Zachary Weintraub Movies

Love makes trouble for two siblings uncertain of what to do with their lives in this laid-back independent comedy-drama. Isaac (Mackinley Robinson) is seventeen years old and about to graduate from high school; he can't make up his mind about college or a career, and the future seems both exciting and frightening to him. As a new world of responsibility looms for Isaac, his older brother Ben (Zach Weintrab) comes home for a visit, mainly so he can see his former girlfriend Lila (Julia McAlee). As Ben and Lila become reacquainted, they decide to head out on a road trip to find a celebrated hedge maze. Ben invites Isaac to tag along, and while the three of them roll up and down the highways on a lackadaisical adventure, it soon becomes evident that both Isaac and Ben are very much in love with Lila, forcing the brothers into a rivalry. Bummer Summer was the first feature film for Zach Weintraub, who wrote and directed as well as playing Ben; the film received its world premiere at the 2010 Cinequest Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Millennium's Lance Hendriksen stars in this post-apocalyptic action flick from director Zachary Weintraub. Following an asteroid strike, the earth has become a desolate place. The remaining population is divided up between pure humans and a race of super-powered mutants. A vendetta between the groups two leaders leads to a bloody war between the factions. Dream Warrior also stars Daniel Goddard and Sherilyn Fenn. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Terrence McNally's stage play Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune was a two-character piece, which starred Kathy Bates and F. Murray Abraham on Broadway. Garry Marshall's film version of the McNally play streamlines the title to Frankie and Johnny, expands the dramatis personae to include at least a dozen fascinating characters, and "glamorizes" the decidedly unglamorous Frankie and Johnny in the forms of Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino (their first co-starring stint since Scarface). Purists carped at the changes, but overall the film is likeable enough to transcend these carps. While serving an 18-month sentence on a forgery charge, Johnny (Al Pacino) discovers the joys of cooking and classical literature. Upon his release, he is hired by gruff but good-hearted New York diner owner Nick (played by Garry Marshall "regular" Hector Elizondo). Also working for Nick is a waitress named Frankie (Michelle Pfeiffer). When Johnny expresses interest in Frankie, she keeps him at arm's length, her mistrust of men stemming from an unmentioned but obviously traumatic experience in her past. Eventually, however, Frankie and Johnny do get together, their curious relationship setting the stage for a dramatic denouement wherein both lovers bare their souls. The bulk of the original McNally play is concentrated in the film's final 20 minutes; the rest of the picture is a kaleidoscope of comic and poignant vignettes and quick-sketch character studies. Of the newly minted characters, the standout is Nathan Lane in the traditional "gay best friend/severest critic" role: he plays the character so effectively that one forgets he's essentially a cliché. As for the stars, Al Pacino is ideally cast as Johnny, but Michelle Pfeiffer, superb though she is, seems a bit ill at ease as the emotionally tattered Frankie; she totally wins the audience's hearts, however, in the film's memorable bowling-alley sequence. Smoothing over the rough spots in Frankie and Johnny is the evocative musical score by Marvin Hamlisch. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi