Supreme Beings
A Diana Ross-like diva and two queens from very different eras
Last year around this time, there was much griping about the lack of meaty roles for women. Apparently someone was listening, because the 2006 Oscar season looks like the invasion of the Amazons. Not one but two European queens are represented: Stephen Frears's ``The Queen" stars Dame Helen Mirren as our own HRH Elizabeth II, while Sofia Coppola's ``Marie Antoinette" lets Kirsten Dunst eat cake as the 18th century royal who lost her head. ``Dreamgirls" brings the beloved Broadway musical to the screen with Beyonce and Jennifer Hudson playing the supreme singers. Pedro Almodóvar unleashes another bunch of larger-than-life ladies, led by Penelope Cruz, in ``Volver," while Naomi Watts embarks on a voyage of self-discovery in ``The Painted Veil." We'll even get to hear the Virgin Mary's side of things when Keisha Castle-Hughes (``Whale Rider") plays Jesus' s mother in ``The Nativity Story." On the other side of the aisle, the men are a mess. Gael Garcia Bernal plays a manchild who can't seem to wake up in ``The Science of Sleep," while Will Ferrell is shocked to discover he's a character in a book in ``Stranger Than Fiction." Will Smith pursues meaningful fatherhood in ``The Pursuit of Happyness, " Clive Owen pursues the last pregnant woman on earth in ``Children of Men," and Joseph Cross pursues a sane adolescence in ``Running With Scissors," the film version of Augusten Burroughs's best-selling memoir . Over in 30-something land, Zach Braff is still having commitment problems in ``The Last Kiss," while Matt Damon tries to come to grips with his legacy as a CIA founder in ``The Good Shepherd," directed by Robert DeNiro. And then there's Leonardo DiCaprio and Damon again as very confused moles among the cops and robbers of Martin Scorsese's ``The Departed," the most intensely awaited movie of the season in these parts. The biggest gambles may spill outside the screen. Mel Gibson's ``Apocalypto" -- a Mayan epic about a young hero (Rudy Youngblood) on the run -- may very well tank thanks to his recent escapade. And with ``Rocky Balboa," Sylvester Stallone is betting that we really want to see an aging Rocky enter the ring one more time. Good luck, Sly. But maybe you would have done better playing a queen.
A French road movie written and directed by the cinematographer Gilles Porte and Yolande Moreau and starring the zaftig Moreau as an actor who takes her dramatic one-woman show from suburban town to suburban town.
Elizabeth Short was a nice girl (all right, maybe not so nice) from Medford who went to Hollywood in the 1940s and found more fame dead than alive: Her mutilated corpse became the center of the still-unsolved ``Black Dahlia" case. James Ellroy got a great 1987 novel out of the mystery. At long last, moviegoers have a big-screen version, courtesy of director Brian DePalma in his first appearance since 2002's wiggy ``Femme Fatale." Mia Kirshner plays the unlucky Short, while Josh Hartnett and Aaron Eckhart play detectives, and Scarlett Johansson and Hilary Swank are additional shady ladies.
``Everyone's Hero"
When Christopher Reeve died in 2004, he was working on this computer-animated family film about a Yankees-lovin' 1930s boy (the voice of Jake T. Austin) who has to recover Babe Ruth's stolen bat and get it back to the Bambino in time for the big game. The project was completed by Daniel St. Pierre and Colin Brady, and here's another wrinkle: The bat talks in the voice of Whoopi Goldberg, and there's a baseball that sounds a lot like Rob Reiner. Presumably the producers have written off the New England audience, or they're counting on fondness toward Reeve to overcome hatred of Yankees.
``This Film Is Not Yet Rated"
Documentarian Kirby Dick has taken on supermasochists (``Sick") and the Catholic Church (``Twist of Faith") -- now it's the MPAA's turn. Peeved at the secrecy that for decades has veiled what separates an R from a n NC-17, Dick hired a private investigator and brought his quarry (i.e., the average American parents who rate the movies) down. Filmmakers John Waters, Kevin Smith, Matt Stone (``South Park"), and Kimberly Peirce (``Boys Don't Cry") offer their own stories of battles with the board.
``Gridiron Gang"
Or: A rolling Rock gathers no Astroturf. Dwayne ``The Rock" Johnson plays Sean Porter, the real-life probation officer in 1990s Los Angeles who turned rival gangbangers into a committed football squad called the Kilpatrick Mustangs. It's another in the season's surprisingly high number of feel-good pigskin flicks, but the Rock has built a sizable amount of audience goodwill over the past few years. Could be his turn to score a touchdown.
``The Ground Truth"
Patricia Foulkrod's documentary follows several young American soldiers from enlisting and shipping off for the war in Iraq to their respective homecomings.
``Haven"
Orlando Bloom, Anthony Mackie, Bill Paxton, and Zoë Saldana star in Frank E. Flowers's romantic thriller set in the West Indies. Yes, Bloom winds up committing a crime that somehow threatens to change an entire nation, but the tagline says it better: ``Can love survive the fall of paradise?" The suspense is killing you, isn't it?
``The Last Kiss"
Zach Braff stars as a young professional about to get married who realizes he might not be ready for that kind of life commitment. Oddly, his long-wedded parents (Blythe Danner, Tom Wilkinson) have been fighting the same feeling for years. A remake of a fine Italian film, but not a comedy.
Joe Cultrera filmed this documentary about his 53-year-old brother's quest for retribution for the sexual abuse suffered decades before at the hands of a priest.
A new version of Robert Penn Warren's 1946 novel about a corrupt Louisiana governor (Sean Penn) -- a vaguely fictionalized version of Huey Long. Steve Zaillian adapted and directed. And the cast also includes Jude Law, Mark Ruffalo, Kate Winslet, Patricia Clarkson, James Gandolfini, and Anthony Hopkins. Why didn't the studio hire any actors?
``Al Franken: God Spoke"
A documentary in which the comedian-turned-liberal-gadfly-turned-radio host attempts to conquer yet another medium. Doesn't he know he already did that with 1995's ``Stuart Saves His Family"? Nick Doob and Chris Hegedus (``The War Room") direct, with appearances by Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, and Michael Medved.
``The Bridesmaid"
Unstoppable at 76 years old, Claude Chabrol brings us a new tale of a bourgeois family embroiled, somehow, in murder. This one stars Laura Smet as a dangerous woman who seduces a handsome salesman (Benoît Magimel), who still lives with his mama (Aurore Clément).
``Confetti"
Britain's Debbie Isitt is out to prove mockumentaries aren't the sole province of Christopher Guest in this tale of three couples vying for ``Most Original Wedding of the Year." If you've lived through wedding hell, here's your chance to laugh at it. Hollowly.
``Feast"
This byproduct of ``Project Greenlight 3" is a horror-comedy about barflies battling monsters. We liked it better when it was called ``Shaun of the Dead."
``Jackass: Number Two"
If you must.
``Jet Li's Fearless"
Allegedly, it's Li's last martial-arts epic ever. He's sure to go kicking and screaming -- alright, just kicking.
``Mutual Appreciation"
A.K.A Andrew Bujalski 2.0. The little Boston-based filmmaker who could -- and who did turn his 2002 debut ``Funny Ha Ha" into a critical and festival favorite -- returns with a similarly low-fi tale of a Beantown rocker who runs into a wall of inertia when he journeys down to Brooklyn. Shot in black-and-white and suffused with deadpan wit, the film's already earning comparisons to Jarmusch, Cassavetes, and Godard.
``The Science of Sleep"
If you made a Charlie Kaufman movie without Charlie Kaufman, you might end up with something like this fluky romantic fable from writer/director Michel Gondry (who did work with screenwriter Kaufman on ``Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"). Gael Garcia Bernal plays a Parisian lost boy who lives in the interstice between dreams and reality; Charlotte Gainsbourg is the girl next door who might be right for him if he ever wakes up. With funky, home made special effects that recall Gondry's music videos for bands like the White Stripes.
Also opening: ``Queens."
Never mind the title -- this is set in Uganda during the waning days of Idi Amin's murderous reign. Based on the novel by Giles Foden, it imagines a relationship between the clownlike dictator (Forest Whitaker) and his personal physician (James McAvoy, last seen playing Tumnus the Faun in ``The Chronicles of Narnia"). Director Kevin Macdonald deftly mingled fact and fiction in the mountaineering quasi-documentary ``Touching the Void," but can he scale this larger-than-life butcher?
The true story of how America's first fighter pilots got their wings. James Franco leads the cast, and Tony Bill (``Untamed Heart") -- where's he been? -- directs.
``Keeping Mum"
A droll black comedy from England that features the great Rowan Atkinson as a vicar, Kristen Scott-Thomas as his bored wife, Patrick Swayze as a sleazy golf pro, and Maggie Smith as a housekeeper with some nasty hobbies. Sounds supremely silly. We're there.
``The Guardian"
Ashton Kutcher's latest bid to be taken seriously as a movie star -- the lad keeps trying, bless him -- finds him in a musclebound drama about Coast Guard rescue swimmers. Kevin Costner plays his brooding mentor, while Shreveport, La., subs for New Orleans (Katrina hit a few weeks before production started.) Expect lots of water, lots of grimaces, and full-on action from director Andrew Davis (``The Fugitive," ``Collateral Damage").
``Open Season"
A computer-animated family film about a tame bear (voice of Martin Lawrence) who finds himself in the woods during hunting season and looks to a deer (Ashton Kutcher again), a squirrel (Billy Connolly) and other critters to save him from a hunter -- and from torch-carrying audiences who've seen far too many movies like this.
``Renaissance"
Using the rotoscoping technique last seen in ``A Scanner Darkly," Christian Volckman's animated science-fiction thriller set in 2054 warns of a Paris where a cosmetics company rules everything, and all human activity is monitored. The American release has been dubbed from the French by the likes of Daniel Craig, Romola Garai, and Jonathan Pryce.
``School for Scoundrels"
A nerdy pushover (Jon Heder) attends a class intended to make him a jerk, with the hope that it will make him more appealing to the ladies. Billy Bob Thornton plays the womanizing teacher, who might be dating the object of the nerd's crush.
``Sleeping Dogs Lie"
The comedian Bobcat Goldthwait wrote and directed this romantic comedy about a woman (Melinda Page Hamilton) who ruins a perfectly good relationship whenever she opens up about a sexual indiscretion from her past. It has something to do with the title, which until recently was ``Stay."
``The U.S. vs. John Lennon" This documentary by David Leaf and John Scheinfeld focuses on Lennon's transformation from music icon to impassioned anti war activist, a change that earned him the FBI's attention during the Nixon administration.
Also opening: ``Facing the Giants."
This one looks like a class act: Anthony Minghella (``Cold Mountain," ``The English Patient") writes and directs a drama about a London landscape architect (Jude Law) who investigates when his house is burgled and is led to Bosnian refugee Juliette Binoche. Robin Wright Penn co stars as Law's girlfriend, and early word is that Vera Farmiga steals the movie as a Romanian prostitute.
``The Departed"
An undercover cop (Leonardo DiCaprio) infiltrates a South Boston mob syndicate run by Jack Nicholson. His star henchman (Matt Damon) happens to have infiltrated the state police department. Mark Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin, Vera Farmiga, and Martin Sheen also star. A remake of a mind-bendingly intricate Hong Kong thriller, adapted by William Monahan, directed by Martin Scorsese.
``Employee of the Month"
Everyone's favorite slacker stand-up comedian, Dane Cook, gets his shot at movie stardom. So does singer/actress/tabloid queen Jessica Simpson in a comedy about feuding cashiers at a Costco-style superstore. Dax Shepard of ``Punk'd" co stars. Be sure to set your brow on ``low" before going in.
``49 Up"
In the latest installment of Michael Apted 's documentary series, the filmmaker catches up with the men and women he's been following since they were 7.
``Alex Rider: OperationStormbreaker"
If you're waiting for the fifth Harry Potter movie or the seventh Harry Potter book, you'll have to make do with this big-screen adaptation of the first in writer Anthony Horowitz's ``Alex Rider" series, about a British teenager (Alex Pettyfer) turned spy. The lead is a relative newcomer, but the rest of the cast looks good: Ewan McGregor as Ian Rider, Mickey Rourke as the arch-villain, Bill Nighy, Sophie Okenedo, and Alicia Silverstone. No, that last one's not a typo.
``The Queen"
Dame Helen Mirren stars as Queen Elizabeth II, navigating the public and personal fallout after the death of Princess Diana. Michael Sheen plays Tony Blair and James Cromwell Prince Philip. Written by Peter Morgan and directed by Stephen Frears.
Also opening: ``The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning," ``Trade."
Dito Montiel's semi-autobigraphical -- all right, almost totally autobiographical -- drama about growing up tough on the streets of Astoria, Queens, was the toast of Sundance last January. Channing Tatum gets a chance to show he can do more than ``Step up," while Shia LeBeouf, Chazz Palminteri, Robert Downey Jr., Dianne Wiest, and Rosario Dawson also star.
``Infamous"
This year's Truman Capote movie stars newcomer Toby Jones as the author, working on the book that would become ``In Cold Blood." Douglas McGrath (``Emma," ``Nicholas Nickleby") directed and adapted. Daniel Craig plays Perry Smith, Sandra Bullock is Harper Lee, Gwyneth Paltrow is Peggy Lee, Juliet Stevenson is Diana Vreeland.
``Man of the Year"
A new political comedy from Barry Levinson, with Robin Williams as a late-night talk show host who runs for president and wins. Williams and Levinson need this movie to work as well as Levinson's last such outing, ``Wag the Dog," did for him and Dustin Hoffman.
``The Marine"
Professional wrestler and West Newbury native John Cena makes his movie debut in this ``Commando" redo. He plays a former Marine whose girlfriend is held hostage by Robert Patrick and his gang of thugs. Needless to say, Cena will not be waiting for the authorities.
``Shortbus"
Sandwiched steamily between Michael Winterbottom's ``9 Songs" and the upcoming art/porn omnibus ``Destricted" is John Cameron Mitchell's entry in the real sex/real movie sweepstakes. Set in post-9/11 New York, it follows a gaggle of young men, women, and in-betweens as they converge on the nightclub of the title and work out their emotional and physical kinks. It's the first film by Mitchell since ``Hedwig and the Angry Inch," and a hardcore arthouse film in every sense of the word. Unrated, naturellement.
Also opening: ``The Grudge 2."
Start your Oscar ballots. The first part of Clint Eastwood's WWII saga concerns the six men who raised the Stars and Stripes at Iwo Jima. Ryan Phillippe, Adam Beach, Barry Pepper, Jesse Bradford, Joseph Cross, and Benjamin Walker play the soldiers. Part two, ``Letters From Iwo Jima," is told from the Japanese point of view and is set for release next year.
``Flicka"
Interesting change-up for director Michael Mayer -- a serious, family-friendly adaptation of Mary O'Hara's cherished 1941 horse story ``My Friend Flicka" (already made into a 1943 movie of that name). Alison Lohman, last seen doing naughty things in ``Where the Truth Lies," plays a ranch girl who tames the title horse, and country singer Tim McGraw plays her father. Let's see if the film can escape the dark cloud of two on-set equine deaths, both ruled accidental.
``Little Children"
Actor-turned-director Todd Field's first film since 2001's arthouse hit ``In the Bedroom" unearths more small-town dysfunction. A tale of two married suburbanites (Patrick Wilson and Kate Winslet) who start an affair, the film peers into other houses and other damaged lives, including that of a convicted pedophile (Jackie Earle Haley returns, o ye ``Bad News Bears" fans) who moves in with his mother. Adapted from the novel by Tom Perrotta (``Election").
``Marie Antoinette"
They hated it in France -- but is that good or bad? Sophia Coppola's lavish depiction of the doomed French queen (Kirsten Dunst) as a charming bimbo plays fast and loose with its 18th-century period (think Siouxsie and the Banshees on the soundtrack). It's a daring, risky approach that will either confirm the ``Lost in Translation" director as her father's filmmaking heir or consign her once more to the woodshed. After that controversial debut at Cannes this spring, we just want to see it.
``The Prestige"
Not to be confused with the recent Edward Norton film ``The Illusionist," this romantic drama stars Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale as rival magicians who fall for the same woman: Scarlett Johansson, who else? Directed by Christopher Nolan (``Memento," ``Batman Begins"), who wrote the script with his brother Jonathan.
``So Much So Fast"
This well-received documentary chronicles a man's struggles with Lou Gehrig's disease, the woman who loves him, and his brother's determination to find a cure. Directed by Steven Ascher and Jeanne Jordan, whose West City Films is based out of Newton.
Also opening: ``DOA: Dead or Alive," ``Killshot."
From director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu and writer Guillermo Arriaga, come three interwoven, international stories intended to add up to a larger social statement. Starring Brad Pitt, Cate Blachett, Gael Garcia Bernal, Koji Yakusho, among many others, it's this year's 40-ton movie.
``Catch a Fire"
Australian director Philip Noyce goes to South Africa for this 1980-set true-life drama about an anti-apartheid activist (Derek Luke, ``Antwone Fisher") imprisoned with Nelson Mandela on Robbens Island. Tim Robbins plays a policeman; the film marks the latest in Noyce's return to political material after making his Hollywood bones with ``Patriot Games" and ``Clear and Present Danger."
``Conversations With God"
Henry Czerny stars as the best - selling inspirational author Neale Donald Walsch in a drama about his life as told in his books.
``Running With Scissors"
A young man's unstable mother (Annette Bening) and his alcoholic father (Alec Baldwin) put him in the care of a shrink (Brian Cox) whose house is a menagerie of weirdo s. Based on Augusten Burroughs's hit memoir and also starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Evan Rachel Wood, Kristen Chenoweth, Joseph Fiennes, and Joseph Cross as the author. Adapted and directed by Ryan Murphy (``Nip/Tuck").
``Saw III"
``Saw" came. ``Saw II" conquered. ``Saw III" -- what's left? How many body parts remain to be severed? In this one, Jigsaw (Tobin Bell), the sadistic mastermind behind the icky games of the first two installments, kidnaps a few more victims for his amusement. Apparently the character's got cancer and is on the verge of death himself. Here's hoping.
``Tideland"
From Terry Gilliam, a fantasy about a young city girl (Jodelle Ferland) who moves to a farmhouse after her mother dies of a drug overdose. This being a Gilliam production, druggy images are sure to follow her to the country. Jeff Bridges, Janet McTeer, and Jennifer Tilly also star.
Chris Pine -- the guy who had his luck stolen by Lindsay Lohan in ``Just My Luck" -- plays a young blind man who hits the dating scene; ergo the title, admittedly better than ``Blind Guy Driving," which this romantic comedy was called at one point. Love and cross-cultural complications ensue with an Indian woman (Anjali Jay) and her family.
``Borat: Cultural Learningsof America for Make BenefitGlorious Nation of Kazakhstan"
No, you read that right. The comedian Sacha Baron Cohen brings his naively inquisitive Kazak television personality, Borat, to the movies. He arrives in America on assignment (he's seeking to explain the country's greatness) and on a mission: to find and wed Pamela Anderson. No word on whether the film culminates in a brazen street fight between the newsman and Mr. Anderson, known to tabloid readers as Kid Rock.
``Flushed Away"
In this animated comedy from the makers of ``Shrek" and ``Wallace & Gromit," a high society rat winds up slumming it in the sewers of London. Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, and Kate Winslet provide some of the voices. And here's hoping the title is more than a comment on the state of imagination in children's cartoon entertainment.
``The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause"
Tim Allen now must stop Martin Short's Jack Frost from taking over Christmas. Presumably that escape clause applies to paying audiences, too.
Also opening: ``Climates."
Originally subtitled ``An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus," this is just that: three fictionalized months in the life of the acclaimed photographer (Nicole Kidman) as she prepares for a career of unnerving portraiture. Robert Downey Jr. plays her confidante, a fur-covered man who becomes the first of Arbus' s beloved freaks. Brought to you by director Steven Shainberg, who convinced us S&M was true love in ``Secretary." But a literally downy Downey? We need convincing.
``A Good Year"
Russell Crowe reteams with his ``Gladiator" director , Ridley Scott , in this film about a ruthless London stock trader who inherits a villa in the south of France. He arrives with the intention of selling the place and, naturally, falls in love -- with it and the feisty waitress (Marion Cotillard) he nearly runs off the road. Some might have preferred the film when it was called ``Under the Tuscan Sun," but a comedy might be just what the publicist ordered for Crowe. Based on a novel by Peter Mayle.
``Stranger Than Fiction"
A novelist (Emma Thompson), blocked on her latest book, is trying to figure out a way to kill off her main character. The problem is that he happens to be a real guy (Will Ferrell) who can hear her narrating his life -- and it's driving him nuts. Dustin Hoffman, Queen Latifah, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Linda Hunt round out the cast of this meta-movie, written by Zach Helm and directed by Marc Forster (``Finding Neverland").
``Volver"
On the heels of a Pedro Almodóvar retrospective that's touring big-city arthouses (it's at the Kendall Square now) comes the Spanish master's latest ode to mothers, melodrama, and messy human comedy. Pene lope Cruz plays a Madrid housewife coming apart at the seams; Carmen Maura (``Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown") plays her mother, who doesn't let a little thing like death keep her from meddling in her daughter's life. Question for the peanut gallery: Why is Cruz so good in Spanish films and so terrible in Hollywood movies?
Heath Ledger heads back to Australia for this unsparing drama about a young poet, his art student girlfriend (Abbie Cornish), and heroin addiction that overtakes them both. Junkie-love movies are all about the acting (see Al Pacino in ``The Panic in Needle Park" or Ellen Burstyn in ``Requiem for a Dream"), but don't be surprised if Cornish, so good in the recent ``Somersault," matches Ledger blow for blow.
``Casino Royale"
This second adaptation of Ian Fleming's first 007 novel is Daniel Craig's debut as James Bond. The plot of the movie (the 21st in 44 years) involves the assassin's ascension to superspy, and his bid to stop a terrorist. The rest of the cast -- Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright, Simon Abkarian, Giancarlo Giannini -- is international. It's also classy. Eva Green (``The Dreamers") is our Bond Girl.
``Come Early Morning"
Joey Lauren Adams, the Amy Ben Affleck chased in Kevin Smith's movie, makes her writing and directing debut with a drama starring Ashley Judd as a rural southerner trying to get her life together.
``Fast Food Nation"
Eric Schlosser's best-selling book was non fiction, an expose of America's ugly state of junk-food preparation. Director Richard Linklater's film of that book is fiction: a ``Nashville"-style ensemble piece that captures dramas and nasty dilemmas up and down the fast-food chain, from executives (Greg Kinnear) to slaughterhouse employees (Catalina Sandino Moreno of ``Maria Full of Grace"). The smorgasbord cast includes Bruce Willis, Avril Lavigne, Luis Guzman, and Paul Dano (the son in ``Little Miss Sunshine").
``For Your Consideration"
Having done dog pageants (``Best in Show") and over-the-hill folkies (``A Mighty Wind"), Christopher Guest's comedy troupe now confronts Hollywood awards season. Catherine O'Hara, Fred Willard, Parker Posey, Bob Balaban, Jane Lynch, Eugene Levy, et al. return.
``The Hoax"
Richard Gere stars in this adaptation of Clifford Irving's novel about the author's attempt to sell his specious biography of Howard Hughes in 1970, causing a minor national scandal. Marcia Gay Harden, Hope Davis, and Stanley Tucci also star, and Lasse Hallström (``Chocolat") directs.
``The Return"
In this horror film, a traveling businesswoman (Sarah Michelle Gellar) arrives in a small Texas town and is suddenly having nightmares about a murder that happened years before.
``Slow Burn"
Ray Liotta is a district attorney whose assistant DA (Jolene Blalock of ``Star Trek: Enterprise," minus the funny ears) kills a man; her account of the deed is contradicted by LL Cool J, Mekhi Phifer, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, each of whom has his own take. That's right, it's a multicultural, inner-city, mystery-thriller remake of Akira Kurosawa's ``Rashomon." Apparently on purpose, no less.
``Tenacious D in the Pickof Destiny"
Jack Black drops the Hollywood star stuff to go back to his comic roots: the parody (sort of) heavy metal band Tenacious D he started with Kyle Gass that led to two real CDs and some songs whose titles we can't print in a family paper. In this big-screen iteration, the two search for a magic guitar pick that will transform them into arena gods. Tim Robbins and Ben Stiller put in appearances, and -- heavens -- is that Meat Loaf in the role of Black's dad?
An ensemble drama set in L A 's Ambassador Hotel on June 5, 1968 -- the night Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated. The film isn't about the event so much as the ordinary lives that surrounded the event, with writer-director Emilio Estevez perhaps aiming for Robert Altman territory. He has the cast, at least: Anthony Hopkins, William H. Macy, Elijah Wood, Helen Hunt, Laurence Fishburne, Heather Graham, Harry Belafonte, Freddy Rodriguez, Christian Slater, and -- yikes! -- Lindsay Lohan.
``Deck the Halls"
Danny DeVito and Matthew Broderick are two neighbors spatting and possibly worse over one's outlandish Christmas decorations. Kristin Davis and Kristen Chenoweth co star.
``Déjà Vu"
Denzel Washington reunites with director Tony Scott -- they teamed up for 1995's ``Crimson Tide" -- for a Jerry Bruckheimer action-drama about a detective who plays fast and loose with time in order to solve a case involving a murdered woman (Paula Patton) with whom he was -- or will be -- romantically entangled. Think ``The Lake House" meets ``Laura," with additional weirdness provided by Val Kilmer.
``The Fountain"
What's been taking Darren Aronofsky's extra-strength romance so long to get here? (His last film was 2000's ``Requiem for a Dream.") The new, elaborate-looking picture covers the 16th, 21st, and 26th centuries and features Hugh Jackman in three parallel roles trying to keep alive his ladylove, Rachel Weisz , in three roles, too. With Ellen Burstyn.
``The History Boys"
Alan Bennett's play about a group of British students and their teachers debuted at the Royal National Theatre in 2004 and went on to Broadway, where it won six Tonys this past July, including awards for best play, best director (Nicholas Hytner), best actor (Richard Griffiths), and best actress (Frances de la Tour). The whole shebang comes to the screen pretty much intact, which saves you about $100 on tickets unless you go heavy on the popcorn.
``Let's Go to Prison"
A white-collar criminal (Will Arnett) is sentenced to jail where his cellmate happens to be the son of the judge who sentenced him. Written by Thomas Lennon, Ben Garant, and Michael Patrick Jann, all of Comedy Central's ``Reno 911!" and directed by Bob Odenkirk (``Mr. Show").
The new partially animated fable from the Brothers Quay concerns an evil 18th-century inventor (Gottfried John) who kills an opera singer (Amira Casar) only to resurrect her for his diabolical opera.
Catherine Hardwicke (``Thirteen" and ``Lords of Dogtown") brings her interest in youth culture to this epic about young pregnant Mary (Keisha Castle-Hughes, Oscar nominee for ``Whale Rider"), her husband Joseph (Oscar Isaac), and their journey to Bethlehem for Jesus's birth. At press time, it was still unclear whether they ride a mule or a skateboard to get there. Written by Mike Rich (``Finding Forrester").
Also opening: ``Bug."
Despite the director's drunken anti-Semitic explosion,
``The Holiday"
You've heard of house swaps? Now try life swaps: Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet star as two lonely gals who trade places -- Winslet to LA and Diaz to London -- and find romance blossoming on the other woman's turf. Jude Law plays one of the dreamboats and the second is none other than Jack Black, who has presumably found his pick of destiny. Nancy Meyers (``Something's Gotta Give") writes and directs.
``[expletive]"
Take one Anglo-Saxon four letter word my editors won't even let me hint at -- all right, the third letter is ``c" -- sic documentary filmmaker Steve Anderson on it, and, presto, you have a semantic inquisition into the nature of expletives in human culture and a nightmare for any theater employees in charge of the marquee.
``Unaccompanied Minors"
A group of teenagers snowed in at a Chicago airport over the holidays pull together against the grown-ups. We could swear this was a John Hughes movie if Hughes hadn't dropped off the Hollywood map; instead, ``Freaks and Geeks" creator Paul Feig is behind the camera, and, verily, he knoweth whereof he speaks (and geeks). Call it ``The In-Flight Breakfast Club."
The season's other Leonardo DiCaprio thriller has him playing a South African mercenary taking on immoral diamond cartels. With Djimon Hounsou, playing Tubbs to DiCaprio's Crockett, and Jennifer Connelly, to boot. Directed by Edward Zwick (``Glory," ``The Last Samurai").
``Eragon"
Based on the fantasy books, a young man (Edward Speleers) teams with a lady dragon to demolish an evil king (Jeremy Irons, naturally). Directed by the aptly named Stefen Fangmeier.
``Home of the Brave"
The war in Iraq comes home in the first major Hollywood movie to examine the impact of the conflict on American soldiers. Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica Biel, and 50 Cent play veterans returning to Spokane. ``The Best Years of Our Lives" for the new world disorder? Director Irwin Winkler would like you to think so.
``The Painted Veil"
Did the success of ``Being Julia" make W. Somerset Maugham hip again? More likely we have producer/co star Edward Norton to thank for this new adaptation (filmed once before in 1934) of the tale of a British couple (Norton and Naomi Watts) going native in China during a cholera epidemic. It's Ron Nyswaner's first screenplay since 1993's ``Philadelphia."
``Pride"
In this based-on-a-true story inspirational drama, Terrence Howard plays a Philadelphian who starts a swim team for troubled youth.
``The Pursuit of Happyness "
Will Smith pulls a dramatic about-face as a salesman dad (to 8-year-old Jaden Smith, the star's son with Jada Pinkett) who tries to pull his life back from the brink. Thandie Newton plays his clinically depressed wife, San Francisco plays itself. That title? It 's from a misspelled pre school sign that spurs Smith's character to action.
``Venus"
Sir Peter O'Toole stars as a not-that-successful actor who falls for the newly arrived grandniece (Jodie Whittaker) of his best friend and fellow actor (Leslie Philips). Richard Griffiths and Vanessa Redgrave costar. Written by Hanif Kureishi and directed by Roger Michell, who last teamed up for 2003's ``The Mother," also about a shocking May-December affair.
When the great E.B. White penned his eternal classic in 1952, he clearly didn't have the foresight to include a farting horse. Director Gary Winick knows better; it's right there in the trailer. Oh dear, why don't we feel good about this? Still, the new ``Charlotte" has all the goodies Hollywood can buy: Dakota Fanning as Fern, the voice of Julia Roberts as Charlotte A. Cavatica, web-spinner extraordinaire, and everyone from Robert Redford to John Cleese to Oprah Winfrey to Steve Buscemi chipping in vocal talent.
The new period epic from Zhang Yimou (``House of Flying Daggers") stars Gong Li and Chow Yun-Fat as an embattled imperial queen and king. Expect high dudgeon and, concerning the costumes, a higher thread count.
``The Good Shepherd"
Robert De Niro directs thisdrama that looks at the early history of the CIA through the lensof a single agent, played by Matt Damon. Angelina Jolie plays the missus, a presumably more trustworthy version of a spy's wife than her work in ``Mr. and Mrs. Smith." Also with Alec Baldwin, William Hurt, Jason Patric, Billy Crudup, and Joe Pesci. Written by Eric Roth.
``Night at the Museum"
In this effects-driven family movie set at the Museum of Natural History, the exhibits come alive. Ben Stiller plays a security guard.
``Notes on a Scandal"
Zoë Heller's 2003 novel ``What Was She Thinking ? " comes to the screen with a new title and awards-season firepower: Cate Blanchett plays the free-spirit pottery teacher who embarks on an affair with a student (Andrew Simpson), while Judi Dench plays the older teacher who becomes consumed with her colleague's secret. Richard Eyre, who did right by Dame Judi in ``Iris," directs.
``Rocky Balboa"
Yo, America: 60-year-old Sylvester Stallone returns. It's been, what, 16 years since he spanked Tommy Morrison in ``Rocky V." And now Rocky's hit true bottom: He's a widower. But when a computer randomly determines that he could beat the reigning champ (real champ Antonio Tarver), he climbs back into the ring. One. More. Time.
Also opening: ``We Are Marshall."
Director Alfonso Cuaron (``Y Tu Tambien," ``Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban") leaps from Hogwarts to a near-future in which Earth's women have gone sterile and where Clive Owen has to shepherd the last pregnant woman (Claire-Hope Ashitey ) to safety. It could have been a muscle-flexing sci-fi action flick, but Cuaron has reportedly adapted the P.D. James novel into a scruffier and more provocative experience, with parallels to the immigration debate and other touchy topics. Julianne Moore and Michael Caine co star.
``Dreamgirls"
Director Bill Condon (``Kinsey") brings the 1981 hit Broadwaymusical to the screen -- finally.Serious cast, too: Beyoncé Knowles, 2004 ``American Idol"finalist Jennifer Hudson, andAnika Noni Rose (a Tony winner for ``Caroline, or Change") playthe girl-group trio whose rise and split echoes the Supremes, while Jamie Foxx takes on the role of musical mastermind Curtis Taylor (a.k.a. Berry Gordy) and Eddie Murphy lights up the house as a soul singer patterned on James Brown. I am telling you, we're going.
``The Good German"
From Steven Soderbergh, a story of an American journalist (George Clooney) in post-WWII Berlin. He's there to cover Truman, Churchill, and Stalin's conference in Potsdam, and figures he'll look up an ex (Cate Blanchett). An international cabal turns up. So does Tobey Maguire, as an American soldier. Adapted by Paul Attanasio (``Quiz Show") from Joseph Kanon's novel.
Writer/director/crazed Mexican visionary Guillermo del Toro (``The Devil's Backbone," ``Hellboy") goes for baroque in this tale of a young girl (Ivana Baquero) in post-WWII Spain who deals with her stepfather's part in the Fascist regime by fleeing into an inner fantasy world. Del Toro has never been shy about throwing special effects around, but this time they may be tethered to unsettling reality.
