Mean Creek Released in 2004. Mean Creek is what Stand by Me would be if the other boys set off to get back at Verne. Mean Greek features a young cast for the duration of the movie (Scott Mechlowicz was born in 1981 and is the oldest by a few years) and this young cast are pretty amazing- Rory Culkin (young brother of Macaulay-), Trevor Morgan (slightly older then when I last saw him- he was one of Mel Gibson's kids in Patriot, the one who hid under the table) and the rest of the cast are all equally brilliant but the honours go to Josh Peck (a Nickeledon regular on The Amanda Show and Drake and Josh- think Kenan and Kel if you haven't seen it)- who gives a suprisingly multi-layered that gains at times your sympathy.

The central premise of a bullied Sam (Culkin), his would be girlfriend, his brother and his brothers two friends taking bully George (Peck) on a boat trip down the river only to play a joke on him (strip him naked so he has to run over naked) that eventually takes a turn for the worst, George is not the typical movie bully, you spend time with him as do the other characters and you learn he isn't the bastard that they make him out to be, he does crappy stuff, but he has learning disabilities, he has emotional issues- the only moment George goes too far, his when he finds out that there was going to play a trick on him. Like I've said the young cast is amazing and the story is engaging. Highly recommended. (Reviewed R2) ****