Andy Fickman

Walt Disney Pictures resurrects one of their time-honored franchises with Race to Witch Mountain, a family film that tells the story of two children (AnnaSophia Robb and Alexander Ludwig) with psychic abilities whose search for their origins gets them caught up in an adventure with a cab driver (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) and a UFO specialist (Carla Gugino). The original 1975 picture Escape to Witch Mountain was followed by the sequel Return From Witch Mountain, as well as a 1995 made-for-TV remake. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Gridiron Gang star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson picks up the pigskin once again for this sports-themed family comedy concerning a football superstar who abandons the gridiron to answer the call of fatherhood. Joe Kingman (Johnson) was a star quarterback destined for greatness; not only is the Boston-based team he plays for well on their way to the championships, but he's got all the money and fame that a man could want out of life. A perpetual bachelor whose one brief marriage ended many moons ago, Kingman is stunned to learn that a long-forgotten youthful fling had more permanent consequences than he ever anticipated. Now, just as his career is set to blow up bigger than ever, this perpetual bachelor learns that he has a seven-year-old daughter named Peyton (Madison Pettis). So how does a lifelong jock who's used to partying all night and dropping 20-yard bombs all day adjust to a life of ballet classes, Barbie dolls, and afternoon play dates? Whatever road he chooses to take, it certainly won't be easy, especially since his ruthless, goal-oriented agent, Stella (Kyra Sedgwick), would rather see her client scoring touchdowns than cementing familial bonds. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The made-for-cable musical satire Reefer Madness is based on the award-winning play of the same name, which in turn was inspired by the notorious -- and deliciously awful -- 1936 anti-marijuana film originally titled Tell Your Children. A smarmy lecturer (Alan Cumming in the first of his three roles in the film) arrives in a typical small town of the late '30s to warn the populace of the dangers of the "evil weed," bringing along a lurid propaganda film to dramatize his message. In broad, unsubtle, and hilarious strokes, the movie-within-a-movie shows how even a squeaky-clean pair of highschoolers named Mary Lane (Kristen Bell) and Jimmy Harper (Christian Campbell) can become hopeless dope addicts by succumbing to the lure of marijuana. Reefer Madness is not only a savage skewering of the original black-and-white movie (some of the musical's campiest lines are taken directly from the earlier script!), but also a devastating attack on what playwrights Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney consider to be the real reason that the 1936 movie was made: to frighten the public out of their wits in order to keep them under the thumb of an oppressive government. Thus, the musical manages to take a number of not-so-veiled swipes at xenophobia, racism, McCarthyism, the Bush Administration's Homeland Security policy, and even the recent FCC clampdown on "offensive" TV fare (one of the film's highlights is a garish nightclub number featuring Jesus Christ). The ebulliently staged songs include "The Stuff," "Down at the Ol' Five and Dime," "Lonely Pew," "Listen to Jesus Jimmy," "Mary Jane/Mary Lane," "The Brownie Song," "Tell 'Em the Truth," and the title number. Officially titled Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical, this film first aired April 16, 2005, on the Showtime cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide