Michelle Trachtenberg Movies

Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan team up for the Warner Bros. police buddy movie Cop Out in this Kevin Smith-directed production. From a script by Robb and Mark Cullen, the story centers around police detectives Jimmy (Willis), a no-B.S. divorced dad, and Paul (Morgan), a crazy-talking loose cannon. Despite nine years as partners, the two lawmen can still sometimes seem like polar opposites -- especially when Paul's unpredictable antics get them suspended without pay. Already strapped for cash and trying to pay for his daughter's wedding, Jimmy decides to sell a rare baseball card that's worth tens of thousands. Unfortunately, when the collector's shop is robbed and the card vanishes with the crook, Paul and Jimmy end up going rogue, tracking down the card and the drug ring behind its theft, all on their own time, and without any backup -- except for each other. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi

This medical drama relates the professional and personal ups and downs of three nurses at a New Jersey hospital. They include an adept, hardened nurse who's returned from a tour of duty in Iraq; her swaggering gal pal and colleague; and a naive rookie. ~ Dean Maurer, Rovi

A few innocent women experience a nightmare before Christmas in this bloody thriller. Billy Lenz, a severely maladjusted child, finally snaps under years of brutal treatment by his family, killing and eating them in an explosion of violence on Christmas Eve. For years, the Lenz house stands vacant, but in time it's purchased and renovated as the new home for a college sorority. A few days before Christmas, a handful of sorority sisters -- Dana (Lacey Chabert), Melissa (Michelle Trachtenberg), Kelli (Katie Cassidy), and Heather (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) -- are enjoying a quiet evening with their house mother, Barbara MacHenry (Andrea Martin), exchanging gifts and swapping stories before heading home for holiday break. While Barbara remembers the story of Billy's crimes, the atmosphere is peaceful until the young women receive the first in a series of disturbing telephone calls. Before long, they learn that Billy has escaped after years in a mental institution, and has come back to the house where he grew up to once again spill blood for the Christmas season. Black Christmas is a remake of the 1974 horror film of the same name by director Bob Clark, who later made a less-threatening film about the Yuletide season, A Christmas Story; Andrea Martin, who plays the house mother, also appeared in the 1974 film as one of the sorority girls. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A teenager is torn between her desire to please her mother and following her own ambitions in this family-friendly comedy drama. Casey Carlyle (Michelle Trachtenberg) is a high-school student who has a keen mind for math and looks to be on the fast track to Harvard, which is just the way her mother (Joan Cusack) wants it. However, Casey also has a dream of becoming a competitive ice skater, which is not a popular notion with either Casey's mom or her school's clique of aspiring skaters, led by the egocentric Gen (Hayden Panettiere). However, one day at the rink Casey wins the attention of Tina (Kim Cattrall), a former skating champion who now trains her daughter and is trying to live down an incident that grounded her career on the ice. Tina thinks Casey has what it takes to be a champ, but neither Gen nor Casey's mother are happy with this news, leaving Casey and Tina to go it alone, though Casey soon wins the emotional support of Teddy (Trevor Blumas), Gen's handsome older brother. Ice Princess also features champion skater Michelle Kwan in a small role as herself, doing television commentary at a skating event. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Two young men are haunted by similar events from their past, though the effects manifest themselves in very different ways, in this powerful drama from independent filmmaker Gregg Araki. In the summer of 1981, Brian (George Webster) and Neil (Chase Ellison) are both eight years old and playing on the same little league baseball team in a small Kansas town. One day, after a game, Brian blacks out after getting caught in a rainstorm, and five hours later he finds himself sitting in his basement with his nose bleeding and no memory of what happened to him. Over the years, the event -- particularly the missing five hours -- weigh heavily on his mind, and he becomes convinced that he was kidnapped by space aliens. Teenaged Brian (now played by Brady Corbet) becomes friends with Avalyn Friesen (Mary Lynn Rajskub), a woman who claims to have been abducted by aliens on several occasions, and she urges him to look to his dreams for patterns that might suggest what happened to him. Meanwhile, during the same summer, Neil developed a powerful crush on their little league coach (Bill Sage), who appeared to have also taken a shine to Neil. Neil's mother (Elisabeth Shue), seeing nothing wrong with their friendship, lets the coach look after Neil while she's off on one of her many dates, and before long Neil begins sexually experimenting with the older man. Neil's introduction to sex inspires him to become a hustler when he grows into his teens, and after burning his bridges in his hometown, Neil (now played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and his close friend Wendy (Michelle Trachtenberg) move to New York, where he continues to cruise for a living but under significantly more risky circumstances. One day, Neil is contacted by Brian, who after seeing one of their team photos from their days in little league suspects he might have some clues as to what happened to him in 1981. Mysterious Skin was based on the novel by Scott Heim, and marked the first time Gregg Araki made a film that did not originate with one of his own screenplays. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Buffy the Vampire Slayer began its seventh and ultimately final season with a metaphorical return to its roots. Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) enrolling at a rebuilt Sunnydale High School and Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) quickly installing there as a guidance counselor seemed to poise the series for a return to teenage metaphors and a lighter tone after the darkness of the previous season. But when a new villain is announced by taking the form of each season's previous "big bad" villain, Buffy embarks on an extended story line that mirrors America's deepening commitment to the "war on terror" and the post-9/11 invasion of Afghanistan. The continued assaults of the First Evil -- the malevolent but bodiless force from which all other evil springs -- force Buffy to become the general of an ad-hoc army and stage a preemptive strike against the Hellmouth. The resulting story line brings the series to an ultimately hopeful finale, but one suffused with loss. Some fans and critics think that consistently excellent writing was an early casualty of the season. For one thing, series creator Joss Whedon had a full slate executive producing the spin-off Angel and the short-lived Firefly. The introduction of copious new faces in the form of Buffy's new slayer-in-training army didn't leave room for much focus on the show's established characters. When the Scoobies were bestowed with extensive plot lines, they often reflected the season's overarching themes of loneliness and the isolation of power.

Cut off from her friends by returning to the vengeance-demon fold, Anya (Emma Caulfield) finally comes to terms with her search for herself. Meanwhile, Willow (Alyson Hannigan) struggles to redeem herself and master the immense powers that nearly destroyed her. Newly ensouled Spike (James Marsters) finds redemption of his own as Buffy's lieutenant and protector. Geeky former villain Andrew (Tom Lenk) throws in his lot with the good guys who didn't really want him. Dawn and Xander (Nicholas Brendon) struggle with their roles as non-combatants.
Despite a jokey subplot that toyed with the idea that he was an agent of the First, Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) tries unsuccessfully to check Buffy's autocratic recklessness. New Sunnydale High Principal Robin Wood (D.B. Woodside) proves an enigmatic presence at first, but the eventual revelation of his ties to Spike and the slayer line adds yet another personality to the Scoobies' rapidly expanding ranks. The return of reformed rogue slayer Faith (Eliza Dushku) for the final five episodes helps fulfill the promise that the seventh season would bring Buffy back to its roots.

Written and directed by Whedon himself, the series finale turns the concept of "the chosen one" on its head. New and beloved characters alike bite the dust, as does the town of Sunnydale itself. But Willow and Spike at long last find their redemption, and the show's feminist themes found an excellent final metaphor. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

After a comic go-around with the original vampire playboy in season opener "Buffy vs. Dracula," Buffy the Vampire Slayer's fifth season quickly established its overriding theme: the importance of family, both biological and adoptive. Kristine Sutherland -- mostly absent from season four -- returned as Joyce Summers, Buffy's mother. More importantly, series creator Joss Whedon surprised viewers with the introduction of the Slayer's teenaged sister, Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg). Neither a long-lost sibling nor a recent adoptee, Dawn was simply dropped into the mix as if she'd always been there. As the season progressed, though, she was revealed to be The Key, an ancient force that monks had incarnated into human form, with fake memories created for everybody. The reason? So that Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) would protect it from Glory (Clare Kramer), a deposed god who needed it to get back to her own hellish dimension. Rather than the usual picturesque "big bad," Glory appeared to be a well-heeled beauty, albeit one with super strength and a propensity for snacking on people's sanity. As the hellgod stalked Sunnydale in expensive pumps, her minions furiously seeking the identity of The Key, Buffy had bigger problems. Doctors discovered that Joyce was suffering from brain cancer, while Dawn accidentally learned about her true origins and freaked out.

Focusing on her family and refusing to show any weakness, Buffy managed to drive boyfriend Riley (Marc Blucas) away. Of course, she had a little helping hand from Spike (James Marsters), who discovered, to his horror, that he'd fallen in love with his arch-nemesis. Although repulsed by the neutered vampire's affections, Buffy slowly grew to trust him as an ally -- especially after an unexpected death left her feeling more alone than ever. Friends Giles (Anthony Stewart Head), Willow (Alyson Hannigan), Xander (Nicholas Brendan), and Anya (Emma Caulfield) continued to serve as Buffy's inner circle, while Tara (Amber Benson) escaped from her own repressive family to become a bona fide Scooby, reinforcing the season's familial theme. When an attack from Glory left Tara drooling and helpless, Willow struck back, testing her rapidly growing magical abilities. She failed, leading indirectly to Glory's discovery of The Key's identity. With Dawn in the hellgod's clutches and the clock ticking down to the moment when Glory could use the girl's death to break down the barriers between hell and earth, Buffy reached its 100th-episode season finale. Titled "The Gift," it summed up the season's themes of family, loss, and sacrifice and left some doubt as to the show's future. Behind the scenes, financial negotiations between the show's producers and the WB network had broken down. But upstart UPN agreed to pay top dollar for two more seasons, leaving the WB with a hole in its schedule and fans overjoyed. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

A boy tries to solve the mysteries of growing up with the help of a ghostly friend in this comedy-drama. Thirteen-year-old Danny (Bryan Burke) is having more than his share of problems adjusting to life after the death of his father, and it doesn't help that he's falling in love with Julie (Michelle Trachtenberg), a girl who has been his best friend for years. Julie happens to have a crush on Archie (Michael Galeota), a new kid at school, and she finds Danny's attempts to win her heart more comical than convincing. While visiting his father's grave to play him a song he's been learning for the school band, Danny encounters the ghost of Hubbie Darling (Ralph Macchio), a jazz saxophonist from the '30s who is waiting for the spirit of the woman he loved. Hubbie takes Danny under his wing and tries to give him a few pointers on the fine art of dealing with the fairer sex -- while also showing him how to play his horn like a pro. Forever Together (which was produced under the title Can't Be Heaven) also features Diane Ladd, Garry Marshall, and Matt McCoy. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

To her frustration, a young girl finds that math is everywhere in Reading Rainbow: Math Cure, another in the series of programs encouraging children to read for fun. The humorous story is written by Jon Scieszka and read by Michelle Trachtenberg. Can math really influence everything in modern lives? Host LeVar Burton decides to put the idea to a test, and he finds some surprising answers. Viewers will see how a factory cannot function with math. The other books discussed in the program are Marvelous Math, Pigs on a Blanket, and Twelve Snails to One Lizard. ~ Alice Day, Rovi

Rising business executive Jake Peterson (Tim Matheson) is given a make-or-break assignment when he is sent to a small town for the purpose of severely downsizing the local tractor factory. Upon his arrival, Jake is mistaken by the townsfolk as the man sent to save rather than destroy their community, and is treated as such, much to his discomfort. Making his task even more difficult is Jake's blossoming romance with factory employee Emma Murphy (Melissa Gilbert), whose daughter Noelle (Michelle Trachtenberg) regards our hero as Santa Claus Incarnate. Made for the CBS TV network (and filmed under the title A Holiday for Love, Christmas in My Hometown premiered December 10, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi