Transformations rarely come as thick as the one made by Vanessa Hudgens for "Gimme Shelter." The sweet-cheeked kids-show chanteuse tosses on the hoodie from the bottom of the pile of dirty clothes. She becomes Apple, a teenage wretch escaping from her life with an abusive mom. This street child isn’t above cutting her hair in clumps or eating pizza out of a dumpster. That was not a skill learned on the set of High School Musical. "Gimme Shelter" starts out looking like "The Blind Side"

The story of four college students on spring break (played by Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson and Rachel Korine) is inevitably going to spin out of control—agreed—that’ s what the movie’s poster tells us, what the trailer confirmed, and what the dozens of similar previous films have told us before. But let’s not sweat the small stuff. What’s interesting is how effective “Breakers” is cinematically: a great, awesome thrill ride. Watch out, however, because “Breakers” could prove to be yet another of Hollywood’s

The fabulous Vanessa Hudgens is hardly the up-and-coming actor you’d expect to find in this column. She’s already a platinum-selling recording artist and has had several enviable roles in major studio productions. Hudgens, who’s less than thirty, has also been profiled by Forbes Magazine as part of their highest-earning young stars ranking. But her upcoming appearance in a movie currently being shot by America’s renegade filmmaker Harmony Korine should give this lovely young actor some indie cred and a chance to get cast in broader roles. The thrilla from Manila (Hudgens is part Filipina and part Irish) is best known for her portrayal of the character Gabriella Montez in the High School Musical series. She started acting