Ogres, soldiers, gorillas

Friday

After Freedom

Drama

Vitagraph

With: Mic Tomasi, Greg Satamian, Sophie Chahinian

The idea: Cultural tug of war set in Glendale as a young Armenian American is torn between his tightknit community and finding his own way.

Writer-director: Vahe Babaian * So? Heartfelt, insular

Breakin’ All the Rules

Comedy

Screen Gems

With: Jamie Foxx, Morris Chestnut, Gabrielle Union, Jennifer Esposito, Peter MacNicol

The idea: Getting dumped turns a man into a bestselling author when he writes a how-to-break-up book.

Writer-director: Daniel Taplitz

* So? Smooth-talkin’

Bulgarian Lovers

Comedy-drama

TLA Releasing

With: Fernando Guillen Cuervo, Dritan Beba, Pepon Nieto, Anita Sinkovic

The idea: The life of a middle-age, gay Spanish man is shaken up when he takes a young Eastern European lover.

Writers: Fernando Guillen Cuervo, Antonio Hens, Eloy de la Iglesia, based on the novel by Eduardo Mendicutti.

Director: De la Iglesia

* So? Middle-aged man, young lover; in what way is this out of the ordinary?

Carandiru

Drama

Sony Pictures Classics

With: Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos, Milton Goncalves, Ivan de Almeida

The idea: The tensions of Sao Paolo’s notorious prison Casa de Detencao build to a deadly 1992 massacre.

Writers: Victor Navas, Hector Babenco, Fernando Bonassi; based on the book “Carandiru Station” by Drauzio Varella

Director: Babenco

* So? A punch in the stomach.

Coffee and Cigarettes

Comedy

United Artists

With: Roberto Benigni, Steven Wright, Joie Lee, Cinque Lee, Steve Buscemi, Iggy Pop, Tom Waits, Joe Rigano, Vinny Vella, Vinny Vella Jr., Renee French, E.J. Rodriguez, Alex Descas, Isaach de Bankole, Cate Blanchett, Meg White, Jack White, Alfred Molina, Steve Coogan, GZA, RZA, Bill Murray, Bill Rice, Taylor Mead

The idea: Short vignettes involving caffeine and nicotine and shot in black and white bring together unlikely characters.

Writer-director: Jim Jarmusch

* So? Jarmusch jams.

Confessions of a Burning Man

Documentary

Windline Films

With: Anna Getty, Michael Winaker, Samantha Weaver, Kevin Epps

The idea: Four neophytes experience the annual alternative cultural gathering in the Nevada desert.

Directors: Paul Barnett, Unsu Lee

* So? The granddaddy of desert revelry.

A Day Without a Mexican

Comedy

Televisa Cine

With: Caroline Aaron, Melinda R. Allen, Fernando Arau, Yareli Arizmendi, Maureen Flannigan, John Getz, Eduardo Palomo

The idea: California’s economy plummets when one-third of its population suddenly disappears.

Writers: Yareli Arizmendi, Sergio Arau and Sergio Guerrero

Director: Sergio Arau

* So? Chaotic irony

Godzilla

Horror

Rialto Pictures

With: Akira Takarada, Momoko Kochi, Akihiko Hirata

The idea: The original uncut version of the 1954 classic Japanese monster movie -- meaning no dubbing and no Raymond Burr -- makes its L.A. debut.

Writers: Ishiro Honda, Takeo Murata, story by Shigeru Kamaya

Director: Honda

* So? Sayonara, Tokyo!

Since Otar Left

Drama

Zeitgeist Films

With: Esther Gorintin, Nino Khomassourridze, Dinara Droukarova

The idea: Precarious relationships of three generations of women living in a crumbling apartment building in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi are tested with the arrival of tragic news.

Writers: Julie Bertuccelli, Roger Bohbot, Bernard Renucci

Director: Bertuccelli

* So? Likely to touch the hardest of hearts.

A Slipping-Down Life

Drama

Lions Gate

With: Lili Taylor, Guy Pearce, Sara Rue, Irma P. Hall, Tom Bower, Shawnee Smith, Veronica Cartwright

The idea: An extremely shy young woman becomes devoted to a brooding musician named Drumstrings.

Writer-director: Toni Kalem, based on the novel by Anne Tyler

* So? Seductively odd.

Troy

Epic action drama

Warner Bros.

With: Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Brian Cox, Sean Bean, Brendan Gleeson, Diane Kruger, Peter O’Toole

The idea: Paris’ passion for Helen of Sparta ignites the Trojan War.

Writer: David Benioff, inspired by Homer’s “The Iliad”

Director: Wolfgang Petersen

* So? Epic battle over femme fatale

With All Deliberate Speed

Documentary

CameraPlanet & Discovery Docs

With: Jeffrey Wright, Mekhi Phifer, Larenz Tate

The idea: The 50th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education is marked by this exploration of the landmark Supreme Court decision that outlawed segregation in U.S. public schools.

Director: Peter Gilbert

* So? Sadly illuminating.

May 21

Divan

Documentary

Zeitgeist Films

The idea: Filmmaker documents her journey to Hungary to collect a family heirloom and the colorful characters she encounters.

Director: Pearl Gluck

* So? Offbeat Holocaust memoir.

Gypsy 83

Drama

Small Planet Pictures

With: Sara Rue, Kett Turton, Karen Black, John Doe

The idea: Stevie Nicks-worshiping young woman and her gay Goth friend leave Sandusky, Ohio, for New York City.

Writer-director: Todd Stephens

* So? Follow-up to “Edge of Seventeen.”

Love Me If You Dare (Jeux d’enfants)

Romantic comedy

Paramount Classics

With: Guillaume Canet, Marion Cotillard

The idea: Childhood friends take their provocative games into adulthood.

Writer-director: Yann Samuell

* So? Perverse bittersweet premise.

Stateside

Drama

Samuel Goldwyn/ First Look

With: Rachael Leigh Cook, Jonathan Tucker, Agnes Bruckner, Val Kilmer, Carrie Fisher, Ed Begley Jr.

The idea: Tumultuous romance between a young Marine and an unstable singer-actress is complicated by their respective baggage.

