 Renee Zellweger tries to strike gold for the second time as the character Bridget Jones. (AP Photo) |
"Birth"
A widow (Nicole Kidman, who really isn't in enough movies) is rattled when a child appears claiming to be her dead husband. Jonathan Glazer's follow-up to "Sexy Beast" divided critics at the Venice Film Festival.
"The Incredibles"
Brad Bird ("The Simpsons," "The Iron Giant") wrote and directed this highly anticipated Pixar adventure about a family of suburban superheroes. With the voices of Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson, Wallace Shawn, and Elizabeth Pena.
"Lightning in a Bottle"
From Antoine Fuqua ("King Arthur"), a performance documentary on the blues. With the old reliables (Ruth Brown, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt) and some curveballs (Chuck D, Angelique Kidjo).
"The Ringer"
It wouldn't be autumn without one bad-taste extravaganza to counteract the Oscar sweepstakes. Last year it was "Bad Santa," this year it's this Farrelly Brothers-produced bonbon about a heel (Johnny Knoxville) who poses as a mentally challenged athlete and enters the Special Olympics to pay off a debt. Not a good sign: A "South Park" episode this season did the same plot in 20 minutes.
Also opening: "Dr. Strangelove"
 |
 (Handout Photo / Warner Bros.) |
"The Polar Express"
One of the year's biggest head scratchers is this Robert Zemeckis-directed, Tom Hanks-starring, fully computer-animated version of the popular book about a kid who stands up for his belief in Santa Claus. Didn't those Tim Allen movies solve this very problem?
"Seed of Chucky"
Here's a career move for you: Billy Boyd, who as Pippin in "The Lord of the Rings" was seen and beloved (OK, tolerated) by millions of moviegoers, will now provide the voice of Glen, killer spawn of the two killer dolls from the "Child's Play" series. It's been five years since the last Chucky movie, a long time for a B-level horror franchise.
NOVEMBER 12
After the Sunset"
In the new Brett Ratner movie, the "world's greatest" jewel thief (Pierce Brosnan) and his gal Friday (Salma Hayek) have pulled their last huge heist and retired to some island paradise. But a federal agent (Woody Harrelson) thinks the thief is just waiting to pull off his "biggest heist ever."
|
 Johnny Depp (Handout Photo) |
Johnny Depp plays J.M. Barrie, the early 20th-century playwright who baffles his producer (Dustin Hoffman) by insisting on writing about a flying boy named Peter Pan. Kate Winslet costars as a single mother who serves as Barrie's muse and model, and child actor Freddie Highmore impressed Depp so much that the star helped him land the role of Charlie in the upcoming "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" remake. Along with "The Aviator," this is Miramax's big Oscar gun, and advance word is strong.
Also opening: "Go Further"
NOVEMBER 19
"Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason"
Renee Zellweger puts the accent, the weight, and the frazzled mien back on for this sequel to the hit comedy-romance (based on Helen Fielding's sequel to her hit novel "Bridget Jones's Diary"). Boyfriend Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) is still in the picture, but bad-boy Daniel (Hugh Grant) continues to prowl the edges of the heroine's libido. Costarring Jacinda Barrett of "Real World: London" demi-fame.
"National Treasure"
And the winner of the dippiest movie premise of the season goes to this Jerry Bruckheimer action-adventure flick about Benjamin Franklin Gates (Nicolas Cage), a historian who steals the Declaration of Independence for the treasure map the founding fathers drew on the back. Diane Kruger (Helen of "Troy") plays a Smithsonian curator -- yes, they do all look like that -- while nine credited writers labored over the script, so you know it's gonna be great.
"Undertow"
Another Southern gothic from writer-director David Gordon Green ("All the Real Girls"). This one is about two brothers (Jamie "Billy Elliot" Bell, Devon Alan) who, among other things, bolt from home upon the arrival of a nasty uncle (Dermot Mulroney). With Josh Lucas as their dad.
|
 (Globe Photo) |
In the first of what's sure to be many movie spinoffs, the lucrative star of the Nickelodeon cartoon leaves his pineapple house in Bikini Bottom to retrieve King Neptune's stolen crown.
Also opening: "Shortcut to Nirvana: Kumbh Mela"
NOVEMBER 24
"Christmas With the Kranks"
America's favorite holiday curmudgeon Tim Allen teams with Jamie Lee Curtis to play a married pair of Yuletide nuts who plan to skip Christmas to spend the season in the tropics with their daughter, who surprises her folks by coming home early, leaving mom and dad with no time to be festive. Our laugh track is already cued.
"The Flight of the Phoenix"
After a plane full of oil workers crashes in the Gobi desert, the survivors use the old parts to build a new plane. This remake of Robert Aldrich's 1965 action flick stars Dennis Quaid, Giovanni Ribisi, and Miranda Otto.
