Monkey See . . . the Year Ahead

About Adam. Stuart Townsend seems like the perfect man to Dublin singer Kate Hudson--and the rest of her family has a hard time resisting him too. (Miramax)

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All Access. Imax goes backstage and onstage at mega-concerts featuring Carlos Santana, Sting, George Clinton, Moby, Kid Rock and many others. (Imax)

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Beautiful Creatures. Rachel Weisz and Susan Lynch in the story of two women trying to turn the tables on the problematic men in their lives--and to abscond with a small fortune. (Universal Focus)

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Better Housekeeping. The battle of the sexes escalates to dangerous levels in writer-director Frank Novak’s account of a disintegrating marriage. (Shooting Gallery)

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Better Than Sex. The principals in a torrid liaison begin to sense something beyond the erotic in this Australian entry. (IDP Distribution)

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Blow Dry. The national hair championships invade the small, working-class British city of Keighley. (Miramax)

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Born Romantic. Three London men (David Morrissey, Jimi Mistry and Craig Ferguson) search for love, to the backdrop of a salsa beat. (United Artists)

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Bread and Roses. Ken Loach’s first film shot in the U.S. is the story of a labor action by Los Angeles janitors. (Lions Gate)

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Bridget Jones’ Diary. Renee Zellweger plays the opinionated young Englishwoman, with Hugh Grant and Colin Firth as the two men in her tumultuous life. (Miramax)

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The Brothers. Bill Bellamy, Morris Chestnut, D.L. Hughley and Shemar Moore play lifelong friends negotiating life and love together. (Screen Gems)

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Bullfighter. Willem Dafoe, Michelle Forbes, Donnie Wahlberg and Olivier Martinez in a tale of good versus evil, set in the Mexican desert. (Phaedra)

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The Caveman’s Valentine. Samuel L. Jackson, a brilliant musician who lives on the fringes, turns unlikely detective when he finds a frozen corpse. (Universal Focus)

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The Center of the World. Director Wayne Wang reunites with “Smoke” and “Blue in the Face” co-writer Paul Auster to trace a workaholic man’s Las Vegas escapade. (Artisan)

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Cheaters. Writer-director Andrew Gurland (“Frat House” ) follows four friends scamming their way through the school system. Mary Tyler Moore plays the principal. (New Line)

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Chopper. The saga of a hood obsessed with being remembered as a legendary criminal. (First Look)

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The Circle. Three women struggle against the restrictions on their gender in Iran. (Winstar Cinema)

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Crazy/Beautiful. Rich kid Kirsten Dunst strikes up a romance with a boy (Jay Hernandez) who is bused from East L.A. to the Pacific Palisades high school. (Touchstone)

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Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles. Mrs. D. (Linda Kozlowski) comes to La La Land to head a newspaper bureau, accompanied by her husband (Paul Hogan) and their son (Serge Cockburn). (Paramount)

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The Day I Became a Woman. A study of three generations of Iranian women confined to their homes by restrictive traditions. (Shooting Gallery)

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Deuces Wild. Zeroes in on a Brooklyn gang in 1958, a year when old ways were changing in new, turbulent times. (United Artists)

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The Dish. The reception of pictures of the first moon landing depends on a group of eccentric Australian scientists and their remote satellite dish. Based on a true story. (Warner Bros.)

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Double Deception. Stand-ins, multiple kidnappings and elaborate ruses propel a story centered on the daughter of a Japanese businessman in Los Angeles. (Phaedra)

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Driven. Renny Harlin directs Sylvester Stallone’s script about rpm’s and romance in the world of high-tech auto racing. Stallone stars with Burt Reynolds and Kip Pardue. (Warner Bros.)

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Eureka. A bus driver and two students struggle to come to terms with the brutal killing spree they survived. (Shooting Gallery)

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Exit Wounds. Maverick Detroit police detective Steven Seagal and mysterious crime lord DMX join forces against a sinister conspiracy. (Warner Bros.)

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The Fast and the Furious. Vin Diesel and Paul Walker star in an adventure about street-racing gangs in Los Angeles. (Universal)

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Festival in Cannes. Anouk Aimee and Maximilian Schell head the cast of Henry Jaglom’s look at goings-on at the Cannes Film Festival. (Rainbow Film Co./Revere Entertainment)

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15 Minutes. New York homicide detective Robert De Niro and arson investigator Edward Burns pursue two rampaging killers, a chase that generates media madness. (New Line)

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The Forsaken. Don’t pick up hitchhikers, especially if they turn out to be vampire hunters. Kerr Smith should have followed that old rule on his cross-country drive. (Screen Gems)

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Gabriela. Seidy Lopez (“Mi Vida Loca”) stars with Jaime Gomez in a love story set in a mental health clinic. (Power Point Films)

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Get Over It. High schooler Ben Foster copes with being dumped. Also features Kirsten Dunst, Melissa Sagemiller. (Miramax)

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Ghost World. Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson play high school friends in an adaptation of the comic book series. (United Artists)

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The Glass House. Orphaned teenager Leelee Sobieski has her doubts about new guardians Diane Lane and Stellan Skarsgard in this psychological thriller. (Columbia)

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The Golden Bowl. Widower Nick Nolte and daughter Kate Beckinsale make a shocking discovery about their new spouses in a Merchant-Ivory-Jhabvala treatment of Henry James’ novel. (Lions Gate)

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Highway 395. Director Fred Dryer stars as a Mono County sheriff coping with outlaw truckers and a Manson imitator. (Castle Hill)

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Hit & Runaway. Would-be but inept screenwriter enlists the help of an uptight playwright, planting the seed of an unlikely friendship. (Lot 47)

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Impostor. Respected scientist Gary Sinise suddenly finds himself a public enemy. The futuristic thriller is based on a Philip K. Dick story. (Dimension)

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Joe Dirt. “Saturday Night Live’s” David Spade and Dennis Miller in the story of a hapless janitor’s search for his long-lost parents. (Columbia)

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Josie and the Pussycats. “Can’t Hardly Wait’s” Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont team as writers-directors of the story of the comic-book girl rockers, played by Rachael Leigh Cook, Tara Reid and Rosario Dawson. (Universal)

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Just Visiting. Original director Jean-Marie Gaubert and stars Jean Reno and Christian Clavier relocate their 1993 French comedy “Les Visiteurs” to the U.S., where a 12th century nobleman is accidentally transported. (Hollywood)

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Keep the River on Your Right: A Modern Cannibal Tale. A documentary on 78-year-old Tobias Schneebaum, who as a young man plunged into a remarkable adventure in the Peruvian jungle. (IFC Films)

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Kill by Inches. An unstable young tailor’s troubles with measuring lead to breakdown and murder. (Phaedra)

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The King Is Alive. “King Lear” is the inspiration for Danish director Kristian Levring’s study of some tourists (including Jennifer Jason Leigh and Janet McTeer) stranded in the African desert. (IFC Films)

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The Kite. In this Filipino entry, the drama turns on a boy’s witnessing of a killing by his policeman father. (Phaedra)

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Last Resort. A Moscow woman and her son cope with confinement in a deserted resort where refugees are forced to live. (Shooting Gallery)

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Left Behind. Kirk Cameron as a journalist trying to figure out why millions of people are vanishing. (Cloud Ten)

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The Long Run. The grueling Comrades Marathon in South America is the setting for a drama about a veteran coach and a free-spirited young runner. (Universal Focus)

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The Luzhin Defence. Marleen Gorris directs John Turturro and Emily Watson in the story of a chess master who uses the game as a retreat from the world. (Sony Pictures Classics)

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Master of the Flying Guillotine. A reissue of the 1975 martial arts classic. What’s a flying guillotine? Don’t ask, just duck. (Phaedra)

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Maybe Baby. English writer-performer Ben Elton’s romantic comedy about the efforts of a couple (Hugh Laurie and Joely Richardson) to reproduce, and the ensuing test of their love. (USA Films)

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The Mexican. That’s the name of a pistol that mob underling Brad Pitt is dispatched to retrieve. Meanwhile girlfriend Julia Roberts issues an ultimatum: Get out of the mob. (DreamWorks)

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Me You Them. The story of a woman who lives with her three husbands in northern Brazil. (Sony Pictures Classics)

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The New Guy. “There’s Something About Mary” co-writer Edward Decter debuts as a director in the story of a high school geek’s transformation into a cool dude. (Columbia)

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O. Shakespeare’s “Othello” is transposed to the world of high school basketball by writer Brad Kaaya and director Tim Blake Nelson. (Dimension)

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One Night at McCool’s. Seductive Liv Tyler triggers the eventful goings-on at McCool’s bar. With Matt Dillon, Paul Reiser and John Goodman. (USA Films)

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Our Song. The coming-of-age drama focuses on three members of the Jackie Robinson Steppers Marching Band. (IFC Films)

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Pavilion of Women. Producer and co-writer Luo Yan stars with Willem Dafoe in an adaptation of Pearl S. Buck’s novel about an aristocratic woman with unconventional ideas. (Universal Focus)

Pokemon 3: The Movie. Introduces lots of new species to add to your collection, as Ash and his friends enter the realm of the mysterious Unknown Pokemon. (Warner Bros.)

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Pootie Tang. Emmy-winner Louis C.K. wrote and directed this adaptation of a sketch about a superhero from HBO’s “The Chris Rock Show.” (Paramount)

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The Princess & the Warrior. A psychiatric nurse searches obsessively for the mysterious stranger who saved her life. (Sony Pictures Classics)

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A Question of Faith. Spirituality and pragmatism collide with dramatic results at a monastery in California’s wine country. (First Look)

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The Road Home. A city dweller’s return to his small village in northern China for his father’s funeral underscores the contrast between old ways and new. (Sony Pictures Classics)

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Seducing Maarya. An Indian man in Montreal sets up his son with the perfect girl, unaware that he’s barking up the wrong tree. (Phaedra)

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Sexy Beast. Ex-con Ray Winstone’s Spanish idyll is interrupted by the arrival of his old nemesis, Ben Kingsley. (Fox Searchlight)

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Shadow Magic. The introduction of cinema to China is told through the stories of a Peking photographer and some Western movie pioneers. (Sony Pictures Classics)

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Sidewalks of New York. Director Edward Burns joins Heather Graham, Dennis Farina and others in an ensemble piece about the love lives of six people in Manhattan. (Paramount Classics)

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Sordid Lives. Writer-director Del Shores adapts his hit play about a Texas family’s gathering for a matriarch’s funeral. Beau Bridges, Delta Burke and Olivia Newton-John are among the ensemble cast. (Regent Entertainment)

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Spy Kids. The two children of retired super-spies Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino are called on to rescue their parents from a fiendish, high-tech villain. Written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. (Dimension)

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Startup.com. “The War Room’s” Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker are joined by Jehane Noujaim as directors of a documentary on the development of an Internet site. (Artisan)

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The Story of O. An update of the erotic standby about a woman’s initiation into the world of S&M.; (Phaedra)

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The Tailor of Panama. John le Carre helped adapt his novel, and John Boorman directs Pierce Brosnan and Geoffrey Rush in the story of a banished spy and an ex-con. (Columbia)

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Texas Rangers. Steve Miner directs John Milius and Ehren Kruger’s screenplay about a group of men trying to bring law and order to the territory. Dylan McDermott leads the campaign. (Dimension)

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The Third Wheel. Luke Wilson’s long-awaited date with desirable Denise Richards is sabotaged by the title character (Ben Affleck). (Miramax)

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Tomcats. A group of friends places a bet in an attempt to extract a pal from his debt to a Vegas casino. (Columbia)

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Tortilla Soup. Ang Lee’s “Eat Drink Man Woman” forms the basis for a romantic comedy set in a Latino community in L.A. With Hector Elizondo, Raquel Welch and Elizabeth Pena. (IDP Distribution)

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Town & Country. Michael Laughlin and Buck Henry’s screenplay for this long-delayed release looks at love and fidelity, focusing on a successful architect and his wife (Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton). (New Line)

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Under the Sand. Charlotte Rampling deals with uncertainty and grief after her husband vanishes. (Winstar Cinema)

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Wakin’ Up in Reno. Two couples on a cross-country drive include two members who are having an affair. (Miramax)

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When Brendan Met Trudy. An introverted teacher’s life is turned upside-down by a free-spirited woman. (Shooting Gallery)

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The Widow of Sainte-Pierre. Juliette Binoche, Daniel Auteuil and Emir Kusturica in a story about a military officer, his wife and a convicted murderer on a small island. (Lions Gate)

