Marc Menard Movies
- 2006
The third of MyNetwork's nightly English-language "novellas", Watch Over Me was based on Telefe Argentina's Resistere. Daynara Torres, a Puerto Rican actress and former Miss Universe, starred as young psych student Julia Rivera, who was engaged to wealthy but faithless "medical entrepreneur" Michael Krieger (Mark Menard). With fingers in several dirty pies, Michael had made enemies of a number of tough underworld characters, and thus found it expedient to hire a bodyguard for Julia, a handsome hunk named Jack Porter (Todd Cahoon). With typical soap-opera inevitability, the impressionable Julia found herself romantically torn between the dashing Michael and the down-to-earth Jack--while Jack, anxious to wrest Julia aware from her dangerous sweetheart, endeavored to open the girl's eyes to Michael's true nature. Others lurking about included several "star names", among them Casper Van Dien as Andre Forester, a hired assassin who knew where most of Michael's bodies were buried (chances are Andre buried them himself!), Catherine Oxenberg as Michael's enigmatic personal assistant Leandra Thames, and Roxana Zal as all-purpose femme fatala Natalie Weller. Rounding out the main cast was Caitlin McCarthy as Michael's troubled daughter Caroline, whose horrible nightmares invariably provided clues as to what had previously transpired and dropped hints concerning the perils in the furture. The series benefited from a strong tie-in with the Wal-Mart retail store chain, which provided many of the characters' costumes. The first of the 65 hour-long Watch Over Me episodes premiered December 6, 2006, as the replacement for the previous MyNetwork nighttime soaper Fashion House. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Chappelle's Show writer/producer/director Neal Brennan makes his feature directorial debut with this retro-minded comedy purported to have been produced in the 1980s but never released until 2006. As the Gunderson family sets out on a cross-country road trip to their new home, boyishly handsome Charlie (Mikey Day), blossoming dancer Lori (Dominique Swain), and highly intelligent Max (Trevor Heins) all have their own ideas of what life will be like in their new town. When Charlie is singled out as the least popular senior on the very first day of school, kindly outcast Billie (Nicki Clyne) amiably agrees to show him the ropes and provide him with an illuminating crash course in the clique system. Meanwhile, Lori is shocked to discover that dancing has been banned in her new town and the only place to cut loose is at the clandestine dance sessions held in the garage of current janitor and former dance instructor Gabriel (Chris Kattan). Immediately forbidden from attending the highly secretive shindigs, Lori stealthily sneaks out to be with the kindly Gabriel as her feelings for the dance instructor grow and the pair set into motion a clever plan to usher in a new era of dancing around town. When Charlie vows to win the heart of popular girl Kimberly (Brittany Daniel) by competing against her athletic boyfriend, Kipp (Joey Kern), in the upcoming school decathlon, lovelorn Billie quietly pines for the clueless newcomer from afar as he begins a rigorous training regiment with Japanese gardener Yamagashi (James Hong). As his family struggles to adjust to their new life, reclusive genius Max continues working on a highly advanced home computer that soon draws the attention of the CIA. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Three teenagers two-timed by a local lothario decide to turn the tables on him in this romantic comedy. John Tucker (Jesse Metcalfe) is the big man on campus at his high school -- he's the captain and star player of the basketball team, he's got money, he's good-looking and charming, and he can have any girl he wants. However, the latter attribute is about to get him in serious trouble when three different girls at his school -- Heather (Ashanti), Beth (Sophia Bush) and Carrie (Arielle Kebbel) -- discover they've all been dating John at the same time. Determined to bring down the campus ladykiller, the girls devise a plan -- they pick a cute but socially clumsy girl who is new at school, Kate (Brittany Snow), and give her a crash course in stealing John's heart. Once Kate has John wrapped around her little finger, she's supposed to drop him like a bad habit and give him a taste of what heartbreak is really like. However, it seems that the early stages of the plan work a little too well, and John and Kate end up falling for each other for real. John Tucker Must Die also stars Jenny McCarthy, Penn Badgley, and Dan Payne. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jesse Metcalfe, Brittany Snow, (more)
- 2004
After checking on two neonatal infants who have suffered mysterious seizures, House (Hugh Laurie) concludes that the clinic has become the breeding ground for a deadly epidemic--which is rapidly spreading to the other newborns. In order to isolate the reason for this outbreak and to stop it in its tracks, House is faced with a difficult choice: One of the babies will have to die to save the others. As it turns out, the source of the epidemic has little to do with babies, but neither House nor the audience finds this out until the very last moment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
