May 4, 2004

"Calendar Girls" Movie Trailer

Inspired by a true story, this British comedy stars Helen Mirren and Julie Walters. In Yorkshire, the no-longer-young members of a local chapter of the Women's Institute decide to raise money for charity by posing nude for calendar photos. In due course, the photos are taken (with flower arrangements masking the naughty parts) and the calendar printed, and then the ladies must deal with the consequences of it becoming a big seller.

"Chasing Liberty" Movie Trailer

Mandy Moore is paired with Matthew Goode in this romantic comedy. Moore plays Anna Foster, teenage daughter of the U.S. President. Anna, whose Secret Service code name is Liberty, tires of the restrictions she must endure as First Daughter, and on a visit to Prague, slips away for a taste of freedom. She meets a young Brit named Ben Calder (Goode), and together they take a tour of Europe while being tracked by Secret Service agents.

“Elephant" Movie Trailer

Winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes, this hard-hitting English-language drama was written, directed, and edited by Gus Van Sant. Plotless and featuring few recognizable actors, the film chronicles a fictional day at a typical American high school in Oregon. Although the day at first seems ordinary, things take a tragic turn when two students go on a shooting rampage reminiscent of the one that occurred at Columbine in Colorado.

"Girl With a Pearl Earring" Movie Trailer

Starring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth, this historical drama based on a best-selling novel supplies a fictional background to a famous 17th-century portrait painted by Dutch master Johannes Vermeer. Johansson plays the teenage girl Griet, who goes to work as a maid in the home of Vermeer (Firth). Griet takes an interest in Vermeer's work, helps him mix paints, and becomes his model as the girl and the artist develop an unusual relationship.

"The Last Samurai" Movie Trailer

Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe star in this epic set in 19th-century Japan. Cruise plays American Civil War veteran Nathan Algren, who is hired to work for the Japanese emperor in putting down samurai uprisings. But Algren is captured and eventually bonds with the samurai leader Katsumoto (Watanabe). When Algren realizes he sympathizes more with the samurai than with the emperor's mercenaries, he must make some major decisions.

"Peter Pan" Movie Trailer

This is the 2003 live-action version of "Peter Pan" where young teenagers Jeremy Sumpter and Rachel Hurd-Wood play Peter and Wendy. Jason Isaacs takes the traditional dual roles of Captain Hook and Wendy's father. The story of course still involves Wendy traveling from her London home to Neverland, where Peter and Captain Hook live, but this version shows that even though we lose something when we grow up, it's best not to remain a child forever.

"The Triplets of Belleville" Movie Trailer

Nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Animated Feature category, this highly eccentric film might be described as darkly comic. It has only a couple of lines of intelligible dialogue, originally in French, but later dubbed into English. The story is set in motion when a world-class bicyclist is kidnapped by mobsters. In the fictitious metropolis of Belleville, his grandmother enlists the aid of three ancient sisters who used to be a musical act.

May 11, 2004

"The Fog of War" Movie Trailer

Winner of the Academy Award for Best Documentary, this is Errol Morris's portrait of former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. Most of the documentary consists of interviews of McNamara at age 85 reflecting on his role in the firebombing of Japan during World War II, the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Vietnam War. The film also includes some historical footage and other visual material. The musical score is by Philip Glass.

"In America" Movie Trailer
Samantha Morton and Djimon Hounsou got Oscar nominations for their performances in this drama, which was on many 2003 top ten lists. Set in the early 21st century, the story follows a young Irish family—husband, wife (Morton), and two girls—that immigrates to New York after the death of the family's only boy. When poverty forces them to live in a tenement with junkies, they become friends with a terminally ill neighbor (Hounsou).

"Scary Movie 3" Movie Trailer

This comedy is the third in a series of spoofs, following "Scary Movie" (2000) and "Scary Movie 2" (2001). This time around the movies spoofed include "Signs," "The Sixth Sense," "The Matrix," "The Ring," and "8 Mile." "Scary Movie 3" has a large and varied cast that includes Anna Faris, Charlie Sheen, Anthony Anderson, Camryn Mannheim, George Carlin, Queen Latifah, Eddie Griffin, and Leslie Nielsen as the U.S. President.

May 18, 2004

"Miracle" Movie Trailer

Based on a true story, this sports drama centers around the USA hockey team at the 1980 Olympics. The Soviet Union team looks unbeatable, and American coach Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell) selects very young players, hoping he can mold them into a disciplined unit. He drives them hard and is unforgiving, wanting his players to bond in their hatred of him. The results are shown in the film's set piece, the game between the USA and the USSR.

"Paycheck" Movie Trailer

Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman star in this sci-fi thriller. Michael Jennings (Affleck) earns big bucks by stealing high-tech secrets and afterward having his memory erased by a dangerous process. After a three-year job, Michael finds he signed away millions of dollars and is being pursued by both law enforcement and evildoers. He teams up with a woman (Thurman) as he tries to figure out what's going on, and there are some action sequences.

"Torque" Movie Trailer

Starring Martin Henderson and Ice Cube, this action movie takes place in the world of motorcycle gangs. After a long stay in Thailand, biker Cary Ford (Henderson) returns to the U.S., where he's caught up in a hassle over some crystal meth. Also, a rival biker frames Ford for murder, and the victim's brother Trey (Ice Cube) seeks revenge. The resolution requires lots of macho posturing and a series of stunt sequences involving motorcycles.

"You Got Served" Movie Trailer

This drama takes place in the world of street dancers and stars Omari "Omarion" Grandberry of B2K and Marques Houston of IMX. J-Boog, Raz-B, and Lil' Fizz, all of B2K, are also in the movie. Omarion and Houston play best friends who head up a top street-dance team, but they have a falling out while preparing for an important competition. But the thin story is just a framework on which to hang energetic dance sequences.

May 25 , 2004

"Club Dread" Movie Trailer

Created by and starring the five-man Broken Lizard comedy troupe ("Super Troopers"), "Club Dread" shows what might happen if a slasher crossed over into a spring break movie. Coconut Pete (Bill Paxton) runs a cheesy tropical resort called Paradise Island where the wacky staff revels in one continuous party as new groups of guests arrive. Then staff members begin turning up dead, but it's all played for laughs: this is a horror movie spoof.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" Movie Trailer

This is the last installment in "The Lord of the Rings," a fantasy epic that spans three movies. Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) continue their quest to destroy the magic Ring, but they must contend with the treachery of the computer-generated Gollum. Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) must lead forces in a spectacular final battle. Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, and John Rhys-Davies continue their portrayals of important characters.

"Welcome to Mooseport" Movie Trailer

Ray Romano and Gene Hackman star in this comedy. Romano plays Handy Harrison, owner of the hardware store in sleepy Mooseport, Maine, where he's been dating Sally (Maura Tierney) for several years. But things get livelier in Mooseport when former U.S. President Monroe Cole (Hackman) takes up permanent residence there. He runs for mayor, and Sally goes out with him. This galvanizes Handy into opposing Cole in the mayoral race.