Writer-director: Reverge Anselmo

* So? All’s not fair.

Strayed (Les Egares)

Drama

Wellspring Media

With: Emmanuelle Beart, Gaspard Ulliel

The idea: A young widow flees 1940 Paris with her two children and encounters a charismatic young delinquent in the woods.

Writers: Andre Techine and Gilles Taurand, based on 1983 Gilles Perrault novel “The Boy With Grey Eyes.”

Director: Techine

* So? Well-cast observation of German occupation of France.

May 26

Frankie & Johnny Are Married

Romantic comedy

IFC Films

With: Lisa Chess, Michael Pressman, Alan Rosenberg

The idea: A husband and wife try to liven up their marriage and careers by staging their own small theater production of Terrence McNally’s “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune.”

Writer-director: Pressman

* So? Vanity in vain.

May 28

Baadasssss!

Drama

Sony Pictures Classics

With: Mario Van Peebles, David Alan Grier, Joy Bryant, Nia Long, Paul Rodriguez, Saul Rubinek, Ossie Davis, Khleo Thomas, Glenn Plummer, Karimah Westbrook, Khalil Kain, Rainn Wilson, John Singleton, Adam West

The idea: Black filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles makes the groundbreaking “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song” in 1971.

Writers: Mario Van Peebles & Dennis Haggerty based on the book by Melvin Van Peebles

Director: Mario Van Peebles

* So? Sweet stuff.

Bukowski: Born Into This

Documentary

Magnolia Pictures

With: Bono, Sean Penn, Harry Dean Stanton, Barbet Schroeder, Taylor Hackford.

The idea: Interviews with writer Charles Bukowski and those he influenced yield a portrait of the man beneath the myth.

Director: John Dullaghan

* So? King Barfly.

The Day After Tomorrow

Action

Fox

With: Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ian Holm, Emmy Rossum, Sela Ward

The idea: Catastrophic climate changes throw the world into meteorological chaos.

Writers: Roland Emmerich & Jeffrey Nachmanoff, story by Emmerich

Director: Emmerich

* So? Entertainingly cataclysmic.

The Mother

Drama

Sony Pictures Classics

With: Anne Reid, Peter Vaughan, Daniel Craig, Anna Wilson Jones, Danira Govich

The idea: A grandmother becomes involved with a man who is also sleeping with her daughter.

Writer: Hanif Kureishi

Director: Roger Michell

* So? Nudity and sex caused a stir in England.

Raising Helen

Romantic comedy

Touchstone Pictures

With: Kate Hudson, John Corbett, Joan Cusack, Hayden Panettiere, Spencer Breslin, Abigail Breslin, Helen Mirren

The idea: A Manhattan glamour girl unexpectedly becomes responsible for her sister’s three kids.

Writers: Jack Amiel & Michael Begler, story by Patrick J. Clifton & Beth Rigazio

Director: Garry Marshall

* So? Children are parents to the aunt.

Saved!

Comedy

United Artists

With: Jena Malone, Mandy Moore, Macaulay Culkin, Patrick Fugit, Heather Matarazzo, Eva Amurri, Martin Donovan, Mary-Louise Parker

The idea: At a Christian high school, a “good girl” winds up pregnant and an outcast as she questions everything she believed in.

Writers: Brian Dannelly & Michael Urban

Director: Dannelly

* So? Snide but true.

Soul Plane

Comedy

MGM

With: Tom Arnold, Godfrey, Kevin Hart, Brian Hooks, D.L. Hughley, K.D. Aubert, Arielle Kebbel, Loni Love, Method Man, Mo’Nique, Ryan Pinkston, Missi Pyle, Sommore, Sofia Vergara, Gary Anthony Williams, John Witherspoon, Snoop Dogg

The idea: A man starts a funkadelic airline after getting dissed in the not-so-friendly skies and winning a large lawsuit.

Writers: Bo Zenga & Chuck Wilson

Director: Jessy Terrero

* So? Destination Funkytown.

Springtime in a Small Town

Drama

Palm Pictures

With: Hu Jingfan, Wu Jun, Xin Bai Qing

The idea: A visitor brings a state of unease to the home of a well-respected Chinese family shortly after World War II.

Writer: Cheng Ah, based on 1949 film by Mu Fei, story by Tianji Li

Director: Tian Zhuangzhuang

* So? Disguised emotions.

June TBA

Broadway: The Golden Age

Documentary

Dada Films

With: Elizabeth Ashley, Eva Marie Saint, Fred Ebb, Carol Burnett, Betty Garrett, Donna McKechnie, Jerry Herman, Elaine Stritch, Jerry Orbach, Hal Prince, Angela Lansbury, Stephen Sondheim

The idea: Theater notables recall the glory days of the Great White Way.

Writer-director: Rich McKay

* So? Stellar interviews.

June 4

The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi

Action

Miramax

With: Beat Takeshi, Tadanobu Asano, Michiyo Ogusu, Yui Natsukawa, Guadalcanal Taka, Daigoro Tachibana, Yuko Daike, Ittoku Kishibe, Saburo Ishikura, Akira Emoto

The idea: The Japanese legend, a sightless nomad with amazing martial skills, crosses paths in a remote mountain village with some equally dangerous characters.

Writer-director: Takeshi Kitano, based on a short story by Kan Shimozawa

* So? Roving sightless swordsman-masseur.

The Five Obstructions

Experimental

Koch Lorber

With: Claus Nissen, Maiken Algren, Daniel Hernandez Rodriguez, Jacqueline Arenal.

The idea: Lars von Trier imposes a series of rules on his former teacher Jorgen Leth as he remakes his 1967 short “The Perfect Human” five times and then they discuss the results.

Writers-directors: Leth, von Trier.

* So? You either find Von Trier brilliant or you don’t.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Fantasy

Warner Bros.

With: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane, Michael Gambon, Richard Griffiths, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Fiona Shaw, Maggie Smith, Timothy Spall, David Thewlis, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters

The idea: The third year at Hogwarts brings aspiring wizards Harry, Ron and Hermione face to face with escapee.

Writer: Steve Kloves, based on the novel by J.K. Rowling

Director: Alfonso Cuaron

* So? Third time around.

Kaena: The Prophecy

Animated

Destination/Samuel Goldwyn

With: Voices of Kirsten Dunst, Richard Harris, Anjelica Huston

The idea: A teenage girl rebels against the people of her village to journey into the fantastical regions beyond the clouds and discover what is ailing the floating forest where they live.

Writers: Chris Delaporte and Tarik Hamdine

Directors: Delaporte and Pascal Pinon

* So? French animated sci-fi?

Twist

Drama

Strand Releasing

With: Nick Stahl, Joshua Close, Gary Farmer

The idea: Charles Dickens is translated to the contemporary streets of Toronto as young men sell their bodies.

Writer-director: Jacob Tierney

* So? Dickens does the hustle.

June 11

The Burial Society

Thriller

Regent Releasing

With: Rob LaBelle, Jan Rubes, Allan Rich, Bill Meilen, David Paymer, Seymour Cassel

The idea: A money-laundering scheme draws in an ordinary man trying to overcome his bland existence, leading to murderous twists.

Writer-director: Nicholas Racz

* So? Transition from shorts to features.

The Chronicles of Riddick

Science fiction epic

Universal

With: Vin Diesel, Thandie Newton, Karl Urban, Colm Feore, Linus Roache, Keith David, Yorick van Wageningen, Alexa Davalos, Nick Chinlund, Judi Dench

The idea: Sequel to “Pitch Black” finds Riddick imprisoned on the planet Helion under the control of an evil despot.

Writer-director: David Twohy, based on characters created by Jim & Ken Wheat

* So? Muscle-bound.

Control Room

Documentary

Magnolia Pictures

The idea: Exploration of perceptions around U.S.-Iraq war focusing on coverage by Al-Jazeera.

Director: Jehane Noujaim

* So? Topical, global, circumstantial.

Facing Windows

Drama

Sony Pictures Classics

With: Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Massimo Giroti, Raoul Bova, Filippo Nigro, Serra Yilmaz, Maria Grazia Bon, Massimo Poggio, Ivan Bacchi

The idea: The presence of a mysterious elderly man changes a young Italian woman’s life.

Writers: Gianni Romoli and Ozpetek

Director: Ozpetek

* So? Italian favorite of 2003.

Garfield

Comedy

Fox

With: Breckin Meyer, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Stephen Tobolowsky, Bill Murray (voice of Garfield), Debra Messing, Alan Cumming, Brad Garrett, Nick Cannon, Jimmy Kimmel, David Eigenberg

The idea: Jim Davis’ extraordinarily lazy feline makes the move to the big screen.

Writers: Joel Cohen & Alec Sokolow, based on Davis’ comic strip

Director: Peter Hewitt

* So? Funny fat cat.

My Sister Maria

Documentary

Rainbow Releasing

With: Maria Schell

The idea: Complex portrait of the German actress by her actor brother.

Director: Maximilian Schell

* So? Brotherly affectionate tribute.

Napoleon Dynamite

Comedy

Fox Searchlight

With: Jon Heder, Jon Gries, Aaron Ruell, Efren Ramirez, Tina Majorino, Diedrich Bader

The idea: Idaho dweller lives with his grandma and deals with interfering family members.

Writers: Jared Hess, Jerusha Hess

Director: Jared Hess

* So? Their own private Idaho.

Stander

Drama

Newmarket Films

With: Thomas Jane, Deborah Kara Unger, Dexter Fletcher, David Patrick O’Hara

The idea: A white policeman in 1970s South Africa challenges the policies of apartheid.

Writers: Ken Friedman, Bima Stagg

Director: Bronwen Hughes

* So? Apartheid antihero.

The Story of the Weeping Camel

Drama

ThinkFilm

With: Janchiv Ayurzana, Chimed Ohin, Amgaabazar Gonson

The idea: A mother camel rejects her newborn calf, precipitating a crisis for a family of Gobi Desert herders.

Writers-directors: Byambasuren Davaa, Luigi Falorni

* So? Compelling camels. Yes, really.

June 18

Darkness

Horror

Dimension Films

With: Anna Paquin, Lena Olin, Iain Glen, Giancarlo Giannini

The idea: A country home holds terrible secrets for its new residents, a teenage girl and her family.

Writers: Jaume Balaguero, Fernando de Felipe

Director: Balaguero

* So? ‘Fraid so

Dear Frankie

Drama

Miramax

With: Emily Mortimer, Gerard Butler, Sharon Small, Jack McElhone

The idea: A mother writes her son letters to keep him from learning the truth about his nonexistent father.

Writer: Andrea Gibb

Director: Shona Auerbach

* So? Truth or dare.

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story

Comedy

Fox

With: Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor, Rip Torn

The idea: A group of misfits bands together to save their local gym from being replaced by a glitzy fitness center.

Writer-director: Rawson Marshall Thurber

* So? Winning silliness.

The Terminal

Drama

DreamWorks

With: Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Stanley Tucci, Chi McBride, Diego Luna, Kumar Pallana, Zoe Saldana

The idea: A visitor from Eastern Europe is stranded at Kennedy Airport for months without a valid passport when his homeland erupts in war.

Writers: Sacha Gervasi and Jeff Nathanson, story by Andrew Niccol and Gervasi

Director: Steven Spielberg

* So? Hanks, lost and forlorn.

June 23

The Door in the Floor

Drama

Focus

With: Jeff Bridges, Kim Basinger, Jon Foster, Mimi Rogers, Bijou Phillips

The idea: The strained marriage of a famous children’s book author and his wife is transformed by the presence of a young man working as the writer’s summer assistant.

Writer-director: Tod Williams, based on John Irving’s novel “A Widow for a Year.”

* So? Menage.

June 25

De-lovely

Musical drama

MGM

With: Kevin Kline, Ashley Judd, Jonathan Pryce, Natalie Cole, Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, Lara Fabian, Mario Frangoulis, Vivian Green, Mick Hucknall, Diana Krall, Alanis Morissette, Robbie Williams

The idea: Musical set pieces tell the life story of composer Cole Porter.

Writer: Jay Cocks

Director: Irwin Winkler

* So? World according to Cole.

Father and Son

Drama

Wellspring Media

With: Andrey Schetinin, Aleksey Neymshev, Alexander Razbash

The idea: Close relationship with his dad makes it difficult for the son to move on when he attends military school.

Writer: Sergei Potepalov

Director: Alexander Sokurov

* So? Men-tal gymnastics.

The Intended

Drama

IFC Films

With: Janet McTeer, J.J. Field, Olympia Dukakis, Brenda Fricker

The idea: The passion that a woman and her younger lover display for another has a tragic effect on the small community at an isolated, jungle trading post.

Writers: Kristian Levring, McTeer

Director: Levring

* So? Distinctively intense.

Nicotina

Comedy

Arenas Entertainment

With: Diego Luna, Marta Belaustegui, Jesus Ochoa, Rose Maria Bianchi, Daniel Jimenez Cacho, Rafael Inclan

The idea: Real-time Mexico City caper unfolds with criminals and commoners in hot pursuit of 20 missing diamonds.

Writer: Martin Salinas

Director: Hugo Rodriguez

* So? Irreverent but derivative.

The Notebook

Drama

New Line

With: James Garner, Joan Allen, Gena Rowlands, Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams

The idea: The words from a journal bring to life a World War II love story about a couple reunited after seven years.

Writers: Jeremy Leven, adaptation by Jan Sardi based on Nicholas Sparks novel

Director: Nick Cassavetes

* So? Love comes full circle.

Time of the Wolf

Drama

Palm Pictures

With: Isabelle Huppert, Olivier Gourmet, Beatrice Dalle, Patrice Chereau, Maurice Benichou

The idea: In post-apocalyptic Europe, a family flees to its country home only to find it occupied by another family.

Writer-director: Michael Haneke

* So? Apocalyptically chilling.

Two Brothers

Drama

Universal

With: Guy Pearce, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu

The idea: Twin tiger cubs are separated and live very different lives until they are brought face to face to fight for sport.

Writers: Jean-Jacques Annaud, Alain Godard, story by Annaud

Director: Annaud

* So? Animal behavior.

June 30

Spider-Man 2

Action adventure

Columbia Pictures

With: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Alfred Molina, Rosemary Harris, Donna Murphy, J.K. Simmons

The idea: Spidey deals with duality as college student Peter Parker and the superhero who must battle the multi-tentacled Doc Ock.

Writers: Alvin Sargent, screen story by Alfred Gough & Miles Millar and Michael Chabon, based on the Marvel comic book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko

Director: Sam Raimi

* So? Twice as kinetic.

July TBA

Proteus

Drama

Strand Releasing

With: Rouxnet Brown, Shaun Smyth, Neil Sandilands, Kristen Thomson

The idea: Livestock herder in 18th century South Africa is unjustly accused of theft and begins an affair with a Dutch sailor.

Writers: John Greyson & Jack Lewis

Director: Greyson

* So? Forbidden zones of conduct

You’ll Get Over It (Tu verras ca te passera)

Drama

Picture This! Entertainment

With: Julien Baumgartner, Julia Maraval, Jeremie Elkaim, Francois Comar, Christiane Millet, Patrick Bonnel, Antoine Michel, Nils Ohlund

The idea: Gay-on-the-sly high school swimming star is outed and ostracized.

Writer: Vincent Molina

Director: Fabrice Cazaneuve

* So? Tightly constructed.

July 2

America’s Heart and Soul

Documentary

Walt Disney Pictures

The idea: Filmmaker crisscrosses the country to capture the beauty of the land and the spirit of its people.

Director: Louis Schwartzberg

* So? Why we call it the heartland.

Before Sunset

Drama

Warner Independent Pictures

With: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy

The idea: A man and a woman reunite in Paris nine years after spending a night talking in Vienna in “Before Sunrise.”

Writers: Hawke & Delpy & Richard Linklater & Kim Krizan, based on characters created by Krizan

Director: Linklater

* So? Love’s sting of regret.

The Best of Youth

Drama

Miramax

With: Luigi Lo Cascio, Alessio Boni, Adriana Asti, Sonia Bergamasco, Fabrizio Gifuni, Maya Sansa

The idea: Four decades in the lives of two Italian brothers, one of whom becomes a psychiatrist while the other joins the police force.

Writers: Sandro Petraglia, Stefano Rulli

Director: Marco Tullio Giordana

* So? Joys and ravages of time.

Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi

Comedy

Strand Releasing

With: Oshri Cohen, Esti Zakhaim, Aya Koren

The idea: Israeli teen who cooks and cleans while holding his family together is found to have hidden talents.

Writer-director: Shemi Zarhin

* So? Wryly observed.

The Clearing

Thriller

Fox Searchlight

With: Robert Redford, Helen Mirren, Willem Dafoe

The idea: A wealthy Pittsburgh man is kidnapped and negotiates for his life while his wife weathers the intensity of an FBI probe.

Writers: Justin Haythe, story by Pieter Jan Brugge and Haythe

Director: Brugge.

* So? Test of commitment.

Seducing Dr. Lewis (La Grande Seduction)

Comedy

Wellspring Media

With: Raymond Bouchard, David Boutin, Benoit Briere

The idea: A small French Canadian fishing village is failing and needs to lure a resident doctor to secure the building of a new factory.

Writer: Ken Scott

Director: Jean-Francois Pouliot

* So? Misrepresentative misadventures.

Undertaking Betty

Comedy

Miramax

With: Brenda Blethyn, Christopher Walken, Alfred Molina, Lee Evans, Naomi Watts, Robert Pugh

The idea: Complications arise when a Welsh undertaker’s business comes under siege by an American interloper and the woman he’s loved for years is about to become available.

Writer: Frederick Ponzlov

Director: Nick Hurran

* So? British comedy, the black kind.

Zhou Yu’s Train

Drama

Sony Pictures Classics

With: Gong Li, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Honglei Sun

The idea: An artist rides the train twice a week to visit her lover in rural China even after he’s left to teach in Tibet.

Writers: Sun Zhou, Bei Cun, Zhang Mei

Director: Sun Zhou

* So? Unconventional structure, sexuality.

July 9

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

Comedy

DreamWorks

With: Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, David Koechner, Fred Willard

The idea: It’s the ‘70s and the No. 1 TV newsman in San Diego is about to get a lesson in feminism.

Writers: Ferrell & Adam McKay

Director: McKay

* So? Man’s world rocked.

The Corporation

Documentary

Zeitgeist Films

With: Michael Moore, Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein, Howard Zinn, Milton Friedman

The idea: A look at the way large companies now dominate society.

Writer: Joel Bakan, based on his book

Directors: Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott

* So? The usual suspects.

Riding Giants

Documentary

Sony Pictures Classics

With: Greg Noll, Jeff Clark, Laird Hamilton

The idea: The story of the surfers who pursued the biggest waves at the greatest risk.

Writers: Stacy Peralta, Sam George

Director: Peralta

* So? Surfing, Peralta style.

Sleepover

Comedy

MGM

With: Alexa Vega, Mika Boorem, Jeff Garlin, Jane Lynch, Sara Paxton, Brie Larson

The idea: A slumber party turns into an adventure for a group of girls the summer before they enter high school.

Writer: Elisa Bell

Director: Joe Nussbaum

* So? Rite of passage.

July 16

A Cinderella Story

Romantic comedy

Warner Bros.

With: Hilary Duff, Jennifer Coolidge, Chad Michael Murray, Regina King

The idea: A contemporary update of the fairy tale with a high school senior dealing with her self-absorbed stepmother and wicked stepsisters.

Writer: Leigh Dunlap

Director: Mark Rosman

* So? Guess who Duff plays?

I, Robot

Action-thriller

Fox

With: Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan, Bruce Greenwood, James Cromwell, Chi McBride, Alan Tudyk

The idea: One man stands alone against the system as society’s reliance on technology breaks down in 2035.

Writers: Jeff Vintar and Akiva Goldsman, screen story by Vintar, suggested by Isaac Asimov’s book.

Director: Alex Proyas

* So? If it’s Will Smith sci-fi, it must be July.

Maria Full of Grace

Drama

HBO Films/Fine Line Features

With: Catalina Sandino Moreno, Yenny Paola Vega, Guilied Lopez, John Alex Toro, Patricia Rae

The idea: A young Colombian woman becomes a drug mule in hope of reaching New York City.

Writer-director: Joshua Marston

* So? Unpredictable, unnerving.

My Wife Maurice (Ma femme s’appelle Maurice)

Comedy

TLA Releasing

With: Alice Evans, Regis Laspales, Philippe Chevallier, Gotz Otto, Anemone, Martin Lamotte, Virginie Lemoine, Guy Marchand

The idea: A millionaire has a male stranger pretend to be his wife to foil his greedy mistress’ plans.

Writers: Jean-Marie Poire, Raffy Shart, based on Shart’s play

Director: Poire

* So? Low-brow humor.

Oliver Stone Presents: Bang Rajan

Drama

Magnolia Pictures

With: Chumporn Tapephitak, Atthakorn Suwannaraj, Pasakorn Aksornsuwan, Surachat Lorsungnerm, Jaran Ngamdee, Jai Pongsak.

The idea: Farmers in a small village in Siam stave off an 18th century invasion by Burmese troops.

Writers: Kongat Komsiri, Boontin Tuaykaew, Patikarn Petchmunee, Thanit Jitnukul, Sittipong Mattanavee.

Director: Jitnukul.

* So? Thailand’s biggest local hit.

Reconstruction

Drama romance

Palm Pictures

With: Marie Bonnevie, Nikolaj Lie Kaas.

The idea: A perfect one-night stand between a photographer and a writer’s neglected wife causes both of their worlds to come crashing down.

Writers: Christoffer Boe, Mogens Rukov.

Director: Boe.

* So? Danish dalliance.

Remember My Love

Drama

Roadside Attractions

With: Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Laura Morante, Monica Bellucci, Nicoletta Romanoff, Silvio Muccino.

The idea: Individual aspirations of an Italian family threaten its stability.

Writers: Gabriele Muccino & Heidrun Schleef.

Director: Gabriele Muccino.

* So? Italian family saga.

Touch of Pink

Romantic comedy

Sony Pictures Classics

With: Jimi Mistry, Kyle MacLachlan, Kristen Holden-Ried, Suleka Mathew.

The idea: A young South Asian Canadian man living in London is so obsessed with old movies that he thinks he’s cavorting with the spirit of Cary Grant.

Writer-director: Ian Iqbal Rashid.

* So? Delusions of candor.

July 23

Catwoman

Action adventure

Warner Bros.

With: Halle Berry, Benjamin Bratt, Sharon Stone, Lambert Wilson.

The idea: A shy woman transformed into a dynamo with feline superpowers walks the fine line between being good and bad.

Writers: John Brancato & Michael Ferris and John Rogers, story by Theresa Rebeck and Brancato & Ferris, based on characters created by Bob Kane and published by DC Comics.

Director: Pitof

* So? She’s got our tongue.

A Home at the End of the World

Drama

Warner Independent Pictures

With: Colin Farrell, Robin Wright Penn, Sissy Spacek, Dallas Roberts

The idea: Two best friends’ journey from Cleveland in the 1960s to New York in the ‘80s involves an intricate relationship with an older woman.

Writer: Michael Cunningham, based on his novel.

Director: Michael Mayer

* So? Complex Cunningham.

The Hunting of the President

Documentary

Regent Releasing

The idea: A look at the 10-year campaign to bring down President Clinton.

Directors: Harry Thomason and Nickolas Perry, based on the book by Joe Conason and Gene Lyons

* So? Depends on your orientation.

July 28

Intimate Strangers (Confidences Trop Intimes)

Drama

Paramount Classics

With: Fabrice Luchini, Sandrine Bonnaire, Michel Duchaussoy

The idea: A misunderstanding leads a woman to confide her problems to a tax advisor whom she thinks is a psychiatrist.

Writers: Patrice Leconte and Jerome Tonnerre

Director: Leconte

* So? Better than eavesdropping.

July 30

Festival Express

Documentary

ThinkFilm

With: Janis Joplin, the Band, the Grateful Dead.

The idea: In 1970, Canada’s mobile answer to Woodstock traveled from Toronto to Winnipeg and Calgary via a customized train.

Director: Bob Smeaton.

* So? This we must see.

Garden State

Comedy

Fox Searchlight

With: Zach Braff, Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Ian Holm

The idea: His mother’s funeral and being off his depression medication reawaken a young man to the possibilities of life.

Writer-director: Braff

* So? Inconsequential but impressive.

Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle

Comedy

New Line

With: John Cho, Kal Penn

The idea: A Friday night burger run turns into an existential party quest for a pair of unlikely dudes.

Writers: Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg

Director: Danny Leiner

* So? A multicultural Bill & Ted.

The Manchurian Candidate

Psychological thriller

Paramount

With: Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, Liev Schreiber, Jon Voight, Kimberly Elise, Jeffrey Wright, Ted Levine

The idea: Desert Storm replaces Korea as the back story in this remake about a career Army man investigating a former colleague, now a vice presidential candidate.

Writers: Daniel Pyne, based on screenplay by George Axelrod, based on novel by Richard Condon

Director: Jonathan Demme

* So? Faux Manchu

She Hate Me

Comedy

Sony Pictures Classics

With: Anthony Mackie, Kerry Washington, Ellen Barkin, Monica Bellucci, Jim Brown, Sarita Choudhury, Ossie Davis, Brian Dennehy, Woody Harrelson, Bai Ling, Lonette McKee, Paula Jai Parker, Dania Ramirez, Q-Tip, John Turturro.

The idea: After losing his job and blowing the whistle on his former company, a biotech engineer finds a new career acting as a stud for lesbians.

Writers: Michael Genet and Spike Lee, story by Genet

Director: Lee

* So? Faces familiar and new.

Thunderbirds

Action-adventure

Universal

With: Bill Paxton, Anthony Edwards, Sophia Myles, Brady Corbet, Soren Fulton, Vanessa Anne Hudgens, Ben Kingsley

The idea: The ‘60s British TV puppets series comes to life as a former astronaut and his five sons operate the top-secret organization International Rescue -- and the high-tech vehicles that go with it.

Writers: William Osborne and Michael McCullers, story by Peter Hewitt and Osbourne, based on the television series

Director: Jonathan Frakes

* So? Odd potential for big screen.

The Village

Suspense thriller

Touchstone Pictures

With: Joaquin Phoenix, Adrien Brody, Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Brendan Gleeson

The idea: The woods surrounding an isolated community are full of terrifying creatures.

Writer-director: M. Night Shyamalan

* So? More things that go bump in the Night.

August TBA

Head in the Clouds

Drama

Sony Pictures Classics

With: Charlize Theron, Stuart Townsend, Penelope Cruz

The idea: Clashing ideals in pre-World War II Europe divide bohemian friends.

Writer-director: John Duigan

* So? Where else?

The Iron Ladies 2

Comedy

Strand Releasing

With: Jessadaporn Pholdee, Sahapap Virakamin and Giorgio Maiocchi

The idea: Success spoils things as the members of a gay volleyball squad have creative differences.

Writer-director: Youngyooth Thongkonthun

* So? Sequel to modest gay hit.

September Tapes

Drama

First Look

With: George Calil, Wali Rezaqi

The idea: U.S. journalist goes to Afghanistan in 2002 to learn the truth about Osama bin Laden.

Writers: Christian Johnston, Christian Van Gregg.

Director: Johnston

* So? Ostensibly subversive.

Swimming Upstream

Drama

MGM

With: Geoffrey Rush, Judy Davis, Jesse Spencer

The idea: Australian swimmer pursues Olympic gold to earn his alcoholic father’s approval in the 1950s.

Writer: Anthony Fingleton, based on the book by Anthony Fingleton and Diane Fingleton

Director: Russell Mulcahy

* So? Triumph over dysfunction.

Testosterone

Drama

Strand Releasing

With: David Sutcliffe, Jennifer Coolidge, Antonio Sabato Jr., Celina Font, Leonardo Brzezicki, Sonia Braga

The idea: Venice Beach graphic novelist pursues his hunky AWOL lover to Argentina.

Writers: David Moreton and Dennis Hensley, based on the novel by James Robert Baker

Director: Moreton

* So? Overambitious, underdeveloped.

Transfixed (Mauvais genres)

Thriller

Picture This! Entertainment

With: Robinson Stevenin, Richard Bohringer, Stephane Metzger

The idea: A Brussels transvestite searches for serial killer terrorizing the transgendered community while a detective investigates him for the crimes.

Writers: Philip Cougrand, Francis Girod, based on the novel by Brigitte Aubert

Director: Girod

* So? Literal translation is “bad genres.”

Aug. 6

Bright Young Things

Comedy

ThinkFilm

With: Stephen Campbell Moore, Emily Mortimer, Dan Aykroyd, Jim Broadbent, Simon Callow, Stockard Channing, Richard E. Grant, John Mills, Peter O’Toole

The idea: Young, broke aristocrat schemes to raise the money to marry his bored fiancee, while his circle pursues increasingly decadent activities.

Writer-director: Stephen Fry, based on the Evelyn Waugh novel “Vile Bodies.”

* So? Lively, literate.

Code 46

Drama

United Artists

With: Tim Robbins, Samantha Morton

The idea: In a future where special papers are required to travel, an investigator falls desperately in love with a forger.

Writer: Frank Cottrell Boyce

Director: Michael Winterbottom

* So? Intriguingly minimal. Or vice versa?

Collateral

Thriller

DreamWorks

With: Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinkett Smith; Mark Ruffalo, Peter Berg, Javier Bardem, Bruce McGill

The idea: The quiet life of an L.A. cabbie takes a chilling turn when he spends an evening driving an assassin on his rounds.

Writers: Stuart Beattie, Frank Darabont and Michael Mann

Director: Mann

* So? Manly men.

Danny Deckchair

Comedy

Lions Gate

With: Rhys Ifans, Miranda Otto, Justine Clarke, Rhys Muldoon, John Batchelor, Alan Flower.

The idea: A helium-balloon fueled flying deckchair allows an Australian cement truck driver to escape his mundane life and start over in a new place.

Writer-director: Jeff Balsmeyer.

* So? Whatever.

The Green Butchers

Comedy

Newmarket Films

With: Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Mads Mikkelsen

The idea: Business is slow for a new butcher shop until an accidental death and desperate measures lead to a popular new ingredient.

Writer-director: Anders Thomas Jensen

* So? Think “Sweeney Todd” without the tunes.

Open Water

Thriller

Lions Gate

With: Blanchard Ryan, Daniel Travis, Saul Stein, Estelle Lau, Michael E. Williamson, Christina Zenaro, John Charles.

The idea: A couple’s vacation takes a frightening turn when they are left at sea while scuba-diving.

Writer-director: Chris Kentis

* So? You thought it was finally safe

Aug. 11

Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement

Romantic comedy

Walt Disney Pictures

With: Anne Hathaway, Heather Matarazzo, Hector Elizondo, Caroline Goodall, John Rhys-Davies, Callum Blue, Chris Pine, Julie Andrews

The idea: Princess Mia trades in her tiara for the Genovian crown but first must find herself a husband.

Writer: Shonda Rhimes

Director: Garry Marshall

* So? Endearing but overdone.

Aug. 13

Merci Docteur Rey

Comedy

Regent Releasing

With: Dianne Wiest, Jane Birkin, Stanislas Merhar, Jerry Hall, Simon Callow, Vanessa Redgrave

The idea: Parisian farce about a young man witnessing a murder, struggling with his homosexuality and dealing with his opera diva mother and an unhinged actress.

Writer-director: Andrew Litvack

* So? Good thing he doesn’t want to get married.

Tom Dowd & the Language of Music

Documentary

Palm Pictures

With: Tom Dowd, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, the Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Les Paul, Aretha Franklin, Joe Bonamassa, Ahmet Ertegun, Jerry Wexler, Phil Ramone, Arif Mardin, Mike Stoller, Al Schmitt

The idea: The producer and engineer’s contributions to the recording industry are captured in interviews and music.

Director: Mark Moorman

* So? Phenomenal music industry figure.

Twin Sisters

Drama

Miramax

With: Ellen Vogel, Thekla Reuten, Nadja Uhl, Gudrun Okras

The idea: Siblings are separated and face different fates during World War II, with one sent to Nazi Germany while the other goes to the Netherlands to live with relatives sheltering Jews.

Writers: Marieke van der Pol, based on the book by Tessa de Loo

Director: Ben Sombogaart

* So? Dutch treat.

We Don’t Live Here Anymore

Drama

Warner Independent Pictures

With: Mark Ruffalo, Laura Dern, Peter Krause, Naomi Watts

The idea: Adultery pulls at two couples in a New England college town.

Writer: Larry Gross, based on short stories by Andre Dubus II

Director: John Curran

* So? Literary adultery.

Yu-gi-oh!

Animated adventure

Warner Bros.

The idea: A boy is caught up in a trading card game that offers more than mere fun -- the fate of the world is at stake.

Director: Ryosuke Takahashi

* So? Unfathomably popular among kids.

Aug. 20

Cowboys & Angels

Drama

TLA Releasing

With: Michael Legge, Allen Leech, Amy Shiels

The idea: Young Irishman moves to Limerick seeking success, is befriended by an aspiring fashion designer and meets the girl of his dreams.

Writer-director: David Gleeson

* So? Queer eye.

Exorcist: The Beginning

Thriller

Warner Bros.

With: Stellan Skarsgard, Gabriel Mann

The idea: Father Merrin encounters the devil in Africa after World War II.

Writers: Alexi Hawley, story by William Wisher and Calen Carr

Director: Paul Schrader (Renny Harlin did reshoots)

* So? Significantly reworked; not usually a good sign.

Gozu

Horror

Pathfinder

With: Hideki Sone, Sho Aikawa, Kimika Yoshino

The idea: Freshly indoctrinated into the Yakuza, a mobster is ordered to kill his boss, propelling him into a world of strange experiences.

Writer: Sakichi Sato

Director: Takashi Miike

* So? Weird but not bad.

Hero

Action

Miramax

With: Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Maggie Cheung Man-Yuk, Zhang Ziyi, Chen Dao Ming, Donnie Yen

The idea: One man stands in the way of three assassins intent on killing the future first emperor of China.

Writers: Li Feng, Zhang Yimou, Wang Bin

Director: Zhang Yimou

* So? Martial arty.

I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead

Thriller

Paramount Classics

With: Clive Owen, Charlotte Rampling, Malcolm McDowell, Jonathan Rhys-Meyer

The idea: A self-exiled criminal returns to the underworld to probe his adventurous younger brother’s death.

Writer: Trevor Preston

Director: Mike Hodges

* So? Noteworthy for reteaming of Owen and Hodges

Red Lights (Feux Rouges)

Thriller

Wellspring Media

With: Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Carole Bouquet

The idea: A bickering French couple’s holiday weekend really sours when the wife goes missing.

Writers: Cedric Kahn, Laurence Ferreira-Barbosa with Gilles Marchand, based on the novel by Georges Simenon

Director: Kahn

* So? Twists, turns, alcohol, not necessarily in that order.

Aug. 27

Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid

Horror-thriller

Screen Gems

With: Johnny Messner, Matthew Marsden, Morris Chestnut, KaDee Strickland, Salli Richardson, Nicholas Gonzalez, Eugene Byrd

The idea: The search for a rare flower deep in the jungles of Borneo leads scientists to encounter its very intimidating protector.

Writers: Mike Miner & Ed Neumeier and John Claflin & Daniel Zelman; story by Hans Bauer & Jim Cash & Jack Epps Jr. and Miner & Neumeier.

Director: Dwight Little.

* So? A lot of really big snakes.

Andromedia

Science fiction

Pathfinder

With: Speed, Tsunehiko Watase, Naoto Takenaka

The idea: A grieving father has his late daughter re-created by a computer programmer as artificial intelligence leading to murder.

Writers: Itaru Era, Kurio Kisaragi, Joel Metzger, based on novel by Kozy Watanabe

Director: Takashi Miike

* So? Not smart to bring back the dead.

Warriors of Heaven and Earth

Action

Sony Pictures Classics

With: Jiang Wen, Kiichi Nakai, Wang Xueqi, Zhao Wei, Hasi Bagen, He Tao, Harrison Liu, Wang Deshun, Yang Haiquan, Yeerjiang Mahepushen, Zhou Yun

The idea: In the Gobi desert, a Japanese emissary’s mission to execute a renegade soldier is sidetracked when the two men must team to protect a caravan transporting a Buddhist monk and a valuable treasure threatened by thieves.

Writers: He Ping, Zhang Rui

Director: Ping

* So? High adventure on the Silk Road.

Zelary

Drama

Sony Pictures Classics

With: Ana Geislerova, Gyorgy Cserhalmi, Jaroslava Adamova, Miroslav Donutil

The idea: A nurse in the Czech resistance is forced to give up her urban life and go into hiding in a backward village posing as the wife of a mountain man.

Writers: Petr Jarchovsky, based on a novel by Kveta Legatova

Director: Ondrej Trojan

* So? Czech Oscar nominee.

September TBA

The Raspberry Reich

Comedy

Strand Releasing

With: Daniel Batscher, Angela Davis, Susanne Sachsse

The idea: The female leader of a German revolutionary group forces her straight male followers to have sex with one another to prove their commitment to the cause.

Writer-director: Bruce LaBruce

* So? Demographic-specific.

Sept. 1

Vanity Fair

Drama

Focus

With: Reese Witherspoon, Eileen Atkins, Jim Broadbent, Gabriel Byrne, Romola Garai, Bob Hoskins, Rhys Ifans, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, James Purefoy

The idea: Becky Sharp uses her wiles to transcend her lower-class birth and make her way through London society of the 1820s.

Writers: Matthew Faulk and Mark Skeet, Julian Fellowes, based on the novel by William Makepeace Thackeray

Director: Mira Nair

* So? The queen of literary social climbers.

Sept. 3

The Cookout

Comedy

Lions Gate

With: Queen Latifah, Ja Rule, Tim Meadows, Jenifer Lewis, Storm P, Jonathan Silverman, Meagan Good, Farrah Fawcett, Frankie Faison, Eve, Danny Glover

The idea: As a black man in an upscale white neighborhood, a No. 1 NBA draft pick makes an impression on his new neighbors when he has a raucous backyard gathering with his extended family.

Writers: Laurie B. Turner & Ramsey Gbelawoe and Ramsey Gbelawoe & Jeffrey Brian Holmes, story by Queen Latifah & Shakim Compere & Daryl “Latee” French

Director: Lance Rivera

* So? Combustible.

Paparazzi

Thriller

Fox

With: Cole Hauser, Robin Tunney, Dennis Farina, Tom Sizemore

The idea: An actor seeks revenge after hounding by tabloid journalists nearly results in tragedy.

Writer: Forrest Smith

Director: Paul Abascal

* So? Mel Gibson produced.

Sept. 10

Criminal

Thriller

Warner Independent Pictures

With: John C. Reilly, Diego Luna, Maggie Gyllenhaal

The idea: Unlikely L.A. partners in crime are forced to turn to one’s sister to fence a valuable piece of currency.

Writers: Gregory Jacobs & Steven Sam Lowry, based on film “Nueve Reinas”

Director: Jacobs

* So? A crime if it isn’t good.

Infernal Affairs

Thriller

Miramax

With: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Andy Lau, Lam Ka Tung, Ng Ting Yip, Wan Chi Keung

The idea: Hong Kong cops face off from different sides of gangland conflict.

Writers: Alan Mak, Felix Chong

Directors: Andrew Lau, Mak

* So? Slick, tense Hong Kong hit.

Pauly Shore Is Dead

Comedy

Regent Releasing

With: Pauly Shore, Jaime Bergman, Ben Stiller, Sean Penn, Fred Durst, Tom Sizemore, Chris Rock, Whoopi Goldnerg, Heidi Fleiss, Ellen DeGeneres, Kurt Loder

The idea: Mockumentary in which the comedian, depressed over his career, fakes his own death and becomes the hottest thing in Hollywood.

Writers: Kirk Fox, Shore

Director: Shore

* So? If only.

Yes Nurse! No Nurse!

Musical comedy

Here! Films/Regent Releasing

With: Loes Luca, Paul R. Kooij, Paul de Leeuw, Tjitske Reidinga, Waldemar Torenstra.

The idea: Based on a Dutch TV series from the 1960s in which residents of a nursing home fight eviction.

Writers: Harry Bannink, Frank Houtappels, Pieter Kramer, story by Annie M.G. Schmidt

Director: Kramer.

* So? Slap us.

TBA

Bright Leaves

Documentary

First Run Features

The idea: The filmmaker reflects upon how the historical and personal legacies of tobacco have impacted his native North Carolina.

Director: Ross McElwee.

* So? McElwee’s granddad created Bull Durham brand.

Metallica: Some Kind of Monster

Documentary

IFC Films

With: The idea: Up-close-and personal with the band as it creates an album, takes on Napster and seeks group therapy.

Directors: Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky

* So? No wonder they bang their heads.

Without a Paddle

Comedy-adventure

Paramount

With: Seth Green, Matthew Lillard, Dax Shepard, Ethan Suplee, Abraham Benrubi, Rachel Blanchard, Burt Reynolds

The idea: Lost treasure lures three young men into the Oregon wilderness where they encounter dope farmers, hippie chicks and lunatic mountain man.

Writers: Jay Leggett & Mitch Rouse, story by Fred Wolf and Harris Goldberg & Tom Nursall

Director: Steven Brill

* So? Misbehavin’ rednecks.