Daniel Barnz Movies
A veteran of Ivy League Yale University and the University of Southern California Film School, writer-cum-director Daniel Barnz spent almost a decade circulating his original scripts among the studios, and culled interest from a substantial roster of A-list talent including Jodie Foster and Mel Gibson, but could never actually cross the line and get one of the scripts produced. Barnz's fortunes shifted in late 2006, when his Phoebe in Wonderland -- an offbeat drama about a troubled young girl drifting ever more deeply into a fantasy world of her own design -- received a greenlight from executive producers Chris Finazzo and Doug Dey, with Barnz himself attached to direct. Released in 2008, it featured Elle Fanning, Felicity Huffman, and Patricia Clarkson in the cast. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
A curse transforms a handsome and arrogant young man into everything he detests in this contemporary retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Wealthy Kyle Kingson (Alex Pettyfer) has everything a teenager could want in life, but he still gets off on humiliating the weaker and less attractive. When Kyle invites his misfit classmate Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen) to an environmental rally at their school, she questions his motivations but reluctantly accepts. Later, Kyle blows Kendra off, prompting the spurned goth girl to cast a dark spell on the swaggering egotist. The spell causes Kyle to transform into an unsightly creature that strikes fear into the heart of everyone he meets, and the only way to reverse it is for him to find someone who can love him for who he is on the inside. Subsequently sent by his repulsed father to live in Brooklyn, Kyle forges a tenuous friendship with his kindly housekeeper (Lisa Gay Hamilton) and his blind tutor (Neil Patrick Harris). When Kyle witnesses a drug addict in a desperate struggle with a menacing dealer, he intervenes, promising to protect the addict under the condition that his beautiful daughter, Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens), comes to live with the unsightly recluse in his sprawling Brooklyn home. Over time, the two forge a relationship that grows much deeper than anything Kyle has ever experienced before. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Hudgens, (more)
Felicity Huffman, Elle Fanning, and Patricia Clarkson star in director/screenwriter Daniel Barnz's illuminating tale of parenting and growth concerning an exceptional young girl whose troubling retreat into fantasy draws the concern of both her dejected mother and her unusually perceptive drama teacher. Phoebe (Fanning) is a talented young student who longs to take part in the school production of Alice in Wonderland, but whose bizarre behavior sets her well apart from her carefree classmates. Her mother (Huffman) is an aspiring academic who is beginning to feel like she has not only failed in her professional career, but as a parent as well. Though Phoebe's gifted drama teacher (Clarkson) has no doubts about the young girl's talent and capacity for learning, the frustration of seeing such a promising student slowly slip ever further away from reality soon becomes a growing concern both at home and at school. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Elle Fanning, Felicity Huffman, (more)
- 2012
- PG
- Add Won't Back Down to Queue
Two headstrong mothers (Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis) wage a valiant struggle to save their children's troubled inner-city school, but find their forward-thinking efforts hampered at every turn by apathy and systematic bureaucracy. Holly Hunter, Rosie Perez, and Ving Rhames co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Rating Systems
Blockbuster
BLOCKBUSTER name, design and related marks are trademarks of Blockbuster L.L.C.
2013 Blockbuster L.L.C. All rights reserved.
Portions of Content Provided by Rovi Corporation. 2013 Rovi Corporation.