Roscoe Lee Browne Movies

Whitley (Jasmine Guy) tries to be tolerant of her roommate Kim's all-consuming romance with new boyfriend Robert (Brian Wesley Thomas), but her patience comes to an abrupt end when Kim (Charnele Brown) locks her out of her own room. Meanwhile, Freddie (Cree Summer) turns into a merciless tyrant when assigned to edit the campus poetry magazine. The episode's highlight finds several of the male regulars doing takeoffs of series producer Bill Cosby. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

To improve her grades so that she can keep her engineering scholarship, Lena (Jada Pinkett) writes a florid "biographical" essay, heavily fictionalizing the accomplishments of her father Grover James (Ron Canada). Certain that no one will ever learn the real story, Lena is terror-stricken when dear old Dad shows up to watch her win a journalism award. Meanwhile, Whitley (Jasmine Guy) takes a crash course in politics in hopes of helping Byron (Joe Morton) win the senatorial election. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Problems on the job manifest themselves in a huge backache for Archie Bunker. Landing in the hospital, he strikes up a warm friendship with his roommate, who is separated from Archie by a transom. Unbeknownst to him, Archie's unseen new friend is a black man. Roscoe Lee Browne guest stars as Mr. Duval. Scripted by Don Nicholl from a story by Stanley Ralph Ross and Martin Cohan, "Archie Goes to the Hospital" first aired on January 6, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A young pig fights convention to become a sheep dog -- or, rather, sheep pig -- in this charming Australian family film, which became an unexpected international success due to superior special effects and an intelligent script. The title refers to the name bestowed on a piglet soon after his separation from his family, when he finds himself on a strange farm. Confused and sad, Babe is adopted by a friendly dog and slowly adjusts to his new home. Discovering that the fate of most pigs is the dinner table, Babe devotes himself to becoming a useful member of the farm by trying to learn how to herd sheep, despite the skepticism of the other animals and the kindly but conventional Farmer Hoggett (James Cromwell). Because technically impeccable animatronics and computer graphics allow the farm animals to converse easily among themselves, first-time director Chris Noonan can treat the film's menagerie as actual characters, playing scene not for cuteness but for real emotions. The result is often surprisingly touching, with Noonan and George Miller's script, based on Dick King-Smith's children's book and, indirectly, a true story, seamlessly combining gentle whimsy and sincere feeling. These same qualities are embodied by in Cromwell's beautifully understated performance as Farmer Hoggett, which anchors the film. Despite its unlikely premise and low profile, Babe's inspirational story was embraced by audiences and critics, and the movie became an international sleeper that won an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. It was followed in 1999 by the less successful Babe: Pig in the City. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

This rental contains both Babe and Babe: Pig in the City

Black Like Me is the true story of white journalist John Howard Griffin, who "became" a Negro in the late 1950s. Feeling that the best way to understand what it was like to be black in a segregated south was to experience the feeling first-hand, Griffin (James Whitmore) undergoes extensive-and sometimes painful-skin pigmentation treatments. Though he tends to look more like Al Jolson or Eddie Cantor rather than African American, Whitmore does a creditable job playing a proud man forced into subservience by an unfeeling white society. Unfortunately, the film falls prey to stylistic affectations, notably an overabundance of confusing flashbacks. Though dating and occasionally patronizing, Black Like Me is still a worthwhile effort. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This provocative documentary, filmed in black and white, and color, examines the allegations surrounding the black leader's demise in 1965. It focuses on Malcolm's political situation prior to the killing with a special emphasis upon the coalition he and Martin Luther King were trying to form. This new coalition, which had King helming the southern efforts and Malcolm organizing the north, was apparently infiltrated with by numerous undercover policeman and FBI agents with orders to keep it from coming together. Though the film leaves viewers with many unanswered questions, it is thought provoking. Included is archival footage. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This was one of the highest-rated of the Columbo 2-hour TV movies of the 1990s. The story begins as Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) solemnly attends his wife's funeral. Mrs. C. was poisoned, and the murderer is guest star Helen Shaver. When her husband died in prison, Shaver swore revenge on the three men responsible for his incarceration. She kills the first two men outright, but when she levels her sights at Columbo, Shaver decides to make the detective "feel her pain" through the loss of a loved one. A twist ending caps this intriguing entry. Rest in Peace, Mrs. Columbo was first presented March 31, 1990, as part of ABC's Saturday Mystery Movie anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Carol (Julianna Margulies) tells Greene (Anthony Edwards) that she is pregnant, and offers some encouraging words to schizophrenic new mother Coco (Sheila Kelley). Jeanie (Gloria Reuben) finds her faith renewed as she cares for Rev. Matthew Lynn (Roscoe Lee Browne). Lucy (Kellie Martin) discovers that her young patient has been overmedicated. Carter (Noah Wyle) mentors a teenager named Antoine Bell (Corey Parker Robinson). And Romano (Paul McCrane) forces Benton (Eriq La Salle) into a crucial decision. There are a few light-hearted moments in this episode -- before everything is literally plunged into darkness. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Scary Movie screenwriters Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer join forces to parody the "biggest" movies ever to hit the silver screen in this comedy that gives such popular box-office hits as Pirates of the Caribbean and Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe the same treatment that Scary Movie gave to the slasher subgenre. A virtual smorgasbord of spoof, Epic Movie tells the tale of four fully grown orphans: one the victim of snakes that attacked her plane, another raised by a kindly Louvre curator, the third a Mexican "libre" wrestling refuge, and the last an average mutant from an "X"-community. When the curious quartet visits a sprawling chocolate factory, they stumble across a magical wardrobe which transports them to the enchanted land of Gnarnia. It seems that the wondrous fantasy land has recently fallen under the spell of the evil White Bitch (Jennifer Coolidge), and in order to bring peace back to Gnarnia these four bumbling mortals will have to join forces with a charismatic pirate, a painfully sincere group of aspiring wizards, and one particularly libidinous lion. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

When avaricious land developers threaten the pristine forest playground of local children, a mythical spirit appears to help them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Roscoe Lee Browne guest stars as an old army buddy of James Evans (John Amos). Now a flamboyantly successful TV minister, "Reverend" Sam offers James a job in his organization -- at the incredibly high per diem salary of 100 dollars. Will James sell his soul once he realizes what Florida (Esther Rolle) already knows: that the Reverend Sam is really a high-pressure scam artist? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Campbell Scott is both star and co-director of this elaborate (albeit economically produced) four-hour TV version of Shakespeare's immortal tragedy Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. The film is based on Scott's earlier theatrical production of the same play, with several of the same actors repeating their same roles. Updated to 1900 New York, the text remains substantially the same as it has always been: Hamlet (Scott), the "melancholy" Danish prince, discovers to his horror that his late father, the King, was murdered by his brother (and Hamlet's uncle) Claudius (Jamey Sheridan), who upon ascending to the throne, added insult to injury by wedding Hamlet's mother, Gertrude (Blair Brown). Though his desire for revenge is strong, Hamlet does not want any more bloodshed, and concocts an elaborate scheme to "catch the conscience" of Claudius and force him into a confession. Part of this scheme involves Hamlet's feigned descent into madness -- which, as interpreted by Scott, may not be as "feigned" as he thinks it is. Caught in the middle of this intrigue is Hamlet's lady love, Ophelia (Lisa Gay Hamilton), daughter of Claudius' chief consul, Polonius (played in the manner of a protocol-conscious Victorian diplomat by Roscoe Lee Browne). Some of the choices made by Scott in adapting Hamlet to the screen -- the turn-of-the-century setting; the utilization of black actors in the roles of Polonius, Ophelia, and Laertes (who is played by Roger Guenveur Smith); the casting of Byron Jennings to play both the Ghost of Hamlet's father and the Player King, who pretends to be the father -- were applauded by the critics. Other innovations, notably the use of slow jazz music throughout the action, and Hamlet's violent treatment of poor Ophelia during the "Get thee to a nunnery" scene, were not so enthusiastically received. Whatever the case, Scott does a remarkable job with a tiny budget and a slim 29-day shooting schedule. In addition to the actors' lilting interpretation of the Shakespearean dialogue and soliloquies, the film boasts a truly exciting climactic duel, shot in long takes without the use of stunt doubles. Initially produced for a theatrical release, this Hamlet made its American debut as a cable TV miniseries on the Odyssey Channel, beginning December 10, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide