Michael Besman Movies

Heroes' star Hayden Panettiere toplines Lila 9th Productions' teen comedy Daydream Nation, written and directed by Michael Goldbach. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Jane Fonda, Felicity Huffman, and Lindsay Lohan star in director Garry Marshall's tale of a rebellious young woman who is sent to spend the summer with her grandmother when her frustrated mother fails to find a means of curbing her unruly behavior. Rachel (Lohan) is an out-of-control teen whose reckless drinking, foul mouth, and hysterical fits have become a constant source of embarrassment for her long-suffering mother, Lily (Huffman). When Rachel crashes her car, Lily determines that the only way to tame her savage daughter is to take her as far away from San Francisco as possible. Though Lily had once sworn never to return to the Idaho farm presided over by her demanding mother, Georgia (Jane Fonda), desperation has a funny way of dulling the pains of the past, and it's not long before Lily is packing Rachel in the car and setting out for potato country. Contrary to the common image of the sweet and doting grandmother, Georgia is a stern matriarch whose beliefs in the power of God and a hard day's work stand in stark contrast to the carefree lifestyle of the tempestuous Rachel. An interesting thing happens as the summer wears on, though; despite her initial efforts to disrupt the quiet Mormon community, Rachel's rage is gradually tempered as she learns the value of structure and responsibility. Later, as Rachel's protective walls begin to crumble and she begins to embrace compassion and kindness, the doors are opened for three generations of family to confront the long-buried secrets of their past and finally move forward in the healing process. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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, Rovi

Typically impressive natural vistas from director Jean-Jacques Annaud (some secretly filmed on location in Tibet) highlight this adaptation of the memoir by Heinrich Harrer. Brad Pitt stars as the arrogant Heinrich, a famed Austrian mountain climber who leaves behind his wife and infant son to head a Himalayan expedition in 1939, only to fall into the hands of Allied forces as a prisoner of war. He and a fellow escapee, Peter Aufschnaiter (David Thewlis), make their way to the Forbidden City in Tibet, where Peter finds a wife and Heinrich befriends the Western culture-obsessed teenage Dalai Lama (Jamyang Jamtsho Wangchuk), the spiritual leader of his Buddhist nation. As Heinrich waits out the war, his friendship with the Dalai Lama begins to transform him from haughty to humble, but a crisis with China looms. A controversy over the revelation of the real-life Harrer's Nazi Party affiliation brewed during the film's production, forcing Annaud to briefly deal with the subject in the film. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi