Steven L. Bloom Movies

Andrew Lawrence heads the cast of this inspirational made-for-cable movie as Jace Newfield, a blind teenager who moves from his native New York City to Utah. As the new kid in school, Jace desperately wants to be accepted, but the kids want nothing to do with him. At first he thinks it is because he is blind, but that can't be the case, since the most popular teacher in school, Mason Wyatt (Wayne Brady). Is likewise sightless. Finally Jace is tipped off that his classmates are avoiding him because they think he's snooty and standoffish. Perhaps he would fare better if he would take up a sport that would bring him into extremely close contact with his peers--a sport such as wrestling! Going to the Mat first aired over the Disney channel on March 19, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A young boy's discovery of a gigantic peach triggers an eventful journey across the sea in this strikingly designed and surprisingly twisted animated adventure. A live-action framing device establishes the dark yet fanciful mood one might expect from an adaptation of a Roald Dahl story, as young British lad James (Paul Terry) is orphaned by the death of his parents and forced to live with two cruel, repulsive aunts (played by noted British character actors Miriam Margolyes and Joanna Lumley of British TV hit Absolutely Fabulous). The visit of a mysterious stranger provides a means of escape, however, through a magic bag of "crocodile tongues" that bring about the appearance of the giant peach. The curious James soon winds up inside the fruit, at which point his body changes, and the film switches to a combination of stop-motion and digital animation. The new James meets up with a group of talking, oversized insects, including a vampish spider (voiced by Susan Sarandon), a sarcastic centipede (voiced by Richard Dreyfuss), and a matronly ladybug (voiced by Jane Leeves). These creatures become his traveling companions when the peach rolls into the Atlantic Ocean, and James and his new friends must brave a variety of dangers to reach the shore. Director Henry Selick provides further proof of the visual skill he demonstrated in The Nightmare Before Christmas, creating a fascinating, often eerie alternate universe, while Randy Newman provides the upbeat musical accompaniment. Young children may be disturbed by the story's creepier overtones, but the mixture of remarkable visuals, oddball characters, and off-kilter fantasy will appeal to all other audiences. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

Dr. Jack Hammond (Dudley Moore) is a noted heart surgeon whose personality is switched with his teenage son Chris (Kirk Cameron) in this uninspired comedy. The ingestion of a brain transference serum is the catalyst for the comic catastrophe and the confusion that follows. Sean Astin and Patrick O'Neal co-star with Margaret Colin and Catherine Hicks. A decent idea for a comedy that has since been done better in Brian Gilbert's 1988 comedy Vice Versa starring Fred Savage and Judge Reinhold. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi