Poor Boy's Game (2007)

Against George (Danny Glover) and Ruth's (Tonya Lee Williams) wishes, Donnie (Rossif Sutherland) is paroled from prison. Donnie beat down their son, Charles (K.C. Collins), leaving him brain-damaged. The Canadian town they live in is racially divided, and the African-Canadian community takes Donnie's parole as a slap in the face.

Donnie could have been out of jail in three years instead of spending ten, but his temper kept getting him in trouble. He comes home to a dysfunctional family that hasn't changed much in that time. His brother Keith (Greg Bryk) is a hothead who disrespects his wife, Emma (Laura Regan), and his uncle Joe (Stephen McHattie) runs a nightclub that has a policy of not allowing African-Canadians inside. Joe hires Donnie on his security team, and expects that his nephew continues to think the same old way. Donnie has changed, and his manner suggests that he does feel remorse and guilt over his crime.

A professional boxer named Ossie (Flex Alexander), who is a friend of Charles, gets the idea to stage a match with Donnie. He and Donnie had fought in the past, and Ossie sees the fight as a way to even that score, and get revenge for Charles. The African-Canadian community is behind this, but George begins to have second thoughts. Ossie is looking to kill Donnie in the ring. George is eaten up inside over his son, but he's not sure that he wants retribution in that manner. He tries to convice Ossie to cancel the fight, but Ossie refuses. The revenge machine is in motion, and there's no way to stop it. George then decides to train Donnie on how to beat Ossie. "I ain't doing this for you," George tells him. Of course, George's decision to help Donnie is not appreciated, especially by Ruth and Keith.

The film is framed around boxing, but the strong central theme is forgiveness. Both George and Donnie have to go against the grain in order to stop perpetrating the hate, and their paths aren't easy. There are a lot of quiet moments in this movie, where the characters are thinking about the turmoil inside of them, and wrestling with it.

Danny Glover was the abusive husband in The Color Purple (1986). Rossif Sutherland is a half-brother to Kiefer Sutherland. Stephen McHattie is a character actor ("Look What Happened To Rosemary's Baby") who's appeared in many TV and movie productions. Tonya Lee Williams was a cast member on the soap "The Young and The Restless". Flex Alexander was the dad on the sitcom, "One On One".

Dreamgirls (2006)

A trio of singing hopefuls -- Deena (Beyonce Knowles), Effie (Jennifer Hudson) and Lorell (Anika Noni Rose) -- lose a Detroit talent contest, but gain a manager in ambitious car salesman Curtis Taylor Jr. (Jamie Foxx). Their first professional gig is singing backup to soul singer James "Thunder" Early (Eddie Murphy). The singer is managed by Marty (Danny Glover). Early has a wife (Dawnn Lewis, who was a regular on TV's "A Different World"), but he starts a long affair with Lorell. Taylor takes a liking to Effie.

When the Dreamettes get a chance to headline on their own, Taylor changes their name to the Dreams. He also decides that Deena should be lead singer instead of Effie, to make the group more palatable to white audiences. Taylor promises zaftig, outspoken, hot-tempered Effie that it will be temporary, but the change is anything but. Tensions rise, and Effie shows up for rehearsal one day to find that she has been replaced by Michelle (Sharon Leal). Everyone turns in her, including her songwriting brother C.C. (Keith Robinson), but they find out soon enough that the cost of fame is very dear.

Jennifer Hudson was a contestant on the TV competition series "American Idol", where judge Simon Cowell mistakenly dismissed her talent. She steals the movie with her powerhouse vocals, which are evident during the song, "I'm Telling You I'm Not Going". She had big shoes to fill -- Jennifer Holiday did the showstopping tune in the Broadway version -- and she did well. That's not to say that Beyonce half-steps. The former lead of the group Destiny's Child does a nice acting job, and her big number is "Listen", a song written specificially for the film. I always knew Eddie Murphy could do more than be funny, and he channels Wilson Pickett and James Brown nicely for his character. Danny Glover does not have a lot of screen time, but he plays the old school values of his character very well.

The film moves along at fast pace, using racism in the entertainment industry, the turbulence of the 1960's, and the disco era of the 1970's as backdrops. Other familiar faces in the film include: Jameel White, who was the annoying Steve Urkel on the ABC sitcom "Family Matters"; Eddie Mekka, who was Carmine on "Laverne and Shirley"; comedian Bobby Slayton; Hinton Battle, who originated the role of the Scarecrow in the Broadway musical, The Wiz; John Lithgow of "Third Rock From The Sun" and Loretta Devine, who played the Lorell character in the Broadway version of this musical.