Blank Check 1994  PG, 93 min.
Genre: Family
Director: Rupert Wainwright
Cast: Brian Bonsall, Karen Duffy, James Rebhorn, Jayne Atkinson, Michael Faustino, Chris Demetral, Miguel Ferrer, Michael Lerner, Tone Loc, Rick Ducommun, Debbie Allen, Alex Zuckerman
Eleven-year-old Preston (Brian Bonsall) becomes a millionaire when a gangster gives him a blank check after wrecking Preston's bike. Preston goes on a spending frenzy, but the bad guys want their money back–badly. A weak, Disney offering.
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Free Willy 1993  PG, 110 min.
Genre: Family
Director: Simon Wincer
Cast: Jason James Richter, Lori Petty, Jayne Atkinson, August Schellenberg, Michael Madsen, Michael Ironside, Richard Riehle
A foster child (Jason James Richter) and a killer whale, Willy, develop a friendship, which proves useful when the dastardly owners of the park try to exploit Willy.
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Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home 1995  PG, 98 min.
Genre: Family
Director: Dwight H. Little
Cast: Jason James Richter, Francis Capra, Michael Madsen, August Schellenberg, Jayne Atkinson, Elizabeth Pena, Jon Tenney, Mary Kate Schellhardt
Jesse (Jason James Richter) is back, this time with a half-brother, Elvis (Francis Capra). While the story may not be memorable, the special effects with mechanical whales are a highlight.
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Twelve and Holding 2006 R, 94 min.
Genre: Drama
aka: 12 and Holding
Director: Michael Cuesta
Cast: Conor Donovan, Jesse Camacho, Zoe Weizenbaum, Jeremy Renner, Linus Roache, Annabella Sciorra, Jayne Atkinson, Marcia DeBonis, Tom McGowan, Bruce Altman, Mark Linn-Baker, Tony Roberts
Rudy and twin brother Jacob (both played by Conor Donovan), Malee (Zoe Weizenbaum), and Leonard (Jesse Camacho) make up a tight group of friends. When Rudy is killed by local bullies who set fire to their tree house with Rudy in it, each of the group deals with the tragedy in their own way. Timid Jacob, who is self-conscious because of a large birthmark on his face, visits the jailed boys who set the fire to find out their motivation despite the grievances of his parents. Malee becomes infatuated with a construction worker who is one of her psychotherapist mother's clients, and obese Leonard starts working out and dieting while encouraging his overweight mother to do the same. A good coming-of-age film on coping with tragedy. Fine sound track.
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 The Village 2004 PG-13, 108 min.
Genre: Horror / Thriller
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Cast: Bryce Dallas Howard, Joaquin Phoenix, Adrien Brody, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Brendan Gleeson, Cherry Jones, Celia Weston, John Christopher Jones, Frank Collison, Jayne Atkinson, Judy Greer
It is 1897 in the agrarian community of Covington, Pennsylvania, and the residents have made an agreement to live peacefully but apart from the bad creatures living in the nearby woods. But, one day young Lucius (Joaquin Phoenix) decides to explore the woods, and quicker than the blink of an eye, the town is under attack by the creatures. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Musical Score.
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| 1. Blank Check (1994)
2. Free Willy (1993)
3. Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995)
4. Twelve and Holding (2006)
aka: 12 and Holding
5. The Village (2004)
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