideals and statements, ultimately coming to the conclusion that whoever brought this group together is less important than the fact that they came together in peace and brotherhood. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

When a ten-year-old is rendered brain-dead by a random shooting in a mall, Pembleton (Andre Braugher) and Bayliss (Kyle Secor) are assigned to investigate the child's "murder." Not unexpectedly, both detectives become emotionally involved in the plight of the youngster's anguished family. Meanwhile, the rest of the Baltimore police force prepares for a visit by the Pope. Watch for a brief and unheralded crossover with the TV series Chicago Hope. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Not all is what it seems as the detectives investigate a hate crime perpetrated by skinheads in a gay community. In other developments, Howard (Melissa Leo) displays an unattractive case of envy when Lewis (Clark Johnson) begins to make headway in an unsolved case left behind by the late Steve Crosetti. And actor Max Perlich takes his first steps toward becoming a full-fledged series regular when his recurring character, J.H. Brodie, is hired by Homicide to videotape recent crime scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A serious rift develops between Tim Bayliss (Kyle Secor) and Frank Pembleton (Andre Braugher) when Tim's cousin Jim (David Morse) shoots a Turkish exchange student whom he thinks is breaking into his house. Upset that Bayliss is willing to accept Jim's self-defence plea, Pembleton becomes convinced that the Bayliss family is rife with inherent racism. Elsewhere, Lewis (Clark Johnson) thinks he has made a clever economic move when he hires his own grandmother as cook for the new bar -- but he's wrong. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When an aging convicted murderer is slated to be executed after 16 years on death row, the condemned man's daughter takes Col. Barnfather (Clayton LeBouef) hostage, demanding that her father's case be reopened. While Bolander (Ned Beatty) races against time to find any shred of evidence that might free the death-row prisoner, Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) and Russert (Isabella Hoffman) try to forget their differences long enough to defuse the hostage crisis. And on a lighter note, new tavern owner Munch (Richard Belzer) may be talked into investing in a microbrewery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A gas leak at homicide headquarters forces the detectives to temporarily pitch camp at an old bank building, where several bad moods are quickly exacerbated. The many story developments this evening include the negative effect that Howard's (Melissa Leo) promotion has on her colleagues, and Giardello's (Yaphet Kotto) inadvertent dismissal of a key piece of evidence in the murder of an elderly woman. Meanwhile, Pembleton (Andre Braugher) continues to fret over his wife's pregnancy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the opening episode of Homicide: Life on the Street's fourth season, the viewer is informed that Baltimore homicide detectives Bolander and Felton have been suspended without pay for 22 weeks after their misbehavior at a D.C. police convention -- thereby neatly explaining away the departures of former series regulars Daniel Baldwin and Ned Beatty. The rest of the episode sets up a plot line that will not be resolved until the following week, beginning with the discovery of a charred body at an arson scene. This grisly revelation leads to a clash between homicide cops Pembleton (Andre Braugher) and Bayliss (Kyle Secor), and all-too-glib arson detective Mike Kellerman (played by new series regular Reed Diamond). And in other developments, Pembleton discovers that his wife is pregnant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Russert (Isabella Hoffman) suspects that her new partner is at the end of his rope -- and is abusing his wife as a result of his frustration. In other developments, Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) and Bayliss (Kyle Secor) try to talk Pembleton (Andre Braugher) out of resigning; Lewis (Clark Johnson) surprises Bayliss during a wild ride to a crime scene; and Felton (Daniel Baldwin) catches up with his kids. And after innumerable setbacks, the detectives' after-hours bar is on the verge of opening to the public. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As Pembleton (Andre Braugher) and Bayliss (Kyle Secor) investigate the killing of a 14-year-old boy, the mother of the victim has an unexpected meeting with the mother of the killer. The plans drawn up by Bayliss, Munch (Richard Belzer), and Lewis (Clark Johnson) to renovate their new bar are stymied by a bureaucratic glitch -- not to mention an unwelcome visit from the IRS. And Felton (Daniel Baldwin) gets a line on the location where his estranged wife has taken their kids. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Investigating the highly suspicious death of the person suspected of ambushing three of his fellow homicide detectives, Bayliss (Kyle Secor) runs up against a wall of departmental silence. Meanwhile, wounded detective Felton (Daniel Baldwin) returns to work, though he hasn't recovered emotionally from his ordeal -- nor is he prepared for the hostility attending his return. Pembleton (Andre Braugher) and Lewis (Clark Johnson) have a falling out during the seemingly random killing of a white woman in a black neighborhood. And Munch (Richard Belzer) discovers that he has been used as the "model" for a painting hanging in an art gallery exhibit. Chris Noth makes a cameo appearance in his Law & Order role as Detective Mike Logan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide