Don Schain Movies

Director Adam Green (Hatchet, Spiral) takes the helm for this relentlessly tense tale of three snowboarders who must fight for their lives in the freezing cold after getting stranded on a ski lift. As the trio rides up the mountain in preparation for their final run of the day, the night lights suddenly go dark, and the lift chairs grind to a sudden halt. Realizing that the resort will be closed until the following weekend, the three friends decide to take their fate into their own hands, and find their way down to terra firma. Once they do, they realize that hypothermia isn't the only thing they have to fear. Shawn Ashmore, Kevin Zegers, and Emma Bell Star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

High School Musical 3: Senior Year continues the ongoing tune-filled love story between basketball player Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) and brainy beauty Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Anne Hudgens). As they head toward high-school graduation, the couple realizes that they'll be separated when they head to different colleges in the fall, so they join with their friends to produce a spring musical that will help them express their hopes and fears about the future. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

A maverick downhill skier and a fearless snowboarder attempt the most daring mountain descent ever captured on film in this snowbound thriller starring Eric Lively, Kellan Lutz, Robert Carradine, and Michael Madsen. Tyler Crowe and Mark Rider may have different means of getting down the mountain, but they both crave the adrenaline that goes with making the perfect run. Reunited after years apart, the two best friends set their sights on Alaska and recruit a veteran guide in hopes of making history. But this descent could be their last, because when the avalanche starts, their only hope is to keep speeding down the mountain and never look back. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

On the eve of Halloweetown's 1000th anniversary celebration, Witch University student Marnie Piper (Sara Paxton) must enlist the aid of two close friends in order to finally reveal a long-buried secret hidden in an ancient prophecy. Marnie has just won a full scholarship to the prestigious Witch University in Halloweentown, and she's eager to begin studying up on alchemy, amulets, and magic potions. While Marnie is all set to become Witch University's most popular coed, the new ban on magic at the school poses something of a problem for the young witch eager to realize her true powers. Later, Marnie discovers an ancient prophecy that holds the key to unlocking a legendary secret. Now, in order to ensure that Halloweentown's Millennial Celebration goes off without a hitch, Marnie will call on her old friends Ethan (Lucas Grabeel) and Benny the Skeleton in addition to seeking out the wisdom of new pals Professor Periwinkle and Aneesa the Genie. Will Marnie and her friends be able to fend off the evil that threatens to consume Halloweentown, or could it be that this strange and supernatural town has been marked for destruction since the day it was founded? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The true story of a man who never gave up on his dreams of doing something big -- and doing it very, very fast -- provides the basis for this engaging comedy drama. Burt Munro (Anthony Hopkins) was born in 1899 in Invercargill, New Zealand. From childhood, Munro had a passion for machines that moved fast, and when he was 21 he bought his first motorcycle, an Indian model with a 600 cc engine. Motorcycles became an obsession that stayed with Munro for the rest of his life, as he constantly tinkered with his beloved Indian machine, modifying the engine and frame, determined to see just how fast he could make it run. In 1967, Munro decided it was high time he proved to himself and the world just what he and his machine could do, and he booked passage for the United States, with the goal of breaking the world's land speed record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats. As Munro made his way across America to Utah, he discovered not everyone took his dream seriously, but some did, and he made a handful of friends along the way, including Ada (Diane Ladd), a widow who fell for Munro's rough charm, and Fernando (Paul Rodriguez), a car dealer who offered to help him. However, when he finally arrived at Bonneville, Munro was told his machine was unsafe to participate in the time trials, and -- far worse -- he was too old to ride. It took some intervention from a ranking American driver, Jim Moffett (Chris Lawford), before Munro was given his chance to ride the famous Salt Flats. The World's Fastest Indian was written and directed by Roger Donaldson, who early in his career made a documentary about the real Burt Munro, Offerings to the Gods of Speed. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Andrew Lawrence heads the cast of this inspirational made-for-cable movie as Jace Newfield, a blind teenager who moves from his native New York City to Utah. As the new kid in school, Jace desperately wants to be accepted, but the kids want nothing to do with him. At first he thinks it is because he is blind, but that can't be the case, since the most popular teacher in school, Mason Wyatt (Wayne Brady). Is likewise sightless. Finally Jace is tipped off that his classmates are avoiding him because they think he's snooty and standoffish. Perhaps he would fare better if he would take up a sport that would bring him into extremely close contact with his peers--a sport such as wrestling! Going to the Mat first aired over the Disney channel on March 19, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A girl puts her ability to keep a confidence to work, though she soon learns it's a tougher job than she imagined in this comedy drama for young people. Emily (Evan Rachel Wood) is a 14-year-old girl who loves music and is studying the violin. She has a real gift as a violinist, and has passed up the opportunity to go to summer camp with her friends to study with her tutor, Pauline (Vivica A. Fox), who believes Emily has a chance of landing a spot in the community symphony orchestra. Emily also has an unusual business on the side -- for 50 cents, she'll hear and keep other kids' secrets, and offer advice on how to keep incriminating facts away from parents, teachers, or other authority figures. However, she also has a secret of her own -- a new family has moved into the neighborhood, and while Philip (Michael Angarano), a year or two younger than Emily, quickly takes a liking to her, she immediately develops a crush on his older brother, David (David Gallagher). However, David has a habit of getting into trouble, and soon Emily is keeping some secrets she's prefer to get off her chest. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Directed by Neal Israel, Hounded is a made-for-television family film about a 13-year-old boy named Jay Martin who has both a school paper and his chances for a scholarship stolen by his rival, Ronny Van Dusen, who just so happens to be the headmaster's son. Jay concocts a plan to right the situation, but when he breaks into the headmaster's house, he can't stop the Van Dusen's dog from following him home. As if that weren't enough, without the proper medication, the dog gets completely out of control. The film originally aired in 2001 and stars Tahj Mowry as Jay, Shia LaBeouf as Ronny, and Ed Begley Jr. as Mr. Van Dusen. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Goodbye Bird is the story of a boy accused by his principal of stealing her treasured talking parrot. With the help of a veterinarian, the boy attempts to discover the true identity of the thief. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

The class president depends upon illegal race-car betting to save her high school from financial ruin. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

A standard, mindless teen comedy that is patently geared toward the pre-teen set, H.O.T.S. involves a lot of bouncy females, in this case, sisters in the H.O.T.S. sorority, in hot-blooded competition with the women in another mythical sorority on campus. The objective seems to be to show as many cruel practical jokes, lame-brain jocks, non-stop action, wild orgies, and exaggerated characters as can fit into a 95-minute running time. Added to the pile are the requisite idiot adults who are never able to see what is going on around them, and it becomes apparent (if it was not from the beginning), which age group is meant to be the target audience here. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Cheri Caffaro reprises her role as a sexy, lethal spy in this second sequel to Ginger (1970). Director Don Schain introduces interracial themes along with the usual castrations and torture-murders in this violent exploitation actioner, filmed on location in the Virgin Islands. Jocelyn Peters co-stars as Ginger's sinister nemesis. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide