Adam Kassen Movies

As one of three Jack Kerouac motion pictures to be released in the U.S. within a six-month span, this offbeat drama from writer-director Michael Polish (Northfork) cinematizes Kerouac's 1962 novel of the same name. While the original tome enlisted pseudonyms for the real-life literary figures, however, the movie version dispenses with aliases. The film finds Kerouac (Jean-Marc Barr) disenchanted with the Beat mythos and hounded from all corners by fans who hunt him down and demand his autograph. In need of solace, he slips into self-imposed exile, via a retreat at his friend Lawrence Ferlinghetti's (Anthony Edwards) cabin in seaside Big Sur, California. Within a few days' time, however, he grows equally restless there and heads back to San Francisco to fraternize with Ferlinghetti and other buddies, including Neal Cassady (Josh Lucas), a married man who introduces Jack to his mistress, beautiful single mother Billie (Kate Bosworth). Jack and Billie fall for one another instantly, and begin a passionate affair, but over the following days, Jack slips into an inexorable funk, sitting in an armchair for an inordinate amount of time and refusing to move or function. Ultimately, he suggests to Billie that they try to return to Big Sur once more, to recapture the magic of the past; the young woman agrees, though she desperately wants Jack to settle down and start a family with her, and it remains entirely unclear if he's capable of doing so. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

An unpopular high school teacher finds himself the primary suspect in the case of a missing student when news gets out that he was the last person to see her in this dark comedy starring Tim Daly and Hayden Panettiere. Mr. Gibb (Daly) is reviled among the student body as quite possibly the worst teacher ever to stand at the head of the class. He's infatuated with Ally (Panittiere), a popular teen and local celebrity. When Ally suddenly goes missing, the entire suburban town descends into panic. Could Mr. Gibb have something to do with her disappearance? When a police investigation reveals that Mr. Gibb gave Ally a ride home mere moments before she vanished without a trace, the teacher who was universally despised discovers that his troubles have only just begun. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

As a trio of fantasy-obsessed, sword-fighting geeks attempt to prove that the giant tracks discovered deep in the forest offer undisputed proof that Bigfoot truly exists, a stoned-out bully and his best friend scheme to profit from their elaborate prank before an overzealous Sasquatch hunter arrives to blow the whole scam sky-high. His beloved Pontiac Firebird threatened with repossession by the bank, mullet-haired menace Zerk (Justin Long) convinces his best friend, Shirts (Joey Kern), to help raise money to save the car by selling plaster casts of fake Bigfoot tracks on the Internet. When role-playing dweebs Gavin (Jeremy Sumpter), Hobie (Hubbel Palmer), and Maynard (Rob Pinkston) stumble upon the falsified "evidence," they naïvely assume it to be the genuine article. Now, self-proclaimed Sasquatch expert Dr. Artemis Snodgrass (Carl Weathers) is on his way to town to verify the widely reported discovery. With little time to loose before their ruse is revealed, the lame-brained Internet scammer and his pal rush to cash in as quickly as possible in order to save Zerk's sweet ride from the dreaded repo man. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi