Tom Beach Movies

A thirtysomething couple worry their relationship and lives are growing stale. In order to refocus on each other, they take a trip L.A., the town where they first hooked up 10 years before. On a lark they break into the apartment they used to share, and end up hanging out there illegally for a few days, recapturing their care-free past. However, their actions have unintended consequences that make it clear growing-up might not be such a bad thing after all. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Director/co-screenwriter John Stuart Muller helms this lively comedy concerning the quirks of modern romance, and the complications that come when an outwardly loving couple becomes polyamorous. Appearances would suggest that published novelist Mason (Steve Sandvoss) and twenty-something fashion designer Samantha (Courtney Ford) are the perfect couple; though unmarried, they live together, sleep together and shower together. At Samantha's sister Allison's (Ellen Hollman) beautiful spring wedding, however, Sam reencounters her ex-boyfriend, James (Brandon Routh), a surprise guest at the event. The two rekindle their old romance. But Samantha isn't the only one in this marriage with a wandering eye, because Mason begins flirting heavily with the 18-year-old Olivia (Shoshana Bush); the committed scribe and his younger paramour sneak into the hot tub for a particularly steamy encounter. Later spotted by Mason as she attempts to slink out of James' room undetected, Samantha decides to coming clean about the affair. Mason's response proves entirely unexpected. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director Chris Smith made this documentary about independent filmmaking which had its world premiere at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury Prize. American Movie centers on a low-budget horror-film buff named Mark Borchardt, who grew up on such horror classics as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Night of the Living Dead. Now in his late twenties, he has decided to make the ultimate horror opus in the form of an indie feature entitled Northwestern, the scariest film ever made in his Wisconsin town. Filled with determination and passion (and very little else), this documentary follows Mark for a year and a half in the making of Northwestern. The audience sees Mark fending off creditors, including the IRS, and avoiding child support payments so he can make this direct-to-video flick. His efforts to round up cast and crew are disastrous, as there is nobody in his town who shares his knowledge and passion for moviemaking. Eventually he decides to star in his film and wears a dozen crew members' hats as writer, producer, director, cameraman, editor, and soundman. American Movie follows this man with a dream to his dying uncle's trailer park, where he raises three thousand dollars. Unable to make an entire feature for that price, he scraps the idea in exchange for completing one of his many abandoned short films, Coven, which also premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. The end is a world premiere as satisfying as getting accepted into Sundance. ~ Arthur Borman, Rovi