A first run at the year’s movies

Apocalypto Mel Gibson sets a mythic tale in the land of the Mayas as a man fights to preserve his culture and way of life. Touchstone Pictures, summer

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The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford Brad Pitt stars as the notorious Western outlaw, who’s planning his next great heist unaware of the threat posed by those close to him. With Casey Affleck, Sam Shepard, Mary-Louise Parker, Jeremy Renner, Paul Schneider and Sam Rockwell. Directed by Andrew Dominik (“Chopper”). Warner Bros.,September/October

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Blood Diamond Leonardo DiCaprio plays a South African mercenary who teams with a Mende fisherman (Djimon Hounsou) in civil war-torn 1990s Sierra Leone to recover a rare pink gem. Jennifer Connelly costars. Directed by Edward Zwick. Warner Bros., December

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Breaking News A standoff between police and a band of bank robbers turns into a media circus carried live on Hong Kong television. With Richie Jen, Kelly Chen and Nick Cheung. Directed by Johnnie To. Palm Pictures, TBA

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Casino Royale Daniel Craig assumes the perks and responsibilities of Agent 007 in a film based on Ian Fleming’s first James Bond novel, previously filmed as a spoof in 1967. Judi Dench costars. Directed by Martin Campbell (“GoldenEye”). MGM/Columbia Pictures, Nov. 17

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The Departed The fate of an undercover Boston cop (Leonardo DiCaprio, left) who has infiltrated the mob is intertwined with that of a criminal (Matt Damon) working within the police force. Jack Nicholson, right, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga, Anthony Anderson and Alec Baldwin also star. Directed by Martin Scorsese. Based on the Hong Kong film “Infernal Affairs.” Warner Bros., TBA

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District 13 The year is 2013 and an elite police squad must find a weapon of mass destruction in a walled-off Paris suburb reserved for criminals. With David Belle, Cyril Raffaelli and Tony D’Amario. Produced by Luc Besson. Directed by Pierre Morel. Magnolia Pictures, TBA

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The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift The street-racing sequel moves to Japan, where a young American ex-pat challenges the local champ in the rubber-burning, gliding world of drift. With Lucas Black, Bow Wow, Brian Tee, Sung Kang, Jason Tobin, Nathalie Kelley. Justin Lin (“Better Luck Tomorrow”) directed. Universal Pictures, June 16

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Firewall Harrison Ford plays a bank security expert whose family is kidnapped by a devious criminal (Paul Bettany). With Virginia Madsen, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Robert Patrick, Robert Forster and Alan Arkin. Directed by Richard Loncraine (“Wimbledon”). Warner Bros., Feb. 10

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Flags of Our Fathers Clint Eastwood directed and Steven Spielberg produced this adaptation of the bestselling book by James Bradley with Ron Powers that chronicles the battle of Iwo Jima and the fates of the men planting the Stars and Stripes in the famous photo. Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford, Adam Beach, Paul Walker, Jamie Bell, Barry Pepper and John Benjamin Hickey star. DreamWorks, fall

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The Flock A paroled sex offender and a missing girl divert a federal agent (Richard Gere) while he trains a young female replacement (Claire Danes). Directed by Andrew Lau (“Infernal Affairs”). Bauer Martinez, Oct. 6

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Harsh Times Christian Bale plays a hard-wired Army vet who’s tempted back to a life of crime when a job with the LAPD fails to pan out. Freddy Rodriguez and Eva Longoria costar. Written and directed by David Ayer. Bauer Martinez, April 28

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Killshot A married couple become entangled with a two-bit con man and aging hit-man partner. Diane Lane, Thomas Jane, Mickey Rourke, Rosario Dawson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt star. Hossein Amini adapted Elmore Leonard’s novel. Directed by John Madden. The Weinstein Co., summer

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Lady Vengeance Park Chan-wook concludes his vengeance trilogy with a tale of a woman released from prison after 13 years with a score to settle. Lee Young-ae and Choi Min-sik star. Tartan Pictures USA, April 21

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Miami Vice Director Michael Mann updates the hit 1980s cop show, with Colin Farrell as Sonny Crockett and Jamie Foxx as Ricardo Tubbs tangling with South Florida drug traffickers. With Gong Li, Naomie Harris, Ciaran Hinds and Justin Theroux. Universal Pictures, July 28

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Mission: Impossible III TV wiz J.J. Abrams (“Lost,” “Alias”) takes the helm of the Tom Cruise secret agent franchise. With Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames, Laurence Fishburne, Billy Crudup, Michelle Monaghan, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Keri Russell and Maggie Q. Paramount Pictures, May 5

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16 Blocks Bruce Willis plays a washed-up New York detective charged with delivering a minor crook (Mos Def) from the precinct to the courthouse, but their journey faces unexpected complications. With David Morse. Directed by Richard Donner. Warner Bros., March 3

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Snakes on a Plane Samuel L. Jackson stars as an FBI agent shepherding a witness from L.A. to Hawaii aboard a commercial flight when an assassin releases some deadly, slithering amphibians. Directed by David R. Ellis (“Cellular”). New Line Cinema, Aug. 18

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Tom Yum Goong Tony Jaa stars for his “Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior” director, Prachya Pinkaew, playing a Thai fighter sent to Australia to retrieve stolen elephants. The Weinstein Co., TBA

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Ultraviolet Milla Jovovich stars as a member of a race of genetically engineered superhumans trying to avoid extermination by the government. With Cameron Bright, Nick Chinlund and William Fichtner. Directed by Kurt Wimmer. Screen Gems, spring

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V for Vendetta Natalie Portman plays an easygoing young woman who gets caught up in the rebellion of the mysterious V (Hugo Weaving) in a totalitarian Britain of the future. With Stephen Rea and John Hurt. Directed by James McTeigue. Written by the Wachowski brothers, based on the graphic novel. Warner Bros., March 17

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Waist Deep An ex-con trying to go straight is pulled back into the underworld by the kidnapping of his young son. Tyrese Gibson, Meagan Good, Larenz Tate and the Game star. Directed by Vondie Curtis Hall. Rogue Pictures, April 28

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X3 Brett Ratner directs the third installment of the “X-Men” saga. Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, Anna Paquin, Kelsey Grammer, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Vinnie Jones and Patrick Stewart star. 20th Century Fox, May 26