Damon Whitaker Movies
The crime film The Champagne Game follows the exploits of a group of female criminals who use their smarts and their sex appeal to pull off a series of heists that help fund their lavish lifestyle. As the authorities begin to close in on the women, they need to trust each other to survive. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Suri Serano, Candise Lakota, (more)
When a powerful drug dealer is left wheelchair-bound by a bullet and his father is murdered by a vigilante detective, he is forced to choose between revenge and redemption in a gritty urban drama from director Daniel Zirilli. Hector Pinero (Danny Venegas) was the king of the streets before a heated gun battle left him without the use of his legs. To make matters even worse, Hector soon discovers that psychotic Detective Derose (Damon Whitaker) has taken the law into his own hands and killed Hector's father in cold blood. After tracking the renegade lawman down and engaging him in an intense firefight, Hector is thrown in prison on an "attempted murder" charge. When the day of his parole finally arrives, Hector is forced to choose between risking it all to settle the score, or simply walking away from the violence in search of a better life. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
In this film based on a true story, a Latino hit man has a near death experience that changes his views on life. He quits the business and vows never to kill again until his own daughter is killed by her jealous boyfriend. He follows the killer to Mexico for the one last job that he has to take. ~ Cammila Albertson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Danny Romo, Raul Julia, Jr., (more)
A very special student deals with exams, first love, and national security issues in this teen-oriented romantic comedy-drama. Samantha MacKenzie (Katie Holmes) is a seemingly ordinary college freshman with one important exception -- her father happens to be the President of the United States (Michael Keaton). Samantha, however, would prefer to be as inconspicuous as possible as she begins her studies at Redmond University, so she asks a favor of her father -- remove the two Secret Service agents who follow her everywhere, and allow her to fend for herself at school. The president agrees, but out of concern for her safety, he sends in a young undercover agent, James (Marc Blucas), who will pose as the Resident Advisor at her dorm to keep an eye on her. Samantha and James strike up a fast friendship that grows into a romance, but when Samantha discovers the truth about James, she wonders if his love for her is real or just part of his cover. First Daughter was directed by actor-turned-director Forest Whitaker. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Katie Holmes, Marc Blucas, (more)
- 1995
Sex, drugs, lies and betrayal form the basis of this gritty crime thriller that centers on two white guys, Pooch and Big Boy, lifelong friends who decide they want a piece of the local drug trade action in their old neighborhood. They end up being distracted by aspiring-model and pathological-liar Eva, who involves them in an increasingly kinky menage-a-trois that results in jealousy between the friends. Still the two, with the help of their pal Juanito, are getting close to having total control and will be able to make a proposition to the mob behind it all. Unbeknownst to the others, Pooch is working as a spy for the police, but toward the end, he is undecided about whether he should help them, or help himself. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
A teacher belatedly discovers just how important his job really is in this emotional drama. Glenn Holland (Richard Dreyfuss) is a man with a deep love of music and a desire to write at least one piece of lasting significance. However, playing piano in cocktail lounges while he works on his own compositions doesn't pay the bills, so in 1965 he reluctantly accepts a job as a high school music teacher. Over the next 30 years, Holland is able to teach a great deal about both music and life to thousands of kids who pass through the various classes he leads and school bands he directs; however, he finds it easier to reach his students than his son Cole (played, as he grows older, by Nicholas John Renner, Joseph Anderson, and Anthony Natale), who is deaf, which drives a wedge between Glenn and his wife Iris (Glenne Headly). Richard Dreyfuss earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Actor for Mr. Holland's Opus; the cast also includes Olympia Dukakis, William H. Macy, and Jay Thomas. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, Glenne Headly, (more)
- 1989
After accidentally causing extensive--and expensive--damage to Mr. Gaines' car, Whitley (Jasmine Guy) is too frightened to ask her father for the money to repair the vehicle. Thus, she ends up working for Gaines (Lou Myers) at the Pit, proving to be very bad at basic kitchen skills but very good with moneymaking ideas for the establishment--and making "star employee" Kim (Charnele Brown) jealous in the process. Meanwhile, Ron (Darryl M. Bell) suffers the consequences of getting a free haircut from a fellow student. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Forest Whitaker stars as the brilliant jazz saxophonist Charlie "Bird" Parker in this elegiac biopic. Director Clint Eastwood pays full homage to Parker's musical genius, but also devotes ample time to the musician's twin demons--drugs and alcohol-which accelerated his death at the age of 34. In his struggles to gain widespread acceptance for his music, "Bird" is forever stymied by his own self-destructiveness, and forever bailed out by the love of his life, Chan Richardson Parker (Diane Venora). The film bemoans the decline of the brand of jazz fathered by Parker, which came to be replaced by more conventional material -- as illustrated by the "descent" into the mainstream of Parker's mentor Buster Franklin. Also starring in Bird is Samuel E. Wright as Dizzy Gillespie. That's the real Charlie "Bird" Parker on the film's soundtrack, though most of the background music has been re-orchestrated. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Forest Whitaker, Diane Venora, (more)
