2012 2009  PG-13, 158 min.
Genre: Action / Drama / Thriller
Director: Roland Emmerich
Cast: John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Danny Glover, Amanda Peet, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt, Thomas McCarthy, Woody Harrelson, Zlatko Buric, Beatrice Rosen, Johann Urb, George Segal, Chin Han, Stephen McHattie, Jimi Mistry
According to the Mayan calendar, Earth will come to an end on December 21, 2012. Scientist Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) warns U.S. President Wilson (Danny Glover) that the end of the world is coming. The date arrives, and catastrophes ensue. An earthquake causes Los Angeles to erupt, Las Vegas is demolished, and a volcano destroys Yellowstone National Park. Those disasters are combined with more devastation taking place all over Earth. Meanwhile, Jackson Curtis' (John Cusack) plans to connect with his children at Yellowstone include a harrowing plane ride to Yellowstone where he meets crazy Charlie (Woody Harrelson) who has a map leading to space arks hidden by the government for use if the Mayan prediction proves true.
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 American Gangster 2007   R, 158 min.
Genre: Drama / Thriller
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Josh Brolin, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lymari Nadal, Ted Levine, Roger Guenveur Smith, John Hawkes, RZA, Yul Vazquez, Malcolm Goodwin, Ruby Dee, Armand Assante, Carla Gugino, Cuba Gooding Jr.
Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) takes over the Harlem drug world in 1963 when he sees a big business opportunity: he buys drugs in the Middle East and then manages to use military planes to smuggle the drugs into the United States. Although Frank keeps a low profile, police officer Detective Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) spots him at a boxing match where Frank is wearing a chinchilla coat–given to him by his wife Eva (Lymari Nadal)–and he is sitting in front of Mafia boss Dominic Cattano (Armand Assante). Roberts is an honest cop, but his department is corrupt, and Detective Trupo (Josh Brolin) works to compromise Frank's integrity. Violence erupts in the attempt to pin down Lucas, and during the confrontation between Roberts and Trupo only one will emerge victorious. The film received two Academy Award nominations including Best Supporting Actress (Ruby Dee).
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 Amistad 1997 R, 152 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Morgan Freeman, Anthony Hopkins, Matthew McConaughey, Djimon Hounsou, Nigel Hawthorne, David Paymer, Pete Postlethwaite, Stellan Skarsgard, Anna Paquin, Xander Berkeley, Razaaq Adoti, Tomas Milian, Chiwetel Ejiofor
In 1839, a revolt broke out aboard the Spanish slave ship, Amistad. This is the story of those involved and of the slavery issue that divided the United States at that time in history. Anthony Hopkins was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
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 Children of Men 2006  R, 109 min.
Genre: Sci-Fi / Thriller
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Cast: Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Charlie Hunnam, Danny Huston, Claire-Hope Ashitey, Peter Mullan, Pam Ferris, Michael Caine, Juan Gabriel Yacuzzi, Michelle Hussain, Rob Curling, Jody Halse
The year is 2027, and humans face their own extinction as no child has been born in the last 18 years. But now, a lone pregnant woman, Kee (Claire-Hope Ashitey), is found, and Theodore Faron (Clive Owen) and his ex-wife, Julian Taylor (Julianne Moore), join forces in taking Kee from one safe house to another in an effort to save the unborn child and, perhaps, humanity as well. The film received three Oscar nominations.
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 Dirty Pretty Things 2002  R, 107 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Stephen Frears
Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Audrey Tautou, Sergi Lopez, Sophie Okonedo, Benedict Wong, Zlatko Buric, Kriss Dosanjh, Israel Aduramo, Yemi Ajibade, Nizwar Karanj
Problems faced by illegal immigrants are the focus of this story. Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor) was a Nigerian doctor who now ekes out a living in London working as a cab driver and hotel porter. Then there is his friend, Senay (Audrey Tautou), who is a Turkish illegal immigrant finding survival by offering sexual favors to her sweatshop boss. As if that's not enough, the hotel manager (Sergi Lopez) buys human kidneys from desperate donors, which he sells on the black market. Despite all, Okwe and Senay are survivors.
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Four Brothers 2005  R, 108 min.
Genre: Action / Drama
Director: John Singleton
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, Andre 3000, Garrett Hedlund, Terrence Howard, Josh Charles, Sofia Vergara, Fionnula Flanagan, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Taraji P. Henson, Barry Shabaka Henley, Kenneth Welsh
After their foster mother (Fionnula Flanagan) was killed in a grocery store, grown sons Bobby (Mark Wahlberg), Angel (Tyrese), Jeremiah (Andre 3000), and Jack (Garrett Hedlund) reunite for her funeral and decide to investigate the murder and hunt down the killer themselves.
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 Inside Man 2006 R, 129 min.
Genre: Drama / Thriller
Director: Spike Lee
Cast: Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Christopher Plummer, Willem Dafoe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Carlos Andres Gomez, Kim Director, James Ransone, Bernard Rachelle, Peter Gerety, Victor Colicchio, Cassandra Freeman, Peter Frechette, Gerry Vichi
When a gang led by Dalton Russell (Clive Owen) attempts to rob the Manhattan Trust Bank, NYPD Detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) and his partner, Bill Mitchell (Chiwetel Ejiofor), are sent to negotiate. But, negotiating is not going to be an easy task. First, Frazier and Mitchell must deal with other police officers–Captain Darius (Willem Dafoe) wants to storm the bank. Then, the hostages are forced to dress in jumpsuits and masks like the robbers making it difficult to separate the good guys from the bad guys. As if that were not enough, a bank executive (Christopher Plummer) hires a "fixer," Madeline White (Jodie Foster) to intercede and deal with the robbers. Trouble, trouble, and more troubles ensue.
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Melinda and Melinda 2004 PG-13, 99 min.
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Director: Woody Allen
Cast: Radha Mitchell, Will Ferrell, Chloe Sevigny, Jonny Lee Miller, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Brooke Smith, Zak Orth, Amanda Peet, Wallace Shawn, Larry Pine, Josh Brolin, Daniel Sunjata
As the film skips between the two versions, playwrights Max (Larry Pine) and Sy (Wallace Shawn) take different approaches–one comedy, one tragedy–in telling the story of Melinda (Radha Mitchell) and her efforts to straighten out her life.
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Redbelt 2008 R, 99 min.
Genre: Action / Drama
Director: David Mamet
Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Emily Mortimer, Alice Braga, Joe Mantegna, Rodrigo Santoro, Ricky Jay, David Paymer, Rebecca Pidgeon, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Tim Allen, Randy Couture, John Machado, Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini, Allison Karman, Renato Magno
Jiu-jitsu instructor Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor) believes that "competition is weakening" and has chosen to stay out of the ring and, instead, teach self-defense at his gym. Mike and his wife Sondra (Alice Braga) are struggling to make ends meet when, one night, a distraught lawyer (Emily Mortimer) fires a gun that destroys Mike's storefront window. This sets off a chain of events. Mike really needs money now, and his life changes dramatically. He meets promoters Jerry Weiss (Joe Mantegna) and Marty Brown (Ricky Jay) and action star Chet Frank (Tim Allen), and Mike finally agrees to fight in the ring to get the money he needs to pay off his debts.
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 Serenity 2005 PG-13, 119 min.
Genre: Action / Sci-Fi / Adventure / Thriller
Director: Joss Whedon
Cast: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite, Sean Maher, Summer Glau, Ron Glass, Chiwetel Ejiofor, David Krumholtz, Michael Hitchcock, Sarah Paulson, Yan Feldman, Rafael Feldman
The time is 500 years in the future when Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) and the crew of his space ship, Serenity, take on passengers–including a brother and sister, Simon and River Tam (Sean Maher and Summer Glau). Because River is telepathic and knows secrets that the Alliance–the powerful group that controls the galaxy–does not want known, she is pursued across the universe by a government assassin who will stop at nothing to get River.
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Slow Burn 2007 R, 93 min.
Genre: Drama / Thriller
Director: Wayne Beach
Cast: Ray Liotta, LL Cool J, Mekhi Phifer, Jolene Blalock, Guy Torry, Taye Diggs, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Bruce McGill, Frank Schorpion, Donny Falsetti, Barbara Alexander, Joe Grifasi, Richard Jutras, Arthur Holden, Fisher Stevens
District Attorney Ford Cole (Ray Liotta) has plans to run for mayor when he learns that his assistant D.A. and lover Nora Timmer (Jolene Blalock) has been arrested for killing a record store employee (Mekhi Phifer). Nora claims self-defense, but Cole's bid for mayor is in jeopardy. Then a stranger Luther Pinks (LL Cool J) presents another version of Nora's story. Other suspects rise to the fore, and the complex web of deceit continues.
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Talk to Me 2007 R, 118 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Kasi Lemmons
Cast: Don Cheadle, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cedric the Entertainer, Mike Epps, Martin Sheen, Taraji P. Henson, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Peter MacNeill, Adam Gaudreau, J. Miles Dale, Sean MacMahon, Richard Chevolleau, Martin Randez, Todd Schroeder, Bruce McFee
Based on the true life story of Ralph Waldo "Petey" Green Jr., this story really begins when ex-con Petey Green (Don Cheadle) lands a job as the morning host on the WOL-AM radio station in Washington, D.C., during the 1960s. Petey forms a friendship with program director Dewey Hughes (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who had offered him the job while visiting his own brother (Mike Epps) at Petey's prison. Dewey runs interference for Petey when dealing with station owner E.G. Sonderling (Martin Sheen) who is often dismayed by Petey's anti-establishment comments. But Petey plays a key role instilling hope in a generation of listeners as he addresses the Black community during the turbulence of the anti-Vietnam War and pro-Civil Rights era.
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| 1. 2012 (2009)
2. American Gangster (2007)
3. Amistad (1997)
4. Children of Men (2006)
5. Dirty Pretty Things (2002)
6. Four Brothers (2005)
7. Inside Man (2006)
8. Melinda and Melinda (2004)
9. Redbelt (2008)
10. Serenity (2005)
11. Slow Burn (2007)
12. Talk to Me (2007)
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