Movie » African American Cinema

Array

Array

Array

Spike Lee turns his attention to the high-stakes world of basketball with this charged drama. Jake Shuttlesworth Denzel Washington is serving 15 years for playing a role in the death of his wife. His son Jesus Ray Allen is the best high school basketball player in the country. One week before Jesus must sign a letter of intent to the college of his choice Jake is granted a temporary reprieve. The catch is that the state's governor wants the prodigy to go to his alma mater and is willing to consider commuting Jake's sentence if he can persuade Jesus to go there. When the time comes for Jesus to make a decision both father and son are forced to confront their past and present actions--as a role reversal has taken place during Jake's time in prison that sparks a heated confrontation on the basketball court. Lee's unusual choice to use the music of Aaron Copland an American classical composer for the soundtrack and his concept of pairing it with the national sport of basketball is a contrast that is made even mor

Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence team up for a prison comedy underlined by serious social commentary. Rayford Gibson Murphy an opportunistic con man and Claude Banks Lawrence an ambitious bank teller are complete opposites who cross paths in 1930s Harlem. In order to pay off their debts to a local crime lord the mismatched pair travel into the Deep South on a moonshine delivery only to be framed for murder by a racist Southern cop. Sentenced to life in a Mississippi state prison the bickering duo spend the next 60 years trading barbs and planning their escape at the same time forming an unlikely but touching friendship.

Array

GLORY recounts the bravery of a group of Civil War soldiers often overlooked by history--the 54th Regiment of Massachusetts a troop of free black men who fought to help win liberty for their enslaved brothers. Based on the historical novels ONE GALLANT RUSH by Peter Burchand and LAY THIS LAUREL by Lincoln Kirstein and the letters of Robert Gould Shaw the film follows the youthful Colonel Shaw Matthew Broderick as he takes responsibility for readying these soldiers for battle. Shaw a privileged young Boston Brahman finds the job harder than expected because many of the men balk at taking orders from him. Private Trip Denzel Washington is especially resistant to Shaw's leadership but over time the two come to an understanding as they endure the hardships of the war. On July 18 1863 Shaw volunteers the 54th for the honor of leading the charge against Ft. Wagner a mission that means almost certain death with Trip carrying the regiment's colors into battle. This gritty and realistic vision of the horrors of war is

Array

After an immediate infatuation the titular "jones" blossoms between a once-bitten Chicagoan woman and a slick spoken-word artist they've got to find a way to maintain their relationship. Screened at the Sundance Film Festival.

Array