Glynn Turman Movies

Writer/director J.J. Abrams teams with producer Steven Spielberg for this period sci-fi thriller set in the late '70s, and centering on a mysterious train crash in a small Ohio town. Summer, 1979: a group of young friends are filming a Super-8 movie when a pickup truck derails a speeding train. When the locals start to disappear and even the inquisitive deputy can't come up with answers, suspicions emerge that the incident was anything but an accident. As the truth finally begins emerge, no one is prepared to learn what now stalks the unsuspecting citizens of this once quiet community. Kyle Chandler and Elle Fanning star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A Los Angeles detective races to bust a group of notorious thieves before they can carry out a 20-million-dollar heist in this crime thriller from director/co-screenwriter John Luessenhop and writing partner Avery Duff. Their heists are planned to perfection, and they never leave behind a shred of evidence. But when greed gets the best of the gang and they agree to one last job, one seasoned detective (Matt Dillon) vows to put them behind bars for good. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

David Simon's masterful social commentary went back to school, quite literally, in the fourth season, which focuses on Baltimore's crumbling education system. A relevant link to its first three seasons is supplied by Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski (Jim True-Frost), who left the police department to become a teacher at Edward Tilghman Middle School, a hardscrabble institution on life support that services a low-income, drug-infested neighborhood. (Incidentally, Prez's career path is similar to one of the series' producers, Ed Burns). His eighth-grade math class includes a close-knit quartet of friends -- Randy Wagstaff (Maestro Harrell), Michael Lee (Tristan Wilds), Duquan "Dukie" Weems (Jermaine Crawford) and Namond Brice (Julito McCullum). The wisecracking Brice is ignominiously selected to be part of a university experiment studying at-risk kids, which counts a former police commander, Bunny Colvin (Robert Wisdom), as a consultant. Out on the corners, Marlo Stanfield (Jamie Hector) strengthens his grip on the city's West Side narcotics trade once dominated by the Barksdale gang, and with his cold-blooded lieutenants, Chris (Gbenga Akinnagbe) and Snoop (Felicia Pearson), devises an ingenious method to hide the collateral damage of his ascent from the law. This sleight-of-hand bedevils detectives Freamon (Clarke Peters), Greggs (Sonja Sohn) and Bunk (Wendell Pierce). The trio are flummoxed by the lack of victims that would surely coincide with Marlo's ever-widening domain, a savage power grab that also threatens the relative peace of the New Day Co-Op under East Side pooh-bah Proposition Joe (Robert F. Chew). Meanwhile, the Democratic primary in the city's mayoral campaign pits the entrenched African-American incumbent, Clarence Royce (Glynn Turman), against Councilman Tommy Carcetti (Aidan Gillen), a scrappy politico with a savvy campaign manager in Norman Wilson (Reg E. Cathey), but a long shot to become Charm City's first white chief executive in years. ~ Joe Friedrich, Rovi

Matthew McConaughey stars as explorer and adventurer Dirk Pitt in this adaptation of the best-selling novel by Clive Cussler. Pitt thinks he may have found both a fortune and the answer to a long-standing mystery when he discovers a rare coin in the waters of a river in West Africa. During the Civil War, an ironclad battleship with a valuable cargo went missing, and Pitt's theory is that the coin places the ship somewhere in the Sahara Desert. Pitt and his goofy sidekick, Al Giordino (Steve Zahn), set out to find it, but along the way they make the acquaintance of Dr. Eva Rojas (Penélope Cruz), a scientist and physician who is trying to determine the source of a strange and deadly disease sweeping the nation. As Eva joins Dirk and Al, they begin to wonder if the mysteries they're trying to uncover might be somehow linked. Sahara was only the second of Cussler's Dirk Pitt adventures to be adapted for the screen; the first, 1980's Raise the Titanic, was publicly dismissed by the author. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

While many celebrities believe their fame gives them good luck with the opposite gender, one man with a successful television career discovers fame is spoiling his chances with the woman he loves in the made-for-TV romantic drama. Holly Aimes (Lark Voorhies) is the daughter of a prominent politician (Glynn Turman), and recently broke off her engagement with a well-known actor. Holly has spent most of her life in the spotlight, and wants nothing more than to be left alone without the glare of public scrutiny. When Holly meets talk show host Michael Williams (Kadeem Hardison), he's soon convinced that she's the woman with whom he wants to share his life, but can he convince her of his sincerity so she will brave another high-profile romance? Based on the popular romance novel by Carla Fredd, Fire and Ice also features Tempestt Bledsoe and Freda Payne. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This military drama is based on the true story of Carl Brashear, who was the first African-American to serve as a diver in the United States Navy. Brashear (played by Cuba Gooding Jr.) was born to a poor farming family in the deep South, and joined the Navy in hopes of bettering himself. When Brashear applies for diving school, he first encounters Master Chief Billy Sunday (Robert De Niro), a gruff and tyrannical diving instructor who holds absolute sway over his charges. Sunday does little at first to encourage Brashear's ambitions, and the would-be diver discovers racism in the military is an ugly fact of life when his white comrades refuse to share barracks with him. But Brashear's courage and determination make an impression on Sunday, and the two men become allies as Brashear must fight prejudice, military bureaucracy, and even a crippling injury in order to realize his dreams. Originally announced under the title Navy Diver, Men of Honor also features Hal Holbrook, David Keith, Michael Rapaport, Charlize Theron, and Powers Boothe; Bill Cosby served as an executive producer for the project. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A lengthy spell of calm weather may cost professional stormchaser Calvin (Randall Batinkoff) his job with the National Severe Storm Labs. Then, almost miraculously, Calvin's territory is struck by a series of devastating tornadoes. Trouble is, the locals are blaming God for all the destruction, meaning that Tess (Della Reese) is going to have to work overtime to defend her Boss. At the same time, Monica (Roma Downey) hopes to persuade Calvin to stop allowing anger and selfishness to govern his life--but it is a lost child in the center of a violent storm that ultimately puts Calvin on the right track. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Terry McMillan and Ron Bass wrote this screenplay based on McMillan's semi-autobiographical best-selling novel (over 2,000,000 copies in print before the release of this film). San Francisco stockbroker Stella (Angela Bassett), a 40-year-old divorcee, has a nice Marin County home and an 11-year-old son, Quincy (Michael J. Pagan). With Quincy off to see his dad, Stella and her best friend Delilah (Whoopi Goldberg) vacation in Jamaica, where she meets sexy, good-looking Winston Shakespeare (Taye Diggs). He's the man of her dreams in every way except one -- he's half her age. Even so, a romance develops. Grammy Award-winning songwriters Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis supervised the film's music and produced the R&B-slanted soundtrack album. Shown at the 1998 Urbanworld Film Festival (NY). ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Charming comedy about a 16-year-old boy coming of age on Martha's Vineyard in the summer of 1976. ~ Nicole Gagne, Rovi

Dean Davenport (Jenifer Lewis) assigns her students to write a hypothetical conversation between Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Unfortunately, Terrell (Patrick Y. Malone) lowers the level of the assignment several degrees when, as a result of a previous run-in with a gang of punks, he brings a gun to class--and is nearly expelled on the spot. Elsewhere, Kim (Charnele Brown) hesitates at accepting Spencer's (Michael Ralph) marriage proposal (even though we've already seen her accept in an earlier episode). This final network telecast of A Different World was originally scheduled to air in February of 1993, then reshuffled to June and finally July. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Freddie (Cree Summer) is visited by a man (Victor Love) identifying himself as her prison pen-pal Jamal. Finding out that Jamal desperately needs a job, Ron (Darryl M. Bell) turns over his janitorial duties to him--an act of generosity both Ron and Dwayne (Kadeem Hardison) regret when Whitley (Jasmine Guy) falls for the former convict. As it turns out, Jamal is a fraud in more ways than one...but this does not in any way, shape or form result in a reunion between Dwayne and Whitley. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Season five of A Different World finds sweethearts (and recent college grads) Whitley (Jasmine Guy) and Dwayne (Kadeem Hardison) resuming their romance; Whitley's pal Jaleesa (Dawnn Lewis) surprising one and all by eloping with hard-nosed calculus professor Col. Clayton Taylor (Glynn Turnan); and the off-and-on relationship between Ron (Darryl M. Bell) and Freddie (Cree Summer) back in "on" mode, with Ron actually evincing signs of growing up and accepting responsibility by heading a band called X-Pression. New to the cast is Jada Pinkett as streetwise freshman Lena James, who, thanks to a computer glitch, ends up staying in Whitley's extra bedroom. Lena later gets in trouble for her flagrant disregard of dorm rules; after setting fire to her room in an effort to cook dinner, Lena is forced to pay damages by the new dorm director -- none other than Whitley. This enables Lou Myers to make several amusing appearances as Vernon Gaines, chef at the local hamburger joint where Lena has landed a job in order to make money in a hurry. Ultimately, Lena is reinstated at the dorm, with fellow freshman Gina Devereaux (Ajai Sanders) as her roommate. Meanwhile, grad student Dwayne is teaching classes at Hillman college, with Whitley's former roomie Kim as his assistant. Feeling emboldened by his new status and a regular paycheck, Dwayne finally proposes to Whitley, and she accepts -- only to take back her "yes" when it appears that Dwayne has been unfaithful to her. It is at this point that Joe Morton joins the cast as Hillside alumnus Senator Byron Douglas III, who launches his own crusade to make Whitley his wife. Season five ends as Whitley prepares to march down the altar with Byron -- whereupon Dwayne appears, setting the stage for a gentle revision of the finale of the 1967 film The Graduate. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi