Browse Movies : 2004 (Page #2)

Kurt Russell stars as coach Herb Brooks in the story of how the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team toppled the seemingly invincible Soviet Union squad to capture the gold medal. A former U.S. player himself, Brooks was the last skater to be cut from the 1960 U.S. Olympic team, the most recent one to win the gold medal before Brooks became the team coach. He cobbled together a group of players and taught them to excel at the European game. Even so, the Russian team had won four consecutive gold medals and was so good that it defeated a team of National Hockey League all-stars. The U.S. team wasn't expected to even make the medal rounds. But led by Brooks, the team defeated the Soviet Union in the semifinal round, then bested Finland in the finals to win the gold.

Benjamin Franklin Gates is a third generation treasure hunter. All his life, Gates has been searching for a treasure no one believed existed: amassed through the ages, moved across continents, to become the greatest treasure the world has ever known. Hidden by our Founding Fathers, they left clues to the Treasure's location right before our eyes--from our nation's birthplace, to the nation's capitol, to clues buried within the symbols on the dollar bill. Gates' life-long journey leads him to the last place anyone thought to look: a map hidden on the back of the Declaration of Independence. But what he thought was the final clue is only the beginning. Gates realizes in order to protect the world's greatest treasure, he must now do the unthinkable: steal the most revered, best guarded document in American history before it falls into the wrong hands. In a race against time, Gates must elude the authorities, stay one step ahead of his ruthless adversary, decipher the remaining clues and unlock the 2000 year-old mystery behind our greatest national treasure.

When Dallas FBI Agent Thomas Mackelway violates serial killer Raymond Starkey's civil rights during an unorthodox arrest, Starkey goes free and Mackelway is demoted to a remote branch of the agency in Albuquerque. His first day on the job, Mackelway investigates the murder of a traveling salesman Harold Speck, which turns out to be the first of three seemingly random killings. Or perhaps they are not random at all; the last to die is Mackelway's nemesis, Raymond Starkey. The assignment consumes him. His past mistakes haunt him. His head throbs constantly as he tries to find the link between the victims that will lead him to their killer. The case becomes increasingly gruesome and patently personal. This does not go unnoticed by his unflappable partner Fran Kulok, who knows of Mackelway's past and the demons that afflict him. Like Mackelway, she becomes drawn into the labyrinth of chilling clues, all of which point to the enigmatic Benjamin O'Ryan. O'Ryan clearly has a connection to the murders, a connection he flaunts; quite possibly, he may also harbor a sinister link to Mackelway.

Inspired by the true story of a sting operation in Providence, R.I. "The Last Shot" revolves around a young filmmaker (Matthew Broderick) who is given millions of dollars to make his first movie by a mysterious benefactor (Alec Baldwin) on the condition that he shoot it in Providence. But the filmmaker eventually discovers that his film's producer is an undercover FBI agent.

Trevor Reznik, a machinist, has lost the ability to sleep. But this is no ordinary insomnia. Trevor has not slept in a year. Fatigue has led to a shocking deterioration of his physical and mental health. Suspicious of his appearance, Trevor's co-workers first shy away from him, then turn against him after he's involved in a shop accident that costs a man his arm. They blame Trevor for the accident. He has become a liability to himself and others, and now they want him out. Plagued with guilt, Trevor's shame becomes suspicion, then paranoia, when it appears his workmates are conspiring to have him fired –- or worse. First he finds cryptic notes left in his apartment. Next he's told that a mysterious co-worker involved in the accident doesn't exist. Are these mysteries part of a plot to drive Trevor mad? Or is it fatigue that's robbing him of his reason? Determined to find an answer, Trevor investigates the strange occurrences that are turning his world into a sleepless nightmare. Yet the more he learns, the less he wants to know.

Five days shy of her 13th birthday, all Jenna Rink (Jennifer Garner) wants is a new life. After a humiliating experience at school, Jenna makes a desperate wish ... that comes true. She's popular, successful and only five days away from her 30th birthday.

A love story set in an eerily possible near-future, where cities are heavily controlled and only accessible through checkpoints. People cannot travel unless they have papelles, a special travel insurance. Outside of the cities, the desert has taken over and shanty towns are jammed with non-citizens—people without papelles whose lives are severely restricted. William is a family man who works as an insurance investigator. When his company sends him to another city to solve a case of fake papelles, he meets a woman named Maria. Although he knows she's been creating the forgeries, he falls completely in love with her. He hides her crime and they have a wild, passionate affair that can only last as long as his papelles: twenty-four hours. Back home, William is obsessed by the memory of Maria. He tries to see her, but is refused the necessary papers to travel. Desperate, he uses one of the fake papelles he kept from his investigation. He eventually tracks her down, only to discover she has been accused of Code 46 violation.

A small local gym is threatened with extinction by a gleaming sports and fitness palace unless a group of social rejects can rise to victory in the ultimate dodge ball competition.

An intimate look at hip-hop artist Shawn carter, Jay-Z, revealing the multiple Grammy Award winning artist as never before, from his background and rise to fame to the recording of his last album. The film chronicles the legendary concert of Jay-Z's performance at Madison Square Garden in November 2003. In an unprecedented event, a hip-hop artist sold out an arena in only two hours. Nearly one year later, fans and artists alike still reflect on this monumental musical night. The event was a spectacular culmination of Jay-Z's recording career prior to his self-proclaimed retirement from solo performing. Yet this one night also defined a musical generation, showcasing the evolution and reach of the world's most popular music genre. Guest performers included Jay-Z's closest friends and music industry colleagues: Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott, R. Kelly, Foxy Brown, Pharrell, and Questlove and The Illadelphonics along with appearances by hip hop icons Damon Dash, Rick Rubin, Slick Rick, P. Diddy and many others. Viewers get the rare glimpse of Jay-Z's creative process as he searches for inspiration, poetry, and perfection in his songs. Narrated by Jay-Z, his account of the night takes on reflections of his entire musical career and his journey that led to this one astounding, fabled evening—rightfully called "Fade To Black".

In this heartwarming comedy from director Garry Marshall ("Runaway Bride", "The Princess Diaries"), Helen Harris (Kate Hudson) is living the life she always dreamed of. Her career at a top Manhattan modeling agency is on the rise; she spends her days at fashion shows and her nights at the city's hottest clubs. But her carefree lifestyle comes to a screeching halt when one phone call changes everything. Helen soon finds herself responsible for her sister's children -- 15-year-old Audrey (Hayden Panettiere), 10-year-old Henry (Spencer Breslin), and 5-year-old Sarah (Abigail Breslin). No one doubts that Helen is the coolest aunt in New York, but what does this glamour girl know about raising kids? The fun begins as Helen goes through the transformation from super hip to super mom, but she quickly finds that dancing at 3 a.m. doesn't mix with getting kids to school on time, advice that Helen's older sister, Jenny (Joan Cusack), is only too quick to dish out. Along the way, Helen finds support in the most unusual place with Dan Parker (John Corbett), the handsome young pastor and principal of the kids' new school, and realizes the choice she has to make is between the life she's always loved and the new loves of her life.

Oscar is a fast-talking little fish who dreams big. But his big dreams land him in hot water when a great white lie turns him into an unlikely hero. At first, his fellow fish swallow Oscar's story hook, line and sinker and he is showered with fame and fortune. It's all going along swimmingly, until it starts to become clear that Oscar's tale about being the defender of the Reef is all wet. Oscar is finding out that being a hero comes at a Market Price when his lie threatens to make him the Catch of the Day. Now he has to tread water until he can get the scales to tip back in his favor again.

U.S. Army Major Bennett Marco can't sleep at night—and he doesn't want to. Marco spends his days giving inspiring speeches about his platoon's ambush in the Kuwaiti desert and the heroics of Sergeant Raymond Shaw, who won the Medal of Honor for saving Marco's crew. But at night, Marco's dreamlike memories of the desert turn sinister and terrifying. And Marco privately wonders whether the two soldiers who died in the firefight might have met darker fates than officially recorded—and whether Shaw might not be the glorious hero that everyone thinks he is. When Shaw takes the national stage as a surefire candidate for vice president—under the thumb of his controversial mother, Senator Eleanor Prentiss Shaw—Marco is forced to act on his growing suspicions. With military officials questioning his sanity, and the net of security tightening around Shaw, Marco races to probe deeper into the unimaginable, shocking truth before the White House is won.

Two ambitious, but unlucky, black FBI agents, Kevin and Marcus, go deep undercover as white high society debutantes, and infiltrate the sophisticated world of the Hamptons to investigate a kidnapping ring.

Arctic marine life veterinarian Henry Roth has his future all mapped out. When he's not tending to the sea animals at Sea Life Park in Hawaii, he is breaking the hearts of mainland tourists in search of a vacation romance. A long-term relationship for Henry is out of the question. It would scuttle his 10-year dream of sailing to Alaska to study the underwater life of walruses. Henry is close to making his dream come true when his schooner, the Sea Serpent, suffers a mishap during a trial run, which lands him at the Hukilau Café where the regulars eye him with distrust when he sets his eyes on one of its patrons, the beautiful young Lucy Whitmore. Henry is immediately smitten with Lucy, and after a first chat with her about waffles and sea mammals, Henry finds himself more and more interested in Lucy. Ignoring his own rule about dating local girls, he makes a date to meet her for breakfast the next day. But when he arrives and makes a reference to their previous conversation, she thinks he's some kind of freak and calls for help. Lucy has no idea who he is. And Henry realizes that if he wants to win her affections, he's going to have to start over again every day for the rest of his life.

After being found in an intimate, sexual encounter with another young man, Perry is thrown out of his house by his family and forced to survive on his own. As he struggles to hold on by working in a homeless shelter and trying to maintain a college scholarship, he is haunted by his homosexuality and becomes increasingly withdrawn due to his family's rejection of him and their condemnation of his desires. As his friend Marcus is performing his new poetry for him, an elderly man, Bruce, appears seemingly out of nowhere and begins reciting verse to them. He disappears just as quickly and elusively as he arrived, before they get a chance to talk to him. In his library research for a class project, Perry finds a book about the Harlem Renaissance and recognizes a poem ("Smoke, Lilies and Jade" by Bruce Nugent) as the same one that the elderly man was reciting. They encounter each other again at the homeless shelter where Perry works. He confronts Bruce about who he is and begins to ask him about the Harlem Renaissance. They go on a literal and metaphorical journey to the house that was known as "Niggeratti Manor" which was the creative center for the younger, rebellious generation of the Harlem Renaissance as they created their revolutionary literary journal, "Fire!". Although the house is now dilapidated, we are transported through the landscape of Bruce's memories of the glory days of the Harlem Renaissance. Perry learns about the lives and personalities of Wallace Thurman, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston and Aaron Douglas and sees how they became a surrogate family for Bruce. Perry begins to recognize this era as his history. He sees the pride that Bruce exuded in those times in terms of being Black, gay and unashamed. His pride and self-esteem begin to have an empowering effect on Perry as he gains a stronger sense of his identity. As the story progresses, we witness the transformative power that they have on each other's lives through their shared passion for art and storytelling.

Nia Vardalos and Toni Collette play Connie and Carla, two struggling Chicago dinner theater performers who accidentally witness a mafia hit... and who subsequently hit the road, running for their lives. Assuming the killers will never look for them in a place devoid of culture, the pair head to Los Angeles, where they assume new identities and find their middling talent at song and dance perfectly suited to new careers-as drag queens. Much to their surprise, they inadvertently become the toast of the cabaret circuit. As their ruse becomes increasingly difficult to maintain, they discover that it is indeed lonely at the top, especially after Connie meets Jeff (David Duchovny), a guy she'd really like to be a real girl with. With the mafia zeroing in and the line separating their onstage/offstage personas blurring beyond the point of recognition, Connie and Carla soon discover the power of not compromising to pursue your dreams, fighting the good fight, and never, never underestimating the transformative power of cosmetics.

Will Smith stars in this action thriller inspired by the classic short story collection by Isaac Asimov and brought to the big screen by director Alex Proyas ("Dark City", "The Crow"). In the year 2035, robots are an everyday household item and everyone trusts them, except one slightly paranoid detective (Will Smith) investigating what he alone believes is a crime perpetrated by a robot. The case leads him to discover a far more frightening threat to the human race.

Baltimore firefighter Jack Morrison, making the transition from inexperienced rookie to seasoned veteran, struggles to cope with a risky, demanding job that often shortchanges his wife and kids. He he relies on the support of his mentor and chief, Mike Kennedy and his second family--the brotherly bond between the men of the firehouse. But when Jack becomes trapped in the worst blaze of his career, his life and the things he holds important—family, dignity, courage—come into focus. As his fellow firemen of Ladder 49 do all they can to rescue him, Jack's life hangs in the balance.

From the rural town of Preston, Idaho, comes Napoleon Dynamite. With a red 'fro, his moon boots and illegal government ninja moves, he is a new kind of hero. His family consists of fragile brother Kip, who's seeking his soul mate in online chat rooms; Uncle Rico, who is stuck in his "glory" days of high school football; and Grandma, who enjoys going out to the dunes on her quad-runner. Napoleon spends his days drawing magical beasts, working on his computer hacking skills to impress the chicks, and begrudgingly feeding his grandma's pet llama. When his friend Pedro decides to run for class president, it is Napoleon to the rescue to help him triumph over adversity.

In "Spanglish", the beautifully observed comedy/drama from acclaimed multiple Oscar-winning writer/director/producer James L. Brooks ("As Good As It Gets", "Terms of Endearment"), Flor (Paz Vega), a beautiful, native Mexican woman becomes the housekeeper for the affluent, yet troubled, Clasky family (headed by Adam Sandler and Téa Leoni). The result is a wittily perceptive collision of cultures and values, and a refreshingly honest look at such life-altering commitments as marriage, parenting and devotion to family.