Juan Garcia Movies
Assigned the thankless task of teaching freshman English at a gang-infested Long Beach, CA high school, a 23-year-old teacher resorts to unconventional means of breaking through to her hardened students in director Richard LaGravenese's adaptation of Erin Gruwell's best-seller The Freedom Writer's Diaries: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them. Her students had been written off, and her chances of succeeding scoffed at, but Erin Gruwell (Hilary Swank) wasn't about to go down without a fight. Long Beach is a place where a new war is waged with each passing day, and when the hardened students who walk those dangerous hallways sense an outsider attempting to understand their plight, their cynical resentment threatens to keep a deadly cycle in motion. Despite the initially hostile reaction she receives in the classroom, Gruwell uses the writings of Anne Frank and Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Sarajevo to teach her students not only the basis of the English language, but compassion and tolerance as well. Later, when the time comes to tell their own tales in a project specially designed to explore the daily violence that the majority of students have grown numb to, the barriers that had once stood so strong gradually begin to crumble. When the only chance for survival is to befriend the person who was once your mortal enemy, the world is opened to a whole new realm of possibilities. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hilary Swank, Scott Glenn, (more)
- 2001
This episode opens on a note of exultation, as B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson) and Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) learn they are going to have a baby. Joy turns to anguish when Torres discovers that the baby will likely have dominant Klingon features. Manipulating the mind of the Doctor (Robert Picardo), Torres tries to force him to change her unborn child's DNA, leading to a remarkable and unexpected denouement. "Lineage" made its U.S. TV debut on January 24, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roxann Dawson
- 2001
The Voyager crew tests out Operation Watson, a method of transmitting live messages to Starfleet on Earth. The crew's family members back home are gratified to communicate with their loved ones after so many years. But joy degenerates into confusion and resentment when the Doctor's (Robert Picardo) ongoing holographic novel begins insinuating itself into the transmissions. Dwight Schultz makes a return appearance as Reginald Barclay. "Author, Author" first aired on April 18, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roxann Dawson
In this romantic comedy-drama, two people whose lives were touched by the same tragedy find love. Buddy Amaral (Ben Affleck) is a successful L.A. advertising executive who has a way with the ladies, but inside he longs for a meaningful long-term relationship. One day Buddy sells his seat on a sold-out airline flight to a stranger; he's shocked when the jet crashes and the man is killed. A year later, still haunted by the incident, Buddy looks up Abby Janello (Gwyneth Paltrow), the victim's widow, who is now selling real estate to support her children. Buddy soon finds himself attracted to Abby, and the feeling is mutual, but while he's interested in marriage, he isn't sure how (or if) he should tell her that he was indirectly responsible for her husband's death. Bounce was written and directed by Don Roos, who made a splash with his independent debut The Opposite of Sex; supporting Affleck and Paltrow are Natasha Henstridge, Jennifer Grey, David Paymer, and Joe Morton. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Affleck, Gwyneth Paltrow, (more)