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Wildcat Women. A reissue of the 1975 glasses-free 3-D action yarn about a singer’s campaign to wipe out a criminal gang. (Phaedra)

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Along Came a Spider. Morgan Freeman returns as detective-psychologist Alex Cross, his role in 1997’s “Kiss the Girls.” (Paramount)

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Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. Penelope Cruz and Nicolas Cage face conflict between heart and homeland during World War II. John Madden (“Shakespeare in Love”) directs Shawn Slovo’s adaptation of Louis de Bernieres’ novel. (Universal)

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American Outlaws. Writer John Rogers and director Les Mayfield revisit the legend of Jesse James. The cast includes Colin Farrell, left, Will McCormack, Gabriel Macht, Nathaniel Arcand and Scott Caan. (Warner Bros.)

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Animal Husbandry. When TV producer Ashley Judd’s romance with Greg Kinnear goes bust, she studies up on men and becomes a sensation of a sex columnist. (Fox)

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Blow. Johnny Depp, left, with Jordi Molla, portrays an entrepreneur who connects with the Colombian cocaine cartel in a script by Nick Cassavetes and David McKenna. (New Line)

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Birthday Girl. Banker Ben Chaplin gets more than Nicole Kidman when he solicits a Russian mail-order bride. (Miramax)

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Cats & Dogs. Live action is blended with computer-generated images and animatronic effects for a look at the unseen but eternal war between armies of cats and dogs. (Warner Bros.)

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Memento. Guy Pearce stars in Christopher Nolan’s thriller about a man with no short-term memory who depends on Polaroid snapshots. (Newmarket Films)

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Enemy at the Gates. A Russian sharpshooter (Jude Law, right, with Joseph Fiennes) in the siege of Stalingrad becomes a national hero--and the target of his Nazi counterpart (Ed Harris). (Paramount)

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Amores Perros (Love’s a Bitch). Three story lines depict the turbulent life of contemporary Mexico City. Features Vanessa Bauche, left, and Gael Garcia Bernal. (Lions Gate)

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The Mummy Returns. Brendan Fraser, right, heads the cast of “The Mummy” alumni in this sequel to the 1999 remake, featuring a more powerful dark force. Also features John Hannah, left, Rachel Weisz and Freddie Boath. (Universal)

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Freddy Got Fingered. Director and co-writer Tom Green stars as a man whose slacker ways lead to war with his father (Rip Torn). (Fox)

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Kingdom Come. Doug McHenry (“Jason’s Lyric”) directs Vivica A. Fox, front left, LL Cool J and Whoopi Goldberg in an irreverent look at a family gathered to mourn a loss. (Fox Searchlight)

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Heartbreakers. Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt are seductive mother-daughter con artists working their way through a series of smitten victims. (MGM)

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SHREK. The “Antz” factory fabricates a tale about an ogre on a mission to rescue a princess from an evil lord. Mike Myers lends his voice to the title character, left, while Eddie Murphy plays the donkey and Cameron Diaz voices the princess in the adaptation of William Steig’s book. (DreamWorks)

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Rock Star. Mark Wahlberg, left, sings in a tribute band to his favorite group, Steel Dragon. Guess who Steel Dragon picks to replace its singer? Jennifer Aniston and Dagmara Dominczyk co-star. (Warner Bros.)

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See Spot Run. Mailman David Arquette, left, bonds with an FBI drug-sniffing dog on the lam from a witness protection program. Angus Jones co-stars. (Warner Bros.)

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Pluto Nash. Eddie Murphy runs afoul of mobsters who want to take over his nightclub. On the moon. In 2087. With Randy Quaid, Pam Grier, Jay Mohr. (Warner Bros.

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Say It Isn’t So. A torrid affair hits the wall when the couple (Heather Graham and Chris Klein) discover they may be brother and sister. The Farrelly brothers are among the producers. (Fox)

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Soul Survivors. Following a car accident, a young woman experiences terrifying visitations from beyond. Features Wes Bentley and Eliza Dushku. (Artisan)

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Swordfish. CIA operative John Travolta, right, orches- trates the theft of $9 billion from a DEA slush fund, with the help of associate Halle Berry and computer hacker Hugh Jackman, left. Directed by Dominic Sena. (Warner Bros.) *

Editor: Kinsey Lowe

Capsules: Richard Cromelin

Research: Kevin Crust