Paula Garcés Movies

Christmas gets green as pot-smoking pals Harold and Kumar reunite for a hilariously hazy holiday adventure set six years after the events of the previous film. It's been a long time since Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) escaped from Guantanamo Bay, and these days they're just not as tight as they used to be. But as they each prepare to celebrate Christmas Eve with their new best buds, Kumar receives a very special delivery that should have gone to Harold. Always the dutiful friend, Kumar does his best to see that the package reaches its intended destination by the time sleigh bells start ringing. Unfortunately, while making the delivery Kumar causes Harold's family Christmas tree to go up in flames. Thankfully for Harold, the in-laws are away for the evening, giving him just enough time to track down a replacement and avoid the wrath of his wife's temperamental father. With the clock counting down to Christmas and the family returning home soon, Harold and Kumar race though New York City on a mad dash to find the perfect substitute tree. Neil Patrick Harris returns for more raunchy fun in a sequel also featuring Danneel Harris, David Krumholtz, and Eddie Kaye Thomas. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

After successfully seeking out the ultimate slider in the 2004 stoner comedy Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, the cannabis-craving twosome returns in this high-flying sequel that finds them labeled terrorists for attempting to sneak a marijuana-smoking implement on a flight to Amsterdam. Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) have just finished gorging themselves on savory White Castle hamburgers when they return to their apartment and hatch a plan for Harold to win the heart of his crush, Maria (Paula Garcés). Maria is going to Amsterdam, and if Harold can catch up with her overseas perhaps he can strike up a real love connection. After a close call with airport personnel and a chance encounter with Kumar's ex-girlfriend Vanessa (Danneel Harris) -- who hadn't yet told Kumar that she's engaged to be married -- the pot-loving pals finally board their flight for Amsterdam. Unfortunately for Harold, Kumar isn't able to endure the lengthy flight without an innocent puff or two from his smokeless bong. When the plane hits some turbulence and the bong is mistaken for a bomb, the flight is diverted to Guantanamo Bay and our spliff-smoking heroes are detained by overzealous Deputy Chief of Homeland Security Ron Fox (Rob Corddry). Now, if they can just escape from the world's most notorious prison compound, perhaps this hapless duo can succeed in convincing the authorities that they aren't enemy combatants, and that Kumar made the mistake of his life by letting Vanessa go. But before they can prove their innocence and get the girls, Harold and Kumar will have to outsmart the dreaded Ku Klux Klan, contend with a particularly precocious Cyclops baby, and successfully elude everyone's favorite debauched former child star -- Neil Patrick Harris. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Directed by Stephen Herek, Man of the House follows hard-nosed Texas Ranger Lt. Roland Sharp (Tommy Lee Jones) in an undercover job as a cheerleading coach. Though his assignment is fairly cut-and-dried -- after witnessing the murder of a federal informant, a group of cheerleaders from the University of Texas need temporary protection -- he ends up forming a variety of unexpected and decidedly less simple relationships. Aside from his immersion into the struggles and triumphs of the UT cheerleading squad (Monica Keena, Kelli Garner, Christina Milian, Paula Garces, and Vanessa Ferlito), Roland finds himself dealing with a strong attraction to college professor Molly McCarthy (Anne Archer). Formerly titled Cheer Up, Man of the House also features supporting performances from Brian Van Holt, Shea Whigham, and Paget Brewster. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

James Redford, the son of actor and filmmaker Robert Redford, made his directorial debut with this independent coming-of-age drama set in the 1950s. After his parents are killed in the wreck of a light plane, young Eddie Haley (Max Madore) is left in the care of his uncle Frank (Stanley Tucci), an emotionally removed man who was once a major in the air force. When Frank decides to take an extended leave of his ranch in Arizona, Eddie is left behind with caretaker Ernesto (Rubén Blades) and his wife, Margaret (Dana Delany), a schoolteacher. Ernesto and Margaret are caring and capable surrogate parents to Eddie, but the boy has grown into a troubled and hot-headed teenager (now played by Ryan Merriman) by the time Frank comes back. As both Ernesto and Frank try to put Eddie back on the right track, the young man struggles with his decisions about his future, his love for his classmate Francesca (Paula Garcés), and some unanswered questions about the death of his parents. Spin was adapted from a novel by Donald Everett Axinn. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Paul Rudnick provides the script for the Scott Rudin-produced comedy Marci X, directed by Richard Benjamin. The new song "Shoot Ya' Teacha" by controversial hardcore rapper Dr. S. (short for Dr. Snatchcatcher, played by Damon Wayans) causes a public outcry. The stress causes a heart attack for the owner of the hardcore rap record label Felony Assault (played by director Benjamin). It's up to his stylishly sunny daughter Marci (Lisa Kudrow) to take over his business. She tries to rescue the record label by changing the negative image of Dr. S. in order to appeal to a youth-oriented crowd, which leads the pair into an unlikely romance. Actress Christine Baranski appears as a conservative senator who threatens to ban the rapper. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

In this drama, a school teacher discovers that it takes more than the ABCs to get through to a class of "uneducatable" kids. When Lou Anne Johnson (Michelle Pfeiffer), a nine-year veteran of the Marine Corps with a degree in education, begins a new job at an inner-city school in California, the principal (George Dzundza) warns her that her class will be the "rejects from Hell" -- kids with severe social problems and no interest in education. While at first her African-American and Latino students scoff at Lou Anne, she ultimately gets them to open up to learning and literature, through a combination of bribery (candy bars) and intimidation (her karate training from the Marines comes in handy), and she's able to reach out to the students who need her the most: Callie (Bruklin Harris), a bright girl who believes she's thrown away her future when she becomes pregnant; Emilio (Wade Dominquez), a macho bully whose violence is stifling his academic potential; and Raul (Renoly Santiago), the brightest kid in the class, who is afraid to show his intelligence. Dangerous Minds was adapted from a memoir by Lou Anne Johnson entitled My Posse Don't Do Homework. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

When young Nicky Guzman (Enrique Monez) is accused of killing a drug dealer, public sympathy is very much on his side. This makes it difficult for the D.A.'s office to mount a successful case against Guzman. But things really get beyond the control of assistant D.A.'s Stone (Michael Moriarty) and Robinette (Richard Brooks) when Guzman engages the services of Chet Burton (J.D. Cannon), a flamboyant Texas defense lawyer with a long and unbroken string of courtroom victories. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi