Andrew Miano Movies

Based on the popular series of books by Darren Shan, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant tells the story of a small-town teen who inadvertently shatters a 200-year-old truce between warring factions of vampires. Sixteen-year-old Darren (Chris Massoglia) is your typical adolescent; he spends most of his time with his best friend, Steve (Josh Hutcherson), earns decent grades, and generally manages to stay out of trouble. But trouble finds Darren when he and Steve make the acquaintance of a vampire named Larten Crepsley (John C. Reilly) while attending a traveling freak show at a local theater. Transformed into a bloodsucker by Crepsley, Darren joins the Cirque Du Freak and quickly ingratiates himself with the unusual cast of characters who populate it, including Madame Truska the Bearded Lady (Salma Hayek) and the traveling sideshow's towering barker (Ken Watanabe). As Darren works to master his newfound powers as a budding member of the supernatural underworld, he becomes a valued pawn between the vampires and their deadlier rivals, the Vampaneze. With tensions between the two sects intensifying, Darren must figure out a means of keeping the coming war from destroying his last vestige of humanity. Patrick Fugit, Orlando Jones, Willem Dafoe, and Jane Krakowski co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Michael Cera and Kat Dennings star as two lonesome teens who make a love connection as they prowl the streets of New York looking for their favorite band's secret show, as well as for their drunk friend Caroline. Norah is sick of being the doormat for her catty friend Tris, so rather than look like she's arrived at yet another concert without her unreliable ex-boyfriend-with-benefits Tal, she grabs a stranger and pretends he's her date. Unfortunately, that stranger is Nick -- whom Tris just dumped. Oddly enough, though, Nick and Norah seem to have a real connection. But is Nick still too hung up on the princess? The only way to find out is to spend all night combing Manhattan in a yellow Yugo. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

The President of the United States (Dennis Quaid) seems to be having a nervous breakdown after picking up a newspaper for the first time in four years, and when his Chief of Staff (Willem Dafoe) determines to get the Commander in Chief out of his pajamas and back into the spotlight, the stage is set for a talent contest that the nation will never forget. To President Staton, the world is a fairly black-and-white place, but a glance at the daily headlines on the eve of his reelection leaves the most powerful man in the free world shaken to the very core. Now determined to read as much as possible in order to best assess the opinions of the general public, President Staton locks himself away and obsessively begins taking in as much information as humanly possible. With concern about the President's mental health soon taking precedence over all other issues in the White House, his nervous Chief of Staff attempts to get the Commander in Chief back in the public eye by booking him as a guest judge on television's top-rated talent show, "American Dreamz." A weekly ratings juggernaut hosted by self-loathing celebrity Martin Tweed (Hugh Grant), "American Dreamz" cashes in on the dominant culture of celebrity by affording everyday Americans the opportunity to be catapulted into stardom. As "American Dreamz" hopefuls Sally (Mandy Moore) and Omer (Sam Golzari) progress to the final round and the President takes his seat on the panel, an unexpected revelation about one of the finalists promises to make this season finale the biggest ratings grabber in television history. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A middle-aged man finds a callow twentysomething usurping his professional life and worming his way into his family in this alternately funny and poignant comedy drama. Dan Foreman (Dennis Quaid) is a middle-aged man who has spent 20 years as the head of advertising sales for Sports America, a leading athletics magazine. Dan is happily married to Ann (Marg Helgenberger) and has a college-age daughter, Alex (Scarlett Johansson), whom he dotes on, but Dan's comfortable life is given a major shake-up when a large multimedia firm buys the magazine. Seen as a bit long in the tooth to be truly competitive, Dan is demoted to second in command of advertising, and his position is handed over to Carter Duryea (Topher Grace), a 26-year-old who talks a good game about sales but has no practical experience in the field. Dan's wounded ego makes working with the arrogant Carter an uphill battle, but when he learns that Ann is expecting another baby, Dan is in no position to quit. Before long, Dan becomes aware of Carter's intense insecurities about his new job as the younger man reaches out to him for guidance, but this doesn't make Dan any less angry when Carter begins a romance with Alex after his marriage to Kimberley (Selma Blair) crashes and burns. In Good Company marked the solo directorial debut of Paul Weitz; he previously worked in collaboration with his brother Chris Weitz, who serves as producer on this film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide