Amber Benson Movies
Born in 1977, actress Amber Benson entered the hallowed halls of show business as a child star, with multifaceted, audience-commanding portrayals in such respected arthouse fare as King of the Hill (1993) and Imaginary Crimes (1994). Benson netted far greater exposure, however, as Tara Maclay, the lesbian sorceress and first girlfriend of fellow witch Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan) on the cult hit Buffy the Vampire Slayer. That assignment lasted for two and a half years; near the end of Benson's participation in it, she assumed quadruple-threat status as the writer, director, producer, and star of the offbeat comedy drama Chance (which, unfortunately, bypassed wide release and received extremely limited ancillary exposure). She then returned to acting in films including Intermedio (2005), Tripping Forward (2006), and the medieval monster-themed telemovie Attack of the Gryphon (2007) before re-assuming directorial duties with the 2007 feature Lovers, Liars and Lunatics. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide- 1993
- PG13
Steven Soderbergh, after the success of sex, lies, and videotape and the commercial failure of Kafka, pulls a rabbit out of his hat with this quiet and evocative recollection of a childhood lived in the Depression, based on A. E. Hotchner's memoir. Twelve-year-old Aaron Kurlander (Jesse Bradford) is coming of age in a rotting working class section of St. Louis in 1933. As the film begins, Aaron's family is coming apart at the seams due to the increasingly bleak economy. His father (Jeroen Krabbe) ekes out a living with a series of failed sales jobs as the family lives in the dilapidated Empire Hotel in a seamy section of town. When his younger brother (Cameron Boyd) is sent to live with relatives to save expenses, his consumptive mother (Lisa Eichhorn) goes away to a sanitarium and his father abandons him to sell watches in Iowa. At first Aaron retreats into a concocted fantasy world but he gradually becomes drawn into the shattered lives of the tenants of the hotel. Aaron sees the rotting social fabric laid bare and discovers he must temper his childhood dreams with the hard-hitting realities of adult existence. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jesse Bradford, Jeroen Krabbé, (more)
The Crush is a psychological thriller wherein a young man is the object of the obsession of a mentally unbalanced young girl. Journalist Nick Elliot (Cary Elwes) rents the guest house of a wealthy couple. The family's 14-year-old daughter Darien (Alicia Silverstone) flirts with him, and when her advances are not reciprocated she becomes increasingly obsessed with him resorting at last to violence and murder. Alicia Silverstone is beautiful and surprisingly good as the obsessed girl. Cary Elwes is also good in conveying his attraction and restraint in his dealings with so young and troubled a girl. However, the premise of the man being trapped by the aggressive, vengeful female is somewhat outdated and cliched. The Crush which should concentrate on the motivations of the girl, instead focuses on her increasingly violent acts, which include the vandalism of Nick's car and the attempted murder of his girlfriend. None of the characters are very real, and the plot is contrived, depending on illogical coincidence and implausible behavior by the principal characters. The Crush, an exploitive, cliched melodrama masquerading as a thriller, fails to either surprise or thrill. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cary Elwes, Alicia Silverstone, (more)
