Movies Released August 20, 2004

Friday, August 20

109 mins

Garden State R

When Andrew Largeman (Zach Braff) returns to his hometown in New Jersey for the first time in 10 years to attend his mother's funeral, he is reconnected with the world he left behind, and meets a girl, Samantha (Natalie Portman), who may change his life forever. Having recently stopped taking the powerful antidepressants he had been prescribed for years, Largeman's journey of self-discovery prompted by his return causes him to have a more healthy rediscovery of himself, which includes confronting his psychologist father (Ian Holm) and helping Samantha through her own psychological issues.
Danny DeVito, Gary Gilbert, Dan Halsted, Pamela Abdy, Richard Klubeck, Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher, Jordan Horowitz
Drama Comedy Romance
87 mins

Mean Creek R

When the shy Sam confides in his protective older sibling, Rocky about the overweight bully in school named George, Rocky hatches a plot to exact their revenge on his brother's tormentor.
Rory Culkin, Scott Mechlowicz, Josh Peck, Trevor Morgan, Richard L Rosenthal, Susan Johnson, Hagai Shaham, Jacob Estes
Drama
105 mins

Bright Young Things R

A group of young geniuses are drawn together by a mysterious advertisement, then suspiciously abandoned on an island, where they scramble to sort out their collective fate.
Michael Sheen, James McAvoy, Alec Newman, David Tennant, Peter O'Toole, Stephen Fry, Jim Broadbent, Simon Callow
Comedy Foreign
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100 mins

Benji Off the Leash! PG

Set in Gulfport, Mississippi (where the new Benji was found), this movie follows the adventures of a loveable mutt named Benji, who enters into an unwanted partnership with a shaggy dog (named "Shaggy"), as the pair struggles to save Benji's mother from a greedy backyard breeder.
Christy Summerhays, Duane Stephens, Carlton W. Bluford, Lincoln Hoppe, Margaret Loesch, Joe Camp, Benji, Nick Whitaker
Drama Action Adventure Sequel Family Kids
79 mins

Open Water R

Based on a true story, a thriller about an American couple, Daniel and Susan, who are on an island holiday. Upon arrival at their hotel, it becomes clear that Daniel and Susan's relationship is under strain from their workaholic lifestyles, and they need a vacation even more than they realized. The next morning, the loving and rested couple, certified scuba divers, board a local dive boat for an underwater tour of the reef. The boat is crowded with other vacationers, and due to a series of innocent miscommunications and a distracted crew, the couple is, after only 40 minutes or so underwater, accidentally left behind. What follows is the story of their ordeal: cold, alone and miles from land, the couple is adrift in shark-infested waters. What follows is a reminder to us about how much 'fun' it is to be frightened by our most primal fears—namely what we think may linger just below the surface.
Laura Lau, Chris Kentis, Blanchard Ryan, Daniel Travis, Saul Stein, Estelle Lau, Michael Williamson
Drama Horror
95 mins

Without a Paddle PG-13

Three young guys go into the Oregon wilderness in search of a lost treasure. They take a canoe upriver, and everything that can go wrong does. Hunted by two backwoods dope farmers, they encounter death-defying rapids, tree-hugging hippie chicks and a crazy old mountain man.
Seth Green, Dax Shepard, Steven Brill, Donald De Line, Harris Goldberg, Tom Nursall, Jay Leggett, Mitch Rouse
Comedy
114 mins

Exorcist: The Beginning R

Father Lankester Merrin thinks that he has glimpsed the face of Evil. In the years following World War II, Merrin is relentlessly haunted by memories of the unspeakable brutality perpetrated against the innocent people of his parish. In the wake of all he has seen, both his faith in his fellow man and his faith in the Almighty have deserted him. He can no longer honestly call himself a man of God. Merrin has traveled far from his native Holland in a desperate attempt to escape the horrors that he witnessed there. While drifting through Cairo, he is approached by a collector of rare antiquities to join a British archeological excavation in the remote Turkana region of Kenya. They have unearthed a Christian Byzantine church in inexplicably pristine condition—as if it had been buried on the day it was completed. The collector wants Merrin, an Oxford-educated archeologist, to find an ancient relic hidden within the church before the British discover it. But beneath the church, something much older sleeps, waiting to be awoken. Madness descends upon the local villagers and the contingent of British soldiers who've been sent to guard the excavation. Merrin watches helplessly as the atrocities of war are repeated against another innocent village—atrocities he had prayed never to see again. The blood of innocents flows freely on the East African plain, and the horror has only just begun. In the place where Evil was born, Merrin will finally see its true face.
Renny Harlin, Izabella Scorupco, Guy McElwaine, Stellan Skarsgard, Billy Crawford, Paul Schrader, James G. Robinson, William Wisher
Action Adventure Suspense Horror Prequel

Friday, August 20