Above the Rim 1994  R, 93 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Jeff Pollack
Cast: Duane Martin, Leon, Tupac Shakur, David Dailey, Tonya Pinkins, Marlon Wayans, Bernie Mac, Byron Minns, Shawn Michael Howard, Henry Simmons
Kyle-Lee (Duane Martin) is a high-school basketball star faced with a dilemma: take the easy way out with crime or struggle to make it honestly on his own.
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Boycott 2001  PG, 118 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Clark Johnson
Cast: Jeffrey Wright, Terrence Howard, CCH Pounder, Carmen Ejogo, Reg E. Cathey, Brent Jennings, Shawn Michael Howard, Iris Little Thomas, Walter Franks, Mike Hodge
This is the made-for-TV version of the 1955 event in which an African-American woman, Rosa Parks, sat in the White section of a Montgomery, Alabama bus. This started an extensive black boycott of the busses and fired up the civil rights movement, bringing Martin Luther King's work to the forefront. Jeffrey Wright's portrayal of Martin Luther King is particularly good.
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Next Day Air 2009  R, 90 min.
Genre: Action / Comedy
Director: Benny Boom
Cast: Donald Faison, Mike Epps, Darius McCrary, Mos Def, Wood Harris, Yasmin Deliz, Omari Hardwick, Emilio Rivera, Cisco Reyes, Lauren London, Lobo Sebastian, Malik Barhardt, Debbie Allen, Jo D. Jonz, Shawn Michael Howard
Impaired by his weed smoking, Next Day Air deliveryman Leo (Donald Faison) accidentally delivers 10 kilos of grade-A cocaine to inept criminals Brody (Mike Epps) and Guch (Wood Harris). They plot to sell the cocaine to Brody's cousin Shavoo (Omari Hardwick) who just happens to be a drug dealer. Meanwhile, the intended recipients of the cocaine package, mobster Jesus (Cisco Reyes) and his girlfriend Chita (Yasmin Deliz) start searching for the package before drug lord Bodega (Emilio Rivera) learns that it is missing. Double-crosses and schemes lie ahead in what will culminate in an all-out battle for what amounts to a million dollars in cash and drugs.
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Ritual 2000 N/R, 78 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Stanley Bennett Clay
Cast: Clarence Williams III, Denise Nicholas, Shawn Michael Howard, Angelle Brooks, Gerrie Ellis
To the outside world, the wealthy African-American Beckers are a model family. But all is not right inside the household. Patriarch Leron (Clarence Williams III) was a 1960s' activist before meeting his rich wife Sylvia (Denise Nicholas). She is now an alcoholic and daughter Teresa (Angelle Brooks) performs her mother's duties, doting on her father. Son Mason (Shawn Michael Howard), home from college to "fix" things, dotes on his mother while constantly fighting with his father who does not understand Mason's being gay. When the parents are sent off on vacation, control of the family is on the line as the two siblings duke it out.
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Sunset Park 1996 R, 100 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Steve Gomer
Cast: Rhea Perlman, Fredro Starr, Carol Kane, Terrence Howard, De'aundre Bonds, Talent Harris, Camille Saviola, Anthony Hall, Shawn Michael Howard, Antwon Tanner
Phyllis Saroka (Rhea Perlman) is a physical education teacher at a high school in Brooklyn. To make some extra money, she agrees to take on the job of coaching a team made up of young African Americans who end up teaching their coach almost as much as she teaches them about victories over adversities.
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The Velocity of Gary 1998 R, 100 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Dan Ireland
Cast: Vincent D'Onofrio, Thomas Jane, Salma Hayek, Olivia d'Abo, Chad Lindberg, Lucky Luciano, Shawn Michael Howard, Ethan Hawke, Tzi Ma, Jason Cutler
Valentino (Vincent D'Onofrio) is a well-known porn actor and member of a bisexual triangle. When Valentino discovers that he has contracted AIDS, his lovers–Mary Carmen (Salma Hayek) and Gary (Thomas Jane)–must look at their own lives and make decisions for the future.
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| 1. Above the Rim (1994)
2. Boycott (2001)
3. Next Day Air (2009)
4. Ritual (2000)
5. Sunset Park (1996)
6. The Velocity of Gary (1998)
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