Wrapped with care

Nov. 19

Bear Cub

Drama

TLA Releasing

With: Jose Luis Garcia-Perez, David Castillo, Arno Chevrier, Mario Arias, Empar Ferrer

The idea: A gay dentist scales back his lifestyle when he finds himself raising his 9-year-old nephew.

Writers: Miguel Albaladejo, Salvador Garcia

Director: Miguel Albaladejo

* So? Papa bear’s got a brand new charge.

Broken Bridges

Drama

International Home Cinema

With: Peter Reckell, Rebeccah Bush, Fatima Ibragimbekov, Behrouz Vossoughi

The idea: An American filmmaker travels to Moscow to make a documentary about the plight of his Azerbaijani parents.

Writer: Rustam Ibragimbekov

Director: Rafigh Pooya

* So? Ibragimbekov wrote the Russian “Burnt by the Sun,” an Oscar winner.

Moolaade

Drama

New Yorker Films

With: Fatoumata Coulibaly, Maimouna Helene Diarra, Salimata Traore, Dominique T. Zeida, Mah Campaore, Aminata Dao

The idea: Four young African girls seek sanctuary from ritual “purification” in the home of a strong-willed woman who protected her own daughter.

Writer-director: Ousmane Sembene

* So? Sembene (“Faat Kine”) is the dean of African filmmakers.

National Treasure

Action-adventure

Touchstone Pictures

With: Nicolas Cage, Harvey Keitel, Jon Voight, Diane Kruger, Sean Bean, Justin Bartha, Christopher Plummer

The idea: An adventurer unravels clues in a 2,000-year-old mystery involving an invisible map on the back of the Declaration of Independence.

Writers: Jim Kouf and Cormac Wibberley & Marianne Wibberley, story by Kouf and Oren Aviv & Charles Segars

Director: Jon Turtletaub

* So? Secrets make Skull and Bones look like Chutes and Ladders.

Overnight

Documentary

ThinkFilm

With: Troy Duffy

The idea: “Boondock Saints” director goes from Boston bartender to indie auteur then back to obscurity.

Directors: Mark Brian Smith, Tony Montana

* So? The Sundunce Kid.

A Silent Love

Drama-comedy

Atopia

With: Noel Burton, Vanessa Bauche, and Susana Salazar

The idea: A shy, middle-aged teacher from Montreal meets and marries a beautiful, impulsive Mexican woman through an Internet agency.

Writer-director: Federico Hidalgo.

* So? Google love.

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie

Animated

Paramount Pictures

With: The voices of Alec Baldwin, Clancy Brown, Rodger Bumpass, Mary Jo Catlett, Bill Fagerbakke, David Hasselhoff, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Kenny, Carolyn Lawrence, Mr. Lawrence, Jill Talley, Jeffrey Tambor

The idea: The poriferous lad with the four-corner trousers and his pals from Bikini Bottom venture onto the big screen.

Writers: Stephen Hillenburg, Derek Drymon, Tim Hill, Kent Osborne, Aaron Springer, Paul Tibbitt

Director: Stephen Hillenburg

* So? Absorbing.

Vodka Lemon

Comedy-drama

New Yorker Films

With: Romik Avinian, Lala Sarkissian, Ivan Franek, Armen Marutyan, Astrik Avaguian

The idea: An elderly man sells off his possessions to survive and begins a tender romance with a middle-age war widow in post-Soviet Armenia.

Writer-director: Hiner Saleem

* So? Title refers to village bar.

Nov. 24

Alexander

Action drama

Warner Bros.

With: Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer, Anthony Hopkins

The idea: The Great leads his armies across 22,000 miles in eight years to conquer most of the known world.

Writers: Oliver Stone and Laeta Kalogridis and Christopher Kyle

Director: Stone

* So? Oliver’s army is on its way.

Christmas With

the Kranks

Comedy

Columbia Pictures / Revolution Studios

With: Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dan Aykroyd

The idea: A father’s decision to forgo the holiday backfires when his daughter decides to come home at the last minute.

