A Winter Wrap Party

FRIDAY

Boesman and Lena

Drama: Kino International

With: Angela Bassett, Danny Glover.

Writer: John Berry, based on Athol Fugard play.

Director: John Berry.

The idea: Desperate couple adrift in South Africa has an eventful encounter with an elderly tribesman.

Watchwords: Performances worthy of the material.

*

Bounce

Drama: Miramax

With: Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Affleck, Tony Goldwyn, Natasha Henstridge, Jennifer Grey.

Writer-director: Don Roos.

The idea: Tragic twist of fate confounds arrogant ad man and leads him to an unlikely relationship.

Watchwords: Alluring couple, intelligent script, improbable romance.

*

Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Comedy: Universal

With: Jim Carrey, Molly Shannon, Bill Irwin, Christine Baranski, Jeffrey Tambor, Clint Howard, Taylor Momsen.

Writers: Jeffrey Price & Peter S. Seaman.

Director: Ron Howard.

The idea: The grouchy one retaliates big-time against holiday cheer.

Watchwords: More Carrey than Seuss.

*

One Day in September

Documentary: Sony Pictures Classics

With: Michael Douglas narrating.

Director: Kevin Macdonald.

The idea: Archives and interviews chronicle the terrorist attack on Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

Watchwords: Producer Arthur Cohn won his third Oscar for this film.

*

Rugrats in Paris--The Movie

Animated comedy: Paramount

With: Christine Cavanaugh, Cheryl Chase, E.G. Daily, John Lithgow, Debbie Reynolds, Susan Sarandon, Kath Soucie.

Writers: J. David Stem & David N. Weiss and Jill Gorey.

Directors: Stig Bergqvist and Paul Demeyer.

The idea: The gang accompanies Stu Pickles to Reptarland amusement park in France.

Watchwords: Clever follow to their 1998 debut, the biggest non-Disney animated movie ever.

*

The 6th Day

Action-thriller: Columbia

With: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Rapaport, Tony Goldwyn, Michael Rooker, Sarah Wynter, Wendy Crewson, Robert Duvall.

Writers: Cormac Wibberley & Marianne Wibberley.

Director: Roger Spottiswoode.

The idea: Replaced by clone, family man dodges assassins, strives to thwart mad scientists.

Watchwords: Mellower, fatherly Schwarzenegger.

*

Sound and Fury

Documentary: Artistic License

Director: Josh Aronson.

The idea: Insights into deaf culture inform this account of conflicting views on a new procedure that restores hearing in children.

Watchwords: Intimately focused exploration of provocative subject matter.

*

Taboo

Drama: New Yorker Films

With: Takeshi Kitano, Ryuhei Matsuda, Shinji Takeda.

Writers: Nagisa Oshima and Ryotaro Shiba.

Director: Nagisa Oshima.

The idea: Don’t ask, don’t tell: Gay attraction arises in a samurai training camp.

Watchwords: From the director of the controversial “In the Realm of the Senses” and “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence.”

*

What’s Cooking?

Drama: Trimark

With: Joan Chen, Julianna Margulies, Mercedes Ruehl, Kyra Sedgwick, Alfre Woodard.

Writers: Gurinder Chadha and Paul Mayeda Berges.

Director: Gurinder Chadha.

The idea: A look at four families on Thanksgiving Day.

Watchwords: Delicious material for veteran actresses.

NOV. 22

Malena

Drama: Miramax

With: Monica Bellucci, Giuseppe Sulfaro, Daniele Arena, Giovanni Litrico, Gianluca Guarrera, Michel Bramanti.

Writer-director: Giuseppe Tornatore.

The idea: Young war widow fascinates teenage boy in a Sicilian village in 1941.

Watchwords: Monica Belluci is beautiful; Tornatore is Tornatore.

*

102 Dalmatians

Comedy: Walt Disney

With: Glenn Close, Ioan Gruffudd, Alice Evans, Tim McInnerny, Gerard Depardieu.

Writers: Kristen Buckley & Brian Regan, Bob Tzudiker & Noni White.

Director: Kevin Lima.

The idea: Cruella De Vil rehabilitated? Don’t believe it.

Watchwords: Another shot in the arm for Dalmatian breeders everywhere.

*

Quills

Drama: Fox Searchlight

With: Geoffrey Rush, Kate Winslet, Joaquin Phoenix, Michael Caine.

Writer: Doug Wright, adapting his play.

Director: Philip Kaufman.

The idea: Marquis de Sade spews provocative prose while confined in Charenton Asylum.

Watchwords: Fascinating material in capable hands.

*

Unbreakable

Supernatural thriller: Touchstone

With: Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Robin Wright Penn, Charlayne Woodard, Spencer Treat Clark.

Writer-director: M. Night Shyamalan.

The idea: Mysterious stranger Jackson has an explanation for Willis’ mysterious survival of a train wreck.

Watchwords: With this director and star, studio sees dead presidents.

*

The Weekend

Drama: Strand

With: Deborah Kara Unger, Jared Harris, David Conrad, D.B. Sweeney, James Duval, Gena Rowlands, Brooke Shields.

Writer: Brian Skeet, based on Peter Cameron novel.

Director: Brian Skeet.

The idea: Young couple copes with a trying visit from the former lover of the husband’s late brother.

Watchwords: Clever but talky.

NOV. 23

Two Ninas

Comedy: Castle Hill

With: Amanda Peet, Cara Buono, Ron Livingston.

Writer-director: Neil Turitz.

The idea: Unluckiest guy in the world is suddenly juggling two beautiful women.

Watchwords: Predictable triangular shenanigans.

NOV. 24

George Washington

Drama: Cowboy Booking Int’l

With: Candace Evanofski, Donald Holden, Curtis Cotton III, Eddie Rouse, Paul Schneider, Damian Jewan Lee, Rachael Handy, Jonathan Davidson, Janet Taylor, Scott Clackum, Jason Shirley, Christine Gustoitis.

Writer-director: David Gordon Green.

The idea: A peer’s death forces rural Southern youths to confront choices and consequences.

Watchwords: Nonprofessional actors, improvisational style.

DEC. 1

Boy’s Life 3

Shorts anthology: Strand

With: Cleo Delacruz, Aurelian Bianco, Jean-Marc Delacruz, Elise Laurent, Olivier Laville, Philippe Bianco; Drew Wood, Jason Herman; Alexis Arquette, Katie Asner, Charlie Brill, Christina Crawford, Anne DeSalvo, Steve Flynn, Elliott Gould, Jason Gould; Joelle Carter, Guillermo Diaz, Jennifer Esposito, Lane Janger; Sara Gilbert, Erik MacArthur, Greg Itin.

Writers: David Fourier, Bradley Rust Gray, Jason Gould, Lane Janger, Christopher Landon.

Directors: David Fourier, Bradley Rust Gray, Jason Gould, Lane Janger, Gregory Cooke.

The idea: Third in a series of gay short films.

Watchwords: Jason Gould chronicles what it’s like to grow up as the child of celebrities.

*

A Hard Day’s Night

Comedy: Miramax

With: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Wilfred Brambell.

Writer: Alun Owen.

Director: Richard Lester.

The idea: A day in the life of four Beatles and a clean old man.

Watchwords: Restored negative, digitally remastered soundtrack of 1965 pop landmark.

*

Poor White Trash

Comedy: Hollywood Independents

With: Sean Young, William Devane, Jason London, Tony Denman, Jacob Tierney, Jaime Pressly, M. Emmet Walsh.

Writers: Michael Addis and Tony Urban.

Director: Michael Addis.

The idea: Things escalate out of control after two trailer-park pals are busted for shoplifting.

Watchwords: Outlandish escapades of the titular variety.

*

Yi Yi (A One and a Two)

Drama: Winstar Cinema

With: Wu Nienjen, Elaine Jin, Issey Ogata, Kelly Lee, Jonathan Chang.

Writer-director: Edward Yang.

The idea: Three generations of a Taiwanese family encounter experiences ranging from marriage to stroke.

Watchwords: Taiwan new-wave auteur Yang won best director at Cannes.

DEC. 8

Deep in the Woods

Horror Phaedra Cinema

With: Clotilde Courau, Clement Sibony, Alexia Stresi, Vincent Lecoeur, Maud Buquet.

Writer: Annabelle Perrichon.

Director: Lionel Deplanque.

The idea: Gothic chateau, mysterious baron, murders in the woods and a troupe of young actors add up to chills.

Watchwords: Arty French version of a teen horror film.

*

Dungeons and Dragons

Adventure: New Line

With: Jeremy Irons, Thora Birch, Marlon Wayans, Justin Whalin, Zoe McLellan, Kristen Wilson, Richard O’Brien.

Writers: Topper Lilian, Carol Cartwright.

Director: Courtney Solomon.

The idea: Motley crusaders take on evil wizard Irons.

Watchwords: The granddaddy of fantasy games finally makes it to the big screen.

*

Lies

Drama: Cowboy Booking Int’l

With: Lee Sang Hyun, Kim Tae Yeon.

Writer-director: Jang Sun Woo.

The idea: A clandestine relationship spirals into sadomasochism and addiction.

Watchwords: Source novel, “Tell Me a Lie,” was banned in Korea as pornographic.

*

Proof of Life

Drama: Warner Bros.

With: Meg Ryan, Russell Crowe, David Morse, David Caruso, Pamela Reed.

Writer: Tony Gilroy.

Director: Taylor Hackford.

The idea: Wife of a kidnapped businessman falls for the hostage negotiator she hires.

Watchwords: The film that launched a thousand tabloid covers.

*

Vertical Limit

Action-adventure: Columbia

With: Chris O’Donnell, Bill Paxton, Robin Tunney, Scott Glenn, Izabella Scorupco, Temuera Morrison, Alexander Siddig, Robert Taylor.

Writers: Robert King and Terry Hayes.

Director: Martin Campbell.

The idea: Mountain climber braves stormy weather on K2 to rescue his estranged sister.

Watchwords: Intense. Wear Polartec and bring oxygen.

DEC. 15

Chocolat

Comedy: Miramax

With: Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench, Alfred Molina, Lena Olin, Johnny Depp.

Writer: Robert Nelson Jacobs, based on Joanne Harris novel.

Director: Lasse Hallstrm.

The idea: A woman stirs things up in a tranquil French town with the unusually tempting wares of her chocolate shop.

Watchwords: Even people without a taste for candy will want to sample this confection.

*

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Adventure: Sony Pictures Classics

With: Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen.

Writers: James Schamus, Wang Hui Ling and Tsai Kuo Jung.

Director: Ang Lee.

The idea: An epic love story set in ancient China.

Watchwords: Poetry in motion. Really fast motion.

*

Dude, Where’s My Car?

Comedy: Fox

With: Ashton Kutcher, Seann William Scott.

Writer: Philip Stark.

Director: Daniel Leiner.

The idea: Dude duo encounters otherworldly adventure while piecing together their blurry night-before.

Watchwords: Twist on teenage alienation.

*

The Emperor’s New Groove

Animated adventure: Walt Disney

With: David Spade, John Goodman, Eartha Kitt, Patrick Warburton.

Writer: David Reynolds; story by Mark Dindal, Chris Williams.

Director: Mark Dindal.

The idea: Young ruler is transformed into a llama and teams up with helpful peasant to regain his throne.

Watchwords: Will Spade’s cheek and Sting’s songs punch another notch in Disney’s belt?

*

From the Edge of the City

Drama: Mythos

With: Stathis Papadopoulos, Simela Chartomatsidi, Vasias Eleftheriades, Kostas Gogos.

Writer-director: Constantinos Giannaris.

The idea: The world of male hustlers in Athens’ Kazakhstan immigrant community.

Watchwords: Gritty, sometimes hard-to-stomach realism.

*

Pollock

Biography: Sony Pictures Classics

With: Ed Harris, Marcia Gay Harden, Jeffrey Tambor, Robert Knott, Molly Regan, Amy Madigan, Bud Cort.

Writers: Barbara Turner and Susan J. Emshwiller.

Director: Ed Harris.

The idea: Biography of protean painter Jackson Pollock, America’s first art celebrity.

Watchwords: Labor of love for star-director-producer Harris.

*

What Women Want

Comedy: Paramount

With: Mel Gibson, Helen Hunt, Marisa Tomei, Lauren Holly, Mark Feuerstein, Ashley Johnson, Delta Burke, Judy Greer, Lisa Edelstein, Sarah Paulson, Valerie Perrine, Alan Alda.

Writers: Nancy Meyers and Josh Goldsmith & Cathy Yuspa.

Director: Nancy Meyers.

The idea: Ad man Gibson gains the ability to read women’s minds, complicating his relationship with new boss Hunt.

Watchwords: Who knew Mel could be this funny?

DEC. 19

Finding Forrester

Drama: Columbia

With: Sean Connery, F. Murray Abraham, Anna Paquin, Busta Rhymes, Zane Copeland Jr., James “Fly” Williams III, Michael Nouri, Robert Brown.

Writer: Mike Rich.

Director: Gus Van Sant.

The idea: Eccentric novelist and gifted scholar-athlete form an unlikely friendship.

Watchwords: Mentor-protege relationship seems to be Van Sant’s strong suit.

DEC. 20

Thirteen Days

Drama: New Line

With: Kevin Costner, Bruce Greenwood, Steven Culp.

Writer: David Self.

Director: Roger Donaldson.

The idea: Anatomy of most chilling moment of the Cold War, the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.

Watchwords: Sounds like a mini-series, but early buzz is strong.

DEC. 22

Before Night Falls

Biography: Fine Line

With: Javier Bardem, Olivier Martinez, Andrea Di Stefano, Johnny Depp, Sean Penn, Michael Wincott, Najwa Nimri, Hector Babenco, Olatz Lopez Garmendia, Vito Maria Schnabel.

Writers: Cunningham O’Keefe, Lazaro Gomez Carriles and Julian Schnabel.

Director: Julian Schnabel.

The idea: The story of celebrated Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas, who was persecuted by the Castro government and fled to the U.S. in the Mariel boat lift.

Watchwords : Sensitive portrayal, arty pedigree.

*

Cast Away

Drama: Fox

With: Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt, Nick Searcy, Geoffrey Blake, Jennifer Lewis, Chris Noth.

Writer: William Broyles.

Director: Robert Zemeckis.

The idea: Workaholic FedEx executive Hanks is marooned on a remote island.

Watchwords: Hanks, Hunt, Zemeckis. Enough said.

*

The Family Man

Drama: Universal

With: Nicolas Cage, Tea Leoni, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Piven, Amber Valletta, Herve Presnell.

Writers: David Diamond & David Weissman.

Director: Brett Ratner.

The idea: Suave single stockbroker suddenly finds himself living an alternate life with a wife and two kids.

Watchwords: Familiar premise, but Cage and Leoni make it fresh.

*

The Gift

Suspense-drama: Paramount Classics

With: Cate Blanchett, Katie Holmes, Keanu Reeves, Giovanni Ribisi, Greg Kinnear, Hilary Swank.

Writers: Billy Bob Thornton, Tom Epperson.

Director: Sam Raimi.

The idea: A widow’s psychic readings begin to uncover dark secrets in a rural Georgia town.

Watchwords: Talented brew.

*

The House of Mirth

Drama: Sony Pictures Classics

With: Gillian Anderson, Dan Aykroyd, Eleanor Bron, Terry Kinney, Anthony LaPaglia, Laura Linney, Jodhi May, Elizabeth McGovern, Eric Stoltz.

Writer-director: Terence Davies.

The idea: Edith Wharton’s novel is the source for the story of an ill-starred socialite.

Watchwords: Anderson trades blazers for corsets in this pre-feminist cautionary tale..

*

Miss Congeniality

Comedy: Warner Bros.

With: Sandra Bullock, Michael Caine, Benjamin Bratt, Candice Bergen, Heather Burns, Melissa De Sousa, Dierdre Quinn, Asia De Marcos, Wendy Raquel Robinson, William Shatner, Ernie Hudson.

Writers: Marc Lawrence, Katie Ford, Caryn Lucas.

Director: Donald Petrie.

The idea: Tough female FBI agent gets gussied up to infiltrate a beauty pageant that’s been threatened by terrorists.

Watchwords: It’s tough to be beautiful.

*

Nowhere to Hide

Action: Lions Gate

With: Dong-Kun Jang, Ji-Woo Choi, Sung-kee Ahn, Joong-Hoon Park.

Writer-director: Myung-se Lee.

The idea: Eccentric detective tracks murderer from Korean countryside to the heart of Inchon.

Watchwords: Razzle-dazzle noir.

*

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Comedy: Touchstone/Universal

With: George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, Charles Durning, Michael Badalucco, John Goodman, Holly Hunter.

Writers: Ethan Coen & Joel Coen.

Director: Joel Coen.

The idea: Homer’s “Odyssey” is transposed to Depression-era Mississippi .

Watchwords: Movie homages, in-jokes and Americana music for Coen-heads. Anybody else?

State and Main

Comedy: Fine Line

With: Alec Baldwin, Charles Durning, Clark Gregg, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Patti LuPone, William H. Macy, Sarah Jessica Parker, David Paymer, Rebecca Pidgeon, Julia Stiles.

Writer-director: David Mamet.

The idea: A movie production engulfs a New England village; corruption and chaos ensue.

Watchwords: It has the Mamet sting--but this time, with heart.

*

Wes Craven Presents: Dracula 2000

Horror: Dimension

With: Gerard Butler, Jonny Lee Miller, Justine Waddell, Christopher Plummer, Colleen Ann Fitzpatrick (a.k.a. Vitamin C), Jennifer Esposito, Omar Epps, Jeri Ryan, Lochlyn Munro, Danny Masterson, Sean Patrick Thomas.

Writer: Joel Soisson.

Director: Patrick Lussier.

The idea: The Count confronts the modern era, with its Goth fashion and silver bullets.

Watchwords: If anybody can produce thrills from an old concept, it’s Craven.

DEC. 25

All the Pretty Horses

Drama: Miramax

With: Matt Damon, Henry Thomas, Lucas Black, Penelope Cruz, Ruben Blades, Robert Patrick, Bruce Dern, Sam Shepard.

Writer: Ted Tally.

Director: Billy Bob Thornton.

The idea: Young horseman comes of age during a sojourn in Mexico.

Watchwords: Can Harvey Weinstein carve a winner out of this long-delayed movie?

*

An Everlasting Piece

Comedy: DreamWorks

With: Barry McEvoy, Brian F. O’Byrne, Anna Friel, Billy Connolly.

Writer: Barry McEvoy.

Director: Barry Levinson.

The idea: Two barbers corner the toupee market in 1980s Belfast.

Watchwords: Whimsical comedy meets political terror.

*

Vatel

Drama: Miramax

With: Gerard Depardieu, Uma Thurman, Tim Roth, Timothy Spall, Julian Sands.

Writers: Jeanne Labrune screenplay, adapted by Tom Stoppard.

Director: Roland Joffe.

The idea: A woman is the source of conflict between King Louis XIV and the steward he assigns to create an elaborate spectacle.

Watchwords: French intrigue interpreted by Stoppard.

DEC. 27

Traffic

Drama: USA Films

With: Michael Douglas, Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro, Dennis Quaid, Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Writer: Steve Gaghan.

Director: Steven Soderbergh.

The idea: Interrelated stories illuminate the drug trade and the failings of the war thereon.

Watchwords: Soderbergh explores another serious topic.

DEC. 29

The Claim

Drama: United Artists

With: Wes Bentley, Milla Jovovich, Nastassja Kinski, Peter Mullan, Sarah Polley.

Writer: Frank Cottrell Boyce.

Director: Michael Winterbottom.

The idea: Thomas Hardy’s “The Mayor of Casterbridge” inspired this tale of greed and passion set in the California Gold Rush.

Watchwords: Comparison to “McCabe & Mrs. Miller,” not necessarily a bad thing, is inevitable.

*

Shadow of the Vampire

Drama: Lions Gate

With: Willem Dafoe, John Malkovich, Udo Kier, Eddie Izzard, Cary Elwes, Catherine McCormack.

Writer: Steven Katz.

Director: E. Elias Merhige.

The idea: A fictional riff on the making of the silent classic “Nosferatu,” in which a real vampire plays the title role.

Watchwords: Creepy goosebumps.

*

Spring Forward

Drama: IFC Films

With: Liev Schreiber, Ned Beatty, Campbell Scott, Ian Hart, Peri Gilpin, Bill Raymond, Catherine Kellner, Hallee Hirsh.

Writer-director: Tom Gilroy.

The idea: Young ex-con and retirement-ready parks employee strike up an eventful relationship.

Watchwords: Performances are generating some early buzz.

*

DEC. TBA

The Bridge

Drama: Phaedra Cinema

With: Carole Bouquet, Gerard Depardieu, Charles Berling.

Writer: Francois Dupeyron, from Alain Leblanc novel.

Directors: Gerard Depardieu, Frederic Aubertin.

The idea: Bored housewife in 1962 Normandy takes up with a wealthy stranger.

Watchwords: Two directors? Mon dieu.

*

Downward Angel

Drama: Phaedra Cinema

With: Matt Schulze, Jonathan Banks, Gabrielle Fitzpatrick.

Writers: Troy Scott, Kevin Lewis.

Director: Kevin Lewis.

The idea: A man goes to work for the criminal order that killed his parents.

Watchwords: Revenge, art-house style.

*

Holiday Sneaks Editor

Kinsey Lowe

*

Holiday Sneaks Capsules

Richard Cromelin

*

Holiday Sneaks Research

Kevin Crust