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Laura Ramsey
Based on the novel by A Simple Plan author Scott Smith, director Carter B. Smith's Yucatan-set thriller follows four American tourists as they unwisely venture off the beaten path while vacationing in Cancun. When a friendly German tourist implores the Americans to help search the jungle for his missing brother, the group becomes hopelessly trapped in a nightmare scenario that seems too strange to be true. Jonathan Tucker, Laura Ramsey, Jena Malone, and Shawn Ashmore star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jonathan Tucker, Jena Malone, (more)
- 2007
An American girl follows her heart and her dreams to the Middle East in this romantic comedy-drama. Lola (Laura Ramsey) was born and raised in Wisconsin but has moved to Manhattan in hopes of finding a more exciting career, though so far she's making ends meet working as a letter carrier. Lola's secret passion is belly dancing, and she devotes her spare time to lessons in the ancient art; her close friend Yussef (Achmed Akkabi) offers encouragement, but so far she's only been able to perform in public at a ratty strip club. While delivering mail, Lola meets Zach (Assad Bouab), the handsome son of a wealthy Egyptian family who is studying business in the United States. Zach is clearly attracted to Lola, and it isn't long before she finds herself falling for him, and when he's called home on short notice, Lola decides buy a ticket to Cairo to follow him. It doesn't take long for Lola to realize that while Zach may have pursued her in New York, he's not about to at home, but she becomes fascinated with Cairo and decides to stay for a while in hopes of learning belly dancing in the land where it was born. Lola finds Ismahan (Carmen Lebbos), once one of the world's greatest belly dancers, and asks her for lessons, but Lola learns she retired in disgrace after a scandal and luring her back into action is no easy task. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laura Ramsey, Achmed Akkabi, (more)
A simple case of assumed identity snowballs into a romantic mix-up of epic proportions in director Andy Fickman's contemporary teen take on William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Viola Hastings (Amanda Bynes) has good reason for wanting to conceal her identity upon arriving at Illyria Prep school, and with her twin brother Sebastian (James Kirk) skirting school in an attempt to break into the London music scene, Viola sees her sibling's well-timed absence as the perfect opportunity to assume his identity. When Viola is assigned a shared dorm room with campus cool guy Duke (Channing Tatum), her façade slowly begins to crumble as she begins harboring a deep-rooted crush on her unsuspecting new roommate. The situation begins to take a turn for the worse, however, when Duke reveals his affection towards campus knockout Olivia (Laura Ramsey), who in turn seems increasingly drawn toward the sensitive imposter known as Sebastian. The problem is, the real Sebastian has decided to cut his London trip short, and upon arriving on campus two days earlier than expected, Viola's elaborately executed ruse hits an unexpected hitch that sends the entire situation spiraling into chaos. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Amanda Bynes, Channing Tatum, (more)
An ancient secret threatens to unleash the powers of darkness on a group of modern prep school students when the sole survivor of a cursed bloodline returns to lay claim to the powers denied to him centuries ago in a supernatural teen thriller from director Renny Harlin and screenwriter J.S. Cardone. The story begins in 1692, when five families from the Ipswich Colony of Massachusetts formed a covenant of silence that would forever protect their remarkable powers. One family went too far, though, and as a result of their transgression they were forever banished from the land. Flash forward to the new millennium and the four Sons of Ipswich are now the student elite at the prestigious Spenser Academy. Bound by their sacred ancestry and sworn to silence, these four teens share a secret so remarkable that it has served to protect their families for hundreds of years. The past has a way of coming back when you least expect it though, and when the fifth Son of Ipswich returns seeking to harness the powers denied him in the past, the battle is on to ensure the safety of The Covenant and lay the one descendent who threatens to reveal their secret to rest once and for all. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steven Strait, Sebastian Stan, (more)
A good Samaritan becomes the victim of voodoo spells in this horror story produced by Scream screenwriter Kevin Williamson. When an aged Creole woman is caught in a car wreck in a remote section of Louisiana, Ray (Rick Cramer), the owner of a nearby filling station, speeds to the scene of the accident to help. However, Ray doesn't know that the woman is a voodoo practitioner whose vehicle holds a case full of magic talismans. The magical spirits lead Ray to an unexpected death, and then they take over his body, turning him into a bloodthirsty monster. As the reanimated Ray makes his way into town, a group of teenagers including Eden (Agnes Bruckner) and Tammy (Bijou Phillips) find themselves running for their lives from the supernatural creature, while Deputy Turner (Method Man) looks for a way to keep the strange menace under control. Venom went into release in the fall of 2005 -- only a few weeks after Hurricane Katrina devastated much of the state of Louisiana, making the film seem unfortunately topical. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Television takes a turn towards the terrifying as a disgruntled contestant who was recently dismissed from a high profile reality shows takes a group of frightened co-eds hostage on the set of his own imaginary show in director Kelsey T. Howard's savage satire of the popular TV trend. Edward Furlong and Jaime Pressly lead a talented cast of rising stars that also includes Aimee Garcia, Susan Ward, and Andrew Keegan. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Furlong, Jaime Pressly, (more)
The true story of the kids who created modern skateboard culture is recreated in this drama. In the early '70s, skateboards were seen as a fad of the 1960s that had all but died out, but in a rough-and-tumble Venice, CA, community known as "Dogtown," that was about to change. Tony Alva (Victor Rasuk), Stacy Peralta (John Robinson), and Jay Adams (Emile Hirsch) were three guys who liked to surf the rugged beaches around Venice and hung out at the Zephyr Surf Shop, a store run by Skip Engblom (Heath Ledger) that stocked gear for adventurous surfers and skateboarders. With the advent of new urethane wheels that connected with concrete in a way old metal and rubber wheels could not, Tony, Stacy, and Jay began exploring ways to translate radical surf style to skateboarding, and the guys invented a new way to skate inside the smooth, round surfaces of empty pools, employing vertical moves and edge flips that added a new and dramatic spin to skating. It didn't take long for word to spread about the wild new style of the Z-Boys, and they quickly became local celebrities, and later nationwide skating stars, though sudden fame took its toll on these young men. The true story of Lords of Dogtown was previously the basis of the acclaimed documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys, directed by former Z-Boy Stacy Peralta, who like Tony Alva served as a consultant on this project. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emile Hirsch, Victor Rasuk, (more)
Following the style of the reality-based programming on the FOX network, The Real Cancun is a feature-length effort to capture R-rated footage of a group of upper middle-class college students on spring break in Cancun, Mexico. Made by the Bunim/Murray production team (responsible for MTV's The Real World) and released in the vulgar wake of Jackass: The Movie, this 90-minute movie features 16 conventionally attractive 18- to 23-year-olds coming from different colleges across the country and encouraged to party like they never have before. There's Alan, the innocent boy from Texas; Casey, the would-be model from Florida; Jeremy, the ladies' man from Arizona; Brittany, the pretty girl from California; and so forth. Romantic pairs, best friends, twins, and other couples are also figured into the group in order to boost the likelihood of hooking-up and/or breaking-up theatrics. Six camera crews follow the group around 24 hours a day during the weeklong vacation in order to catch the highest possible amount of alcohol consumption, nudity, and sexual activity. Participants give interviews and provide relationship updates in-between the dancing, drinking, sunbathing, and general partying. The Real Cancun was filmed in March of 2003 and released theatrically only a month later. Directed by Rick de Oliveira, who made his directorial debut in 2002 with the straight-to-video title Who Wants to Be a Playboy Centerfold? ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Benjamin "Fletch" Fletcher, Nicole Frilot, (more)
