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L.A. Times Archives

May 8, 2005 12 AM PT

May 13

Brothers

Drama

IFC Films

With: Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Connie Nielsen, Ulrich Thomsen

The idea: A Danish soldier and family man welcomes back his ex-con sibling before being deployed to Afghanistan.

Writer: Anders Thomas Jensen

Director: Susanne Bier

* So? Wounds of war, Dogme style

A Hole in One

Drama

Beach Hill Films

With: Michelle Williams, Meat Loaf Aday, Bill Raymond

The idea: A young woman considers a transorbital lobotomy to solve her problems in 1953.

Writer-director: Richard Ledes

* So? Extreme solution

The Holy Girl

Drama

HBO Films/Fine Line Features

With: Mercedes Moran, Carlos Belloso, Alejandro Urdapilleta, Maria Alche, Julieta Zylberberg, Mia Maestro, Marta Lubos, Arturo Goetz, Alejo Mango, Monica Villa

The idea: Religious fervor and sexuality come into conflict for two teenage Argentine girls in this tale of sin, frustration and desire.

Writers: Juan Pablo Domenech & Lucrecia Martel

Director: Martel

* So? Forget abstinence

Kicking & Screaming

Comedy

Universal

With: Will Ferrell, Robert Duvall, Kate Walsh, Mike Ditka

The idea: A man goes head to head with his overly competitive father when they coach rival teams in a youth soccer league.

Writers: Leo Benvenuti & Steve Rudnick

Director: Jesse Dylan

* So? Vicarious laughs

Layer Cake

Thriller

Sony Pictures Classics

With: Daniel Craig, Colm Meaney, Kenneth Cranham, George Harris, Jamie Foreman, Sienna Miller, Michael Gambon

The idea: A meticulous British drug dealer has two tasks to complete before he can retire and break free of the criminal world: find the drug-addicted daughter of a crime boss and negotiate a huge deal with an unstable petty thief who’s in way over his head.

Writer: J.J. Connolly

Director: Matthew Vaughn

* So? Sometimes more is less

Lost

Thriller

SilverCrest Entertainment

With: Dean Cain, Danny Trejo

The idea: A man driving solo across the labyrinthine California desert is pursued by an unseen menace.

Writer-director: Darren Lemke

* So? Unsettling, if ... unoriginal

Ma Mere

Drama

TLA Releasing

With: Isabelle Huppert, Louis Garrel, Emma de Caunes, Joana Preiss, Jean-Baptiste Montagut, Dominique Reymond, Olivier Rabourdin, Philippe Duclos

The idea: A woman initiates her son into a world of debauchery after the death of her unfaithful husband.

Writer-director: Christophe Honore, based on the novel by Georges Bataille

* So? Shock values

Mindhunters

Thriller

Dimension Films

With: Val Kilmer, Christian Slater, LL Cool J, Jonny Lee Miller, Kathryn Morris, Clifton Collins Jr., Will Kemp, Patricia Velasquez, Eion Bailey

The idea: A serial killer lurks among eight FBI profilers on an exercise in a remote locale.

Writers: Wayne Kramer and Kevin Brodbin, story by Kramer

Director: Renny Harlin

* So? Eight minus one equals...

Modigliani

Drama

Bauer Martinez

With: Andy Garcia, Elsa Zylberstein, Hippolyte Girardot, Omid Djalili, Eva Herzigova

The idea: The early 20th century Italian painter and sculptor’s passions for alcohol and sex rival his love of art.

Writer-director: Mick Davis

* So? Lust for life

Monster-in-Law

Comedy

New Line Cinema

With: Jennifer Lopez, Jane Fonda, Michael Vartan, Wanda Sykes

The idea: A woman finds that her Mr. Right comes complete with a mother who’s major bad news.

Writer: Anya Kochoff

Director: Robert Luketic

* So? If “Murphy Brown” were your mother ...

Tell Them Who You Are

Documentary

ThinkFilm

With: Haskell Wexler, Jane Fonda, Michael Douglas, Ron Howard, Julia Roberts

The idea: The director’s autobiographical film focuses on his relationship with his famed cinematographer-director father.

Writers: Robert DeMaio, Mark Wexler

Director: Mark Wexler

* So? Living in light and shadow

Up for Grabs

Documentary

Laemmle/Zeller Films

The idea: The baseball Barry Bonds hit in 2001 to set a single-season home run record becomes a legal hot potato between two fans claiming ownership.

Writer-director: Michael Wranovics

* So? Sportsmanship

May 20

A Tout de Suite

Thriller

Cinema Guild

With: Isild Le Besco, Ouassini Embarek.

The idea: Fact-based story of a free-spirited Parisian art student who experiences betrayal and self-discovery when she goes on the lam with a charming bank robber around the Mediterranean.

Writer-director: Benoit Jacquot, story by Elisabeth Fanger

* So? Self-absorbing

Dominion: Prequel

to the Exorcist

Horror

Warner Bros.

With: Stellan Skarsgard, Gabriel Mann, Clara Bellar, Ralph Brown

The idea: Unusual release of alternative, initial version of last year’s “Exorcist: The Beginning,” exploring Father Merrin’s first rendezvous with the devil.

Writers: Caleb Carr, William Wisher Jr.

Director: Paul Schrader

* So? Possible “Jeopardy” fodder: “This movie’s remake came out before the original.”

Fixing Frank

Drama

Maximum Vacuum

With: Andrew Elvis Miller, Paul Provenza, Dan Butler

The idea: A young reporter is sent undercover by his psychotherapist boyfriend to investigate a rival’s controversial method for “converting” homosexuals.

Writer: Ken Hanes, based on his play

Director: Michael Selditch

* So? Unreproductive

Kings and Queen

Drama

Wellspring

With: Mathieu Almaric, Emmanuelle Devos, Catherine Deneuve

The idea: The darkly comic story of a man abruptly transported to a mental institution is contrasted with his ex-wife’s somber tale of her father’s protracted death until the two tales collide.

Writers: Arnaud Desplechin and Roger Bohbot

Director: Desplechin

* So? Poetic perspective

Mad Hot Ballroom

Documentary

Paramount Classics

The idea: New York City fifth-graders are transformed into little ladies and gentlemen as they learn traditional dances such as the tango.

Writer: Amy Sewell

Director: Marilyn Agrelo

* So? Happy feat

Sex, Politics & Cocktails

Comedy

here!/Regent Releasing

With: Julien Hernandez, Marisa Petroro, Paul Lekakis, Seth Macari, Don Max, Alex Douglas, Gina Vetro

The idea: A Cuban filmmaker’s crisis over being single at 30 leads him to explore some wild alternatives.

Writer-director: Hernandez

* So? Making mischief

May 27

Bomb the System

Drama

Palm Pictures

With: Mark Webber, Jaclyn Desantis, Jade Yorker

The idea: The brutalization of a 15-year-old by police leads to an all-out graffiti war between taggers and the NYPD.

Writer-director: Adam Bhala Lough

* So? Siege mentality

Genesis

Documentary

ThinkFilm

The idea: An African storyteller evocatively reveals the birth of all things.

Writers-directors: Claude Nuridsany and Marie Perennou

* So? Cosmic

Madagascar

Animated

DreamWorks

With: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter

The idea: Escapees from New York’s Central Park Zoo are shipwrecked on an exotic island in a computer-generated comedy.

Writers: Mark Burton & Billy Frolick and Eric Darnell & Tom McGrath

Directors: Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath

* So? Anthropomorphic antics

Mysterious Skin

Drama

Tartan Films

With: Brady Corbet, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michelle Trachtenberg, Jeff Licon, Bill Sage, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Elisabeth Shue

The idea: Two young men -- one who thinks he experienced an alien abduction as a boy, the other a cynical gay hustler -- cross paths as they search for the truth.

Writer-director: Gregg Araki, based on the novel by Scott Heim

* So? Deeper than skin

Pure

Drama

Indican Pictures

With: Molly Parker, David Wenham, Keira Knightley, Harry Eden

The idea: A 10-year-old boy tries to rescue his mum from her heroin addiction.

Writer: Alison Hume

Director: Gillies MacKinnon

* So? Heart of cold

Saving Face

Comedy

Sony Pictures Classics

With: Michelle Krusiec, Joan Chen and Lynn Chen

The idea: A Chinese American surgeon from Queens makes tentative steps toward a lesbian relationship just when her widowed 48-year-old mother turns up on her doorstep, pregnant.

Writer-director: Alice Wu

* So? Culture collision

June 1

The Sisterhood

of the Traveling Pants

Adventure

Warner Bros.

With: Amber Tamblyn, America Ferrera, Blake Lively, Alexis Bledel, Bradley Whitford, Nancy Travis, Rachel Ticotin, Jenna Boyd

The idea: Four teenage girls vow to stay friends forever, because of an uncannily well-fitting pair of jeans.

Writers: Delia Ephron and Elizabeth Chandler; based on the novel by Ann Brashares

Director: Ken Kwapis

* So? Girl power

June 3

Apres Vous

Comedy

Paramount Classics

With: Daniel Auteuil, Jose Garcia, Sandrine Kiberlain, Maryline Canto

The idea: A Parisian restaurant manager prevents a suicide and then feels responsible for the man’s future happiness.

Writers: Daniele Dubroux, Benoit Graffin, David Leotard, Pierre Salvadori

Director: Pierre Salvadori

* So? Cruel joke

Cinderella Man

Drama

Universal

With: Russell Crowe, Renee Zellweger, Paul Giamatti, Craig Bierko, Bruce McGill, Paddy Considine

The idea: Heavyweight champion boxer Jim Braddock is forced to take a string of meager jobs during the Depression but never gives up his dream of returning to the ring.

Writers: Cliff Hollingsworth and Akiva Goldsman; story by Hollingsworth

Director: Ron Howard

* So? Man of irony

The Deal

Thriller

Front Street Films

With: Christian Slater, Selma Blair, John Heard, Angie Harmon, Kevin Tighe, Colm Feore, Robert Loggia

The idea: The stakes are high for the global economy and lives are at risk during the attempted $20-billion takeover of a Russian oil company in the not-so-distant future.

Writer: Ruth Epstein

Director: Harvey Kahn

* So? Future hock

High Tension

Horror

Lions Gate Films

With: Cecile De France, Maiwenn, Philippe Nahon

The idea: The arrival of a stranger introduces terror to two college students on a weekend at a secluded farmhouse.

Writers: Alexandre Aja, Gregory Lavasseur

Director: Aja

* So? Deja new

A League

of Ordinary Gentlemen

Documentary

Magnolia Pictures

With: Pete Weber, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Chris Barnes, Wayne Webb

The idea: The ups and downs of life on the Professional Bowlers Assn. tour.

Director: Christopher Browne

* So? Entertaining, amusing, not at all condescending

The Lords of Dogtown

Action

TriStar Pictures

With: Emile Hirsch, Victor Rasuk, John Robinson, Michael Angarano, Nikki Reed, Heath Ledger, Rebecca De Mornay, Johnny Knoxville, America Ferrera

The idea: Teenage surfers take to the pavement of Venice in the 1970s, helping to popularize the nascent sport of skateboarding.

Writer: Stacy Peralta, based on the Spin magazine story

Director: Catherine Hardwicke

* So? Smooth dudes

Rock School

Documentary

Newmarket Films

With: Paul Green, Ike Willis, Napoleon Murphy-Brock

The idea: A fanatical, tough-minded teacher leads a group of Philadelphia kids through an education in rock.

Director: Don Argott

* So? Jack Black’s alma mater?

Shake Hands With

the Devil: The Journey

of Romeo Dallaire

Documentary

California Newsreel

The idea: Ten years later, the Canadian general returns to Rwanda where he led unsuccessful U.N. peacekeeping efforts.

Director: Peter Raymont

* So? Painstakingly observed

June 10

The Adventures of Shark Boy & Lava Girl in 3D

Adventure

Dimension Films

With: George Lopez, Kristin Davis, David Arquette, Cayden Boyd, Taylor Lautner, Taylor Dooley

The idea: A lonely young boy fills his world with two imaginary friends who help him battle Mr. Electric and his fiendish plan to stop children from dreaming.

Writer-director: Robert Rodriguez

* So? Vividly imagined

Caterina in the Big City

Drama

Empire Pictures

With: Alice Teghil, Sergio Castellitto, Margherita Buy

The idea: A provincial teen moves to Rome with her family and her new school mirrors the social and political schism of present-day Italy.

Writers: Francesco Bruni, Paolo Virzi

Director: Virzi

* So? Split ideology

East of Eden

Drama (Reissue)

Warner Classics

With: James Dean, Julie Harris, Raymond Massey, Burl Ives, Richard Davalos, Jo Van Fleet, Albert Dekker

The idea: The fierce rivalry of two brothers for their father’s affections.

Writer: Paul Osborn, based on the novel by John Steinbeck

Director: Elia Kazan

* So? James, not Howard

Heights

Drama

Sony Pictures Classics

With: Elizabeth Banks, Glenn Close, James Marsden, Jesse Bradford, John Light

The idea: Five New Yorkers cross paths on a fall day on which they reevaluate their lives.

Writer: Amy Fox, based on her play; additional screenplay material by Chris Terrio

Director: Terrio

* So? New Yorkers are forever crossing paths

The Honeymooners

Comedy

Paramount Pictures

With: Cedric the Entertainer, Mike Epps, Gabrielle Union, Regina Hall, Eric Stoltz, John Leguizamo

The idea: Updated version of Jackie Gleason’s 1950s TV series about bus driver Ralph Kramden and sewer worker Ed Norton and their schemes to get rich.

Writers: Danny Jacobson and Barry Blaustein & David Sheffield and Don Rhymer; based on the CBS television series

Director: John Schultz

* So? One day, Alice ...

Rebel Without a Cause

Drama (Reissue)

Warner Classics

With: James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Jim Backus, Ann Doran, Corey Allen, William Hopper, Rochelle Hudson, Dennis Hopper, Edward Platt

The idea: Newly arrived high school student burns with teen angst.

Writer: Stewart Stern, adaptation by Irving Shulman, story by Nicholas Ray

Director: Ray

* So? Long before youth had culture, it had this

Saint Ralph

Comedy

Samuel Goldwyn Films

With: Campbell Scott, Jennifer Tilly, Adam Butcher, Gordon Pinsent, Shauna MacDonald

The idea: A young teen tries to induce a miracle by training to win the 1954 Boston Marathon with help from a Catholic priest.

Writer-director: Michael McGowan

* So? Desperate measures

June 15

Batman Begins

Action

Warner Bros.

With: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, Tom Wilkinson, Rutger Hauer, Ken Watanabe, Morgan Freeman

The idea: Industrialist Bruce Wayne travels the world seeking ways to fight injustice and returns to Gotham City as the Dark Knight.

Writers: Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer; story by David S. Goyer; based upon characters appearing in DC Comics created by Bob Kane

Director: Nolan

So?: A lot is riding on his cape

June 17

5x2

Drama

ThinkFilm

With: Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, Stephane Freiss

The idea: The study of a failed marriage told in reverse order focusing on five key moments.

Writers: Francois Ozon, Emmanuele Bernheim

Director: Ozon

* So? Ozon’s layer

God’s Sandbox

Drama

Indican Pictures

With: Meital Dohan, Razia Israeli, Juliano Mer, Orli Perl

The idea: A mother and daughter reunite on a Sinai beach and are captivated by the romantic and ultimately ironic tale of a Bedouin storyteller.

Writers: Hanita Halevy, Yoav Halevy

Director: Doron Eran

* So? Suffering consequences

The Great Water

Drama

Picture This!

With: Saso Kekenovski, Maja Stankovska, Mitko Apostolovski

The idea: Near death, a high-ranking government official reflects on his childhood in postwar Stalinist Yugoslavia.

Writer-director: Ivo Trajkov, based on the novel by Zhivko Chingo

* So? Well executed

Milwaukee, Minnesota

Drama

Tartan Films

With: Troy Garity, Alison Folland, Randy Quaid, Bruce Dern, Hank Harris, Debra Monk, Josh Brolin, Holly Woodlawn

The idea: A developmentally disabled champion fisherman with an overprotective mother attracts a menagerie of con artists circling his winnings.

Writer: R.D. Murphy

Director: Allen Mindel

* So? Hooked

My Summer of Love

Drama

Focus Features

With: Natalie Press, Emily Blunt, Paddy Considine

The idea: Two young women in Yorkshire discover a steamy attraction in their differences.

Writer: Pawel Pawlikowski, in collaboration with Michael Wynne, based on the novel by Helen Cross

Director: Pawlikowski

* So? Much ado

The Perfect Man

Comedy

Universal Pictures

With: Hilary Duff, Heather Locklear, Chris Noth, Mike O’Malley

The idea: A teenager creates a fictional secret admirer for her chronically unlucky-in-love mom but must eventually produce an actual person to go with the romantic e-mails and gifts.

Writer: Gina Wendkos; story by Michael McQuown & Heather Robinson & Katherine Torpey

Director: Mark Rosman

* So? Romancing mom

June 22

Herbie: Fully Loaded

Comedy

Walt Disney Pictures

With: Lindsay Lohan, Justin Long, Breckin Meyer, Matt Dillon, Michael Keaton

The idea: The Love Bug returns and gets his pedal pushed to the metal on the NASCAR circuit.

Writers: Thomas Lennon & Robert Ben Garant and Alfred Gough & Miles Millar, story by Lennon & Garant based on characters created by Gordon Buford

Director: Angela Robinson

* So? Too cute

June 24

Bewitched

Comedy

Columbia Pictures

With: Nicole Kidman, Will Ferrell, Shirley MacLaine, Michael Caine, Kristin Chenoweth, Jason Schwartzman, Steve Carell

The idea: The ‘60s TV series about a domesticated half-mortal/half-witch with a twitchy nose gets an update.

Writers: Nora Ephron & Delia Ephron and Adam McKay; story by Nora Ephron & Delia Ephron

Director: Nora Ephron

* So? Inspired casting. Will it fly?

George Romero’s

Land of the Dead

Horror

Universal Pictures

With: Simon Baker, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper, Asia Argento, Robert Joy

The idea: The tale of a modern-day society in which the walking dead inhabit a wasteland outside the walls of the fortified city that houses the living.

Writer-director: George A. Romero

* So? Zombie jamboree

The Last Mogul

Documentary

ThinkFilm

With: Lew Wasserman, Robert Evans, Jack Valenti, Dominick Dunne, Richard Zanuck, Alan Ladd Jr., Mike Ovitz, Frank Price, Jimmy Carter, David Brown, Suzanne Pleshette

The idea: Wasserman rose from skinny hustler in the speakeasies of 1920s Cleveland to head of entertainment conglomerate MCA.

Writer-director: Barry Avrich

* So? The power and the story

March of the Penguins

Documentary

Warner Independent

With: Morgan Freeman, narrator

The idea: One year in the life

of a flock of emperor penguins as they cross the Antarctic.

Writer: Narration by Jordan Roberts, based on a story by Luc Jacquet and the screenplay by Jacquet & Michel Fessler

Director: Luc Jacquet

* So? No-fly zone

Me and You

and Everyone We Know

Drama

IFC Films

With: John Hawkes, Miranda July

The idea: A lonely shoe salesman alienates his family by committing a desperate act.

Writer-director: July

* So? Stands apart from indie crowd

Rize

Documentary

Lions Gate Films

The idea: With faces painted like warriors, performers participate in krumping, a highly athletic modern dance movement based on African tribal rituals.

Director: David LaChapelle

* So? Kinetic

Wasabi Tuna

Action comedy

Indican Pictures

With: Barney Cheng, Jason London, Tim Meadows, Antonio Sabato Jr., Alanna Ubach, Anna Nicole Smith

The idea: A group of friends preparing for West Hollywood’s annual Halloween bacchanal becomes involved in a giant gang war in Chinatown.

Writer: Celia Fox

Director: Lee Friedlander

* So? Subculture clash

Yes

Drama

Sony Pictures Classics

With: Joan Allen, Sam Neill, Simon Abkarian, Shirley Henderson

The idea: An American scientist embarks on a passionate affair with a Lebanese cook as a response to her suffocating marriage to an adulterous British politician.

Writer-director: Sally Potter

* So? Probably less interesting than it sounds

June 29

War of the Worlds

Thriller

Paramount Pictures

With: Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Miranda Otto, Justin Chatwin, Tim Robbins

The idea: The future of humanity is at stake in a contemporary retelling of the sci-fi classic through the eyes of a U.S. family.

Writer: David Koepp; based on the novel by H.G. Wells

Director: Steven Spielberg

* So? Decidedly uncuddly ETs

June TBA

Death of a Dynasty

Comedy

TLA Releasing

With: Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Devon Aoki, Capone, Robert Stapleton, Rashida Jones, Damon Dash

The idea: Mockumentary goes behind the scenes at hip-hop mecca Roc-A-Fella Records and features appearances by Jay-Z, Dr. Dre and Flavor Flav.

Writer: Adam Moreno

Director: Dash

* So? Hip-hop to it

Tony Takitani

Drama

Strand Releasing

With: Issei Ogata

The idea: A technical illustrator looks to fill the void in his life after tragically losing his couture-loving wife.

Writer-director: Jun Ichikawa, based on a story by Haruki Murakami

* So? Enduring loss

July 1

Lila Says (Lila dit ca)

Drama

Samuel Goldwyn Films

With: Vahina Giacante, Mohammed Khouas, Karim Benhadou

The idea: A beautiful and sexually venturesome French girl tempts a young writer in his predominantly Arab Paris neighborhood.

Writer-director: Ziad Doueiri, based on the book by Chimo

* So? Offbeat but unengaging

Rebound

Comedy

Fox

With: Martin Lawrence, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Breckin Meyer, Horatio Sanz, Megan Mullally

The idea: A troubled college basketball coach attempts to bounce back by leading a junior high team.

Writers: Jon Lucas & Scott Moore; story by William Wolff and Ed Decter & John J. Strauss

Director: Steve Carr

* So? Aggressive misbehavior

Undead

Horror

Lions Gate Films

With: Felicity Mason, Rob Jenkins, Lisa Cunningham, Mungo McKay, Emma Randall.

The idea: A meteorite shower unleashes a zombie attack on a quiet fishing community.

Writers-directors: The Spierig Brothers

* So? Unrelenting

July 8

The Beat That

My Heart Skipped

Drama

Wellspring

With: Romain Duris, Niels Arestrup, Emmanuelle Devos, Linh-Dan Pham

The idea: A young man is torn between following his father into a life of crime and a classical music career.

Writers: Jacques Audiard, Tonino Benacquista, from James Toback’s screenplay for “Fingers”

Director: Audiard

* So? Quite a dilemma

The Beautiful Country

Drama

Sony Pictures Classics

With: Nick Nolte, Bai Ling, Damien Nguyen, Tim Roth.

The idea: A young Vietnamese man, whose father was a U.S. GI, heads for a new life when he stows away on a ship bound for the U.S.

Writer: Sabina Murray; story by Murray and Lingard Jervey

Director: Hans Petter Moland

* So? Unexpectedly offbeat

Murderball

Documentary

ThinkFilm

The idea: The tough, highly competitive world of the U.S. Paralympic Rugby team.

Directors: Dana Adam Shapiro, Henry Alex Rubin, based on an article by Shapiro

* So? Crunchy

Saraband

Drama

Sony Pictures Classics

With: Liv Ullmann, Erland Josephson, Borje Ahlstedt, Julia Dufvenius

The idea: The characters from “Scenes From a Marriage” return 30 years later as a woman’s reunion with her former husband stirs emotions and reveals complex family bonds.

Writer-director: Ingmar Bergman

* So? As complex as you’d expect

July 13

Hustle & Flow

Drama

Paramount Classics

With: Terrence Howard, Anthony Anderson, Taryn Manning, Taraji P. Henson, DJ Qualls, Ludacris, Elise Neal

The idea: A Memphis pimp takes his shot at being a rapper.

Writer-director: Craig Brewer

* So? Sundance favorite

July 15

Happy Endings

Comedy

Lions Gate Films

With: Tom Arnold, Jesse Bradford, Bobby Cannavale, Sarah Clarke, Steve Coogan, Laura Dern, Lisa Kudrow, Jason Ritter, David Sutcliffe, Maggie Gyllenhaal

The idea: Intertwining love stories turn on buried secrets, missed opportunities and second chances.

Writer-director: Don Roos

* So? We’re optimistic

Wedding Crashers

Comedy

New Line Cinema

With: Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Christopher Walken

The idea: A pair of divorce mediators spend weekends as uninvited guests at strangers’ nuptials, sampling the buffets and bridesmaids, until one of them falls in love with a crazy politician’s daughter.

Writers: Steve Faber & Bob Fisher

Director: David Dobkin

* So? A comedy that’s actually funny

July 22

The Bad News Bears

Comedy

Paramount Pictures

With: Billy Bob Thornton, Greg Kinnear, Marcia Gay Harden

The idea: Remake of 1976 comedy about an ex-minor leaguer coaching a woeful Little League baseball team.

Writers: Bill Lancaster and John Requa & Glenn Ficarra; based on the film written by Lancaster

Director: Richard Linklater

* So? Requa & Ficarra wrote “Bad Santa”

Deep Blue

Documentary

Miramax Films

The idea: Filmmakers explore alien underwater landscapes on the ocean floor as well as more familiar life forms nearer or on the surface.

Writers-directors: Alastair Fothergill, Andy Byatt

* So? Fantastic planet

The Devil’s Rejects

Horror

Lions Gate Films

With: Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon Zombie, Matthew McGrory, William Forsythe, Leslie Easterbrook, Dave Sheridan, Lew Temple, Kate Norby, Geoffrey Lewis, Priscilla Barnes, Brian Posehn, Jossara Jinaro, Diamond Dallas Page, Danny Trejo, P.J. Soles

The idea: The murderous Firefly family battles a renegade sheriff with revenge on his mind.

Writer-director: Rob Zombie, based on characters created by Zombie

* So? Follow-up to “House of 1000 Corpses”

The Edukators

Comedy-drama

IFC Films

With: Daniel Bruhl, Julia Jentsch, Stipe Erceg

The idea: Two German prankster-political activists get in over their heads with more dangerous actions.

Writers: Katharina Held, Hans Weingartner

Director: Weingartner

* So? Ironic generation gaps

Last Days

Drama

HBO Films/Fine Line Features

With: Michael Pitt, Lukas Haas, Asia Argento, Scott Green, Nicole Vicius, Ricky Jay, Ryan Orion, Harmony Korine, Kim Gordon, Adam Friberg, Andy Friberg, Thadeus A. Thomas

The idea: A rock star seeks release from the pressures and isolation of fame in his final hours.

Writer-director: Gus Van Sant

* So? Inspired by the death of Kurt Cobain.

9 Songs

Drama

Tartan Films

With: Kieran O’Brien, Margot Stilley and bands including the Von Bondies and Franz Ferdinand

The idea: The passion of a sexually explicit love affair is intercut with performances from the concerts the couple attends.

Writer-director: Michael Winterbottom

* So? Far-flung passion

November

Thriller

Sony Pictures Classics

With: Courteney Cox, James LeGros, Michael Ealy, Nora Dunn, Nick Offerman, Anne Archer

The idea: An L.A. photographer tries to move beyond the murder of her boyfriend in a grocery-store holdup.

Writer: Benjamin Brand

Director: Greg Harrison

* So? Unrelieved anxiety

Shoujyo: An Adolescent

Drama

Indican Pictures

With: Mayu Ozawa, Eiji Okuda, Akira Shoji, Mari Natsuki, Hideo Murota

The idea: Erotic Japanese love story about an intense affair between a middle-age cop and a teenage girl.

Writers: Katsuhiko Manabe, Izuru Narushima, based on a short story Mikihiko Renjo

Director: Okuda

* So? Taboo

Three Dancing Slaves

Drama

TLA Releasing

With: Nicolas Cazale, Stephane Rideau, Thomas Dumerchez.

The idea: Three brothers, each at a turning point in his life, must escape their domineering father to reach adulthood.

Writers: Gael Morel, Christophe Honore

Director: Morel

* So? Astonishing imagery

Tropical Malady

Romantic mystery

Strand Releasing

With: Banlop Lomnoi, Sakda Kaewbuadee.

The idea: A journey into the magical myth surrounding the love between a soldier and a country boy in the Thai jungle.

Writer-director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul

* So? More than a little surreal

July 29

Brothers Grimm

Adventure

Dimension Films

With: Matt Damon, Heath Ledger, Lena Headey, Monica Bellucci, Peter Stormare, Jonathan Pryce, Richard Ridings, Mackenzie Crook

The idea: The legendary storytellers confront the world of heroes and villains, witches and trolls, undying evil and true love, which they’d thought was make-believe.

Writer: Ehren Kruger

Director: Terry Gilliam

* So? Gilliamesque

Must Love Dogs

Comedy

Warner Bros.

With: Diane Lane, John Cusack, Dermot Mulroney, Elizabeth Perkins, Stockard Channing, Christopher Plummer

The idea: A divorced woman must overcome her well-meaning family and learn to trust her own instincts to rediscover romance.

Writer-director: Gary David Goldberg, based on the novel by Claire Cook

* So? Life in the newly single lane

Night Watch

(Nochnoi Dozor)

Sci-fi thriller

Fox Searchlight

With: Konstantin Khabensky, Vladimir Menshov, Valery Zolotukhin, Maria Poroshina, Galina Tunina, Victor Verzhbitsky, Dima Martynov

The idea: In the first film of a planned trilogy, the delicate balance of light and darkness is threatened by the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy.

Writers: Sergei Lukyanenko, Timur Bekmambetov; English subtitles by Timur Bekmambetov and Laeta Kalogridis

Director: Bekmambetov

* So? Looks pretty spooky

Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus

Documentary

Shadow Distribution

With: Jim White

The idea: The alt-country singer takes an off-the-beaten-path tour of the South, exploring its Gothic appeal for musicians and writers.

Director: Andrew Douglas

* So? Still searching

Sky High

Comedy

Walt Disney Pictures

With: Kelly Preston, Kurt Russell, Lynda Carter, Michael Angarano, Danielle Panabaker, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Bruce Campbell, Dave Foley, Steven Strait

The idea: The freshman son of superhero parents faces lofty expectations at a special academy for such offspring.

Writers: Paul Hernandez and Bob Schooley & Mark McCorkle

Director: Mike Mitchell

* So? Super-duper

July TBA

April’s Shower

Comedy

here!/ Regent Releasing

With: Maria Cina, Trish Doolan, Honey Labrador, Randall Batinkoff, Denise Miller, Joe Tabbanella, Zack Ward, Arly Jover, Molly Cheek, Samantha Lemole, Lara Harris

The idea: The self-induced pressure to put on the perfect bridal shower masks a chef’s tangled relationship with the bride.

Writer-director: Doolan

* So? Missed opportunity

Cronicas

Drama

Palm Pictures

With: John Leguizamo, Leonor Watling, Damian Alcazar, Jose Maria Yazpik

The idea: A Miami-based television reporter tracks a serial killer in a small town in Ecuador.

Writer-director: Sebastian Cordero

* So? Morality tale

Julie Johnson

Drama

here!/Regent Releasing

With: Lili Taylor, Courtney Love, Spalding Gray, Noah Emmerich, Mischa Barton

The idea: A dissatisfied New Jersey housewife discovers there is more to her than she or anyone around her expects.

Writers: Wendy Hammond and Bob Gosse

Director: Gosse

* So? Eclectic casting

Pulse

Horror

Magnolia Pictures

With: Haruhiko Kato, Kumiko Aso, Koyuki, Jun Fubuki, Shinji Takeda, Koji Yakusho

The idea: The Tokyo friends of a recent suicide victim are unnerved by his apparent attempts to contact them.

Writer-director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa

* So? More imported chills

The Warrior

Adventure

Miramax Films

With: Irfan Khan, Noor Mani

The idea: A rich Indian warlord renounces his violent ways and must face the wrath of his former colleagues.

Writers: Asif Kapadia, Tim Miller

Director: Kapadia

* So? Existential

Aug. 5

The Aristocrats

Documentary

ThinkFilm

With: Hank Azaria, Mario Cantone, Drew Carey, George Carlin, Billy Connolly, Andy Dick, Susie Essman, Whoopi Goldberg, Eric Idle, Eddie Izzard, Bill Maher, Michael McKean, Martin Mull, Kevin Pollak, Bob Saget, Harry Shearer, Sarah Silverman, Jon Stewart, Fred Willard, Steven Wright

The idea: One hundred comedians tell the same dirty joke, only with different middles.

Director: Paul Provenza, Penn Jillette

* So? Using their imagination

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

Drama

Empire Pictures

With: Xun Zhou, Kun Chen, Ye Liu

The idea: Two friends are sent to a rural section of China during the Cultural Revolution and both fall for a tailor’s daughter.

Writer-director: Dai Sijie, based on his novel

* So? Triangle

Broken Flower

Comedy

Focus Features

With: Bill Murray, Jeffrey Wright, Sharon Stone, Frances Conroy, Jessica Lange, Tilda Swinton, Julie Delpy

The idea: A resolute bachelor visits ex-lovers when he discovers that he may have a previously unknown 19-year-old son.

Writer-director: Jim Jarmusch

* So? Paternity test

The Dukes of Hazzard

Comedy

Warner Bros.

With: Johnny Knoxville, Seann William Scott, Jessica Simpson, Burt Reynolds, Joe Don Baker, Lynda Carter

The idea: Updated version of the late 1979-85 TV series tracks the adventures of Bo and Luke Duke, their cousin Daisy and Boss Hogg.

Writer: John O’Brien

Director: Jay Chandrasekhar

* So? Hick parade

Grizzly Man

Documentary

Lions Gate Films

The idea: Outdoorsman and author Timothy Treadwell lived and died among the bears in the Alaskan wilderness.

Director: Werner Herzog

* So? Captivating ursine footage

Junebug

Drama

Sony Pictures Classics

With: Embeth Davidtz, Alessandro Nivola, Amy Adams, Ben McKenzie, Celia Weston

The idea: A Chicago art dealer travels to North Carolina to pursue a painter and meet her new in-laws.

Writer: Angus McLachlan

Director: Phil Morrison

* So? Southern discomfort

The Pink Panther

Comedy

Columbia Pictures/MGM

With: Steve Martin, Kevin Kline, Beyonce Knowles, Jean Reno

The idea: A new Inspector Clouseau pursues a famed missing diamond, this time belonging to a murdered soccer coach.

Writers: Len Blum and Steve Martin, story by Blum and Michael Saltzman based

on characters created by Maurice Richlin & Blake

Edwards

Director: Shawn Levy

* So? Clueless

Secuestro Express

Drama

Miramax Films

With: Mia Maestro, Carlos Julio Molina, Pedro Perez, Carlos Madera, Jean Paul Leroux, Ruben Blades

The idea: A young Venezuelan couple is kidnapped and held for ransom by thugs eager to extort money from the rich parents.

Writer-director: Jonathan Jakubowicz

* So? Tragedy of errors

Summer Storm

Drama

here!/Regent Releasing

With: Robert Stadlober, Kostja Ullmann, Alicja Bachleda-Curus, Hanno Kofler, Tristano Casanova, Juergen Tonkel, Miriam Morgenstern

The idea: The arrival of a gay rowing team at an athletic retreat puts into motion a confrontation between longtime German friends and crew teammates.

Writers: Thomas Bahmann, Marco Kreuzpaintner

Director: Kreuzpaintner

* So? Rowing camp

2046

Drama

Sony Pictures Classics

With: Tony Leung, Ziyi Zhang, Gong Li, Maggie Cheung

The idea: In a 1960s Hong Kong brothel, a novelist is inspired to write science fiction by the women he encounters.

Writer-director: Wong Kar-wai

* So? Constructive fragments

Aug. 12

The Baxter

Comedy

IFC Films

With: Michael Showalter, Elizabeth Banks, Michelle Williams, Justin Theroux

The idea: An obsessive accountant begins an unlikely romance with a beautiful and sophisticated woman.

Writer-director: Michael Showalter

* So? Improbably spontaneous

Deuce Bigalow:

European Gigolo

Comedy

Columbia Pictures

With: Rob Schneider, Eddie Griffin, Jeroen Krabbe

The idea: The unlikely male prostitute must return to the world’s oldest profession to help clear his former pimp accused of murder.

Writers: Rob Schneider and David Garrett & Jason Ward; story by Schneider; based on characters created by Harris Goldberg & Schneider

Director: Mike Bigelow

* So? Enough said already

Four Brothers

Drama

Paramount Pictures

With: Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, Andre Benjamin, Garrett Hedlund, Terrence Howard, Taraji P. Henson

The idea: Adopted siblings seek revenge after their mother is killed.

Writers: David Elliot & Paul Lovett

Director: John Singleton

* So? Tough guys on a rampage

Moonlight

Romance thriller

Indican Pictures

With: Laurien Van den Broeck, Hunter Bussemaker, Andrew Howard, Jemma Redgrave

The idea: A wealthy teenage Dutch girl discovers a wounded boy her own age, an Afghani drug courier, and keeps his existence a secret from her parents.

Writer: Carel Donck

Director: Paula van der Oest

* So? As improbable as it was three years ago

Pretty Persuasion

Comedy-drama

Samuel Goldwyn Films/Roadside Attractions

With: Evan Rachel Wood, James Woods, Ron Livingston, Elisabeth Harnois, Jane Krakowski, Selma Blair

The idea: A provocative teen coerces her friends into

staging a sexual harassment case against their English teacher.

Writer: Skander Halim

Director: Marcos Siega

* So? The unkindest cuts

The Skeleton Key

Thriller

Universal Pictures

With: Kate Hudson, Gena Rowlands, Peter Sarsgaard, Joy Bryant, John Hurt

The idea: A young woman unlocks one too many doors in the decrepit mansion where she works as a live-in nurse.

Writer: Ehren Kruger

Director: Iain Softley

* So? A lot of things that go bump in the night

Aug. 17

Supercross

Action

Fox

With: Steve Howey, Mike Vogel, Sophia Bush, Robert Carradine, Daryl Hannah, Robert Patrick, Aaron Carter, Jesse James

The idea: Two brothers overcome physical and emotional obstacles in the high-flying world of stadium motocross.

Writers: Bart Baker, Ken Solarz

Director: Steve Boyum

* So? Speed, sweat and dust

Aug. 19

Asylum

Thriller

Paramount Classics

With: Natasha Richardson, Sir Ian McKellen, Marton Csokas, Hugh Bonneville, Augustus Jeremiah Lewis

The idea: A psychiatrist’s wife is drawn to a patient at the institution her husband helps run.

Writer: Patrick Marber and Chrysanthy Balis; based on the novel by Patrick McGrath

Director: David Mackenzie

* So? Familiar but weird

The 40 Year Old Virgin

Comedy

Universal Pictures

With: Steve Carell, Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Leslie Mann, Gerry Bednob, Shelley Malil, Chelsea Smith, Nancy Walls

The idea: A middle-age electronics store employee’s friends decide it’s time for him to go all the way.

Writers: Judd Apatow, Steve Carell

Director: Apatow

* So? What a way to lose it

Red Eye

Suspense-thriller

DreamWorks

With: Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy, Brian Cox, Jayma Mays

The idea: A woman on an overnight flight to Miami becomes entangled in an elaborate assassination plot involving her seatmate.

Writer: Carl Ellsworth, story by Ellsworth and Dan Foos

Director: Wes Craven

* So? Sky-high anxiety

Valiant

Animated

Walt Disney Pictures

With: Voices of Ewan McGregor, Ricky Gervais, Tim Curry, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Laurie, John Cleese, John Hurt, Pip Torrens, Rik Mayall, Olivia Williams

The idea: A computer-generated comedy-adventure about an undersize pigeon who hopes to serve his country in World War II.

Writers: Jordan Katz, George Webster, George Melrod; story by Webster

Director: Gary Chapman

* So? Bird-brained

Aug. 26

The Cave

Horror

Screen Gems

With: Cole Hauser, Morris Chestnut, Piper Perabo, Eddie Cibrian, Rick Ravanello, Marcel Lures

The idea: A group of American cave explorers finds more than it bargained for in the dark caverns hidden below a 13th century Romanian abbey.

Writers: Michael Steinberg & Tegan West

Director: Bruce Hunt

* So? Scary down there

Dirty Deeds

Comedy

Green Diamond Entertainment

With: Milo Ventimiglia, Lacey Chabert, Zoe Saldana

The idea: A series of challenges must be completed between sundown and sunup on the Friday night of homecoming weekend.

Writer: Jon Land

Director: David Kendall

* So? Rituals of initiation

Games of Love

and Chance

Drama

New Yorker Films

With: Osman Elkharraz, Aurelie Ganito, Sara Forestier, Rachid Hami

The idea: A delinquent in a Paris suburb falls for the girl playing the lead in a Marivaux adaptation.

Writers: Abdellatif Kechiche, Ghalia Lacroix

Director: Kechiche

* So? Winner of the Cesar as “L’Esquive”

Undiscovered

Comedy

Lions Gate Films

With: Pell James, Steven Strait, Kip Pardue, Shannyn Sossamon, Fisher Stevens, Carrie Fisher, Peter Weller, Stephen Moyer, Ashlee Simpson

The idea: A model turned would-be actress and an aspiring singer-songwriter meet on a New York subway but look for love and fame in Los Angeles.

Writer: John Galt

Director: Meiert Avis

* So? Where else?

August TBA

Backwater

Horror

Dimension Films

With: Agnes Bruckner, Method Man, Bijou Phillips, D.J. Cotrona, Jonathan Jackson, Meagan Good

The idea: A group of teens faces voodoo terror in a Louisiana swamp.

Writer: Brandon Boyce

Director: Jim Gillespie

* So? More imperiled teenagers

The Chumscrubber

Comedy-drama

Newmarket Films

With: Jamie Bell, Camilla Belle, Justin Chatwin, Glenn Close, Rory Culkin, William Fichtner, Ralph Fiennes, John Heard, Lauren Holly, Allison Janney, Josh Janowicz, Carrie-Anne Moss, Lou Taylor Pucci, Rita Wilson

The idea: The delicate balance of a seemingly idyllic suburb is challenged by a teen’s discovery of his only friend’s suicide and the mayor of the town’s life crisis.

Writer: Zac Stanford

Director: Arie Posin

* So? Unappetizing

The Great Raid

Action

Miramax Films

With: Benjamin Bratt, James Franco, Connie Nielsen, Marton Csokas, Mark Consuelos, Joseph Fiennes

The idea: The 6th Ranger Battalion attempts a daring rescue of 500 U.S. POWs in the Philippines in 1945.

Writers: Carlo Bernard & Douglas Miro, based on the book by William Breuer and additional material by Hampton Sides

Director: John Dahl

* So? Casualty of Miramax

Touch the Sound

Documentary

Shadow Distribution

With: Evelyn Glennie, Fred Frith

The idea: The world as experienced by deaf solo percussionist Glennie.

Director: Thomas Riedelsheimer

* So? Passionately energetic

The Underclassman

Comedy

Miramax Films

With: Nick Cannon, Roselyn Sanchez, Shawn Ashmore, Kelly Hu, Hugh Bonneville, Cheech Marin

The idea: A streetwise young L.A. cop goes undercover at an elite private school.

Writers: David T. Wagner & Brent Goldberg

Director: Marcos Siega

* So? Learning experience

Sept. 2

Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dance

& Charm School

Drama

Samuel Goldwyn Films

With: Robert Carlyle, Marisa Tomei, Mary Steenburgen, John Goodman, Sean Astin, Donnie Wahlberg, Danny DeVito, David Paymer, Camryn Manheim, Sonia Braga, Adam Arkin, Ernie Hudson

The idea: A widower’s life changes when he looks for a dying man’s long-lost love.

Writers: Randall Miller & Jody Savin, based on Miller’s short film

Director: Miller

* So? Fun to burn

The Woods

Horror

United Artists/TriStar Pictures

With: Agnes Bruckner, Patricia Clarkson, Bruce Campbell

The idea: A lonely teenager, dumped by her parents at a creepy boarding school, begins to have gruesome visions.

Writer: David Ross

Director: Lucky McKee

* So? Intriguing female cast

Sept. 9

Cote d’Azur

Comedy

Strand Releasing

With: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Gilbert Melki, Jean-Marc Barr, Jacques Bonnaffe, Edouard Collin, Romain Torres, Sabrina Seyvecou

The idea: A French family’s Mediterranean vacation is complicated by erotic tensions.

Writers-directors: Oliver Ducastel and Jacques Martineau

* So? Frothy

The Exorcism

of Emily Rose

Horror

Screen Gems

With: Laura Linney, Tom Wilkinson, Campbell Scott, Shohreh Aghdashloo

The idea: An attorney defends a priest in the death of a young girl officially recognized by the Catholic Church as being possessed.

Writers: Paul Harris Boardman & Scott Derrickson

Director: Derrickson

* So? State versus church

TBA

Formula 17

Comedy

Strand Releasing

With: Tony Yang, Duncan Lai

The idea: A gay 17-year-old journeys to Taipei, locks eyes with a notorious playboy and attempts to win his heart.

Writer: Rady Fu

Directors: D.J. Chen, Yin-jung Chen

* So? Strictly boy-meets-boy

Going Shopping

Comedy-drama

Rainbow Releasing

With: Victoria Foyt, Rob Morrow, Bruce Davison, Jennifer Grant, Cynthia Sikes, Juliet Landau, Pamela Bellwood

The idea: A successful designer is stuck in a romantic triangle with two boyfriends and dealing with intergenerational crises involving her mother and daughter.

Writers: Victoria Foyt & Henry Jaglom

Director: Jaglom

* So? Indulgent

Hardcore

Drama

Strand Releasing

With: Dimitris Liolios, Andreas Marianos

The idea: Working as prostitutes in Athens, two 16-year-old Greek girls form a bond that leads to brutal violence.

Writer-director: Dennis Iliadis

* So? Hard and sharp

Making Grace

Documentary

First Run Features

The idea: A lesbian couple embarks on the long road to motherhood.

Director: Catherine Gund

* So? Not that different from the straight experience

Monumental:

David Brower’s Fight

for Wild America

Documentary

First Run Features

With: David Brower, Martin Litton, Stewart Udall, Jerry Mander, Floyd Dominy, Kevin Starr, Rod Nash, Ken Brower, Barbara Brower, John Dyer, Michael McCloskey, Michael Cohen, Roderick Nash, Phillip Berry

The idea: A profile of the renaissance man conservationist who turned the Sierra Club into a political force.

Director: Kelly Duane

* So? Compelling portrait, amazing footage

The Ordeal (Calvaire)

Drama-horror

Palm Pictures

With: Laurent Lucas, Jackie Berroyer

The idea: A lost cabaret singer arrives at an inn run by an unbalanced man in the south of France.

Writer-director: Fabrice du Welz

* So? Creepy gore

The Reception

Drama