Writer: Chris Columbus, based on the book “Skipping Christmas” by John Grisham

Director: Joe Roth

* So? Non-legal tender.

Nov. 26

Easy

Comedy

Magic Lamp

With: Marguerite Moreau, Brian F. O’Byrne, Naveen Andrews

The idea: Accustomed to being a “jerk magnet,” a young woman uncharacteristically finds herself in a love triangle with two seemingly nice guys.

Writer-director: Jane Weinstock

* So? Moreau is beguiling.

A Fond Kiss

Drama

Castle Hill

With: Atta Yaqub and Eva Birthistle

The idea: A second-generation Pakistani Scot, working as a DJ in Glasgow, falls in love with a strong-willed Catholic girl.

Writer: Paul Laverty

Director: Ken Loach

* So? My Beautiful Discotheque.

Guerrilla: The Taking

of Patty Hearst

Documentary

Magnolia Pictures

The idea: The kidnapping of the newspaper heiress by the Symbionese Liberation Army created media frenzy in the 1970s.

Director: Robert Stone

* So? The taking of Tania 1-2-3.

Straight-Jacket

Comedy

here! Films / Regent Releasing

With: Matt Letscher, Carrie Preston, Adam Greer, Veronica Cartwright, Victor Raider-Wexler, Michael Emerson, Jack Plotnick, Adrian Neil

The idea: Closeted ‘50s movie star marries studio secretary then falls in love.

Writer-director: Richard Day, based on his play

* So? Rock on.

A Very Long Engagement

Drama

Warner Independent

With: Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Jerome Kircher, Dominique Pinon, Jodie Foster

The idea: A young French woman searches for her lover, believed to have been court-martialed and left for dead in World War I.

Writers: Jean-Pierre Jeunet & Guillaume Laurant, based on the novel by Sebastien Japrisot

Director: Jeunet

* So? Amelie goes to war.

Dec. 3

Brother to Brother

Drama

Wolfe

With: Anthony Mackie, Roger Robinson, Larry Gilliard Jr., Aunjanue Ellis, Duane Boutte, Daniel Sunjata, Alex Burns, Ray Ford

The idea: Contemporary gay writer finds inspiration in the legacy of the Harlem Renaissance.

Writer-director: Rodney Evans

* So? Looking for Langston (and Zora).

Closer

Drama

Columbia Pictures

With: Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Clive Owen

The idea: Quartet engages in sexually charged acts of betrayal.

Writer: Patrick Marber, based on his play

Director: Mike Nichols

* So? Fearsome four-play.

House of Flying Daggers

Action

Sony Pictures Classics

With: Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau, Zhang Ziyi

The idea: Tang dynasty police investigate a dancer suspected of ties to the revolutionary group of the title.

Writers: Lin Feng, Wang Bin, Zhang Yimou

Director: Zhang Yimou

* So? Martial arts romance.

I Am David

Drama

Lions Gate Films

With: Ben Tibber, Joan Plowright, Jim Caviezel, Maria Bonnevie

The idea: Nearly a decade after World War II, a young boy escapes an Eastern European labor camp and crosses the continent to find freedom.

Writer-director: Paul Feig, based on the novel by Anne Holm

* So? The great escape.

Junked

Drama

Hollywood Independents

With: Tom Jane, Jordan Ladd, Kevin Gage, Channing Rowe

The idea: Bisexual hustler and his ad hoc family struggle for survival on the streets of L.A.

Writer-director: Lance W. Ladd

* So? Punishing.

Notre Musique

Drama

Wellspring Media

With: Jean-Luc Godard, Sarah Adler, Nade Dieu, Georges Aguilar

The idea: Hell, purgatory and paradise are coexisting kingdoms in this reflection on Europe, war, culture and Middle East chaos.

Writer-director: Godard

* So? In Godard we trust.

Dec. 10

Bad Education

Drama

Sony Pictures Classics

With: Gael Garcia Bernal, Fele Martinez, Javier Camara, Daniel Gimenez-Cacho

The idea: Two boys’ destinies are forged after they discover love and fear at Catholic school in 1960s Spain.

Writer-director: Pedro Almodovar

* So? Past is prologue for Pedro.

Bandido

Action

Bandido Inc.

With: Carlos Gallardo, Angie Everhart, Matt Craven, Kim Coates, Ana La Salvia, Karime Lozano

The idea: A legendary Mexican thief infiltrates a crime lord’s palace after being framed by the CIA.

Writers: Scott Duncan & Ned Kerwin

Director: Roger Christian

* So? Gallardo was original “El Mariachi.”

Blade: Trinity

Thriller

New Line Cinema

With: Wesley Snipes, Ryan Reynolds, Jessica Biel

The idea: The day-walking vampire hunter teams with the Nightstalkers in pursuit of bloodsucker zero -- Dracula.

Writer-director: David S. Goyer, based on characters from the comic book

* So? Trilogy promises last bite.

Conspiracy of Silence

Drama

Watch Entertainment

With: Jonathan Forbes, Jason Barry, Brenda Fricker, Hugh Bonneville

The idea: An Irish reporter links a priest’s suicide to the expulsion of a seminarian.

Writer-director: John Deery

* So? Bad week for the priesthood.

Don’t Move

Drama

Medusa / Northern Arts

With: Penelope Cruz, Sergio Castellitto, Claudia Gerini

The idea: An Italian surgeon contemplates his life while his daughter lies in a coma.

Writer-director: Castellitto, based on the novel by Margaret Mazzantini

* So? Cruz glams down.

Face

Drama

Indican Pictures

With: Bai Ling, Kristy Wu, Kieu Chinh, Treach, Will Yun Lee

The idea: Traditional values come into conflict with dreams for three generations of Chinese American women in Queens.

Writer-director: Bertha Bay-Sa Pan

* So? Sins of the mother.

Fighter Pilot:

Operation Red Flag

Large-format action documentary

Stephen Low Company / K2 Communications

With: Capt. John Stratton

The idea: A young U.S. pilot endures Air Force’s ultimate training exercise for fliers.

Writers: Stephen Low, Denny Kuhr, Joe Stanley

Director: Low

* So? Wild blue wonder.

The Green Butchers

Comedy

NewMarket Films

With: Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Lin Kruse, Nicolas Bro, Aksel Erhardtsen, Bodil Jorgensen, Ole Thestrup, Lily Weiding

The idea: An accidental ingredient becomes a struggling meat shop’s recipe for success.

Writer-director: Anders Thomas Jensen

* So? Meat is murder.

The Life Aquatic

With Steve Zissou

Comedy

Touchstone Pictures

With: Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Anjelica Huston, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Michael Gambon, Bud Cort

The idea: An oddball oceanographer and his crew pursue the elusive “jaguar shark” -- which ate his partner.

Writers: Wes Anderson & Noah Baumbach

Director: Anderson

* So? Anderson takes plunge with new writing partner.

Ocean’s Twelve

Action

Warner Bros.

With: Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Andy Garcia, Bernie Mac, Don Cheadle, Julia Roberts

The idea: The band of thieves, plus one, heads to Europe for multiple heists.

Writer: George Nolfi

Director: Steven Soderbergh

* So? If it’s Tuesday, this must be ...

Dec. 17

Beyond the Sea

Drama

Lions Gate Films

With: Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, John Goodman, Bob Hoskins, Brenda Blethyn, Greta Scacchi, Caroline Aaron, Peter Cincotti, William Ullrich

The idea: Genre-hopping singer Bobby Darin scores numerous hits, an Oscar nomination and falls for Sandra Dee.

Writers: Spacey and Lewis Colick

Director: Spacey

* So? Spacey’s no lip-syncer.

