The best Tatyana Ali’s drama movies
On January 24, 1979, Tatyana Marisol Ali was born to Sonia, who was a nurse from Panama, and Sheriff Ali, a retired police officer from Trinidad. At the age of four she started singing and got a taste of fame when she begged her mother to take her to an audition for Sesame Street (1969).
She went on to perform in many productions in her native city, New York, including the Broadway show "Fences"--with James Earl Jones and, later, Billy Dee Williams--and the off-Broadway show "Orfeo del Campo". When she was seven she appeared on Star Search (1983) and won twice, receiving a four-star rating when she appeared for a second time. At age 11 Tatyana moved from New York to Los Angeles to establish her career and not long afterwords got her breakthrough role--Will Smith's cousin, "Ashley Banks", from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990).
While filming "The Fresh Prince" she also had interesting side projects, including guest roles in television shows such as The Cosby Show (1984), The All New Mickey Mouse Club (1989) (aka "The Mickey Mouse Club"), Kyno's Storytime (1992), Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1990) and Foster's Field Trip (1994).
Kiss the Girls
6.6/10
Forensic psychologist Alex Cross travels to North Carolina and teams with escaped kidnap victim Kate McTiernan to hunt down "Casanova," a serial killer who abducts strong-willed women and forces them to submit to his demands. The trail leads to Los Angeles, where the duo discovers that the psychopath may not be working alone.
Glory Road
7.2/10
In 1966, Texas Western coach Don Haskins led the first all-black starting line-up for a college basketball team to the NCAA national championship.
Brother
7.1/10
A Japanese Yakuza gangster’s deadly existence in his homeland gets him exiled to Los Angeles, where he is taken in by his little brother and his brother’s gang.
Mother and Child
7.2/10
The lives of three women have a commonality: adoption. Karen is a physical therapist who regrets that, as a teenager, she gave up her daughter for adoption. Elizabeth was an adopted child and is now a successful lawyer, but her personal life lacks warmth. Lucy and her husband have failed to conceive and now hope to adopt a baby to make their family complete.
The Brothers
6.3/10
This is the story of four African-American "yuppies" (a banker, a doctor, a lawyer, and a "playboy") who call themselves "The Brothers". When the playboy gets engaged, the other three friends find themselves having to come to terms with their own issues of commitment and honesty...
Back in the Day
4.4/10
A young man slides back into a life of crime after reuniting with a shady acquaintance from his past.
Christmas Everlasting
6.3/10
Christmas is fast approaching and years of long workdays employed at New York’s top corporate law firm are about to pay off now that Lucy Toomey will be made partner after the New Year. However, when Alice, her older sister with special needs, unexpectedly passes away, Lucy returns back to Nilson’s Bay, Wis., to attend the funeral and handle her estate. While Lucy dreads returning to her childhood home, she also feels real sorrow that she was too busy to take her sister’s last call. Once back in Nilson’s Bay, Lucy meets Peter, her old high school sweetheart and Alice’s former attorney, who informs her of the terms of Alice’s eccentric will that states in order for Lucy to inherit the family home, she must live there for 30 days through the holidays.
Nora's Hair Salon
4.4/10
Jennifer Lewis plays Nora, a young woman who runs a hair salon full of sassy, eclectic stylists.
The Reason
6/10
The film, based on the William Sirls book, follows a small-town pastor, his wife and their sick child as a mysterious man is sent to give them hope. Sirls adapted his book for the screen, writing the screenplay with Aviv Rubinstein and Richard Clark Jr.
Locker 13
4.8/10
The story of Skip, a young ex-convict who takes a position as a night janitor at an old-west theme park. His supervisor Archie, teaches him the ropes, but more importantly attempts to convey critical philosophical messages through a series of four stories: a down and out boxer is given the opportunity to become a real golden gloves killer; an assassin kidnaps three people in order to find out who hired him for his latest hit; a new recruit is initiated into a lodge of fez-wearing businessmen where hazing can take a malevolent turn; and a member of a suicide club introduces real fear into a man about to jump to his death.
Comeback Dad
5.9/10
A man tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter.
Jingle Belle
5.9/10
Every year, Isabelle (Tatyana Ali) and her high school sweetheart Mike (Cornelius Smith Jr.), rocked their small town’s annual Christmas Eve Pageant with a sweet Christmas duet. But after graduation, Isabelle left to study at Juillard in New York – leaving Mike behind. Years later, when Isabelle returns to her hometown to write music for the annual Christmas Eve Pageant, she is shocked to learn that Mike is the one directing the show. Can Isabelle and Mike put the past behind them and reunite on stage for another show-stopping duet?
Home Again
6.5/10
Returning to a "home" they hardly know after being deported from their adopted countries for minor criminal offenses, three people from very different backgrounds try to make a new life for themselves, in Jamaica in this gutsy drama from writer-director Sudz Sutherland. (TIFF)
24 Hour Love
3.4/10
The greatest feeling in the world is when you learn to love! Follow the stories of seven everyday people as they experience laughter, life and matters of the heart. The all-star cast (Malinda Williams, Tatyana Ali, Keith Robinson, Lynn Whitfield and Darius McCrary) will take you through the good, the bad and the ugly of the many faces of love. Fall head over heels for this fresh, honest look at relationships and see what a difference a day makes.
