What to Watch When

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The New York Sun

September 24


A Dirty Shame


2004 is fast becoming the year of the NC-17 rating. This John Waters film will be the third to sport the uber-mature rating (the other two were “Young Adam” and “The Dreamers”). Waters’s newest cult ode to filth features Tracy Ullman as an uptight wife and mother, until a bout of amnesia turns her into a depraved sex addict.


The Forgotten


Julianne Moore stars in this psychological thriller about a woman looking for her 8-year- old son, only to be told that her son never even existed. Is she going insane, or is there a massive conspiracy afoot?


October 1


I Heart Huckabees


An offbeat comedy from David O. Russell, director of “Flirting with Disaster” and “Three Kings.” “Huckabees” stars Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin as a pair of existential detectives investigating a series of supposed coincidences. Jason Schwartzman, Jude Law, and Naomi Watts costar.


Ladder 49


Jay Russell’s (“My Dog Skip”) fire-fighting tale stars Joaquin Phoenix as Jack, a firefighter caught in the worst blaze of his career. John Travolta co-stars as Jack’s chief and mentor, trying to save him from a potentially deadly conflagration.


Shark Tale


Or “Goodfish.” The Dreamworks 3-D animated flick features the voices of Will Smith and Jack Black as a pair of undersea creatures trying to pull a fast one on the local Mafia. Will they succeed or will they, uh, sleep with the fishes? Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese turn up as a couple of sharks.


October 8


Taxi


Jimmy Fallon as a cop? Say, that is funny. The ex-SNLer costars with Queen Latifah as a down-on-his luck police officer who teams up with a sassy cab driver to pursue a gang of female bank robbers in this action-comedy remake of the French hit.


October 15


Shall We Dance?


Peter Chelsom’s (“Serendipity”) remake of the Japanese romantic drama stars Richard Gere as a workaholic who gets swept up in the world of ballroom dancing. With Jennifer Lopez teaching dance, who wouldn’t?


Team America: World Police


South Park guys Trey Parker and Matt Stone return to feature filmmaking with this Thunderbird-esque action comedy satire featuring sex, violence, and puppets. Lots and lots of puppets.


October 20


Sideways


Critic’s darling Alexander Payne’s (“Election,” “About Schmidt”) latest stars Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church as a mismatched pair of wine aficionados hitting the open road before the latter gets married. Life lessons are surely learned, and Sandra Oh and Virginia Madsen costar.


October 22

Alfie


What’s it all about? Jude Law takes over for Michael Caine in Charles Shyer’s update about the deplorable playboy who learns that the single life may not be what he’s looking for in the end.


Surviving Christmas


When Drew Latham (Ben Affleck) returns home one Christmas, he bribes the family living in his childhood home (headed by James Gandolfini and Catherine O’Hara) to treat him like a son and let him celebrate Christmas with them. This has got to be funnier than it sounds, right?


October 29


Enduring Love


Roger Michell (“Notting Hill”) switches gears from fluffy romantic comedies to a creepy, unsettling drama adapted from Ian McEwan’s novel. Daniel Craig (“Road to Perdition”) plays Joe, one of a handful of witnesses to a horrible accident. As he tries to move on with his life with his girlfriend (Samantha Morton), a fellow witness (Rhys Ifans) begins to obsess over him, with devastating results.


Ray


Jamie Foxx plays the late musical legend Ray Charles in Taylor Hackford’s (“An Officer and A Gentleman”) biopic. The film chronicles his life from when he went blind as a child, through his bout with heroin, to his official status as American Icon.


November 5


Alexander


Oliver Stone beat Baz Luhrman to the market and made his Alexander the Great film first. Colin Farrell stars as the world’s most famous conqueror. Val Kilmer, Anthony Hopkins and Angelina Jolie costar.


The Incredibles


Pixar is five-for-five in its featurelength pictures, and here, teaming up with animation great Brad Bird (“The Simpsons,” “The Iron Giant”), there’s no reason not to expect this superhero spoof to be another home run.


November 10


The Polar Express


Robert Zemeckis’s ambitious family film is completely computer-generated, in eerily lifelike detail, and teams him with Tom Hanks for the third time. Mr. Hanks plays five characters, including the conductor of the fabled Polar Express, a train that runs straight to the North Pole with a group of children aboard. All expect presents when they arrive, no doubt.


Seed of Chucky


Don Mancini, who has either written or co-written every “Chucky” movie, directs this instalment, which features the killer doll becoming a dad and finding that he doesn’t have the patience for Child’s Play (ho ho). Also, he kills a lot of people. Jennifer Tilly co-stars as both the doll that holds Chucky’s heart and, funnily enough, herself.


November 12



After the Sunset


Pierce Brosnan may not be James Bond anymore, but that hasn’t stopped him from taking on suave roles. Here, he plays a Thomas Crown-esque thief who has retired to an exotic island with his criminal wife (Salma Hayek). But his FBI nemesis (Woody Harrelson) doesn’t believe this thief has given up his stealin’ ways. A cat-and-mouse game soon emerges.


Finding Neverland


Johnny Depp plays eccentric author J.M. Barrie, whose close relationship with four fatherless children eventually inspired him to write Peter Pan. Marc Forster (“Monster’s Ball”) directs.


Kinsey


Liam Neeson eventually dropped out of “Exorcist: The Beginning” to star in this biopic about sexuality researcher Alfred Kinsey. This appears to have been a good career move.


November 19


Bad Education


Pedro Almodovar’s new film will surely cause a controversy, but will almost certainly win praise as well (his films always do). “Y Tu Mamá También’s” Gael García Bernal stars in this melodrama about two childhood friends, one who was sexually abused by his priest. The two friends meet up years later and grapple with their shattered pasts.


Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason


After her father is murdered by drug-dealing mobsters, Bridget finds herself embarking on a bloody, vengeance-soaked rampage to settle the score in this sequel to the 2001 hit. Actually, none of that’s true: Most likely she has more relationship problems, and Hugh Grant acts foppish, or caddish, or both.


November 24


Beyond the Sea


Kevin Spacey directs, and stars (and does his own singing) as Bobby Darrin, the singer whose bad heart finally gave out on him at age 37 (which is 8 years younger than Mr. Spacey is presently). The Cole Porter movie, “De-Lovely” didn’t work; perhaps this will.


November 26


A Very Long Engagement


“Amelie” director Jean-Pierre Jeunet and star Audrey Tautou return in the adaptation of the Sebastien Japrisot novel about a paralyzed woman’s search for her fiancée, previously assumed dead. Jodie Foster shows off her bilingual skills: Her co-starring role is exclusively in French.


December 3


Closer


Mike Nichols directs this Oscar-bait work about two couples whose relationships begin to deteriorate when the man in one becomes uncomfortably close the woman in the other. An allstar cast includes Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Clive Owen, and Natalie Portman.


December 10


Blade: Trinity


Supposedly the last of this vampire-hunter franchise, though we’ll see about that. Series writer David S. Goyer gets a crack at directing Wesley Snipes as the vampire hunter, who must save humanity when an apocalyptic event turns the tide in the vampire’s favor.


Ocean’s Twelve


Catherine Zeta-Jones joins in on the fun when Danny Ocean’s gang gets together for three major heists throughout Europe (apparently the millions they got away with in Vegas last time wasn’t enough). Director Steven Soderbergh returns, as does the entire starring cast from the first film, including George Clooney, Julia Roberts, and the villainous Andy Garcia.


December 17


The Aviator

Scorsese returns with his “Gangs of New York” lead Leonardo Dicaprio in this movie about a young Howard Hughes. The film takes place from the 1920s through the 1940s — focusing on Hughes’s obsession with test-flying innovative aircrafts he designed and keeping his hands full with the movies he directed. Supporting roles are filled out by Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin, and rocker Gwen Stefani in her first screen role.


Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events


The long-awaited adaptation of the children’s book I’ve never heard of stars Jim Carrey as the mysterious and mischievous Count Olaf, the guardian of a couple of orphaned children whose large inheritance Olaf has a keen interest in. Directed by Bad Siberling, who turned in the vile “Casper” last time he directed a children’s picture. Certainly this has better prospects.


Spanglish


Adam Sandler’s quest for critical respectability continues with his starring role in acclaimed filmmaker James L. Brooks’s follow-up to “As Good as It Gets.” Mr. Sandler plays opposite Tea Leoni as a wealthy American couple who hire a beautiful Mexican woman (Paz Vega) searching for a better life for her daughter (Victoria Luna).


December 22


Meet the Fockers


Lighting didn’t strike twice for the “Analyze This” movies. Perhaps this DeNiro-comedy franchise will fare better. The whole gang’s back in this sequel to 2000’s “Meet The Parents,” with Dustin Hoffman and Barbara Striesand (in her first non-producer/directorial role since 1987s “Nuts”) playing the title family. The original got its laughs by embarrassing Ben Stiller over and over again. If it ain’t broke…


December 24


The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou


The indispensable Bill Murray stars alongside Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, and a host of others in this offbeat comedy from Wes Anderson (“Bottle Rocket,” “Rushmore”). Playing a Jacques Cousteau-like oceanographer, Mr. Murray and his crew search for the elusive “jauguar shark” who ate his partner years ago. Underwater sequences are put together by stop-motion animation master Henry Selick (“The Nightmare Before Christmas”).


Proof


The story goes that Studio Chief Harvey Weinstein bought the movie rights to David Auburn’s hit play for Gwyneth Paltrow’s birthday. All I got was a stupid card. Ms. Paltrow is re-teamed with her “Shakespeare in Love” director John Madden in this adaptation about a woman who comes to terms with the death of her father (Anthony Hopkins), a brilliant mathematician who was plagued by mental illness.


An Unfinished Life


Robert Redford and Jennifer Lopez co-star in director Lasse Hallström’s first film since “The Shipping News.” Ms. Lopez plays a single mother who moves back in with the father-in-law (Mr. Redford), who has long blamed her for his son’s death.


December 25


Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera


Joel Schumacher (“Batman and Robin”) directs the long-awaited Andrew Lloyd Webber Musical. Gerard Butler stars as the gothic title character and Emmy Rossum (“Mystic River”) plays his forbidden love, Christine. Look for chandeliers to be falling across America come Christmas Day.


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