Paul Brown Movies

The Jonas Brothers star in this Disney Channel Original Movie about a working class girl determined to refine her musical talent at an acclaimed summer workshop, and the newfound sense of confidence she gains after meeting the singer of a popular musical act. Camp Rock is the place where young musicians go to grow into talented musicians. Mitchie Torres has always dreamt of spending a summer at Camp Rock, but her family can't afford the tuition costs. When Mitchie's mother announces that she got her daughter a discount on tuition by agreeing to work as the camp cook, the young musician is overjoyed at the prospect of actually attending Camp Rock. Though at first intimidated by the more privileged campers, Mitchie soon strikes up a friendship with the decidedly down-to-earth Caitlyn, who dreams of some day becoming a music producer. Later, Mitchie tries to impress popular girls Tess, Peggy, and Ella by claiming that her mother is a powerful executive at Hot Tunes TV, a tall tale that ultimately gets her invited to sing back up for the catty clique. Meanwhile, Connect 3's summer tour has been cancelled, and lead singer Shane Gray seems to have lost his passion for music. His bandmates Jason and Nate think that a stint in Camp Rock would be the perfect thing to help the singer get his ego back in check, and soon after arriving Shane is captivated by Mitchie's voice. Unlike the other campers, Mitchie seems to genuinely appreciate Shane's creativity rather than simply fawning over his stardom, and it before long the pair has become fast friends. But Tess is jealous of Mitchie and Shane's budding friendship, and upon discovering the truth about the humble singer's mother, the scheming mean girl makes it her mission to get ensure that neither Mitchie nor Caitlyn perform at the upcoming Final Jam competition. Later, as Shane, Nate, and Jason take their seats on the judge's panel for the Final Jam, Mitchie attempts to overcome her fear, step into the spotlight, and show everyone her true talent. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Based on the children's book by Philip Pullman, Laurie Lynd's I Was a Rat is a feature-length fable originally made as a three-part BBC miniseries. A reworking of a popular fairy tale, the story opens with a young abandoned pageboy (Calum Worthy) taken in by a childless couple: the aging cobbler Bob (Tom Conti) and domestic worker Joan (Brenda Fricker). Nicknamed Roger, the pageboy claims that he isn't human at all but a rat, which attracts the interest of the Daily Scourge newspaper, a mad scientist, and a carnival owner named Oliver Tapscrew (Don McKellar). The search for Roger's real home is accompanied by the story of Lady Aurelia (Katie Blake) and her prince (James Millard). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

A group of celebrated high-school athletes are prosecuted for the gang rape of a retarded girl in this TV movie, which was adapted from the nonfiction book Our Guys: The Glen Ridge Rape and the Secret Life of the Perfect Suburb, by Bernie Lefkowitz. When big-city cop Kelly Brooks (Ally Sheedy) moves back to cushy suburb Glen Ridge, NJ, she quickly learns the town's rituals: Jocks are at the top of the social heap, and football is a civic obsession. Soon, though, Brooks becomes the chief investigator in the alleged rape of Leslie Farber (Heather Matarazzo), a mildly retarded teen, by a group of football players. Although accounts differ and Leslie herself changes her story several times, it seems that the boys took turns with Leslie in one boy's basement and even penetrated the girl with a baseball bat. However, Leslie's excitement at being included in the activities of the popular crowd and her own budding sexual impulses make it hard to discern whether or not the sex was voluntary. Given the inconclusive evidence, the case almost hits a dead end, but Brooks digs deeper. Soon, she discovers one boy who is willing to talk and who claims to have been a witness rather than a participant. Unfortunately for Brooks' popularity at work, the kid turns out to be the son of a fellow police officer -- and one of the boys he implicates is his own brother. Based on a real-life incident that occurred in 1989, Our Guys: Outrage at Glen Ridge also stars Eric Stoltz as the prosecutor who assists in Brooks' investigation. The titular suburb is the real-life hometown of actor Tom Cruise. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

This intellectually demanding drama is based on a theatrical monologue by actor/writer Daniel MacIvor. Victor and 10 others sit in a church. He, who has just come out of group therapy, is sharing his odd life experiences with the people and as he rambles on, little reenactments of the strange tales are depicted. He tells one story of a boy friend who is driven insane by his girl friend's dog. It seems the pooch can laugh like a person and the longer the man is around it, the more convinced he is that the dog's laughter is directed at him. In another, even stranger, tale of a reporter and a librarian who spend their entire lives almost meeting. When they finally do run into each other, each suddenly realizes that they are soulmates and are deeply in love. So joyful are they that they physically explode. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Actor Henry Adler (Tom McCamus) has a tenuous hold on his identity in Canadian director David Wellington's I Love a Man in Uniform. On his way to audition for a violent TV police show, he sees an officer shot in the line of duty. Using what he witnessed in his tryout, he impresses the casting director and gets the role of a tough street cop. But it's more than just a part for him: he takes his uniform home, goes out on the street, and gets mistaken for a real cop. Like Anthony John in A Double Life, he has become his character, and like Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, he wants to clean the world of its filth. This film is not merely an exploration of one man's descent into madness; it is also an indictment of society's confusion of televised fiction with real life. ~ Steve Press, Rovi