Erik Knudsen Movies

A curse transforms a handsome and arrogant young man into everything he detests in this contemporary retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Wealthy Kyle Kingson (Alex Pettyfer) has everything a teenager could want in life, but he still gets off on humiliating the weaker and less attractive. When Kyle invites his misfit classmate Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen) to an environmental rally at their school, she questions his motivations but reluctantly accepts. Later, Kyle blows Kendra off, prompting the spurned goth girl to cast a dark spell on the swaggering egotist. The spell causes Kyle to transform into an unsightly creature that strikes fear into the heart of everyone he meets, and the only way to reverse it is for him to find someone who can love him for who he is on the inside. Subsequently sent by his repulsed father to live in Brooklyn, Kyle forges a tenuous friendship with his kindly housekeeper (Lisa Gay Hamilton) and his blind tutor (Neil Patrick Harris). When Kyle witnesses a drug addict in a desperate struggle with a menacing dealer, he intervenes, promising to protect the addict under the condition that his beautiful daughter, Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens), comes to live with the unsightly recluse in his sprawling Brooklyn home. Over time, the two forge a relationship that grows much deeper than anything Kyle has ever experienced before. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Based on Bryan Lee O'Malley's Oni Press comic book of the same name, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World follows the eponymous slacker rocker on his colorful quest to defeat his dream girl's seven evil ex-boyfriends. Twenty-two-year-old Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) may not have a job, but rocking the bass for his band, Sex Bob-omb, is a tough job unto itself. When Scott locks eyes with Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), he knows she's the girl he wants to grow old with. But Ramona has some serious baggage; her supercharged exes rue the thought of her being with another man, and they'll crush any guy who gives her a second glance. Now, in order to win Ramona's heart, Scott will do battle with everyone from vegan-powered rock gods to sinister skateboarders, never losing sight of his gorgeous goal as he pummels his way to victory. Shaun of the Dead's Edgar Wright directs the film from a script he penned with Michael Bacall. Superhero veterans Chris Evans and Brandon Routh co-star in the action comedy as two of the seven ex-boyfriends. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Jericho returned for a second astounding season thanks to unprecedented and impassioned support from its legion of loyal fans, many of whom sent peanuts (reportedly totaling thousands of pounds) to the CBS offices in New York and Los Angeles. Why peanuts? That was a reference to the Season 1 cliffhanger finale, which ended with a character uttering "Nuts." CBS responded by bringing the series back for this concluding seven-episode Season 2 run in the spring of 2008. In the aftermath of a devastating nuclear explosion, and a battle with neighboring New Bern, the once peaceful town of Jericho begins to rebuild itself as it attempts to communicate with the outside world. The newly formed Cheyenne government strives to establish its stronghold in the region, but Jericho's citizens become suspicious of these new leaders as they question their true intentions.

Jigsaw, the diabolical criminal who captured the imagination of horror fans in the 2004 hit Saw, returns in this equally bloody sequel. Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) is a police detective who, after discovering the aftermath of a particularly gruesome murder, is convinced that Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is up to his ugly tricks again. Matthews' hunch turns out to be correct, but the master criminal proves to be disconcertingly easy to capture. As it happens, Jigsaw is eager to be put behind bars in order to throw the authorities off his trail as he once again punishes people who in his eyes have transgressed the boundaries of acceptable moral behavior. But instead of trapping two people in a filthy dungeon where they must engage in a terrible contest in order to win their freedom, eight people have been locked away by Jigsaw, and they must torture their bodies and minds to achieve the terrible justice Jigsaw seeks. Saw II was written by Leigh Whannell, who also scripted the first film. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This made-for-TV drama was inspired by a true story that occurred in Carleton, Ontario during Christmas Week of 1999. Disguised as a nurse, a bipolar woman named Margaret Wheeler (Nola Auguston) kidnaps a premature infant, the first male child of Karen and Phil Lewis (Marnie McPhail, Hugh Thompson). Though profoundly disturbed, Margaret has covered her tracks well, and has even secured the silence of her boyfriend Darryl (Alan Van Sprang), a former convict who can't go to the authorities without casting blame upon herself. As the Lewises anxiously await news of their missing baby, dedicated police sergeant Jane McKinley (Leslie Hope) follows the trail of clues and ultimately attempts to break down Margaret's wall of lies. The film also brings into play the not inconsiderable domestic problems endured by McKinley herself as she endeavors to bring hope to the biological parents. Despite the grimness of its subject matter, Stolen Miracle is a heartwarming, life-affirming firm which proved ideal Holiday fare when it first aired in Canada on December 18, 2001. It was subsequently picked up for US cable play (again as a "Christmas picture") by the Lifetime channel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi