Martha MacIsaac Movies
Unlike many actresses who pay their dues with supporting roles and bit parts for years, the pretty and lithe brunette Martha MacIsaac scored a lead remarkably early in her career, as the title character of the Canadian series Emily of New Moon. That program, like the seminal Anne of Green Gables, constituted an adaptation of novels by Lucy Maud Montgomery, and enabled MacIsaac to make a significant impression in her native country, where the series found a substantial audience. The actress followed it up with bit parts in features such as the 2003 This Time Around and the 2005 Ice Princess, then joined the cast of Greg Mottola's Superbad (2007), a frat-boy comedy about a couple of high-school losers who try to join the "in club" by catering alcohol for a local party. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
A pair of teenage girls are brutally raped and terrorized by a vicious gang of psychopaths, who subsequently find their cruelty returned tenfold when they seek sanctuary in the home of one of the victim's parents in this contemporary reworking of Wes Craven's controversial 1972 shocker. Shortly after arriving at her family's secluded lake house, Mari Collingwood (Sara Paxton) and her best friend are abducted by a sadistic prison escapee and his violent crew. Left for dead and nearly in shock after suffering unspeakable abuse at the hands of her captors, Mari realizes that her only hope for survival is to find her way back home. Unfortunately for Mari, her attackers have unwittingly arrived at her parents' home seeking shelter from the authorities. There, Mari's concerned parents, John (Tony Goldwyn) and Emma (Monica Potter), realize to their horror just what grim fate has befallen their beloved daughter. Suppressing their rage in order to lure the killers into a deadly trap, John and Emma quietly hatch a plan to make the three strangers suffer for their grisly transgressions. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Goldwyn, Monica Potter, (more)
Operating under the assumption that by procuring alcohol for an upcoming party they will finally be able to break their longstanding losing streak with the fairer sex, socially inept high school seniors Evan (Michael Cera) and Seth (Jonah Hill) set out to secure the adult beverages that could get them off of the geek list before they even attend college orientation. Evan is a bright young student whose outward sweetness belies his suffocating fear of heading off to college without his lifelong best friend Seth -- a hormone-driven mischief-maker who wasn't accepted to the same school as Evan. But Evan and Seth both know that college is a place of personal reinvention, and that if they are able to make that first leap together they will have forged a bond powerful enough to last a lifetime. Meanwhile, Evan and Seth's friend Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) acquires a hastily rendered fake I.D. that instantly endears him to a pair of truly irresponsible cops (Bill Hader and Seth Rogen). Penned by co-star Rogen in collaboration with former Da Ali G Show co-writer Evan Goldberg, the semi-autobiographical SuperBad was produced by Judd Apatow and directed by Greg Mottola -- who previously helmed episodes of Undeclared and Arrested Development. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, (more)
- 2005
On an impulse, Carrie Llewellyn (Jodie Bissett) and Jim Barber (Rob Estes) are married in Las Vegas. The couple heads home dreading the prospect of breaking the news of their instant union to their children--of which they have eight between them. It helps not at all that many of the kids already don't like each other, nor that Carrie's offspring can't warm up to Jim, and vice versa. An eventful family excursion to the local bowling alley finally brings everyone together--and when it seems that Carrie and Jim may drift apart, it's the children who cook up strategies to bring them back together. In one respect, this made-for-cable movie goes way, way past The Brady Bunch when a brief romance develops between the two oldest kids. Produced for the ABC Family Channel, I Do, They Don't was originally telecast on March 20, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Cusack, Kim Cattrall, (more)
- 2003
Back when they were junior-high-school "geeks," Melissa and Gabrielle (aka Mel and Gabby) were perennial targets for abuse from the prettier and more popular girls on campus -- especially the beautiful but bitchy Cara Cabot. The most crushing humiliation came when Mel was led to believe that the school's handsomest boy, Drew Hesler, was truly interested in her -- only to be told otherwise in the cruelest and most public fashion imaginable. Eleven years have passed, and Mel (Carly Pope) is now a slim, attractive, high-powered public relations executive, with Gabby (Sara Rue) as her equally well-poised partner. Assigned to publicize a new, trendy restaurant, Mel is astonished to discover that the establishment's owner is none other than Drew Hesler (Brian Austin Green) -- who doesn't even recognize her. Thirsting for revenge, Gabby insists that Mel cook up a scheme that will make both Drew and his partner Cara (Gina Tognoni) look as foolish and flustered as Mel had been back in junior high. But Mel threatens to spoil the scheme by falling in love with Drew all over again. The made-for-cable This Time Around debuted June 22, 2003, on the ABC Family Channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carly Pope, Sara Rue, (more)
