James Snyder
- 2008
A group of returning vacationers board a late-night shuttle bound for home, but soon find their journey taking a dark turn in this tale of terror from writer/director Edward Anderson. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Curran, Peyton List, (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)
One of the "popular girls" decides to put her mean streak to work in this black comedy. Kimberly Joyce (Evan Rachel Wood) is an outwardly friendly but inwardly cold and manipulative teenager who attends an exclusive private school in Beverly Hills when she's not making fun of her twentysomething stepmother (Jaime King) or listening to her business mogul father (James Woods) rant about the many people he hates. Kimberly's best friend is Brittany (Elisabeth Harnois), who doesn't seem to notice that Kimberly holds a bit of a grudge over the fact Brittany is now dating Troy (Stark Sands), Kimberly's former boyfriend. When Randa (Adi Schnall), an exchange student from the Middle East, arrives at school, Kimberly is asked to show her around, and soon she's giving her the inside scoop on the school's social hierarchy. Kimberly, Brittany, and Randa, like most of the girls at school, don't much care for Mr. Anderson (Ron Livingston), a teacher who doesn't make much of a secret of his lust for the female student body, though he doesn't do much besides look. Kimberly decides to do something about Mr. Anderson by fabricating a story that he has had inappropriate contact with her, Brittany, and Randa, and it doesn't take long for the matter to become a local scandal, though it does end up backfiring on Kimberly in time. Pretty Persuasion also features supporting performances from Selma Blair, Jane Krakowski, and Michael Hitchcock. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Evan Rachel Wood, Ron Livingston, (more)
- 2004
Unhappy about the relationship between Rory (Alexis Bledel) and Dean (Jared Padalecki), Richard (Edward Herrmann) and Emily (Kelly Bishop) briefly reunite to find a more "suitable" beau for their granddaughter (whether she likes it or not). As for Rory's mom Lorelei (Lauren Graham) her hopes for a quiet dinner with Luke (Scott Patterson) are dashed by the misbehavior of Luke's sister Liz (Kathleen Wilhoite) and her husband T.J. (Michael DeLuise)--who, horror of horrors, have moved next door to Luke! And Zach (Todd Lane) begins to have second thoughts about his romance with Lane (Keiko Agena) after sampling the tyranny of Lane's uber-conservative mother (Emily Kuroda). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
