Christina Jennings Movies
An aspiring ballerina from a wealthy family learns some lessons about both dancing and life from a roughneck with soul in this teen drama. Tyler Gage (Channing Tatum) grew up on the wrong side of the tracks in a rough section of Baltimore, and has been in and out of trouble with the law most of his life. Finding himself before the judge yet again, Tyler is sentenced to 200 hours of community service, and he ends up mopping floors at the Maryland School of the Arts. Tyler catches the eye of Nora (Jenna Dewan), a gifted ballet student who is trying to incorporate hip-hop moves into her classical routines. None of Nora's fellow students seem to be on the same page as her, but Tyler is a talented street dancer with strength, moves, and enthusiasm. Despite the misgivings of the school's administrators, Nora persuades Tyler to team up with her for a major class project. Tyler gains a new self-respect as he gives in to the discipline of the dance academy, but he wonders if this new opportunity means turning his back on who he really is. Matters become all the more complicated when Tyler and Nora realize they're falling in love. Step Up was the first directorial credit for choreographer Anne Fletcher, who designed dance routines for the films Bring It On, She's All That, and Boogie Nights. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Channing Tatum, Jenna Dewan, (more)
- 2004
Created by Christina Jennings, the Canadian sci-fi suspenser ReGenesis tackled the up-to-date subject of bioterrorism--specifically bioterrorism generated by the fantastic scientific advances made during the early 21st century. Peter Outerbridge starred as David Sandstrom, chief scientist and molecular biologist for the North American Biotechnology Advisory Commission. Popularly known as NorBAC, this commissioned had been created to investigate (and in some cases terminate) examples of questionable biotechnology. Though mankind had advanced to the point of being able to create "perfect" food, luxury items and even babies in the lab, not everyone was motivated by altruism,and there were plenty of madmen and terrorists with deep pockets who intended to use high-tech science for evil purposes. Though the series was essentially an action thriller, several hot-button ethical and political questions were raised in the course of events (though few were actually resolved). Other members of the multinational NorBAC team included Conrad Pla) as geneticist-medical doctor Carlos Serrano, Dmitry Chepovetsky as biochemist Bob Melnikov and Mayko Nguyen as bioinformatics researcher Mayko Tran. Sarah Strange was seen during the first season as NorBAC's lead viroligist (and David Sandstrom's erstwhile lover) Jill Langston; she was replaced beginning with the second season by Wendy Crewson as Rachel Woods. Similarly, Maxim Roy was originally cast as NorBAC's executive director Caroline Morrison, only to be killed off and subsequently replaced by Greg Byrk as Weston Field. Appearing occasionally was Geraint Wyn Davies as NobBAC's White House-based science advisor Carleton Riddlemeyer. Boasting the input of Canadian molecular biologist Alec Edwards as the series' chief scientic consultant, ReGenesis debuted simultaneously on Canada's Movie Central and The Movie Network cable services the week of October 24, 2004; it would be distributed to several other nations before finally entering US syndication in the fall of 2007. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Originally telecast over Canada's CTV network on January 29, 2002, A Killing Spring was a one-shot attempt to revive the popular Joanne Kilbourn Mysteries series (aka Criminal Instincts), starring Wendy Crewson as the ex-police-detective-turned-university-lecturer created by Gail Bowen. Missing from this feature-length whodunit is Joanne Kilbourn's longtime co-star Victor Garber, though Shane Doyle fills in admirably as the "official" representative of the law. In this one, Joanne Kilbourn returns to Lanholm College, where she had once been a professor, when the Dean of Journalism is found dead, evidently the result of autoerotic suffocation during "rough sex." Although she risks losing an important internship, Joanne insists upon investigating the death, and in the process unearths a hotbed of moral depravity and academic backstabbing. Throughout, there is one person who is willing to commit murder rather than allow Joanne to expose his innumerable peccadillos -- and the result, inevitably, is two additional corpses. In the United States, A Killing Spring was picked up by the Lifetime cable channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wendy Crewson, Shawn Doyle, (more)
- 2002
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Director Mina Shum re-teams with the lead actress behind her breakthrough debut film Double Happiness in this magic-realist romantic comedy. Long Life, Happiness and Prosperity stars Sandra Oh as Kin Ho, a lonely single mom living in Vancouver with her impish 12-year-old daughter, Mindy (Valerie Tian). Mindy stumbles across a corner magic store while traipsing through Chinatown one day, and begins to believe that spells and potions are the perfect means for improving her mother's life. Her purchases not achieving the desired results, Mindy resorts to more serious schemes, courtesy of a fortune teller. After a few botched efforts -- which result in good fortune for a neighborhood butcher and terrible luck for a security guard -- Mindy sets herself to the task of finding her mother a mate in the form of Alvin (Russell Yuen), a co-worker of Kin's who has long admired her from afar. Long Life, Happiness and Prosperity premiered at the 2002 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sandra Oh, Valerie Tian, (more)
The Canadian TV movie The Wandering Soul Murder was based on the novel by Gail Bowen. Though the book took place in Saskatchewan, the film's action occurs in Toronto, where a shadowy serial killer is systematically murdering prostitutes. University professor, single mother, ex-cop, and erstwhile private detective Joanne Kilbourn (Wendy Crewson) is drawn into the case when one of the hookers is killed just outside the shop owned by Joanne's daughter. Things become even more personal when the fiancée of Joanne's son kills herself, apparently ashamed of her own past. For TV purposes, the seamier elements of the novel were cleaned up, though the film was still fairly explicit. Originally presented January 2, 2001 as part of the off-and-on CTV network series Criminal Instincts (aka The Joanne Kilbourn Mysteries), The Wandering Soul Murder was seen in the United States courtesy of the Lifetime cable channel on January 7, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wendy Crewson
A woman coming to terms with her husband's death discovers his killer has run afoul of a violent crime in this detective drama. Joanne Kilbourn (Wendy Crewson) is a former police detective who left the force to teach criminology after the unsolved murder of her husband, Ian (Edward Jaunz). The investigation into Ian's death gets taken off the back burner when a suspect is arrested, Kevin Tarpley (Christopher Bolton); while Kevin claims to be innocent, he knows enough about the case to have raised the suspicions of police. Just when Joanne thinks her husband's killer may finally be brought to justice, Kevin is killed by a gunman as he's brought to the police station. After a strange visit by Kevin's wife Maureen (Kari Matchett), Joanne begins looking into Kevin's life and death, and discovers not all of her late husband's friends are willing to help her with her private investigation. Criminal Instincts: A Colder Kind of Death also stars Victor Garber, Teri Garr, and Robin Dunne. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wendy Crewson, Robin Dunne, (more)
- 2001
Produced in Canada for that country's YTV cable network, the 26-episode Screech Owls was based on the same-named series of children's books by Roy MacGregor. The title referred to a co-ed Canadian hockey team, comprised of precocious youngsters. No matter where the Screech Owls traveled (and their journeys took them all over the world), they somehow always found themselves mixed up in baffling mysteries, à la Scooby-Doo. Premiering in Canada on February 8, 2001, Screech Owls was seen in the United States over the Discovery Kids cable channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
The made-for-TV Deadly Appearances was originally telecast over Canada's CTV on April 23, 2000, as part of the off-and-on cop series Criminal Instincts. Based on the first of Gail Bowen's Joanne Kilbourn mystery novels, the film stars Wendy Crewson as Kilbourn, a former police detective who dabbles in crimesolving whenever one of her friends or family members is involved. On this occasion, Joanne tries to determine if her longtime chum, philandering political candidate Andy Boychuk (Robert Hays) was the murderer of a young woman. Although the original novel included a subplot about a homosexual love triangle, the film dispensed with this complication. Deadly Appearances made its first TV appearance in the United States on June 5, 2001, courtesy of the Lifetime cable network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
Love and Murder is based on Murder at the Mendel, the first of the "Joanne Kilbourn" mysteries written by Gail Bowen. Traumatized by the murder of her husband, former police detective Joanne Kilbourn (Wendy Crewson) resigns from the force to look after her children--and when money gets tight, she launches a whole new career as a college lecturer. Inevitably, Joanne is drawn back into detective work when her childhood friend Sally Love (Caroline Goodall) is accused of murdering her ex-husband, in a manner reminiscent of the mysterious death of Sally's father twenty years earlier. Also figuring into the case is a sinister obstetrician. Counting upon the assistance of her former partner Inspector Philip Millard (Victor Garber), Joanne sets about assembling clues and interviewing suspects in hopes of saving Sally--and purging a few privates demons of her own. Originally telecast April 16, 2000, on Canadian TV as part of the off-and-on "Criminal Instinct" series, Love and Murder has since been added to the regular TV-movie rotation of America's Lifetime cable network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wendy Crewson
- 1998
British director Jon Sanders helmed this British-Canadian period re-creation of a 19th-century Midwestern prairie town's bordello run by tough madam Annie Ryan (Brenda Fricker). Despite competition during the 1870s, Ryan manages to maintain the business with her staff of frontier women: Married to a drunk, mother Nettie (Kelly McGillis) supports her child by moonlighting as an abortionist. Age is fast catching up with Ada (Anna Mottram), who now draws fewer customers, while youthful Georgie (Lisa Jakub) unwittingly betrays Ada. After another woman in the house is shot, German dancer Katya (Meret Becker) is the stand-offish newcomer who steps in as a replacement. Katya uses her alleged psychic powers to contact the departed family of Irish lass Eileen (Bronagh Gallagher), destined for a tragic situation. Actress Mottram co-scripted with director Sanders. Filmed in Saskatchewan locations and shown at the 1998 Rotterdam Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brenda Fricker, Kelly McGillis, (more)
- 1998
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Based on noted Montreal author Mordecai Richler's classic children's adventure of the same name, the film is about a boy named Jacob (Max Morrow) who has to say everything twice to be heard, simply because he is the youngest of five children. Desperately needing to be taken seriously, he offers to go to the grocery store for his Dad, embarking on his first solo journey. The quest goes horribly wrong when he loses his nerve and runs off, only to bump into a ten-pound hanging salami. He wakes up to find himself in court charged with insulting a grown-up. The Singing Judge sentences Jacob to the children's prison on Slimer's Island. The fog-bound and crocodile infested prison is presided over by the fearsome Hooded Fang (Gary Busey). Help is supposed to be on its way in the form of the heroic Child Power Masters. When that is delayed, Jacob Two Two hatches a cunning plan to take on the Hooded Fang himself. Fraught with childhood fantasies and fears, the film encourages children to feel strong in the threatening world of adults. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Busey, Miranda Richardson, (more)
- 1998
Piers Haggard directed this whimsical Canadian-British comedy-drama set in tiny Conquest, Saskatchewan (pop. 124), where local banker Pincer Bedier (Lothar Bluteau) encourages new businesses. After the Alfa Romeo of Daisy MacDonald (Tara Fitzgerald) stalls in Conquest, Pincer recruits her to run the local hardware store in a trade for repairs to her vehicle. Shown at the 1998 Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lothaire Bluteau, Tara Fitzgerald, (more)
- 1996
Mary Swann, an Ontario farmer's wife, lead a fairly dull existence until she demonstrated a remarkable talent for poetry and became the darling of the literati. Tragically, she was ruthlessly slain by her own husband who then committed suicide. Mary's closest friend Rose is devastated by the death and so runs a small museum to keep Mary's memory alive. Sarah Maloney is a writer who wants to write a biography about Swann. Learning that a competitor has similar plans, Sarah hastily leaves Chicago and heads northward where she meets Rose. The ensuing friendship between the disparate women provides the film with some interesting comparison/contrasts. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Jessica Tandy made one of her final screen appearances in this comic road movie. Freda (Bridget Fonda) is a would-be singer and songwriter who would like a career as a performer but lacks the courage; it doesn't help that her husband Vincent (Elias Koteas), a graphic artist, keeps insisting that her interest in music is merely a hobby. Hoping to put some spark back into their marriage, Freda and Vincent take a vacation to Georgia, where they meet Camilla (Jessica Tandy), who lives in the main house near their cottage. Freda discovers that Camilla was once a musician; she claims to have enjoyed a stellar career as a concert violinist in her native Canada, and she knew only the best people (although Freda isn't sure that she believes all Camilla's stories, especially Ghandi's fondness for enemas). While Vincent gets involved in a business deal with Camilla's son Harold (Maury Chaykin), who produces sleazy exploitation films, Camilla regales Freda with stories about her greatest triumph, performing the Brahms Violin Concerto at Toronto's Winter Garden Theater. When Camilla discovers that the Brahms concerto is to be performed soon at the Winter Garden, Camilla and Freda decide that this is something they should see, and the pair hits the road to the Great White North, meeting a remarkable variety of people along the way. Tandy's husband and frequent co-star Hume Cronyn has a supporting role as one of Camilla's former beaus; it was their last picture together. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jessica Tandy, Bridget Fonda, (more)
