David Brookwell Movies
- 2009
- PG13
- Add Bring It On: Fight to the Finish to QueueAdd Bring It On: Fight to the Finish to top of Queue
An East Los Angeles high school cheer squad captain finds her hopes of winning the upcoming Spirit Championships dashed when her mother remarries and their family relocates to Malibu, where the current cheer squad isn't quite up to snuff. With their fiery fusion of Latin and hip-hop moves, Lina Cruz (Christina Milian) and her best friends Gloria (Vanessa Born) and Treyvonetta (Gabrielle Dennis) are about to lead the East L.A. high school cheer squad to victory at one of the most prominent competitions in the nation. But just as the crew is about to take the world by storm, Lina's mother remarries and the family makes the move to Florida. Once there, Lina quickly realizes that the Malibu Vista High Sea Lions aren't anywhere near as talented as her old cheer squad. Now, in order to transform the Sea Lions into a championship team, Lina must teach them the moves needed to knock the award-winning Jaguar cheer squad and their trash-talking captain Avery (Rachele Brooke Smith) out of the top spot. When Lina and Avery's brother Evan (Cody Longo) becomes romantically involved, the competition between the two girls really begins to heat up. With the stakes higher than ever before, Lina hatches a scheme to take her team all the way to the top and prove that they have what it takes to become true champions. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christina Milian, Vanessa Born, (more)
- 2006
Introduced as part of CBS's "Secret Slumber Party" weekend-morning children's show block, Cake was one of the few live-action series produced by the DIC animation firm. Using the "show within a show" format, the half-hour series chronicled the adventures of a 13-year-old girl named Cake, who hosted her own Martha-like cable access TV show. Inspired by her Grandma Crystal , Cake specialized in using everyday items to make new and extraordinary "creations", with the help of her handy-dandy hot glue gun. "You can't buy individuality", advised Cake from within the confines of her garage "studio", "but you can make it." Others in the cast were Keegan McFadden as the show's entrepreneurial producer Benjamin, who also ran the camera but who refused to ever appear ON camera (it seems that he suffered from a profound case of stage fright!); Anna Maria Perez DeTagle as Miracle Ross, a spoiled rich kid whose credit cards had been frozen by her parents and who thus approached Cake for clever ideas to stretch her now-meager weekly allowance; and Emily Ross Everhard as Cake's 10-year-old cohost Amy Carson, whose willingness to expound on any subject was matched only by her inability to maintain "focus." Doling out equal parts entertainment and education, Cake made its first appearance on September 17, 2006. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A teenage girl learns that reaching for your dreams isn't always easy in this heartfelt drama with music. Terri Fletcher (Hilary Duff) is a small-town girl with a great love of music and a fine singing voice. Already one of the lead vocalists in her church choir, Terri has also appeared at local nightspots with some help from her older brother. When he tragically dies in an auto accident, Terri becomes all the more determined to make the most of her talent, and she's elated when she's accepted as part of a summer study program at one of California's most prestigious music schools; however, Terri attends over the stern objections of her father. As she tries to hold together her relationship with her family, she finds herself falling for one of her fellow students, Jay (Oliver James), and competing for attention against dozens of kids whose talent rivals her own. Raise Your Voice also features Jason Ritter, Rebecca De Mornay, Rita Wilson, David Keith, and John Corbett. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hilary Duff, Oliver James, (more)
Based on the popular (and recently canceled) Disney Channel sitcom Even Stevens, this made-for-TV movie was filmed in 2002 under the title The Stevens Get Even. On this occasion, the Sacramento-based Stevens family is reeling from a succession of setbacks, not least of which is the breakup of the romance between teenaged daughter Ren Stevens (Christy Romano) and her boyfriend -- a disaster largely brought about when Ren's pesky kid brother, Louis (Shia LaBeouf), sabotages Ren's junior-high graduation. At their most vulnerable, the kids' parents Eileen (Donna Pescow) and Steve (Tom Virtue) are highly receptive to fast-talking vacation agent Miles McDermott (Tim Meadows), who sells the family an inexpensive trip to an island paradise. En route, the Stevens' plane crashes on a seemingly uncharted isle, forcing the family, and the other passengers, to fend for themselves. What nobody but the duplicitous McDermott knows is that the crash was carefully rigged, so that the Stevens would be unwitting contestants on a Survivor-like TV reality series. In addition to the aforementioned Romano, LaBeouf, Pescow, and Tom Virtue, other carryovers from the original sitcom include Nick Spano as Donnie Stevens and Steven Anthony Lawrence as the family's wacky next-door neighbor, Beans. Filmed on location in Hawaii, The Even Stevens Movie made its Disney Channel debut on June 13, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christy Romano, Shia LaBeouf, (more)
- 2002
That's So Raven was a weekly cable TV vehicle for former child actress Raven-Symone, who literally grew up before our eyes as a regular on the classic sitcom The Cosby Show. Here, the actress was cast as Raven Baxter, a 17-year-old San Franciscan who was blessed (or perhaps cursed) with psychic powers. Though only her family and closest friends knew of Raven's ESP skills, our heroine was regularly called upon to solve the problems of perfect strangers by surreptitiously peering into the future. Created by Michael Poryes and Susan Sherman, That's So Raven was produced for the Disney Channel's American cable service, but was first broadcast on Disney's U.K. channel on September 2, 2002; it did not premiere in the U.S. until four back-to-back episodes were shown on January 17, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A chimp helps bring together a boy and his father -- as well as putting America in the lead of the space race -- in this drama, which was inspired by the true story of the Mercury-Redstone 2 mission in 1961. Dr. Wilhelm von Huber (James Woods) is a German expatriate scientist living in the United States in the early '60s who has been hired by the fledging National Aeronautics and Space Administration to help America launch its newly formed space program. Von Huber is recently widowed, and his son, Wilhelm II (Alex D. Linz) -- known as Billy to most of his friends -- is still dealing with the loss of his mother. The often cold and exacting Dr. von Huber is having trouble reaching out to his son, and Billy is having a hard time making friends at his new school in Florida. One day, while dropping by NASA's labs to visit his father, Billy discovers a secret: NASA has previously been using unmanned missiles in their tests, but before taking the giant step of sending a man into space, they're going to try an experimental mission with a chimpanzee on board to get a better idea of how people might be affected by space travel. Dr. Donni McGuinness (Annabeth Gish), NASA's head veterinarian, makes a deal with Billy: If he promises not to tell anyone about NASA's secret project, she'll give him a part-time job helping to train Mac the Chimp for his big flight. Billy soon becomes quite attached to his new friend Mac, and discovers it's harder than he imagined to send him into space without knowing if he'll come back safely. Race to Space also features William Atherton and William Devane, while Tyler the chimp appears as Mac. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
In this outdoor drama, a grizzly bear is found in a small town near a mountain range. Fearful that the wild animal may attack people, several of the locals set out to find the bear and bring him down. But one teenager defies the community and sets out to save the animal's life. Wild Grizzly stars Daniel Baldwin, Michele Greene, and Fred Dryer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Baldwin, Fred Dryer, (more)
