Make list, check twice

Friday

Anything for Love

Musical romance

IDP/Samuel Goldwyn

With: Isabel Rose, Cameron Bancroft, Andrew McCarthy, Eartha Kitt

The idea: Woman whose reality doesn’t live up to her dreams must choose between life with or without music.

Writers: Robert Cary, Rose

Director: Cary

* So? Provocatively quaint.

Bobby G. Can’t Swim

Drama

Gabriel Film Group

With: John-Luke Montias, Susan Mitchell, Vincent Vega

The idea: Small-time drug dealer overreaches, plunging into a dark journey of redemption.

Writer-director: Montias

* So? True grime.

Carnage

Drama

Wellspring

With: Chiara Mastroianni, Angela Molina, Lucia Sanchez, Lio, Clovis Cornillac, Jacques Gamblin

The idea: Interrelated stories involving the recipients of various parts of a mighty bovine slain at the conclusion of a bullfight.

Writer-director: Delphine Gleize

* So? An acquired taste.

Looney Tunes:

Back in Action

Animated/live-action comedy

Warner Bros.

With: Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman, Steve Martin

The idea: Backlot high jinks involving Bugs, Daffy, etc.

Writer: Larry Doyle

Director: Joe Dante

* So? High hopes vs. low expectations.

Girlhood

Documentary

Wellspring

The idea: Journey of redemption for two girls convicted of violent crimes at very young ages.

Director: Liz Garbus

* So? Illuminating.

The Gospel of John

Religious drama

ThinkFilm

With: Henry Ian Cusick, Daniel Kash, Richard Lintern, Stephen Russell, Scott Handy, Stuart Bunce, Lynsey Baxter, narrated by Christopher Plummer

The idea: Jesus as fearsome political troublemaker, adapted rather literally from the fourth Gospel.

Writer: John Goldsmith

Director: Philip Saville

* So? An affecting movie about Jesus that hasn’t made headlines.

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Adventure

Fox

With: Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany, Billy Boyd

The idea: The Royal Navy’s greatest fighting captain balances duty and friendship as he pursues an enemy on the high seas during the Napoleonic wars.

Writers: Peter Weir & John Collee, based on the novels by Patrick O’Brian

Director: Weir

* So? Commanding performances, epic sweep.

Tupac: Resurrection

Documentary

Paramount

With: Tupac Shakur

The idea: The life of the enigmatic rapper told in his own words, with family photographs and home movie clips.

Director: Lauren Lazin

* So? Touching.

Nov. 21

The Barbarian Invasions

Drama

Miramax

With: Remy Girard, Stephane Rousseau, Dorothee Berryman, Louise Portal, Dominique Michel, Yves Jacques, Pierre Curzi, Marie-Josee Croze, Marina Hands

The idea: Relationships of “The Decline of the American Empire” are revisited 17 years later as a dying man faces his family and others.

Writer-director: Denys Arcand

* So? Irreverent, poignant.

The Big Empty

Comedy

Artisan Entertainment

With: Jon Favreau, Joey Lauren Adams, Bud Cort, Daryl Hannah, Adam Beach, Gary Farmer, Rachael Leigh Cook, Brent Briscoe, Melora Walters, Kelsey Grammer, Sean Bean

The idea: Aspiring actor who never gets any callbacks is recruited as a courier for a mysterious blue suitcase that may hold a key to an extraterrestrial portal in the California desert.

Writer-director: Steve Anderson

* So? Space oddity.

Blindness

Drama

Pathfinder Pictures

With: Lisa Lu, Vivian Wu, Joe Lando

The idea: Sightless Asian American widow living with her son and his wife is confronted by a man who claims her husband was a killer.

Writers: Anna Chi, Jared Rappaport

Director: Chi

* So? Secrets confronted.

Dr. Seuss’ the Cat

in the Hat

Comedy

Universal

With: Mike Myers, Kelly Preston, Alec Baldwin, Dakota Fanning, Spenser Breslin, Amy Hill, Sean Hayes

The idea: Stripe-hatted feline turns upside-down the world of two lonely children.

Writers: Alec Berg & David Mandel & Jeff Shaffer, based on the book by Dr. Seuss

Director: Bo Welch

* So? Trick or treat.

9 Dead Gay Guys

Comedy

TLA Releasing

With: Glen Mulhern, Brendan Mackey, Simon Godley, Steven Berkoff, Raymond Griffiths, Fish, Karen Sharman

The idea: Supposedly straight Dublin pals become working boys in London whose clients begin turning up dead.

Writer-director: Ky Mo Lab

* So? Amusingly bad taste.

The Revolution Will

Not Be Televised

Documentary

Vitagraph

With: Hugo Chavez, Pedro Carmona, Jesse Helms, Colin Powell

The idea: Filmmakers get caught up in bloody coup in Venezuela, reveal the folly of relying on TV news.

Directors: Kim Bartley, Donnachia O’Brian

* So? Politically revealing.

Gothika

Thriller

Warner Bros.

With: Halle Berry, Penelope Cruz, Robert Downey Jr., Charles S. Dutton

The idea: Psychiatrist wakes up incarcerated as a murder suspect in the prison where she works.

Writer: Sebastian Gutierrez

Director: Mathieu Kassovitz

* So? Women behind bars.

21 Grams

Drama

Focus Features

With: Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Benicio Del Toro

The idea: Lives of three unrelated individuals are changed by tragedy.

Writer: Guillermo Arriaga

Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

* So? Innaritu’s last film was “Amores Perros.”

Nov. 26

Bad Santa

Comedy (Nov. 26) Dimension Films With: Billy Bob Thornton, Lauren Graham, Bernie Mac, John Ritter The idea: Con men pose as Santa and his elf, learn the true meaning of Christmas in spite of themselves. Writers: Glenn Ficarra & John Requa Director: Terry Zwigoff

* A master chronicler of eccentric characters in such previous efforts as “Ghost World” and the documentary “Crumb,” Zwigoff reaches out to a somewhat broader audience with a quirky, holiday-themed mainstream movie that also stars the outrageously funny Bernie Mac, the late John Ritter and the notoriously eccentric Billy Bob Thornton.

The Cooler

Comic-drama

Lions Gate

With: William H. Macy, Maria Bello, Alec Baldwin

The idea: Bad luck trails professional loser in Vegas.

Writers: Frank Hannah & Wayne Kramer

Director: Kramer

* So? Heavy Mamet vibe.

The Triplets of Belleville

Animated

Sony Classics

The idea: Grandmere et chien must rescue kidnapped Tour de France cyclist.

Director: Sylvain Chomet

* So? Animated anticipation

The Haunted Mansion

Comedy

Buena Vista

With: Eddie Murphy, Terence Stamp, Wallace Shawn, Marsha Thomason, Jennifer Tilly, Nathaniel Parker, Dina Waters

The idea: Real estate agent and family get stranded in spooky old house with eccentric owner and other residents.

Writer: David Berenbaum

Director: Rob Minkoff

* So? Disney takes us for another ride.

In America

Drama

Fox Searchlight

With: Samantha Morton, Paddy Considine, Djimon Hounsou, Sarah Bolger, Emma Bolger

The idea: Irish immigrant family, haunted by tragedy, makes its way in 1980s New York.

Writers: Jim Sheridan & Naomi Sheridan & Kirsten Sheridan

Director: Jim Sheridan

* So? Emotionally refreshing.

The Missing

Western thriller

Columbia

With: Tommy Lee Jones, Cate Blanchett, Evan Rachel Wood, Jenna Boyd, Eric Schweig, Sergio Calderon, Aaron Eckhart

The idea: Woman teams with estranged father to rescue kidnapped daughter in American Southwest.

Writer: Ken Kaufman, based on the book “The Last Ride” by Thomas Eidson

Director: Ron Howard

* So? Grit and polish

Timeline

Science fiction

Paramount

With: Paul Walker, Gerard Butler, Frances O’Connor, Billy Connolly, David Thewlis, Anna Friel

The idea: Contemporary student archeologists time-trip to feudal France.

Writers: Jeff Maguire and George Nolfi, based on the novel by Michael Crichton

Director: Richard Donner

* So? Potent possibilities

The City of No Limits

Suspense

Venevision International

With: Leonardo Sbaraglia, Fernando Fernan Gomez, Geraldine Chaplin, Ana Hernandez

The idea: Ailing patriarch seems to have a dangerous secret in his past; others in the family also have something to hide.

Writers: Antonio Hernandez, Enrique Braso

Director: Hernandez

* So? Spanish talent is top-notch

Nov. 28

My Flesh and Blood

Documentary

Strand, HBO/Cinemax Documentary Films

The idea: Resourceful, dedicated Fairfield, Calif., woman adopts 11 special-needs kids.

Writer-director: Jonathan Karsh

* So? Unsentimental, involving

Dec. 5

Incantato

(Enchanted)

Comedy

Northern Arts

With: Neri Marcore, Vanessa Incontrada, Sandra Milo, Giancarlo Giannini

The idea: In 1920s Bologna, a young man arrives hoping to teach school and meet a wife.

Writer-director: Pupi Avati

* So? Avati is now president of Rome’s famous Cinecitta Studios.

From Here to Eternity (1953)

Drama

Sony Pictures Repertory

With: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra, Ernest Borgnine, Jack Warden, Philip Ober, Mickey Shaughnessey

The idea: Army life in Hawaii just before Pearl Harbor.

Writer: Daniel Haradash, based on James Jones’ novel

Director: Fred Zinnemann

* So? Winner of eight Academy Awards including best picture.

Honey

Drama

Universal

With: Jessica Alba, Mekhi Phifer, Joy Bryant, David Moscow, Lonette McKee, Zachary Isaiah Williams, Lil’ Romeo

The idea: Disillusioned dancer-choreographer renews her spirits by bonding with a group of neighborhood kids.

Writers: Alonzo Brown & Kim Watson

Director: Billie Woodward

* So? Songs by hitmaking writer-producer Rodney Jerkins.

The Last Samurai

Epic action drama

Warner Bros.

With: Tom Cruise, Billy Connolly, Timothy Spall, Tony Goldwyn, Ken Watanabe

The idea: U.S. Army officer, hired by the emperor of Japan to train soldiers in modern warfare circa 1870s, finds himself torn between cultures and countries.

Writers: John Logan and Marshall Herskovitz & Edward Zwick, story by Logan

Director: Zwick

* So? High-minded action.

Monsieur Ibrahim

Drama

Sony Pictures Classics

With: Omar Sharif, Pierre Boulanger, Gilbert Melki, Isabelle Renauld, Isabelle Adjani

The idea: A young Jew and an elderly Muslim begin a friendship in 1960s Paris.

Writer-director: Frances Dupeyeron, based on the play by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt

* So? Sharif getting raves as Turkish grocer.

Dec. 10

Big Fish

Drama

Columbia

With: Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Alison Lohman, Robert Guillaume, Marion Cotillard, Steve Buscemi, Danny DeVito

The idea: An estranged son gets to know his larger-than-life father by piecing together the old man’s tall tales.

Writer: John August, based on the novel by Daniel Wallace

Director: Tim Burton

* So? Infernal paternal.

Dec. 12

The Statement

Thriller

Sony Classics

With: Michael Caine, Tilda Swinton, Jeremy Northam, Charlotte Rampling, Ciaran Hinds, Alan Bates, John Neville, Frank Finlay

The idea: Elderly man who was a Nazi executioner under Vichy regime is pursued by investigators and hit men.

Writer: Ronald Harwood, based on the novel by Brian Moore

Director: Norman Jewison

* So? Jewison’s first feature since “The Hurricane.”

Au hasard Balthazar (1966)

Drama

Rialto Pictures

With: Anna Wiazemsky, Walter Green, Francois Lefarge, Phippe Asselin

The idea: Death of beloved donkey presages downfall of farmer’s daughter.

Writer-director: Robert Bresson

* So? French classic.

Girl With a Pearl Earring

Drama

Lions Gate

With: Scarlett Johansson, Colin Firth, Tom Wilkinson, Cillian Murphy

The idea: The daughter of a tile maker in 17th century Holland is drawn into the world of painter Johannes Vermeer.

Writer: Oliver Hetreed, based on the novel by Tracy Chevalier

Director: Peter Webber

* So? Like a painting come to life.

Hotel Room

Comic-drama

Hollywood Independents

With: Barbara Boudon, Eric Kraus, Paris Kiely, Xavier Domingo, Heidi Wolfe, David Jacob Ryder, Gary Dennis, Nicholas Devine, Raul Quintana

The idea: Five tales involve the occupants of seedy New York City hotel room

Writer: Cesc Gay

Directors: Gay and Daniel Gimelberg

* So? Made before Gay’s acclaimed “Nico and Dani.”

Love Don’t Cost a Thing

Romantic teen comedy

Warner Bros.

With: Nick Cannon, Christina Milian

The idea: Uncool kid cuts a deal with a popular girl to act as his date in remake of 1987’s “Can’t Buy Me Love.”

Writers: Troy Beyer and Michael Swerdlick, based on the “CBML” screenplay by Swerdlick

Director: Beyer

* So? Charming.

Something’s Gotta Give

Romantic comedy

Columbia

With: Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, Keanu Reeves, Frances McDormand, Amanda Peet, Jon Favreau

The idea: Old rogue falls for the mother of his latest youthful conquest.

Writer-director: Nancy Meyers

* So? Lookin’ good.

Stuck on You

Comedy

Fox

With: Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Eva Mendes, Cher

The idea: Conjoined twin brothers face life apart.

Writers: Peter & Bobby Farrelly, story by Charles B. Wessler & Bennett Yellin & Peter & Bobby Farrelley

Directors: Peter & Bobby Farrelly

* So? Unavoidably intimate.

Dec. 17

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Fantasy

New Line

With: Elijah Wood, Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett

The idea: Trilogy concludes.

Writers: Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson

Director: Jackson

* So? The best.

Dec. 19

The Hebrew Hammer

Action-comedy

Strand Releasing

With: Adam Goldberg, Judy Greer, Andy Dick, Mario Van Peebles, Peter Coyote

The idea: Supercool Jewish private eye must save Hanukkah from Santa Claus’ evil son.

Writer-director: Jonathan Kesselman

* So? Oy vey.

Calendar Girls

Comedy

Buena Vista

With: Helen Mirren, Julie Walters, John Alderton, Linda Bassett, Annette Crosbie, Philip Glenister, Ciaran Hinds, Celia Imrie, Geraldine James, Penelope Wilston

The idea: Ladies of the local chapter of Women’s Institute in Great Britain spice up their fund-raising calendar.

Writers: Juliette Towhidi and Tim Firth

Director: Nigel Cole

* So? Modern maturity.

What Alice Found

Drama

Castle Hill

With: Judith Ivey, Bill Raymond, Emily Grace, Michael C. Maronna

The idea: A young woman is lured into a life of prostitution at Florida truck stops.

Writer-director: A. Dean Bell

* So? Effectively understated.

Mona Lisa Smile

Drama

Columbia

With: Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dominic West,

The idea: Novice art history professor inspires students at Wellesley to transcend the confining expectations of the mid-1950s

Writers: Lawrence Konner & Mark Rosenthal

Director: Mike Newell

* So? Attractively cliched.

Dec. 25

The Company

Drama (Dec. 25) Sony Classics With: Neve Campbell, James Franco and the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago The idea: Inside the world of dance. Writer: Barbara Turner, story by Campbell and Turner Director: Robert Altman

* Robert Altman forgoes the melodramatics typical of most ballet movies and instead provides an intimate look at how a dance company works, although it still has a love story and other trappings that the director handles adeptly.

Cheaper by the Dozen

Drama

Fox

With: Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Hilary Duff, Piper Perabo, Tom Welling

The idea: Twelve kids makes for a raucous household.

Writers: Sam Harper and Joel Cohen & Alec Sokolow, based on the novel by Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

Director: Shawn Levy

* So? Interesting choice for a remake.

Cold Mountain

Historic epic

Miramax

With: Nicole Kidman, Jude Law, Renee Zellweger, Eileen Atkins, Brendan Gleeson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Natalie Portman

The idea: Wounded Confederate soldier embarks on perilous odyssey to return to prewar sweetheart.

Writer-director: Anthony Minghella, based on the novel by Charles Frazier.

* So? High pedigree and anticipation.

Paycheck

Science fiction

Paramount

With: Ben Affleck, Aaron Eckhart, Uma Thurman, Paul Giamatti, Colm Feore, Joe Morton, Michael C. Hall

The idea: High-tech genius has memory erased after each job and must use clues from his past to save his life.

Writer: Dean Georgaris, based on the short story by Philip K. Dick

Director: John Woo

* So? There’s Woo, and Dick, but there’s Affleck.

Peter Pan

Adventure

Universal

With: Jason Isaacs, Jeremy Sumpter, Richard Briers, Olivia Williams, Lynn Redgrave, Ludivine Sagnier, Rachel Hurd-Wood

The idea: J.M. Barrie’s eternal boy gets a faithful live-action realization.

Writers: P.J. Hogan and Michael Goldenberg, based on the story by J.M. Barrie

Director: Hogan

* So? First live-action version since silent era.

The Young Black Stallion

Large-format adventure

Buena Vista

With: Biana G. Tamimi

The idea: Sequel set in North Africa at the conclusion of World War II finds a young girl taming a wild horse for a big race.

Writer: Jeanne Rosenberg, based on the novel by Walter Farley and Steven Farley

Director: Simon Wincer

* So? Family adventure writ very large.

Dec. 26

House of Sand and Fog

Drama (Dec. 26) DreamWorks With: Ben Kingsley, Jennifer Connelly, Ron Eldard, Shoreh Aghdashloo, Ashley Edner, Frances Fisher, Kia Jam, Nari Rawat The idea: Troubled young woman finds herself pitted against emigres in circumstances as desperate as her own. Writers: Vadim Perelman and Shawn Otto, based on the novel by Andre Dubus III Director: Perelman

* Moody, character-driven adaptation stands out as a stark exception to the neatly resolved material Hollywood ordinarily delivers. For the most part well acted from a tight script, the darkly serious-minded movie may have a tough time attracting a broad enough audience to sustain it through awards season, although you can bet that DreamWorks envisions another “American Beauty” come Oscar time.

The Fog of War

Documentary

Sony Classics

With: Robert S. McNamara

The idea: The 20th century through the eyes of the controversial former secretary of defense.

Writer-director: Errol Morris

* So? Consciousness-raising.

Monster

Drama

Newmarket Films

With: Charlize Theron, Christina Ricci, Bruce Dern, Scott Wilson, Lee Tergesen, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Annie Corley

The idea: The path of a hooker leads ultimately to execution in Florida.

Writer-director: Patty Jenkins

* So? Realistically seamy.

One From the Heart (1982)

Drama

Zoetrope

With: Frederic Forrest, Teri Garr, Raul Julia, Nastassja Kinski, Lainie Kazan, Harry Dean Stanton

The idea: Surreal romantic drama set to music by Tom Waits in Las Vegas.

Writers: Armyan Bernstein, Francis Ford Coppola

Director: Coppola

* So? Fascinating misfire.

Dec. 31

Japanese Story

Drama

IDP/Samuel Goldwyn

With: Toni Collette, Gotaro Tsunashima, Matthew Dyktynski, Lynette Curran

The idea: Ambitious geologist and taciturn Japanese businessman find themselves in life-and-death situation in western Australia.

Writer: Alison Tilson

Director: Sue Brooks

* So? Odd couple clicks.

TBA

Blue Gate Crossing

Romantic comedy

Strand Releasing

With: Bo-lin Chen, Lun-mei Guey, Shu-lui Liang

The idea: Taipei tomboy is pretty sure she’s a lesbian, but her theory is tested when sexy boy from swim team asks her out.

Writer-director: Chih-yen Yee

* So? Chen and Guey are among cream of young Taiwanese actors

Love Forbidden

Drama

Strand Releasing

With: Rodolphe Marconi, Andrea Necci, Echo Danon

The idea: Shy French film student falls into an ambivalent relationship with a handsome waiter while living in Rome.

Writer-director: Marconi

* So? Coming out, Italian-style.

The Singing Forest

Drama

Hollywood Independents

With: Jon Sherrin, Erin Leigh Price, Erik Morris, Craig Pinkston, Shelley Price

The idea: Man believes that his daughter is in love with his reincarnated gay lover who was killed by the Nazis.

Writer-director: Jorge Ameer

* So? Believe in love.

*

Editor -- Kinsey Lowe

Capsules -- Richard Cromelin and Kevin Crust