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The Scorpion King

Release Date: April 19, 2002
Studio: Universal Pictures
Director: Chuck Russell, Charles Russell
Screenwriter: Jonathan Hales, William Osborne, Stephen Sommers
Starring: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as Mathayus/The Scorpion King, Michael Clarke Duncan as Balthazar, Steven Brand as Memnon, Kelly Hu as Cassandra, Grant Heslov, Peter Facinelli, Ralph Moeller
Genre: Action/Adventure, Fantasy
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for intense sequences of action violence and some sensuality)
Official Website: The-Scorpion-King.com
Reviews by: Coming Soon! (8/10 rating)

Plot Summary: Inspired by the legendary Egyptian warrior, "The Scorpion King", this film is set 5,000 years ago in the city of Gomorrah, where an evil ruler is determined to destroy the nomadic peoples of the desert. The tribes have to unite or perish. They hire a skilled assassin, Mathayus, to eliminate the ruler's sorcerer. Rather than kill her, Mathayus takes her deep into the desert and tries to find another way to defeat the ruler of Gomorrah.

Shrek 2

Release Date: May 19, 2004
DVD Release Date: November 5, 2004
Studio: DreamWorks Pictures
Director: Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, Conrad Vernon
Screenwriter: Joe Stillman
Starring: Mike Myers as Shrek (voice), Eddie Murphy as Donkey (voice), Cameron Diaz as Fiona (voice), John Cleese as King Harold (voice), Julie Andrews as Queen Lillian (voice), Antonio Banderas as Puss-in-Boots (voice), Rupert Everett as Prince Charming (voice), Jennifer Saunders as The Fairy Godmother (voice)
Genre: Animation, Fantasy
MPAA Rating: Not available
Official Website: Shrek2.com
Reviews by: Coming Soon (9 out of 10), E! Online (A-), Chicago Sun-Times (3 out of 4) and Movie Chicks (4.5 out of 5), Scifi Weekly (A)

Plot Outline: Shrek (Myers) and Fiona (Diaz) return from their honeymoon to find a letter inviting them to a post-wedding celebration. But the in-laws, the King and Queen of the Kingdom of Far, Far Away are not prepared to find out that their new son-in-law is an ogre or that their daughter is now an ogre. The King is furious and enlists the aide of the Fairy Godmother, Prince Charming, and the famed ogre killer Puss In Boots to put right his version of “happily ever after.”

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

Release Date: September 17, 2004
DVD Release Date: February 1, 2005
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Director: Kerry Conran
Screenwriter: Kerry Conran
Starring: Jude Law as Sky Captain, Gwyneth Paltrow as Polly Perkins, Angelina Jolie as Capt. Franky Cook, Bai Ling as Mysterious Woman, Giovanni Ribisi as Dex, Casey Affleck, Omid Djalili
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
MPAA Rating: PG (for sequences of stylized sci-fi violence and brief mild language)
Official Website: SkyCaptain.com

Plot Outline: Famous scientists around the world have mysteriously disappeared. Reporter Polly Perkins along with ace aviator Sky Captain investigates. They must risk their lives as they travel to exotic places around world, trying to stop Dr. Totenkopf, the evil mastermind plotting to destroy the earth.

Spider-Man

Release Date: May 3, 2002
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Director: Sam Raimi
Screenwriter: David Koepp
Starring: Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin, Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson, James Franco as Harry Osborn, J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson, Rosemary Harris as Aunt May, Cliff Robertson as Uncle Ben, Randy Poffo, Michael Papajohn, Joe Manganiello, Ted Raimi, Bill Nunn, Bruce Campbell, Elizabeth Banks
Genre: Action/Adventure, Superhero
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for stylized violence and action)
Official Website: Sony.com/Spider-Man
Reviews by: Chicago Sun-Times (2.5 out of 4), Coming Soon! (10 out of 10)

Synopsis: This movie is based on the "Spider-Man" comic book character from Marvel Comics.

Orphaned at an early age, Peter Parker lives in Queens, New York with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben. On a school trip, Peter is bitten by a genetically altered spider. He discovers that the bite has giving him unusual powers: the strength and agility of a spider along with a ESP-like "spider-sense." While Peter comes to grip with his new powers, megalomaniacal businessman Norman Osborn is exposed to an experimental formula that gives him powers and drives him insane. He is now the Green Goblin and the arch-enemy of Spider-Man.

Spiderman 2

Release Date: June 30, 2004
DVD Release Date: November 30, 2004
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Director: Sam Raimi
Screenwriter: Alvin Sargent
Starring: Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson, James Franco as Harry Osborn, Rosemary Harris as Aunt May Parker, J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson, Alfred Molina as Dr. Otto Octavius/Dr. Octopus, Brooke Adams, Dylan Baker as Dr. Curt Connors, Elizabeth Banks as Betty Brant, Bruce Campbell as Snooty Usher, Daniel Gillies as John Jameson, Donna Murphy as Rosalie Octavius, Vanessa Ferlito as Louise, Ted Raimi as Hoffman
Genre: Action/Adventure, Fantasy, Superhero
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for stylized action violence)
Official Website: SonyPictures.com
Reviews by: Coming Soon (10 out of 10), Scifi Weekly (A-), USA Today (4 out of 4)
News: "Raimi Talks Spidey 2 DVD" (12/01/04)

Plot Outline: Two years have passed since the events of the first Spiderman movie. Peter Parker (Maguire) must face numerous personal problems, while facing a new foe, Dr. Otto Octavius (Molina).

The Stepford Wives

Release Date: June 11, 2004
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Director: Frank Oz
Screenwriter: Paul Rudnick
Starring: Nicole Kidman as Joanna Eberhart, Matthew Broderick as Walter Eberhart, Roger Bart as Roger Bannister, Glenn Close as Dr. Emily Francher, Faith Hill as Sarah Sunderson, Bette Midler as Bobbie Markowe, Christopher Walken as Dale Coba, Jon Lovitz as Dave Markowe, Mike White, Lisa Masters
Genre: Comedy, Thriller
MPAA Rating: Not available
Official Website: StepfordWivesmovie.com
Reviews by: Chicago Sun-times (3 out of 4), Coming Soon

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