1. Garden State - Zach Braff (TV's Scrubs) makes an auspicious debut as writer, director and star of an eccentrically charming film. Natalie Portman and Peter Sarsgaard co-star in a "dramedy" evoking memories of The Graduate.
2. The Manchurian Candidate - Denzel Washington stars in a gripping overhaul of the classic 1962 political thriller. New, improved in some regards, and definitely worth seeing.
3. Riding Giants - Filmmaker Stacy Peralta (Dogtown and Z-Boys) pays homage to the thrills and history of surfing, spanning the world in search of perfect (and perfectly ridden) waves.
4. The Bourne Supremacy - Another worthwhile sequel, starring Matt Damon as an amnesiac CIA assassin framed for a counterintelligence crime and not happy about it.
5. Collateral - Cold-blooded hit man (Tom Cruise) takes a cabbie (Jamie Foxx) hostage for a night of murder in Los Angeles. Director Michael Mann's movie floors it for 90 minutes before running out of gas.
Upcoming releases
AUG. 27: Maria Full of Grace; A Home at the End of the World; Hero; Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid; I'll Sleep When I'm Dead; Super Babies: Baby Geniuses 2; Facing Windows; Suspect Zero
SEPT. 1: Vanity Fair
SEPT. 3: She Hate Me; We Don't Live Here Anymore; The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi; The Cookout; Paparazzi; The Hunting of the President; Festival Express; Mudge Boy; Wicker Park; Touch of Pink
