Browse Movies : 2004 (Page #4)

A persistent cell phone ring connects four crisscrossing stories of Indian Americans in this light-hearted movie set in the post Information Technology boom: two long-distance buddies who share every waking thought; two parents who delight in arguing with each other and are getting to know their future daughter-in-law Jenni, and their son who is juggling all of them; jobless roommates who can't fathom their friend's obsession for a girl back in India; and a newlywed, forced-to-stay-at-home girl who creates a fascinating world for herself within her home. Everything is conneted in this warm, quirky comedy that says the world is really, really small.

From Oscar-winning producer Brian Grazer and Imagine Entertainment and based on the best-selling book about high school football by H.G. Bissinger, "Friday Night Lights" chronicles the entire 1988 season of the Permian High Panthers of Odessa, Texas, with football players, coaches, mothers, fathers, pastors, boosters, fans and families struggling with ongoing personal conflicts while the team fights for a state championship. A town for sale, Odessa, Texas has seen better days--the financial bust evident in its boarded-up shops and broken lives. Yet one hope sustains the community where, once a week during the fall, the town and its dreams come alive beneath the dazzling and disorienting Friday night lights...when the Permian High Panthers take to the field. In a city where economic uncertainty has eroded the spirit of its inhabitants, nearly everyone seeks comfort in the religion of the Friday night ritual, where the unfulfilled dreams of an entire community are shifted onto the shoulder pads of a team of high-school athletes. "Friday Night Lights" captures the frenzy of a small town that reveres its school team and their weekly games.

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.

After nine years, acclaimed writer/director Mamoru Oshii follows up his cult hit "Ghost in the Shell"—one of the biggest animé successes of all time—with the long-awaited sequel "Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence". It is the year 2032 and the line between humans and machines has been blurred almost beyond distinction. Humans have forgotten that they are human and those that are left coexist with cyborgs (human spirits inhabiting entirely mechanized bodies) and dolls (robots with no human elements at all). Batou is a cyborg. His body is artificial: the only remnants left of his humanity are traces of his brain…and the memories of a woman called The Major. A detective for the government's covert anti-terrorist unit, Public Security Section 9, Batou is investigating the case of a gynoid—a hyper-realistic female robot created specifically for sexual companionship—who malfunctions and slaughters her owner. As Batou delves deeper into the investigation, questions arise about humanity's need to immortalize its image in dolls. The answers to those questions lead to the shocking truth behind the crime...and quite possibly the very meaning of life.

Peaches, a hair stylist from Baltimore, and her estranged sister, Angela, the owner of an upscale salon in Beverly Hills, get reacquainted when Peaches decides to attend a celebration for Angela in L.A. The reunion is bittersweet and worsens when Angela finds out that Peaches is on the run from the IRS and has only a few days to pay $50,000 in back taxes. After some hilarious moments and passionate exchanges the two sisters join forces to fight off a pesky rival salon owner Marcella and save Peaches from her troubles by competing for a lucrative cash prize and bragging rights at the city's annual hair show. "Hair Show" proves that blood and family run thicker than water.

Two likeable underdogs, Harold and Kumar, set out on a Friday night quest to satisfy their craving for White Castle hamburgers and end up on an epic journey of deep thoughts, deeper inhaling and a wild road trip as un-PC as it gets.

In "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his friends Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) return for their third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where the teenagers are forced to face their darkest fears as they confront a dangerous escaped prisoner (Gary Oldman) and the equally foreboding Dementors, who are sent there to protect them.

From visionary writer/director Guillermo Del Toro ("Blade II", "The Devil's Backbone") comes "Hellboy", a supernatural action adventure based on Mike Mignola's popular Dark Horse Comics series of the same name. Born in the flames of hell, and brought to our world in a pagan ritual, the fierce red hero, Hellboy (Ron Perlman), was saved by his friend and mentor, the benevolent Dr. Broom (John Hurt). Raised in Broom's Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, Hellboy joins the likes of the "Mer-Man" Abe Sapien, Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), the woman he loves who can psychically control fire, and Myers, the FBI agent who is his rival for Liz's affections. Together, our heroes must come to terms with fantastic powers that prove to be both a blessing and a curse. In the process they discover that their abilities serve to benefit mankind but may also keep them forever isolated from the society that only they can protect.

Ten years ago, some of the worst atrocities in the history of mankind took place in the country of Rwanda; and in an era of high-speed communication and round-the-clock news, the events went almost unnoticed by the rest of the world. In only three months, almost 1 million people were brutally murdered. In the face of these unspeakable actions, inspired by his love for his family, an ordinary man summons extraordinary courage to save the lives of over a thousand helpless refugees by granting them shelter in the hotel he manages.

This is the story of a 12-year-old boy, David (Ben Tibber), who travels across Europe by himself in 1952 after escaping from the Communist concentration camp in Bulgaria where he's spent most of his life. Advised and helped by a fellow inmate, Johannes (James Caviezel), David makes his way out of the camp with only a loaf of bread, a compass to guide him and a letter he's been told to deliver to Copenhagen, Denmark. Not even knowing where Denmark is, David must first make his way from Bulgaria to Italy...

Albert Markovski, head of the Open Spaces Coalition, has been experiencing an alarming series of coincidences the meaning of which escapes him. With the help of two Existential Detectives, Bernard and Vivian Jaffe, Albert examines his life, his relationships, and his conflict with Brad Stand, an executive climbing the corporate ladder at Huckabees, a popular chain of retail superstores. When Brad also hires the detectives, they dig deep into his seemingly perfect life and his relationship with his spokes model girlfriend, the voice of Huckabees, Dawn Campbell. Albert pairs up with rebel firefighter Tommy Corn to take matters into their own hands under the guidance of the Jaffes' nemesis, the French radical Caterine Vauban.

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.

When her boyfriend leaves town on a trip, television producer Stacy raids his Palm Pilot and interviews all of his past girlfriends. The prying leads to public humiliation, though, when Stacy's friend puts all the prying on live television.

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.

Losers Calvin and Leonard try to rob a couple of 70-year-old women, but the plan fails, and they're soon thrown behind bars. After being mysteriously bailed out, Cal and Leo are summoned to a house, where the women they tried to rob have devious, sexual plans for them.

The paparazzi are the chroniclers of Hollywood glitz and glamour, and key players in the public's insatiable appetite for information and photos about their favorite stars. They are as much part of gala premiers as bright lights and red carpets. Their photos can make or break careers. For rising action star Bo Laramie, a quartet of paparazzi is at first an annoyance, then an ever-disturbing presence. One night they trap Bo and his family into a high speed chase that ends in a terrible accident, sending his wife Abby into intensive care and son Zach into a coma. Veteran Los Angeles detective Burton believes Bo's version of the accident, but when Burton can't make the case against the photographers, Bo seeks vengeance on his own. And the paparazzi start falling one by one.

At night and on weekends, four men in a suburban garage have built a cottage industry of error-checking devices. But, they know that there is something more. There is some idea, some mechanism, some accidental side effect that is standing between them and a pure leap of innovation. And so, through trial and error they are building the device that is missing most. However, two of these men find the device and immediately realize that it is too valuable to market. The limit of their trust in each other is strained when they are faced with the question, If you always want what you can't have, what do you want when you can have anything?

Born in a poor town in Georgia, Ray Charles went blind at the age of seven shortly after witnessing his younger brother's accidental death. Inspired by a fiercely independent mother who insisted he make his own way in the world, Charles found his calling and his gift behind a piano keyboard. Touring across the Southern musical circuit, the soulful singer gained a reputation and then exploded with worldwide fame when he pioneered incorporating gospel, country, jazz and orchestral influences into his inimitable style. As he revolutionized the way people appreciated music, he simultaneously fought segregation in the very clubs that launched him and championed artists' rights within the corporate music business. "Ray" provides an unflinching portrait of Charles' musical genius as he overcomes drug addiction while transforming into one of this country's most beloved performers.

After escaping a secret corporate facility overrun by the undead, Alice finds herself roaming the streets in the heart of the ravaged and deserted Racoon City. She has been subjected to biogenetic experimentation by the vast Umbrella Corporation and becomes genetically altered, with super-human strengths, senses and dexterity. These skills, and many more, will be needed if anyone is to stay alive.

Chep, a reclusive young man, gets comfort from the movies and his vivid imagination. When Fran walks into the prop house where he lives looking for unusual objects, Chep immediately develops a crush. Obsessed with her job, for which she designs movie sets, Fran insists that each prop be the real thing, even if it happens to be a pair of rhinoceros eyes or a human finger. Chep's growing love for Fran makes him willing to prowl the dark streets at night in search of items for her. As Fran's requests become more peculiar, Chep is thrown into increasingly bizarre situations. His life quickly spirals out of control. As the strange thefts escalate, Detective Phil Barbara is assigned to the case and is soon on Chep and Fran's trail.