Caroline Dhavernas Movies

A man (Academy Award winner Adrien Brody) fights to survive in the wilderness after regaining consciousness in a badly damaged car at the bottom of a mountain ditch with no memory of who he is, or how he got there. Later, after freeing himself from the wreckage, the desperate survivor struggles against the elements and hungry predators, and makes a shocking discovery about his criminal past. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A woman approaching middle age yet still childless decides to get pregnant by artificial insemination, only to discover that the donor she chose may not be the father of her child in this comedy starring Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman. Wally Mars (Bateman) is a dyed-in-the-wool pessimist. Hopelessly neurotic and unrepentantly narcissistic, he gets no joy out of life except for the time he spends with his best friend Kassie (Jennifer Aniston). However, despite the fact that Wally pines to be more than just friends with Kassie, she isn't convinced they'd make a good couple. When Kassie announces to Wally that she's found the perfect sperm donor, he's crestfallen; as far as he's concerned, the ideal candidate is standing right in front of her. Later, Kassie selects handsome stranger Roland (Patrick Wilson) to provide the seed. Things get complicated when Kassie's best friend Debbie (Juliette Lewis) throws an "insemination party" to commemorate the big event, and Wally intercepts Roland's special delivery, drunkenly replacing it with his own before blacking out. Pregnant and content, Kassie leaves the city for Minnesota, where she gives birth to a healthy baby boy. Flash-forward seven years, and Kassie returns to New York with her son, Sebastian (Thomas Robinson), who shares an uncanny number of physical and psychological traits with embittered bachelor Wally. Before long Wally and Sebastian have become good friends, and Wally becomes convinced that the boy is his biological son. His ideal family is finally within reach, and if he can just figure out a means of breaking the news to Kassie gently, perhaps she'll find it in her heart to forgive him, and recognize that he'll make the perfect father for Sebastian. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Mambo Italiano director Émile Gaudreault takes the helm for this Montréal-set comedy drama pondering the unique relationships shared between mothers and daughters. As Clara's mother lay dying, she mournfully voices her regret for never taking the time to truly connect with her daughter. Emotionally shattered by this revelation, Clara vows that she will direct all of her energy into bonding with her twenty-one year old daughter Bianca. But sometimes when we probe to deeply into the lives of loved ones we find things that are unexpected and shocking. When Clara realizes just how little she really knows about Bianca, coping with the unsavory truth about her little girl proves more difficult than she ever anticipated. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The mysterious and unexpected death of an iconic Hollywood star may be just the tip of an iceberg of scandal in this showbiz drama based on a true story. George Reeves (played by Ben Affleck) was a journeyman actor who had played a small role in Gone With the Wind and appeared onscreen with the likes of James Cagney, Rita Hayworth, and Marlene Dietrich, but his career was not exactly booming when he was cast as comic-book hero Superman in a 1951 B-movie, Superman and the Mole Men. A year later, the producers of the movie launched a syndicated Superman television series with Reeves returning as "The Man of Steel." The show became a major hit, and Reeves was a star at last. However, on June 16, 1959, to the shock of many, Reeves was found dead of a gunshot wound. Police soon declared Reeves' death a suicide and closed the case, but his mother (Lois Smith) refused to believe her son took his own life, and hired Louis Simo (Adrien Brody), a private detective, to find out the truth about her son's passing. Simo found that many Hollywood insiders did not care to cooperate as he researched the Reeves case, but his digging uncovered plenty of evidence suggesting the actor did not take his own life, and he also revealed one of Reeves' deepest secrets -- while he was engaged to marry a pretty young starlet, Leonore Lemmon (Robin Tunney), Reeves was also carrying on an affair with the beautiful Toni Mannix (Diane Lane), the wife of Eddie Mannix (Bob Hoskins), a powerful and ill-tempered executive at MGM. While the producers of Hollywoodland based their story on factual accounts of the investigation into the death of George Reeves, they were denied permission to use the Superman logo and the familiar introduction to the Adventures of Superman television show by the respective copyright holders. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A winning game show contestant falls prey to an opportunistic actress who seeks to deceive him by seduction, and take him for all he's worth. Jalil has just won big on "Mr. Average," Germany's most popular game show. When a beautiful woman named Claire walks into his life shortly thereafter, Jalil falls hopelessly in love. But what Jalil doesn't know could break his heart: Claire is an actress playing a role, and Jalil is her ticket to the big time. But the deeper Claire sinks into her role, the more difficult it becomes to maintain her performance. The greater the lie grows, the more confused Claire becomes about her true feelings and convictions. Will Claire discover her conscience in time to realize that true love is actually within reach, or is it too late to tell Jalil the truth and finally make amends for her cruel act of deception? ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Launched in March 2004 as a mid-season replacement, this supernatural comedy drama suffered a death as quick as its premise was quirky. Thanks in part to a punishing Friday-night time slot, Wonderfalls managed only four episodes before Fox pulled the plug. Less than a year later, however, the offbeat series found new life on DVD, where all 13 completed installments were released to brisk sales and critical acclaim (see Wonderfalls -- The Complete Series). The brainchild of veteran director Todd Holland (Twin Peaks, My So-Called Life) and Dead Like Me creator Bryan Fuller, Wonderfalls chronicles the misadventures of Jaye Tyler (Caroline Dhavernas), a Niagara Falls, NY gift-shop employee whose snarky world view gets shaken up when inanimate objects -- a wax lion, a stuffed chameleon -- begin ordering her around. Convinced she's cracking up, Jaye nevertheless follows the animals' instructions and unwittingly helps a broad range of unusual characters: an elementary-school Romeo, a stuttering stalker, a faithless nun, a mysterious housekeeper, etc. Her partners in crime on these assignments include sardonic pal Mahandra (Tracie Thoms), buttoned-up lesbian sister Sharon (Kate Finneran), and overeducated, underachieving brother Aaron (Lee Pace). Though unaware of their daughter's peculiar conversations with stuffed animals, Jaye's stuffy parents Karen (Diana Scarwid) and Darrin (William Sadler) also figure prominently in her adventures. So does Eric (Tyron Leitso), a hot, heartbroken bartender whose honeymoon was recently cut short when he caught his bride servicing the hotel bellhop. As Jaye flirts with Eric, fights with her family, and struggles to maintain her ironic detachment, she comes reluctantly closer to understanding the nature of her unorthodox destiny. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

The third installment of screenwriter Peter Greenaway's anticipated 16-episode story finds Tulse Luper, the protagonist, whittling away his time in jail. (In the previous episode, Tulse had been arrested in a bathroom just prior to the German invasion of Belgium in 1940.) Without the company of either of his two lovers, Tulse's favorite activity is posting fictional accounts on his wall in hopes of foretelling his own future, thus cementing his status around prison as a top storyteller. Unfortunately for Tulse, his jailers are less concerned with his innocence than they are with using him for their own nefarious purposes, and do their best to fabricate evidence that Tulse is, in fact, a fascist sympathizer. The cast includes JJ Feild, Drew Mulligan, Debbie Harry, Isabella Rossellini, and Jack Wouterse. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

In remote Canada in the middle of the 19th century, 16-year-old Annie (Caroline Dhavernas) is taken from an orphanage by Simon (Brendan Fehr), a young Scot who needs a bride to help him settle his rural homestead. Upon arriving at the land Annie finds the cabin is only partially built -- they'll have to live in a tent -- and Simon's brother George (Corey Sevier) will also live there. As it happens, Simon proves to be a selfish, drunken brute who sexually abuses his young bride; George, a gentleman with an intellectual bent, can't stand to see the hateful treatment Annie undergoes at the hand of his brother -- because he's fallen in love with her. So when George returns from a hunting trip with Simon's dead body wrapped in a blanket, it doesn't look good and Annie panics even though George insists the death was an accident. A local constable, James Mullen (Paul Johansson), begins investigating after locking up Annie for safekeeping. ~ Buzz McClain, Rovi

Based on a true story, this made-for-TV movie concerns the true story of Marilyn Bell (played by Caroline Dhavernas), a 16-year-old swimmer who found herself competing against Florence Chadwick, a top-ranked, well-known American swimmer in a special marathon race across Lake Ontario. While Chadwick was the more experienced swimmer, Bell stunned the sporting world when she won the race after the American swimmer, underestimating the difficulty of the conditions, dropped out at the half-way point. Heart: The Marilyn Bell Story also stars Claudia Besso and Ron White. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Two young people take a road trip and find themselves at an emotional crossroads. At the age of 16, Manou (Caroline Dhavernas) finds her life has been turned upside down: her mother dies, she discovers she's going to have a baby, she learns that the girl she grew up thinking was her sister is really her biological mother, and she finds herself falling for a exciting but dangerous boy named Jim (Sebastien Huberdeau). Not sure what to do or where to go, Manou and Jim pack up and head out to Nova Scotia's Sable Island; along the way, the young couple gets to know more about each other, and they find themselves wondering if their relationship is destined to survive. Sebastien Huberdeau's performance won him the Best Actor prize at the 2000 Jutra Awards, an annual event that recognizes excellence in Quebec filmmaking. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi