Clifton Powell Movies
Few actors possess the range required to craft some of the most colorful villains ever committed to celluloid before turning around to portray such a benevolent and beloved leader as Martin Luther King Jr., and it's a testament to Clifton Powell's skills as a performer that he could be equally believable doing both.It was during the early '90s that Powell first began to rise to prominence in television and film, with standout roles in Bill Duke's Deep Cover and In the Heat of the Night preceding a pair of memorable supporting roles for the Hughes Brothers in Menace II Society and Dead Presidents. Though Powell would continue to appear in features, it was on the small screen that he gained most of his exposure in the early years. After gradually climbing the credits on such shows as Murder, She Wrote, The Jamie Foxx Show, and NYPD Blue, Powell would leave an indelible mark on viewers with his thoughtful portrayal of Martin Luther King Jr. in director Charles Burnett's Selma, Lord, Selma.
With versatile, everyman looks that were something of a blessing and a curse, Powell quickly established himself as an actor capable of truly disappearing into his characters -- sometimes to a fault. While a slew of roles on screens big and small kept Powell a considerably busy man in the mid-'90s, later roles in such efforts as Lockdown, Civil Brand, and Never Die Alone proved that his persistence, talent, and dedication were beginning to pay off. In 2004, Powell and the cast of the wildly popular biopic Ray would be honored with a Screen Actor's Guild nomination, and though they didn't take home the prize it was obvious Powell was finally on the verge of breaking big.
His dark turn in the T.D. Jakes screen-adaptation Woman Thou Art Loosed was followed by a series of small-screen appearances in House, M.D., CSI, and Day Break, and in 2007 alone Powell's name would be attached to no less than eight films being prepared for the big screen . ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
If you thought Kid and Play threw a mean party, wait until you see what happens when BJ (Troy Anders) decides to throw the ultimate party in this raucous hip-hop comedy from director Amir Valinia. Convinced that an unforgettable bash is the only way to truly preserve the memory of his deceased brother, BJ gathers the troops in hopes of throwing the biggest, baddest block party that the Big Easy has ever seen. His work certainly isn't cut out for him though, and as BJ attempts to escape the eye of a crooked cop bent on sabotaging the bash while avoiding the wrath of his jealous baby-momma, the odds seem stacked against him. Featuring appearances by such hip-hop superstars as Three Six Mafia and Juvenile, this is one party you don't want to miss! ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- 2004
- PG13
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Directed by Taylor Hackford, this biopic profiles the life of legendary musician Ray Charles. Despite humble beginnings and the loss of his eyesight due to glaucoma at the age of six, Charles, depicted by Jamie Foxx, would nonetheless become an icon in both the music industry and the civil rights era. While the film delves into his problems with drugs and women, the bulk of the story details his career; among the highlights of that career are 12 Grammy awards and 11 R&B chart-toppers, such as "Unchain My Heart," "Hit the Road, Jack," "Georgia," "Doin' the Mess Around," and "Hallelujah I Just Love Her So." Also among the cast are Larenz Tate as Quincy Jones, as well as Regina King, Kerry Washington, and Clifton Powell. Charles' son, Ray Charles Jr. helped produce the film. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, (more)
One woman's odyssey through a hellish life of sexual abuse, drug addiction, and crime is resolved in faith in this tough but inspiring drama based on a true story documented by evangelist Bishop T.D. Jakes. Michelle Jordan (Kimberly Elise) was raised by a single mother, Cassie (Loretta Devine), who became involved with a cruel and opportunistic man named Reggie (Clifton Powell). Reggie began displaying an inappropriate interest in Michelle when she was only eight, and at 12 he began violating her on a regular basis. Stung by her mother's denials of Reggie's wrongdoings, Michelle ran away from home and ended up on a dead-end road of drug abuse and prostitution, which led to a stretch in prison for murder. While behind bars, Michelle hears of the teachings of Bishop T.D. Jakes and his work with abused women, and writes the noted preacher in hopes of someday meeting him. To her surprise, Jakes (who plays himself) pays her a visit, and as she shares with him the story of her blighted life, she takes the first steps on the road to emotional and spiritual recovery. Jakes arranges for Michelle to have a three-day furlough from prison so she can attend a revival he's hosting in the area; opting to stay in a half-way house rather than see Cassie and Reggie, Michelle reconnects with many of her old friends during her three days of freedom, including former stripper Nicole (Idalis de Leon), childhood friend and hairdresser Twana (Debbi Morgan), and former boyfriend Todd (Michael Boatman). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kimberly Elise, Loretta Devine, (more)
An incarcerated father is forced to stand by and watch as his two young sons struggle to survive on the streets in a gritty urban drama starring Clifton Powell and Sean Blakemore. Ali Dean is a failed father, and now he will bear witness as his failure threatens to turn into an endless cycle of violence and poor decision making. Though Ali's son Tariq shows much promise as an emerging pugilist, Cesar falls on the wrong side of the law after becoming involved with the local drug trade. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Clifton Powell, Dominic Daniel, (more)
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, Rovi
- Starring:
- DMX, David Arquette, (more)
- 2004
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Old friends Clyde and Roscoe have a serious problem: their attempt to repay a debt to the mafia was botched and now they need to come up with a lot of cash, very fast. Not wanting to have their legs broken, or worse, they two hatch a plan that is so crazy it just might work. They take a rundown restaurant and begin to set about making it into the most popular eatery in town. The boys' keen business strategy looks like it could work, but it might payoff too late to save them. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi
- Starring:
- A.J. Johnson
Television director Neema Barnette directs the forceful drama Civil Brand, based on a story by Preston A. Whitmore II. Shot with a micro-budget of 500,000 dollars, the film stars confrontational rap and hip-hop artists Mos Def, MC Lyte, and Da Brat. The story concerns a women's prison that exploits its largely African-American inmate population as cheap labor to manufacture products for a corporation. Mostly incarcerated due to domestic violence situations, the inmates also face sexual abuse as the hands of the prison staff, headed by Captain Deese (Clifton Powell) and Warden Nelson (Reed McCants). Accused of murder, Frances Shepard (Lisa Rae) joins forces with inmates Little Momma (Lark Voorhies), Wet (Monica Calhoun), and Nikki Barnes (N'Bushe Wright), as well as law student Michael (Mos Def), in order to start an uprising. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
The gang from Friday and Next Friday are back in this urban comedy, in which Craig (Ice Cube) and Day-Day (Mike Epps) have finally moved out of their respective parents' homes and gotten an apartment together. However, a bogus neighborhood Santa Claus (Rickey Smiley) decides to help Craig and Day-Day share the wealth by robbing their apartment, and when he rips off their stereo, he also makes off with their rent money, which was hidden in the speaker cabinets. Desperate to make rent and have some money for Christmas presents, Craig and Day-Day land jobs at a local strip mall, where their fathers, Mr. Jones (John Witherspoon) and Uncle Elroy (Don "D.C." Curry), have gone into business together running a barbecue joint. Craig and Day-Day are installed as security guards, and while Craig tries to make time with Donna (K.D. Aubert), a saleswoman at the Pimp N' Ho's Boutique, and keep things orderly at Holy Moly's Doughnut Shop, Day-Day attempts to transform himself into a master of crime-fighting, which causes a lot more problems than it solves. Friday After Next is the first feature film from director Marcus Raboy, who previously directed music videos for Sting, Li'l Kim, Staind, and Friday After Next star Ice Cube. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Four successful men find themselves easing into long-term relationships, but they're not all that comfortable about it, in this intelligent comedy-drama. Terry (Shemar Moore), Jackson (Morris Chestnut), Brian (Bill Bellamy), and Derrick (D.L. Hughley) are four close friends who get together once a week to play basketball and compare notes on their problems with women. And as it turns out, they have a lot to say in that area. Terry has just gotten engaged to BeBe (Susan Dalian), who is more than a bit controlling. Jackson has a deep fear of commitment, symbolized by a recurring dream in which he's attacked by women wearing wedding gowns; what's more, he's started seeing Denise (Gabrielle Union), who he learns once had a fling with his dad (Clifton Powell). Brian is a lawyer who has discovered his next court date will see him pleading a case in front of a judge who used to be his girlfriend (Angelle Brooks). And Derrick's marriage to Sheila (Tamala Jones) is falling apart at the seams. The Brothers also features one-time Jeffersons regular Marla Gibbs, and Jennifer Lewis as Jackson's mother, who may be giving his father a second chance after many years apart. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Morris Chestnut, D.L. Hughley, (more)
Cinematographer turned director Ernest Dickerson returns to the horror genre with this African-American, urban twist on haunted house stories. Rap star Snoop Doggy Dogg makes his debut as a leading man in the title role of Jimmy Bones, stylish protector of a thriving inner-city neighborhood in 1979. When he refuses to knuckle under to powerful interests bent on introducing crack cocaine into his turf, Bones is betrayed by some of his own people, murdered, and buried in the basement of his gothic home. More than two decades later, the neighborhood is a drug and crime-infested nightmare, and Bones' decrepit, allegedly haunted domicile is about to become a hip-hop dance club. Although Bones' one-time girlfriend, Pearl (Pam Grier), and his right-hand man, Shotgun (Ronald Selmour), have remained loyal to his memory, the children of his traitor, Jeremiah (Clifton Powell), are the principal owners of the new club. They become the primary targets when Bones' vengeful spirit rises up to exact bloody retribution for past misdeeds. Bones (2001) co-stars Michael T. Weiss, Bianca Lawson, and Khalil Kain. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Snoop Dogg, Pam Grier, (more)
A woman who has confronted the sour side of success finds love and discovers herself in this made-for-TV drama. Nikka (Vanessa Bell Calloway) is a writer who enjoys unexpected success with her first novel, but her brush with fame and fortune has a serious downside when she's threatened with legal action by the Internal Revenue Service for non-payment of taxes. Turning to her family and friends for help, Nikka's new life begins to fall apart, but she begins to develop a greater sense of herself in the process, and she decides to take a trip to Africa in hopes of coming to terms with her heritage. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Vanessa Bell Calloway, Clifton Powell, (more)
A prison drama centering on the travails of three friends unjustly imprisoned for a crime they didn't commit, Lockdown opens with Avery (Richard T. Jones), a talented young swimmer who desperately wants to free himself, his wife Krista (Melissa De Sousa), and their infant son from life in the projects of Albuquerque, NM. Avery's future seems bright when, after winning a regional swimming competition, he is approached by Charles Pierce (Bill Nunn), a talent scout who takes an interest in the young man's athletic promise. Unfortunately, Avery's dreams quickly disintegrate when he and his pals Cashmere (Gabriel Casseus) and Dre (De'Aundre Bonds) are pulled over by cops one night and framed for a robbery/murder they didn't commit. Faster than you can say "blatant miscarriage of justice," Avery, Cashmere, and Dre land in the slammer, where they are separated and forced to fend for themselves. Avery ends by getting a valuable prison education from his Ralph Ellison-quoting cellmate Malachi (Clifton Powell), while Cashmere quickly becomes part of the African-American gang network operating under the leadership of Clean Up (rapper Master P, whose No Limit Films produced the film). Dre, meanwhile, meets the worst fate of the three, resorting to heroin after he's gang-raped by a group of Nazi thugs. On the outside, Krista and Pierce work tirelessly to free the trio from prison. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard T. Jones, Gabriel Casseus, (more)
In this sequel to the urban comedy Friday, rap music star Ice Cube returns as Craig Jones, a streetwise man from South Central Los Angeles who has a knack for getting into trouble. This time out, Craig is still trying to outsmart neighborhood bully Debo (Tommy "Tiny" Lister Jr.); after Craig gets the better of Debo in a fist fight, Debo is determined to flatten Craig in a rematch. Looking to stay out of Debo's way, Craig decides that it would be a good time to visit his cousin (Mike Epps) and uncle (Don "DC" Curry), who have recently won the lottery and moved into a spacious new home in the suburbs. Like Friday, Next Friday was written by Ice Cube and his frequent musical collaborator DJ Pooh; music video director Steve Carr made his feature debut with this film. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Noted African-American independent filmmaker Charles Burnett directed this made-for-TV movie, based on the memoirs of Sheyann Webb-Christburg and Rachel West Nelson, in which 12-year-olds Sheyann (Jurnee Smollett and Rachel (Stephanie Zandra Peyton), with fellow volunteer Jonathan (Mackenzie Astin), a white seminary student, join Martin Luther King's march from Selma to Montgomery. Selma Lord Selma was originally aired as part of The Wonderful World of Disney on Jan. 17, 1999, one day prior to the national holiday commemorating Dr. King's birthday; the broadcast featured an introduction by Dr. King's widow, Coretta Scott King. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- MacKenzie Astin, Clifton Powell, (more)
Stephen Somers wrote and directed this $50 million science-fiction action-thriller. Set in the South China Sea, the story has been described as a cross between The Poseidon Adventure, Alien, and Die Hard. On the maiden voyage of the luxury liner Argonautica, pickpocket Trillian (Famke Janssen) is caught stealing jewels and locked up. After the ship's communication system is infected with a virus, the ship collides with a massive underwater object. When John Finnegan (Treat Williams) and others board the Argonautica, they are surrounded by death. Survivors Trillian, builder Simon Canton (Anthony Heald), and others talk of sea monsters, but Hanover (Wes Studi) doesn't believe them -- until the fanged, squid-like creature (designed by Rob Bottin) extends its huge tentacles and makes its presence known to all. Filmed in Vancouver and the northern Pacific under the working title Tentacles. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Treat Williams, Famke Janssen, (more)
Dean Koontz scripted this adaptation of his fantasy novel. The tale begins when two sisters, Lisa (Rose McGowan) and Jenny (Joanna Going) arrive for a ski vacation in the mountain resort town of Snowfield, Colorado, where they discover their landlady is dead and the town is deserted except for a single dead police officer. Lisa and Jenny are soon joined by Sheriff Bryce Hammond (Ben Affleck) and his deputies Stu Wargle (Liev Schreiber) and Steve Shanning (Nicky Katt). The five conclude that the entire town is missing or dead, but after they head for a local hotel, they hear a Patsy Cline tune emanating from the second floor -- where a scribbled message mentions "Timothy Flyte" and the "Ancient Enemy." After Wargle is attacked by a bizarre creature that sucks out his brain, Hammond radios for help. The Feds find Flyte (Peter O'Toole), a British professor who explains his theory of an Ancient Enemy, periodically emerging from inside the Earth to decimate civilizations. Human extinction looms, but Flyte and an Army commando unit arrive in Colorado with a plan of action. Directed by Joe Chappelle, who made Thieves Quartet (1994). ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Peter O'Toole, Rose McGowan, (more)
Gregory Nava directed this biographical drama on the brief but intense life of singer Frankie Lymon who stayed with the popular Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers group only for a year. Lymon was 13 years old when the group erupted from radios and jukeboxes with their 1956 hit, Why Do Fools Fall in Love? and appeared in the movie Rock, Rock, Rock (1956). After Mr. Rock and Roll (1957), Lymon turned solo, but then it all fell to pieces. Lymon's career was over by the time he was 18, and he died of a heroin overdose eight years later. Jumping from the '50s to the '80s, this film traces the rise and fall of Lymon (Larenz Tate) in a series of flashbacks as courtroom claims on Lymon's royalties are outlined by three women: Zola Taylor (Halle Berry) of the Platters R&B group; Elizabeth Waters (Vivica A. Fox), who turned prostitute to cover costs of Lymon's recovery from addiction; and schoolteacher Emira Eagle (Lela Rochon). Little Richard also makes a courtroom appearance, while Miguel A. Nunez Jr. portrays Little Richard in scenes set in the '50s. Shown at the 1998 Urbanworld Film Festival (NY). ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Halle Berry, Vivica A. Fox, (more)
Darin Scott made his directorial debut with this neo-noir crime drama set in South Central L.A. and featuring Cynda Williams in a dual role. Back in L.A. after serving time on drug charges, Daryl Allen (Bokeem Woodbine), who narrates, plans to open a nightclub, and a pal offers to bankroll the business. Daryl drives his buddy to the bank, unaware he's taking part in a robbery. He's sent back to the slammer for a long stretch, and during that period his girlfriend (Cynda Williams) marries. Released after five years, Daryl is unemployed when he meets Vanessa Dietrich (Williams), who gets him work as a limo driver. Vanessa and Daryl are targets of a hitman, and Vanessa tells Daryl she suspects her ex-lover Ahmad (Basil Wallace). What Daryl doesn't know about Ahmad and Vanessa may turn out to be his undoing. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bokeem Woodbine, Cynda Williams, (more)
- 1997
Monica (Roma Downey) is assigned to give away one (and ONLY one!) miracle to a stranger in a crowded bar. Trouble is, every single person in the establishment is in dire need of a miracle! Whom should Monica choose: Wheelchair-bound Noah (Eddie Jones), desperate pool shark Claude (Clive Revill), unhappily married Ernie (Fred Sanders) and Marie (Terri Hanauer), alcoholic salesman Buddy (Tim Reid), perennial loser Loafer (Edie McClurg), or the dangerously impulsive Amethyst (Tracy Middendorf)? Just when Andrew (John Dye) shows up to lend Monica a helping hand, yet another "person in need" strolls into the bar--changing the dynamics of the story completely! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1997
The fifth-season opener of NYPD Blue ties up several story ends left dangling at the climax of season four. With no one willing to back up his alibi for his relationship with murdered gangster Jimmy Salvo, Bobby Simone (Jimmy Smits) is still on suspension pending an Internal Affairs investigation. Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) wants to extend Bobby a helping hand, but he too is under scrutiny from the IAB. Coming to the rescue (in a manner of speaking) is Detective Jill Kirkendall (Andrea Thompson, now promoted from recurring to regular status), who produces a source to back up Bobby's allegations. Elsewhere, the squad searches for a pimp suspected of killing several people. And on the domestic front, Gina Colon (Lourdes Benedicto) is pregnant, but hasn't yet informed the father, Det. James Martinez (Nicholas Turturro). Sharon Lawrence makes a token appearance as Sylvia Costas; the actress, busy with her own starring sitcom Fired Up, would be absent throughout most of season five. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Frank Military and Susan Rhinehart scripted this western, a look back at the post-Civil War Black cavalry troops known as the Buffalo Soldiers, the fierce fighting unit previously covered in a PBS four-parter (1970) and an NBC pilot (1979). In the New Mexico Territory, ex-slave Sgt. Wyatt (Danny Glover) and the Buffalo soldiers arrest Captain Draper (Robert Knott) and other Texas Rangers, but politics mean the Rangers are quietly freed later. Back at Fort Craig, Wyatt reports to anti-black General Pike (Tom Bower) and Col. Grierson (Bob Gunton), a white responsible for assembling and supporting the black regiment. A search is underway for Indian chief Victorio (Harrison Lowe). Indian prophet Nana (Chesley Wilson) is tortured in an effort to get him to reveal Victorio's whereabouts. Determining that Victorio is at Rattlesnake Springs, the Buffalo Soldiers head in that direction for a confrontation. Filmed in the desert of Arizona's Cochise County, Buffalo Soldiers premiered December 7, 1997 on TNT. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Danny Glover, Bob Gunton, (more)
Albert Hughes and his brother Allen Hughes followed their striking debut Menace II Society with this ambitious look at the social and political lives of the African-American community in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Anthony Curtis (Larenz Tate) is a young man coming of age in the Bronx in 1968. Working two part-time jobs -- one as a milkman's helper and another for local numbers runner Kirby (Keith David) -- Anthony is torn between doing the right thing and trying to get by in a environment that offers few opportunities to young black men. After graduating from high school, Anthony decides to join the Marines, news that is not well-received by his parents, who want him to go to college, or his girlfriend Juanita (Rose Jackson), with whom Anthony recently lost his virginity. After serving a horrific tour of duty in Viet Nam with his friends Skip (Chris Tucker) and Jose (Freddy Rodriguez), Anthony finds himself back home in 1973, where Juanita has been raising the child he fathered before he shipped out, drugs and crime have crippled his community, and honest job prospects are practically nil. Eventually, Anthony falls in with Kirby, Skip, and Jose, who have teamed with Juanita's sister Delilah (N'Bushe Wright), a Black Power activist, and Cleon (Bokeem Woodbine), in a scheme to rob an armored truck taking worn greenbacks ("dead presidents") to a mint to be destroyed. Martin Sheen and Seymour Cassel appear unbilled in small roles. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Larenz Tate, Keith David, (more)
- 1995
While researching a novel, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) pays a return visit to New Orleans. Before long, she is enmeshed in a murder investigation, this one stemming from the death of a local businessman. A tiny doll was left behind at the murder scene, indicating the presence of a strong voodoo influence--but what does the Supernatural have to do with the local turf war between rival supper-club owners which would have otherwise been the main motive for the killing? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1994
In this thriller, an assassin's threats cause a single mother, her son, and the G-man assigned to protect them to embark upon a desperate cross-country flight. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rosanna Arquette, Scott Bakula, (more)
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