Sun, Sand and Screen

Opening Friday

The Castle. The Australian comedy tells the story of a tow-truck driver’s battle to save his home from an expanding airport. (Miramax)

The Empty Mirror. A speculation on what would transpire in Hitler’s mind had the dictator survived and gone into hiding. Norman Rodway and Joel Grey star. (Lions Gate Films)

I Stand Alone. Gaspar Noe’s study of a butcher whose life gradually narrows to a desperate and potentially violent point. (Strand)

The Mummy. Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz and John Hannah in a remake of Universal’s 1932 horror classic, with visual effects from Industrial Light & Magic. (Universal)

A Stranger In The Kingdom. A black minister is accused of murder in a small Vermont town. Directed by Jay Craven (“Where the Rivers Flow North”) and featuring David Lansbury and Martin Sheen. (Kingdom County Productions)

Tequila Body Shots. Onetime TV teen heartthrob Joey Lawrence plays the lead in a wild adventure about three buddies’ trip to Mexico -- and into realms unknown. (Legacy Releasing)

This Is My Father. The discovery of a faded photograph in the attic sends a Chicago schoolteacher (James Caan) to Ireland, where he pursues the truth about his heritage. (Sony Pictures Classics)

May 12

Trippin’. Some hard lessons and the arrival of true love are part of a young man’s final months of high school. (Rogue Pictures)

May 14

American Job. Chris Smith’s semi-documentary look at one young man and his string of minimum-wage jobs. (Bluemark Productions)

Black Mask. Martial arts comer Jet Li fights it out with an evil force. (Artisan Entertainment)

Endurance. The story of Olympic-runner Haile Gebrselassie and his harsh childhood in Ethiopia. (Hollywood)

Mascara. Three old friends (Ione Skye, Lumi Cavazos and Amanda DeCadenet) bond amid turmoil as they approach their 30th birthdays. (Phaedra Cinema)

The Photographer. A Nazi general’s photographs of life in the Lodz Ghetto form the basis of this documentary. (Seventh Art Releasing)

The Underground Comedy Movie. The unlikely cast of this off-the-cuff comedy includes “Baywatch’s” Gena Lee Nolin, former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash and Joey Buttafuoco. (Phaedra Cinema)

May 19

Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace. Darth Vader is a 9-year-old boy and Obi-Wan Kenobi a young Jedi knight in George Lucas’ prequel to the “Star Wars” saga. (Fox)

May 21

Besieged. Bernardo Bertolucci traces the unusual relationship of an African expatriate in Rome and the eccentric Englishman who employs her. (Fine Line)

Frogs For Snakes. Barbara Hershey, Robbie Coltrane and John Leguizamo head the cast in Amos Poe’s neo-noir comedy about actors who will literally kill for a role. (The Shooting Gallery)

The King Of Masks. In rural China, an elderly street musician takes in an abandoned girl, setting into motion a story of bonding and conflict. Directed by Wu Tianming. (Samuel Goldwyn Films)

Midaq Alley. Salma Hayek stars in this 1995 Mexican film based on the novel by Egyptian Nobel Prize winner Naguib Mahfuz. (Northern Arts)

Olympia. An Olympic javelin thrower from Mexico awakens a man to the impact of his will. Directed by Robert Byington. (King Pictures)

Trekkies. Documentary on the legion of fans, known as Trekkies or Trekkers, spawned by the “Star Trek” television series. (Paramount)

May 28

The Delicate Art of the Rifle. Charles Whitman’s 1966 “Texas Tower” murder spree is given a hallucinatory treatment. (CLC Films)

Eternity and A Day. The final days of a terminally ill Greek writer at his seaside home. Directed by Theo Angelopoulos. (Artistic License)

The Loss of Sexual Innocence. Mike Figgis is the writer-director of this nonlinear look at key episodes in the life of a man (Julian Sands), played against the story of Adam and Eve. (Sony Pictures Classics)

Love Etc. Charlotte Gainsbourg, Yvan Attal and Charles Berling as the three sides of the triangle in this update of the classic “Jules and Jim.” (Phaedra Cinema)

Notting Hill. Movie star (Julia Roberts) enters a small travel bookstore, setting off an unusual courtship with its proprietor (Hugh Grant). Screenwriter Richard Curtis and producer Duncan Kenworthy previously teamed on “Four Weddings and a Funeral.” (Universal)

Port Djema. A haunting journey into the stark terrain of East Africa -- and the human heart. (Shadow Releasing)

Spike and Mike’s Classic Festival Of Animation. A compilation of animated shorts including the Academy Award-winning “Bunny.” (Mellow Manor)

May, to Be Announced

A Little Bit Of Soul. Peter Duncan (“Children of the Revolution”) directs Geoffrey Rush and Frances O’Connor. (Phaedra Cinema)

Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl. Actress Joan Chen debuts as a director with the story of a woman exiled during the Cultural Revolution, and the Tibetan horse herder who aids her. (Stratosphere Entertainment)

June 4

The Buena Vista Social Club. Wim Wenders documents the celebrated collaboration between some Cuban musical elders and guitarist Ry Cooder (who has scored several Wenders films). (Artisan Entertainment)

Finding North. A lonely Brooklyn woman sets her sights on a man who turns out to be gay. That doesn’t stop them from embarking on a screwball journey of self-discovery. (Cowboy Booking International)

Floating. Norman Reedus (“Six Ways to Sunday”) plays a boy growing up in a turbulent environment. Chad Lowe and Sybil Temchen co-star. (Phaedra Cinema)

The Following. A young man’s obsession with following people leads him into a dark underworld. Directed by Chris Nolan. (Zeitgeist)

Funny Games. A family admits two clean-cut-looking young men to its home, and soon regrets it. (Attitude Films).

Nobody. Director Toshimichi Ohkawa aspires to John Woo-style action in a story that takes off when three men walk into the wrong bar. (Phaedra Cinema)

Strawberry Fields. In a story set in the rock ‘n’ roll world of the early ‘70s, a Japanese American girl finds she has a fondness for fire. (Phaedra Cinema)

Twice Upon A Yesterday. Two strange characters work some magic in a romantic drama by Spanish novelist and songwriter Rafa Russo. (Trimark)

June 11

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. Mike Myers returns as the modish, but not modest, international man of mystery. Heather Graham co-stars; Jay Roach directs. (New Line)

Edge of Seventeen. An Ohio youth comes of age in the ‘80s, faces hostility and finds friendship as he embraces his homosexuality. (Strand)

Floating Life. Clara Law directs this comedy about a Chinese family’s move from Australia to Hong Kong. (Cowboy)

Just A Little Harmless Sex. Allison Eastwood and Robert Mailhouse as an estranged couple working their way back together through a series of comedic obstacles. (Phaedra Cinema)

The Red Violin. An instrument crafted first in celebration, then in grief, touches a variety of lives across continents and centuries. Score by John Corigliano, with Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting the London Philharmonia Orchestra. (Lions Gate)

Remembering The Cosmos Flower. A young Japanese girl with HIV struggles to find understanding. (Phaedra Cinema)

The Third Man. This European version of the great 1949 Carol Reed movie is 11 minutes longer. Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli and Trevor Howard star. Written by Graham Greene. (Rialto)

June 17

The Saragossa Manuscript. A new print at the full three-hour length, presented by Scorsese and Coppola in memory of Jerry Garcia -- an admirer of Wojciech Has’ 1964 erotic/supernatural epic. (Cowboy Booking International)

June 18

Desert Blue. Writer-director Morgan J. Freeman’s romance focuses on a group of young people in an offbeat outpost. With Casey Affleck, Christina Ricci, Brendan Sexton III and others. (Samuel Goldwyn Films)

Junk Food. Director Masashi Yamamoto portrays the social outcasts known as the junk food people. (Pacifica Filmworks)

The Last Lieutenant. World War II drama about the Nazi resistance movement in Norway. (Seventh Art)

Run Lola Run. Short on time and without the money he owes the mob, a young man embarks on a suspense-riddled adventure in this Germany entry. (Sony Pictures Classics)

Tarzan. Phil Collins’ songs and the voices of Tony Goldwyn, Glenn Close, Minnie Driver and Rosie O’Donnell are some of the attractions in Disney’s animated saga of the Ape Man. (Walt Disney)

June 25

The Adventures of Sebastian Cole. Quests for identity consume a 17-year-old boy and his sex-change-ready stepfather in first-time writer-director Tod Williams’ comedy-drama. (Paramount Classics)

Big Daddy. Irresponsible law school grad Adam Sandler takes an unconventional approach to child-rearing when he assumes custody of a 5-year-old in an effort to impress his girlfriend (Joey Lauren Adams). Dennis Dugan directs. (Columbia)

Honey And Ashes. Swiss director Nadia Fares examines North African culture through the story of three women whose lives intersect. (Seventh Art)

Island Of The Sharks. A look at the dining habits of the marine predator in tropical waters. Directed by Howard Hall (“Into the Deep”.) (Imax)

Jeanne And The Perfect Guy. A musical comedy about a lusty Frenchwoman who falls in love with a man with AIDS. Lead Virginie Ledoyen is the co-star of Leonardo DiCaprio’s upcoming “The Beach.” (Strand)

My Son The Fanatic. Culture clashes and generation gaps spark this comedy involving a cabdriver, his suddenly religious son, a prostitute (Rachel Griffiths) and a German businessman. (Miramax)

Zone 39. Peter Phelps and Carolyn Bock in a futuristic thriller from Australia. (Phaedra Cinema)

June, to Be Announced

CALIGULA. The 20th anniversary reissue of the director’s cut of the Penthouse -produced, Gore Vidal-written epic of explicit sex and violence under the decadent Roman emperor. (Legacy Releasing)

July 2

THE EMPEROR’S SHADOW. This epic about China’s first emperor is directed by Zhou Xiaowen. (Fox Lorber)

THE LOVERS ON THE BRIDGE. The Parisian romance between a street performer (Denis Lavant) and an artist (Academy Award winner Juliette Binoche. (Miramax)

WILD WILD WEST. Will Smith and Kevin Kline as government agents assigned to thwart a presidential assassination. Kenneth Branagh and Salma Hayek also star for director Barry Sonnenfeld. (Warner Bros.)

July 9

AMERICAN PIE. A group of high school seniors makes a pact to lose their virginity by prom night. (Universal)

AUTUMN TALE. The final installment of writer-director Eric Rohmer’s “Tales of the Four Seasons” tells the story of a middle-aged winegrower facing the prospect of new love. (October Films)

BROKEN VESSELS. An earnest innocent’s eyes are opened to a world of danger and corruption when he teams up with a shady L.A. ambulance driver. (Zeitgeist Films)

THE DINNER GAME. The idea is to bring along the dullest, dimmest guest possible, to amuse the yuppie company. But publisher Thierry Lhermitte underestimates his discovery (Jacques Villeret). (Lions Gate)

FEVER PITCH. An uptight English teacher and a soccer coach fall in love against the backdrop of an exciting season for his team. Colin Firth stars. (Phaedra Cinema)

THE MILKY WAY. Ali Nassar directs this love story, which is set in a Palestinian village in Galilee in 1964. (Kino)

STICKY FINGERS OF TIME. A time-traveling pulp novelist from the ‘50s and a confused ‘90s woman bond for genre-crossing adventure and a nod to lesbian chic. (Strand)

STIGMATA. A priest (Gabriel Byrne) is dispatched by the Vatican to investigate the troubling case of a woman (Patricia Arquette) assaulted by an unseen attacker. (MGM)

July 16

THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. It’s the footage shot by a crew of filmmakers who disappeared in Maryland woods while making a documentary on a malevolent local legend. (Artisan Entertainment)

EYES WIDE SHUT. Jealousy and sexual obsession are the themes in the teaming of producer-director Stanley Kubrick, who died after its completion, with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. (Warner Bros.)

My LIFE SO FAR. This memoir of an unusual family is produced by David Puttnam, directed by Hugh Hudson and features Colin Firth, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Malcolm McDowell (Miramax)

THE VELOCITY OF GARY (NOT HIS REAL NAME). Thomas Jane, Vincent D’Onofrio and Salma Hayek form the love triangle in the latest from director Dan Ireland (‘The Whole Wide World’). (Next Millennium Entertainment)

July 23

THE HAUNTING. “Twister” and “Speed”-meister Jan De Bont downshifts for this version of Shirley Jackson’s supernatural thriller. (DreamWorks)

HEART OF LIGHT. This entry from Greenland is the first feature film shot in the Inuit language. (Phaedra Cinema)

TRICK. A potential one-night stand turns into something very different for an aspiring Broadway musical writer and a mysterious go-go boy. (Fine Line)

July 30

DEEP BLUE SEA. Genetically enhanced sharks lick their chops as the marine researchers who created them become stranded on a sinking marine facility. Renny Harlin directs. (Warner Bros.)

OUTSIDE PROVIDENCE. There’s something about the Farrelly brothers, who co-produced and co-wrote (with director Michael Corrente) this comedy about a trouble-prone misfit at a prep school. (Miramax)

TWIN FALLS IDAHO. Mark and Michael Polish star as 25-year-old conjoined twins, one of whom has a weak heart. The brothers co-wrote the screenplay and Michael directed. (Sony Pictures Classics)

July, to Be Announced

RETURN WITH HONOR. This documentary on U.S. pilots who became prisoners of war in Vietnam includes interviews with the principals and their families as well as footage from North Vietnam’s archives. (Ocean Releasing)

SIEGFRIED & ROY: THE MAGIC Box. The illusionists and their animals, in an exotic adventure captured in Imax 3D. (Imax)

Aug. 4

DICK. In this revisionist history, high schoolers Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams meet President Nixon (Dan Hedaya) during a White House tour and end up in the thick of Watergate. (Columbia)

Aug. 6

FIGHT CLUB. Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and Helena Bonham Carter in a brutal world of underground fisticuffs. Directed by David Fincher. (Fox 2000)

THE IRON GIANT. It’s a machine that falls to Earth, where it befriends a boy in a small Maine town. Jennifer Aniston and Harry Connick Jr. head the voice cast of the animated adventure. (Warner Bros.)

MYSTERY MEN. Ben Stiller, Paul Reubens, Janeane Garofalo and Hank Azaria are some of the unlikely superheroes in this action comedy based on the Dark Horse comic. Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush plays the villain. (Universal)

PLUNKETT AND MACLEANE. Robert Carlyle (“The Full Monty”) and Jonny Lee Miller portray the notorious and charismatic 18th century English highwaymen. (Gramercy)

THE TAXMAN. A New York tax investigator uncovers a multi-million-dollar scam, leading to mystery and danger. (Phaedra Cinema)

WEST BEIRUT. Two Beirut teens roam the streets of the divided city in 1975, listening to American pop music and making Super 8 films. (Cowboy Booking International)

Aug. 11

IN TOO DEEP. Omar Epps stars as a detective who goes undercover to bring down a gangster called “God” (LL Cool J). Stanley Tucci, Nia Long and Pam Grier co-star. (Miramax)

Aug. 13

HEAD ON. Twenty-four hours in the life of a young man driven by frustration and hostility. Alex Dimitriades won the best actor award from the Australian Academy. (Strand)

MR. ACCIDENT. Triple threat Yahoo Serious is the writer-director-star in the story of a fall guy out to stop a plot to market nicotine-injected eggs. (G2 Films)

Aug. 20

KILLING MRS. TINGLE. Teenmeister Kevin Williamson makes his directing debut with a dark comedy starring Helen Mirren and also featuring “Dawson Creeks” Katie Holmes, Jeffrey Tambor and Molly Ringwald. (Dimension)

LOVE STINKS. French Stewart (“3rd Rock From the Sun”) stars as a sitcom writer in this “unromantic romantic-comedy.” (Independent Artists)

PORTRAITS CHINOIS. Helena Bonham-Carter heads the cast in director Martine Dugowsin’s study of four couples in Paris. (Phaedra Cinema)

Aug. 25

THE VERY THOUGHT OF YOU. Rufus Sewell, Tom Hollander and Joseph Hennes form an odd trio of longtime friends who clash when Monica Potter turns up. (Miramax)

Aug. 27

MAD ABOUT MAMBO. A Belfast boy studying Latin dance to improve his soccer footwork falls for an upper-class girl (“Felicity’s” Keri Russell). (Gramercy)

MEN CRY BULLETS. “Star Trek: Voyager’s” Jeri Ryan in a dark comedy about a woman determined to coerce her boyfriend into murder. (Phaedra Cinema)

Aug., to Be Announced

BANDITS. That’s the name of a rock band formed by four female prisoners whose escape and flight through Germany makes them cult heroines and chart stars. (Stratosphere Entertainment)

BETTER THAN CHOCOLATE. Anne Wheeler directs a romantic comedy about a woman who meets the woman of her dreams just days before her mother and brother move in with her. (Trimark)

DUDLEY Do-RIGHT. Brendan Fraser, erstwhile George of the Jungle, dons Mountie red, with Alfred Molina as Snidely Whiplash and Sarah Jessica Parker as an environmental-minded Nell. (Universal)

THE GAMBLER. Oscar winner Luise Rainer makes her first film appearance in 55 years in the story of a dramatic incident in the life of novelist Theodor Dostoevsky (Michael Gambon). (Legacy Releasing)

HOOFBEATS. A heroic horse faces long odds against survival in the desert of Namibia. (Columbia)

ILLUMINATA. Director and co-writer John Turturro stars in an erotic farce revolving around a controversial play at the turn of the 20th century. Susan Sarandon co-stars. (Artisan)

THE POWDER KEG. The Yugoslav selection for the 1998 foreign-language Oscar follows a group of characters caught up in the Balkan chaos.

(Paramount Classics)

THE 13TH WARRIOR. Emissary Antonio Banderas joins a band of Vikings in combat against mysterious creatures. (Touchstone)

UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: THE RETURN.

Jean-Claude Van Damme takes on Michael Jai White, a haywire computer in charge of a formidable force of warriors. (Columbia)

WHITEBOYS. Stage performer Danny Hoch co-wrote and stars in the saga of a white, working-class Iowan obsessed with hip-hop and the gangsta world. Directed by Marc Levin (“Slam”). (Fox Searchlight)