Imaginary Heroes

Drama

Sony Pictures Classics

With: Sigourney Weaver, Jeff Daniels, Emile Hirsch, Michelle Williams, Kip Pardue

The idea: A suburban family deals with crises.

Writer-director: Dan Harris

* So? Subterranean home wreck blues.

Intimate Stories

Comedy/drama

New Yorker Films

With: Antonio Benedicti, Javier Lombardo, Javiera Bravo

The idea: An old man, a traveling salesman and a young mother with a baby cross paths on the roads of southern Patagonia.

Writer: Pablo Solarz

Director: Carlos Sorin

* So? End of the Earth minimalism.

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events

Adventure

Paramount Pictures

With: Jim Carrey, Liam Aiken, Emily Browning, Timothy Spall, Catherine O’Hara, Cedric the Entertainer, Meryl Streep, the voice of Jude

Law

The idea: Count Olaf goes to great lengths to get his hands on the Beaudelaire orphans’ inheritance.

Writer: Robert Gordon, based on the books by Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler)

Director: Brad Silberling

* So? Darkly villainous doings.

The Sea Inside

Drama

Fine Line Features

With: Javier Bardem, Belen Rueda, Lola Duenas

The idea: A quadriplegic Spaniard fighting for the right to die with dignity is caught between two strong-willed women.

Writers: Alejandro Amenabar, Mateo Gil

Director: Amenabar

* So? It’s his life anyway.

Spanglish

Comedy/Drama

Columbia Pictures

With: Adam Sandler, Tea Leoni, Paz Vega, Anne Bancroft

The idea: Cultures clash when a beautiful Mexican woman becomes the housekeeper for an upscale L.A. family.

Writer-director: James L. Brooks

* So? Domestic madness ... with Sandler as the sane one.

A Tale of Two Sisters

Horror

Tartan Films

With: Yeom Jeong-ah, Im Soo-jung, Moon Geung-young, Lim Ji-eun, Kim Kab-su

The idea: Siblings return home from a mental institution to deal with their ineffectual father, mean stepmother and a disturbing presence.

Writer-director: Kim Ji-woon

* So? High chill factor.

Dec. 22

Flight of the Phoenix

Action-adventure

Fox

With: Dennis Quaid, Giovanni Ribisi, Tyrese Gibson, Miranda Otto, Hugh Laurie

The idea: Stranded in the Mongolian desert, a group of crash survivors attempts to build a new plane.

Writers: Scott Frank and Edward Burns, based on 1965 screenplay by Lukas Hellerr

Director: John Moore

* So? Tensions soar.

Hotel Rwanda

Drama

United Artists

With: Don Cheadle, Nick Nolte, Joaquin Phoenix, Sophie Okonedo

The idea: A hotelier shelters refugees during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Writers: Keir Pearson & Terry George

Director: George

* So? Real-life horror.

The Keys to the House

Drama

Lions Gate Films

With: Kim Rossi Stuart, Andrea Rossi, Charlotte Rampling

The idea: A father is united with his disabled teenage son, whom he has never seen.

Writer-director: Gianni Amelio, inspired by Giuseppe Pontiggia’s novel “Born Twice.”

* So? Italy’s Oscar submission.

Meet the Fockers

Comedy

Universal Pictures

With: Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Blythe Danner, Teri Polo, Barbra Streisand

The idea: This time the in-laws meet one another.

Writers: Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg and Vince Di Meglio & Tim Rasmussen, story by Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg, based on characters created by Greg Glienna & Mary Ruth Clarke

Director: Jay Roach

* So? Hoffman + Streisand = inspired stunt casting.

Dec. 24

On the Waterfront

Drama

Sony Repertory

With: Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint, Karl Malden, Rod Steiger, Lee J. Cobb

The idea: Ex-boxer is caught in the middle of union troubles.

Writer: Budd Schulberg

Director: Elia Kazan

* So? 1954 Oscar winner was more than a contender.

The Woodsman

Drama

NewMarket Films

With: Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, Mos Def, Benjamin Bratt, David Alan Grier, Eve

The idea: A convicted sex offender, paroled after serving 12 years, faces society and his demons.

Writers: Steven Fechter, Nicole Kassell, based on Fechter’s play

Director: Kassell

* So? Tough take on pedophilia.

Dec. 25

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s the Phantom of the Opera

Drama

Warner Bros.

With: Gerard Butler, Emmy Rossum, Patrick Wilson, Miranda Richardson, Simon Callow, Ciaran Hinds, Minnie Driver

The idea: Broadway blockbuster about a disfigured musical genius finally makes it to the screen.

Writers: Andrew Lloyd Webber & Joel Schumacher, adapted from the stage musical based on the novel by Gaston Leroux

Director: Joel Schumacher

* So? Michael Crawford fans wait with bated breath.

Bride & Prejudice

Drama

Miramax Films

With: Martin Henderson, Aishwarya Rai, Daniel Gillies, Naveen Andrews, Alexis Bledel, Marsha Mason

The idea: A droll young woman searches for a suitable husband in a cross-cultural romance set in modern-day India, London and America.

Writers: Paul Mayeda Berges and Gurinder Chadha

Director: Chadha

* So? Bollywood-injected Jane Austen.

The Dark

Horror

Dimension Films

With: Anna Paquin, Lena Olin, Iain Glen, Giancarlo Giannini, Fele Martinez, Stephan Enquist, Fermi Reixach

The idea: An American teen and her family move into a strange old house in the Spanish countryside and are tormented from within.

Writer-director: Jaume Balaguero

* So? Embrujada.

Fat Albert

Comedy

Fox

With: Kenan Thompson, Kyla Pratt, Bill Cosby, Omari Grandberry, Raven-Symone, Jermaine Williams, Aaron Frazier, Jeremy Suarez, Keith E. Robinson, Dania Ramirez, Marques B. Houston, Shedrack Anderson III, Alphonso McAuley, J. Mack Slaughter Jr.

The idea: Animation and live action are blended to bring back the Philadelphia adolescents memorialized in Cosby’s stand-up comedy and a long-running Saturday morning TV series.

Writers: William H. Cosby Jr. & Charles Kipps

Director: Joel Zwick

* So? Hey, hey, hey!

In Good Company

Comedy

Universal Pictures

With: Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace, Scarlett Johansson, Marg Helgenberger, David Paymer, Clark Gregg, Philip Baker Hall, Selma Blair

The idea: A middle-age ad exec gets demoted, learns his wife is expecting another baby and must deal with his new 25-year-old boss’ affair with his daughter.

Writer-director: Paul Weitz

* So? Synergy run amok.

A Love Song

for Bobby Long

Drama

Lions Gate Films

With: John Travolta, Scarlett Johansson, Gabriel Macht, Deborah Kara Unger, Dane Rhodes

The idea: A young woman returns home to New Orleans only to find a downtrodden ex-lit professor and his protege living in her mother’s house.

Writer-director: Shainee Gabel, inspired by Ronald Everett Capps’ upcoming novel, “Off East Magazine St.”

* So? Reborn on the bayou.

The Merchant of Venice

Drama

Sony Pictures Classics

With: Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, Joseph Fiennes, Lynn Collins

The idea: A wealthy businessman backs a young friend’s bid to woo an heiress and falls into the debt of a moneylender.

Writer-director: Michael Radford, based on William Shakespeare’s play

* So? Shylock, anti-Semitic context a tough sell.

Dec. 31

Sky Blue

Animated

Max Media/Vitagraph

The idea: A female trooper in a post-apocalyptic city called Ecoban is torn between her childhood sweetheart -- now a rebel leader -- and protecting the city.

Writers: Moon Sang Kim, Jun Young Park, Sunmin Park

Director: Moon Sang Kim

* So? Korean anime.