A season with character

By Kevin Crust and Kinsey Lowe

Sept. 11, 2005 12 AM PT

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Friday

Cry Wolf

Thriller

Focus Features

With: Julian Morris, Lindy Booth, Jared Padalecki, Jon Bon Jovi, Sandra McCoy, Kristy Wu

The idea: An Internet prank comes back to haunt a high school “liars’ club” when someone -- or something -- begins hunting its members.

Writers: Jeff Wadlow & Beau Bauman

Director: Wadlow

* So? Truth or dare

Everything Is Illuminated

Drama

Warner Independent Pictures

With: Elijah Wood, Eugene Hutz, Boris Leskin

The idea: A young man sets out for Ukraine to find the woman who saved his grandfather from the Nazis.

Writer-director: Liev Schreiber, based on the novel by Jonathan Safran Foer

* So? Touching

HellBent

Horror

here!/Regent Releasing

With: Dylan Fergus, Bryan Kirkwood, Hank Harris

The idea: A gay slasher film set on Halloween night in the middle of West Hollywood’s outrageous street celebration.

Writer-director: Paul Etheredge-Ouzts

* So? The sashaying slasher

Just Like Heaven

Comedy

DreamWorks

With: Reese Witherspoon, Mark Ruffalo, Donal Logue, Dina Waters, Ben Shenkman, Jon Heder

The idea: A San Francisco

man sublets an apartment that is not exactly uninhabited.

Writers: Peter Tolan and Leslie Dixon, based on the novel “If Only It Were True” by Marc Levy

Director: Mark Waters

* So? Out of body, not mind

Kamikaze Girls

Comedy

Viz Media

With: Kyoko Fukada, Anna Tsuchiya

The idea: An unusual friendship develops between a bored Japanese girl whose fashion sense runs to 18th century France and a member of an all-female biker gang.

Writer-director: Tetsuya Nakashima, inspired by Novala Takemoto’s novel “Shimotsuma Story”

* So? Kinks and geeks

Keane

Drama

Magnolia Pictures

With: Damian Lewis, Amy Ryan, Abigail Breslin

The idea: A distraught man, whose own daughter disappeared months earlier, seeks salvation with a poor woman and her daughter.

Writer-director: Lodge Kerrigan

* So? Guilt trip

Lord of War

Action-adventure

Lions Gate Films

With: Nicolas Cage, Ethan Hawke, Bridget Moynahan, Jared Leto, Ian Holm

The idea: Fact-based tale of an international arms dealer pursued by a persistent Interpol agent.

Writer-director: Andrew Niccol

* So? Qualms of a gun runner

Proof

Drama

Miramax Films

With: Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthony Hopkins, Jake Gyllenhaal, Hope Davis

The idea: The daughter of a mathematics professor struggles over which trait she may have inherited -- the insanity or the genius?

Writers: David Auburn and Rebecca Miller, based on Auburn’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play

Director: John Madden

* So? Convincingly enigmatic

The Thing About My Folks

Comedy-drama

Picturehouse

With: Peter Falk, Paul Reiser, Olympia Dukakis, Elizabeth Perkins, Mackenzie Connolly, Lydia Jordan

The idea: Shortly after his wife of 40 years leaves him, a father and his middle-aged son take a spur-of-the-moment road trip through upstate New York.

Writer: Paul Reiser

Director: Raymond De Felitta

* So? Strife with father

Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride

Animated

Warner Bros. Pictures

With: Voices of Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, Albert Finney, Richard E. Grant, Joanna Lumley, Christopher Lee

The idea: Stop-action animated tale of a young man whisked from his 19th century European village to wed the title character while his real fiancee waits in the Land of the Living.

Writers: Caroline Thompson, Pamela Pettler, John August

Directors: Mike Johnson and Tim Burton

* So? Cool ghoul

The Tunnel

Thriller

Avatar Films

With: Heino Ferch, Nicolette Krebitz, Sebastian Koch

The idea: A former East German swimmer escapes to the West and hatches an elaborate plan to rescue his family.

Writer: Johannes W. Betz

Director: Roland Suso Richter

* So? Digging history

Venom

Horror

Dimension Films

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

The idea: Louisiana teenagers battle voodoo terror in the bayou.

Writers: Flint Dille & John Zuur Platten and Brandon Boyce; story by Dille & Platten

Director: Jim Gillespie

* So? Slithery

Walking on the Sky

Drama

Echelon

With: Carl T. Evans, Randall Batinkoff, Chris Henry Coffey, Nicole Fonarow, Kristen Marie Holly

The idea: Six young adults reunite after the death of a friend, but revelations in his diary test their relationships.

Writer-director: Carl T. Evans

* So? Contentious

Sept. 23

Daltry Calhoun

Comedy

Miramax Films

With: Johnny Knoxville, Sophie Traub, Elizabeth Banks, Juliette Lewis

The idea: Estranged teenage daughter of golf mogul suddenly shows up, throwing his life into chaos.

Writer-director: Katrina Holden Bronson

* So? Stroke of luck

Dear Wendy

Drama

Wellspring

With: Jamie Bell, Bill Pullman, Michael Angarano, Mark Webber, Chris Owen

The idea: A group of young outsiders forges a potentially dangerous bond collecting antique guns.

Writer: Lars Von Trier

Director: Thomas Vinterberg

* So? Von Trier revisits the U.S. without setting foot

here.

Flightplan

Thriller

Touchstone Pictures

With: Jodie Foster, Peter Sarsgaard, Erika Christensen, Sean Bean

The idea: A woman insists her daughter disappeared during a transatlantic flight, but evidence seems to indicate the girl was never aboard.

Writers: Peter A. Dowling and Billy Ray

Director: Robert Schwentke

* So? Fasten seat belt light is on

Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D

Large-format documentary

Imax/Playtone Pictures

With: Voices of Morgan Freeman, John Travolta, Paul Newman, Matt Damon, Matthew McConaughey

The idea: Show the world wonders previously experienced by only 12 men.

Writers: Tom Hanks, Mark Cowen

Director: Cowen

* So? Moonwalking via Imax

Oliver Twist

Drama

TriStar Pictures

With: Ben Kingsley, Jamie Foreman, Barney Clark, Harry Eden, Leanne Rowe, Edward Hardwicke, Mark Strong

The idea: 19th century classic about the London orphan who comes under the spell of the dastardly Fagin and his gang of juvenile thieves.

Writer: Ronald Harwood, based on the novel by Charles Dickens

Director: Roman Polanski

* So? Vividly bleak

Roll Bounce

ComedyFox Searchlight

With: Bow Wow, Chi McBride, Mike Epps, Wesley Jonathan, Jurnee Smollett, Nick Cannon

The idea: The closing of the local roller rink forces a group of friends in the 1970s to head uptown to a more posh hangout.

Writer: Norman Vance Jr.

Director: Malcolm D. Lee

* So? Subversively lively

Steal Me

Drama

Cineville C103

With: Danny Alexander, Hunter Parrish, Paz de la Huerta, Cara Seymour

The idea: A 15-year-old’s search for his prostitute mother in a small Montana town leads to him having an affair with a much older woman.

Writer-director: Melissa Painter

* So? Not “Tea and Sympathy”

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? Male bonding and independence

Wall (Mur)

Documentary

Lifesize Entertainment

The idea: Filmmaker explores the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by avowing her dual identity as Jew and Arab.

Writer-director: Simone Bitton

* So? Unconventional

Sept. 28

The Prize Winner

of Defiance, Ohio

Drama

DreamWorks

With: Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson, Laura Dern

The idea: A mother of 10 helps make ends meet by writing jingles for commercials in the ‘50s and ‘60s.

Writer-director: Jane Anderson, based on the book by Terry Ryan

* So? Wonder years

Sept. 30

Garcon Stupide

Comedy

Picture This! Entertainment

With: Pierre Chatagny, Natacha Koutchoumov, Rui Pedro Alves, Lionel Baier

The idea: A young gay man in Switzerland spends his days working in a chocolate factory and his nights having anonymous sex until he meets an intelligent older man.

Writers: Lionel Baier, Laurent Guido

Director: Baier

* So? Horizons expanded

Going Shopping

Comedy-drama

Rainbow Releasing

With: Victoria Foyt, Lee Grant, Rob Morrow, Bruce Davison, Mae Whitman, Jennifer Grant, Juliet Landau

The idea: Mother’s Day weekend becomes a tumultuous three days for a clothing designer whose business and family are imperiled.

Writers: Henry Jaglom & Victoria Foyt

Director: Jaglom

* So? Jaglom and women, again

The Greatest Game Ever Played

Drama

Walt Disney Pictures

With: Shia LaBeouf, Stephen Dillane, Peter Firth, Elias Koteas, Peyton List, Josh Flitter

The idea: A young working-class golfer challenges British champ Harry Vardon for the 1913 U.S. Open championship.

Writer: Mark Frost, based on his book

Director: Bill Paxton

* So? Crash course in golf and class conflict

Into the Blue

Action

Columbia Pictures/MGM

With: Paul Walker, Jessica Alba, Scott Caan, Ashley Scott, Josh Brolin

The idea: The discovery of sunken treasure by four young divers leads them to a darker mystery.

Writer: Matt Johnson

Director: John Stockwell

* So? Attractive, not too deep

Little Manhattan

Comedy

20th Century Fox

With: Josh Hutcherson, Charlie Ray, Bradley Whitford, Cynthia Nixon

The idea: First love blooms in the Big Apple.

Writer: Jennifer Flackett

Director: Mark Levin

* So? Man as child, but for adults

Mirrormask

Fantasy-adventure

Destination Films, Jim Henson Company & Samuel Goldwyn Films

With: Stephanie Leonidas, Jason Barry, Rob Brydon, Gina McKee

The idea: A teenage girl’s desire to escape working for her family’s circus lands her in a bizarre world inspired by her own drawings.

Writer: Neil Gaiman; story by Gaiman and Dave McKean

Director: McKean

* So? Visually fantastic

Separate Lies

Drama

Fox Searchlight

With: Emily Watson, Tom Wilkinson, Rupert Everett

The idea: A tragic accident in a country village threatens a British couple’s marriage.

Writer-director: Julian Fellowes, based on Nigel Balchin’s novel “A Way Through the Wood.”

* So? Hail Fellowes

Serenity

Adventure

Universal Pictures

With: Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, Adam Baldwin, Summer Glau, Chiwetel Ejiofor

The idea: Capt. Mal and his crew from TV’s “Firefly” find themselves on the edge of the galaxy caught between the Universal Alliance and the terrifying Reavers, a band of cannibalistic space outlaws.

Writer-director: Joss Whedon

* So? Fan-tasy fulfilled

Shoujyo

Erotic comedy

Indican Pictures

With: Mayu Ozawa, Eiji Okuda

The idea: A teenage girl holds an intense passion for a policeman.

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

Director: Eiji Okuda

* So? Forbidden fruit

Sueno

Musical

Destination Films

With: John Leguizamo, Elizabeth Pena, Nestor Serrano, Ana Claudia Talancon and music by Joselo Rangel from Cafe Tacuba, Kinky, El Gran Silencio, Ozomatli, Zoe, Jumbo, Papa Roach, Ely Guerra, Pepe Aguilar, Steve Berlin from Los Lobos, Quetzal, Volovan, El Cartel de Santa, Los Tetas, Jose Jose

The idea: A struggling musician from Mexico is caught in a romantic triangle just as he gets his big shot.

Writer-director: Renee Chabria

* So? Energetic

Oct. 7

Dandelion

Drama

International Film Circuit

With: Vincent Kartheiser, Taryn Manning

The idea: An Idaho teen is transformed by tragedy and the arrival of a girl.

Writers: Mark Milgard, Robb Williamson and R.D. Murphy

Director: Milgard

* So? Misunderstood youth

Forty Shades of Blue

Drama

Vitagraph Films

With: Dina Korzun, Rip Torn, Darren E. Burrows

The idea: A young Russian woman’s emotional estrangement from her husband, a Memphis music legend, is complicated by the arrival of his grown son.

Writers: Michael Rohatyn, Ira Sachs

Director: Sachs

* So? Interesting but off-key

Good Night,

and Good Luck

Drama

Warner Independent Pictures

With: David Strathairn, George Clooney, Patricia Clarkson, Jeff Daniels, Tate Donovan, Robert Downey Jr., Ray Wise, Frank Langella

The idea: CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow takes on Sen. Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee during the 1950s communist witch hunts.

Writers: George Clooney and Grant Heslov

Director: Clooney

* So? True grit

In Her Shoes

Comedy

20th Century Fox

With: Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette, Shirley MacLaine, Mark Feuerstein

The idea: Large-footed sisters with little else in common have a falling-out and struggle to reconcile through their previously unknown grandmother.

Writer: Susannah Grant, based on the novel by Jennifer Weiner

Director: Curtis Hanson

* So? Stylish guile

Sacred Stage:

The Mariinsky Theater

Documentary

First Run Features

With: Narrator Richard Thomas

The idea: The St. Petersburg performing arts venue (also known as the Kirov) has maintained its high standards through war, revolution and the collapse of communism.

Director: Joshua Waltezky

* So? Dedication defined

Two for the Money

Drama

Universal Pictures

With: Al Pacino, Matthew McConaughey, Rene Russo, Armand Assante, Jeremy Piven

The idea: High-stakes con artistry breaks out between a former college football star with a knack for picking winners and his mentor, a powerful sports gaming consultant.

Writer: Dan Gilroy

Director: D.J. Caruso

* So? Business of risk

Waiting

Comedy

Lions Gate Films

With: Ryan Reynolds, Anna Faris, Justin Long, Chi McBride, Luis Guzman

The idea: The young restaurant staff of Shenanigan’s chase girls, talk about sex and worry about the future.

Writer-director: Rob McKittrick

* So? Secret life of waiters

Wallace & Gromit:

The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

Animated

DreamWorks

With: Voices by Peter Sallis, Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes

The idea: The man and dog of clay are enlisted to save their neighborhood from a veggie-devouring beast, just in time for the annual Giant Vegetable Competition.

Writers: Bob Baker, Mark Burton, Steve Box, Nick Park

Directors: Park and Box

* So? We can hardly wait

The War Within

Drama

Magnolia Pictures

With: Ayad Stehle-Akhtar, Firdous BamjiNandana Sen, Sarita Choudhury

The idea: A Pakistani engineering student endures mistreatment when he is mistaken for a terrorist, compelling him to take revenge by joining an extremist cell.

Writers: Ayad Stehle-Akhtar, Joseph Castelo, Tom Glynn

Director: Castelo

* So? Self-fulfilling accusation

Where the Truth Lies

Drama

ThinkFilm

With: Kevin Bacon, Colin Firth, Alison Lohman, Rachel Blanchard

The idea: A dead girl in a hotel room brings an entertainment duo’s partnership to an abrupt end.

Writer-director: Atom Egoyan, based on the novel by Rupert Holmes

* So? Dead reckoning

Oct. 14

Domino

Action

New Line Cinema

With: Keira Knightley, Mickey Rourke, Edgar Ramirez, Delroy Lindo, Mena Suvari, Lucy Liu, Christopher Walken, Jacqueline Bisset, Mo’Nique, Macy Gray

The idea: The daughter of actor Laurence Harvey turns her back on modeling to become a bounty hunter.

Writer: Richard Kelly; story by Kelly and Steve Barancik

Director: Tony Scott

* So? A life less ordinary

Dorian Blues

Comedy

TLA Releasing

With: Michael McMillian, Steven Fletcher, Mo Quigley, Lea Coco

The idea: A young misfit from upstate New York comes to the conclusion that he is gay and heads to the city to attend NYU.

Writer-director: Tennyson Bardwell

* So? Why wouldn’t he?

Finding Home

Drama

Castle Hill

With: Genevieve Bujold, Louise Fletcher, Lisa Brenner, Justin Henry, Jason Miller, Jeannetta Arnette, Johnny Messner, Misha Collins, Sherri Saum

The idea: An advertising executive returns to the Maine inn run by her grandmother to deal with family issues.

Writers: Lawrence David Foldes & Grafton Harper

Director: Foldes

* So? Country discomfort

The Fog

Horror

Columbia Pictures

With: Tom Welling, Maggie Grace, Rade Sherbedgia, Selma Blair

The idea: A small coastal town is threatened by a malevolent force hidden in an offshore shroud.

Writer: Cooper Layne, based on the film written by John Carpenter and Debra Hill

Director: Rupert Wainwright

* So? Still creepy

Innocent Voices

Drama

BB Entertainment

With: Leonor Varela, Carlos Padilla

The idea: In 1980s El Salvador, an 11-year-old boy struggles with adolescence, first love and protecting his family in a world in which his 12th birthday means automatic enlistment in the military.

Writers: Luis Mandoki, Oscar Torres

Director: Mandoki

* So? Unexplored territory

Never Been Thawed

Comedy

Slippery Chicken

With: Sean Anders, Shelly Frasier, Allen Zwolle, Mike Gordon, John Morris, Charles Arnold, Scott Isham

The idea: A collector of frozen entrees with 14 full-size freezers in his one-bedroom apartment “converts” his punk band to Christian rock as a blatant effort to sell out in this mockumentary.

Writers: Sean Anders, Chuck LeVinus, John Morris

Director: Anders

* So? Obsession more peculiar than magnificent

Nine Lives

Drama

Magnolia Pictures

With: Kathy Baker, Amy Brenneman, Elpidia Carrillo, Glenn Close, Dakota Fanning, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Holly Hunter, Amanda Seyfried, Sissy Spacek, Robin Wright Penn, Stephen Dillane, William Fichtner, Jason Isaacs, Joe Mantegna, Ian McShane, Molly Parker, Mary Kay Place, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Aidan Quinn, Miguel Sandoval

The idea: The interconnected stories of nine women play out in nine unbroken takes.

Writer-director: Rodrigo Garcia

* So? Female fascination

North Country

Drama

Warner Bros. Pictures

With: Charlize Theron, Frances McDormand, Sean Bean, Richard Jenkins, Jeremy Renner, Michelle Monaghan, Woody Harrelson, Sissy Spacek

The idea: Fighting against unfair labor practices, a single mother unites her female co-workers in solidarity.

Writer: Michael Seitzman, based on a book by Clara Bingham and Laura Leedy Gansler

Director: Niki Caro

* So? Earnest

One Bright Shining Moment: The Forgotten Summer of George McGovern

Documentary

First Run Features

With: McGovern, Gore Vidal, Gloria Steinem, Warren Beatty, Howard Zinn and music from Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson, Donovan and Elvis Costello, narrated by Amy Goodman

The idea: A reassessment of the candidate’s 1972 presidential campaign, in which he was soundly defeated by incumbent Richard M. Nixon.

Writer-director: Stephen Vittoria

* So? Compelling political portrait

Screen Door Jesus

Comedy

Indican Pictures

With: Myk Watford, Mark. A Dalton, Anjanette Comer, Buck Taylor

The idea: The appearance of an image of Christ causes religious havoc in East Texas.

Writer: Kirk Davis, based on stories by Christopher Cook

Director: Davis

* So? Chaotically spirited

The Squid and

the Whale

Comedy-drama

Samuel Goldwyn Films & Sony Pictures Entertainment

With: Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney, Jesse Eisenberg, Owen Kline, William Baldwin, Anna Paquin

The idea: The downward spiral of a Brooklyn couple’s marriage impacts their adolescent sons.

Writer-director: Noah Baumbach

* So? Sharply observed

Summer Storm

Drama

here!/Regent Releasing

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

The idea: At a German rowing camp, Berlin team is discombobulated by the arrival of all-gay crew.

Writers: Thomas Bahmann, Marco Kreuzpaintner

Director: Kreuzpaintner

* So? Oh, those Europeans

Oct. 19

Ushpizin

Comedy-drama

Picturehouse

With: Shuli Rand, Michal Bat-Sheva Rand, Shaul Mizrahi, Ilan Ganani, Avraham Abutboul, Daniel Dayan

The idea: A couple of ultra-Orthodox Jews facing a financial crisis believe God has sent a pair of criminals to them as a test.

Writer: Shuli Rand

Director: Gidi Dar

* So? Unorthodox

Oct. 21

Doom

Adventure

Universal Pictures

With: Karl Urban, Rosamund Pike, Raz Adoti, the Rock

The idea: A crack squad of Marines is ordered to seal off a research facility on Mars where a slew of deadly creatures has been unleashed.

Writers: David Callaham and Wesley Strick, based on the video game

Director: Andrzej Bartkowiak

* So? Seductively creepy

Dreamer: Inspired

by a True Story

Drama

DreamWorks

With: Kurt Russell, Dakota Fanning, Kris Kristofferson, Elisabeth Shue, David Morse, Freddy Rodriguez, Luis Guzman, Oded Fehr

The idea: For the sake of his daughter, a washed-up trainer tries to bring an injured horse back to its racing glory.

Writer-director: John Gatins

* So? Father-daughter-horse story

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

Action

Warner Bros. Pictures

With: Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan, Corbin Bernsen

The idea: A small-time crook comes to Los Angeles for a movie role and becomes entangled in a murder investigation involving the detective who was training him for his role.

Writer-director: Shane Black, based in part on a novel by Brett Halliday

* So? Odd enough it just might click

Naked in Ashes

Documentary

Paradise Filmworks International

The idea: A 14-year-old Indian boy enters into the spiritual life of a yogi, devoting himself to chastity, austerity and utter devotion.

Writer-director: Paula Fouce

* So? Motivated deprivation

Protocols of Zion

Documentary

ThinkFilm

The idea: The filmmaker takes on those who think Jews were responsible for Sept. 11.

Director: Marc Levin/

* So? Enough said.

Shopgirl

Comedy/drama

Touchstone Pictures

With: Steve Martin, Claire Danes, Jason Schwartzman, Bridgette Wilson-Sampras

The idea: A struggling young artist working the glove counter at Saks Fifth Avenue is romanced by a wealthy middle-aged man.

Writer: Steve Martin, based on his novella

Director: Anand Tucker

* So? A concept not unfamiliar to Hollywood

Stay

Thriller

20th Century Fox

With: Ewan McGregor, Naomi Watts, Ryan Gosling, Janeane Garofalo, Bob Hoskins

The idea: A therapist is increasingly drawn into the life of a suicidal patient.

Writer: David Benioff

Director: Marc Forster

* So? Tense

Oct. 28

Before the Fall

Drama

Picture This! Entertainment

With: Max Riemelt, Tom Schilling, Devid Striesow, Joachim Bissmeier, Justus von Dohnanyi

The idea: A young German boxer is recruited by the Nazis but risks all to avenge a friend.

Writers: Dennis Gansel, Maggie Peren

Director: Gansel

* So? Old school Nazis

House of Adam

Thriller

Hollywood Independents

With: John Shaw, Alexis Karriker, Reeve, Howard Tiffany McFarland, Thomas Michael Kappler

The idea: The murder of a small-town gay recluse by religious fanatics forces his lover, a closeted detective, to come to terms with his loss and prove their guilt.

Writer-director: Jorge Ameer

* So? Not so far-fetched

New York Doll

Documentary

First Independent Pictures

With: Arthur “Killer” Kane, David Johansen, Sylvain Sylvain

The idea: A former member of the glam-rock New York Dolls reunites with his surviving bandmates for a festival in London, temporarily stepping out of his quiet life as a Mormon in Los Angeles.

Director: Greg Whiteley

* So? Eclectic

Prime

Comedy

Universal Pictures

With: Meryl Streep, Uma Thurman, Bryan Greenberg, Jon Abrahams

The idea: A Manhattan divorcee’s fling with a much younger Brooklyn painter hits a therapeutic snag.

Writer-director: Ben Younger

* So? Hot and heady

Saw II

Horror

Lions Gate Films

With: Donnie Wahlberg, Shawnee Smith, Tobin Bell

The idea: Jigsaw, the game-playing killer from the first film, multiplies the players from two to eight this time.

Writers: Leigh Whannell, Darren Lynn Bousman

Director: Bousman

* So? More

Three ... Extremes

Horror anthology

Lions Gate Films

With: Lee Byung-Hun, Bai Ling, Tony Ka-Fai Leung, Kyoko Hasegawa

The idea: A trio of Asia’s most intense directors teams for this collection of macabre shorts: “Dumplings,” “Cut” and “Box.”

Writers: Lilian Lee; Park Chan-Wook; Haruko Fukushima

Directors: Fruit Chan; Park Chan-Wook; Takashi Miike

* So? Yikes

Wasabi Tuna

Comedy

Indican Pictures

With: Barney Cheng, Jason London, Alanna Ubach, Antonio Sabato Jr., Tim Meadows, Alexis Arquette

The idea: Chaos reigns at West Hollywood’s Halloween celebration when a group of friends’ decision to dress as gangsters leads to mistaken identity.

Writer: Celia Fox

Director: Lee Friedlander

* So? Not as unlikely as it seems

The Weather Man

Drama

Paramount Pictures

With: Nicolas Cage, Michael Caine, Hope Davis, Michael Rispoli, Gil Bellows

The idea: A Chicago meteorologist gets a shot at a network gig, but his personal life is in chaos.

Writer: Steve Conrad

Director: Gore Verbinski

* So? Weathered

Oct. TBA

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: Parents and teens navigate the generational divide amid the downfall of suburbia.

Writer: Zac Stanford

Director: Arie Posin

* So? Convoluted

Down to the Bone

Drama

Laemmle/Zeller Films

With: Vera Farmiga, Hugh Dillon, Clint Jordan

The idea: A married mother of two enters a rehab clinic to kick her secret cocaine habit.

Writers: Debra Granik, Richard Lieske

Director: Granik

* So? Family facades

Drama

Slow Hand Releasing

With: Richard T. Jones, Blair Underwood, Chenoa Maxwell, Andre Royo

The idea: A self-made rap mogul pines for his true love while living in luxury in the Hamptons.

Writers: Christopher Scott Cherot, Charles E. Drew, inspired by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”

Director: Cherot

* So? Bitter with the sweet

I Love Your Work

Comedy-drama

ThinkFilm

With: Giovanni Ribisi, Franka Potente, Marisa Coughlan, Joshua Jackson, Christina Ricci, Judy Greer, Jason Lee

The idea: A movie star grapples with celebrity and the quest for authenticity.

Writers: Adam Goldberg and Adrian Butchart

Director: Goldberg

* So? Close to home

Ladies’ Night

Comedy

Televisa Cine

With: Ana Claudia Talancon, Luis Roberto Guzman, Fabian Corres, Ana de la Reguera

The idea: Two Mexico City women find love in unexpected places.

Writer: Issa Lopez, based on an idea by Ignacio Darnaude

Director: Gabriela Tagliavini

* So? Huge hit in Mexico

Loggerheads

Drama

Strand Releasing

With: Kip Pardue, Michael Kelly, Bonnie Hunt, Tess Harper, Michael Learned

The idea: The lives of a drifter, a middle-aged mother searching for the son she gave up for adoption, and a preacher’s wife intersect in coastal Carolina town.

Writer-director: Tim Kirkman

* So? Competently restrained

Show Me

Thriller

Wolfe

With: Katherine Isabelle, Kett Turton, Michelle Nolden

The idea: A kidnapped woman is taken by her teenage captors to a remote cabin, where a role reversal leads to erotic tension.

Writer-director: Cassandra Nicolaou

* So? Fantasy

Nov. 4

The Dying Gaul

Thriller

Strand Releasing/Holedigger Films

With: Campbell Scott, Patricia Clarkson, Peter Sarsgaard

The idea: A bereft screenwriter becomes involved with a studio executive and his wife.

Writer-director: Craig Lucas, based on his play

* So? Stereotypes

The Family Stone

Comedy

20th Century Fox

With: Claire Danes, Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Dermot Mulroney, Craig T. Nelson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Luke Wilson

The idea: Bringing home his new fiancee for the holidays yields all sorts of problems for a favorite son and his family.

Writer-director: Thomas Bezucha

* So? Rocky road

Jarhead

Drama

Universal Pictures

With: Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Lucas Black, Jamie Foxx

The idea: Memoir of a third-generation enlistee’s experience in the Gulf War, from boot camp to Iraq.

Writer: William Broyles Jr., based on the book by Anthony Swofford

Director: Sam Mendes

* So? Convincingly topical

The Matador

Comedy-thriller

The Weinstein Co.

With: Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear, Hope Davis, Philip Baker Hall, Dylan Baker, Adam Scott

The idea: A traveling salesman’s encounter with a hit man in Mexico City leads to an unlikely relationship.

Writer-director: Richard Shepard

* So? Provocative menace

The Passenger (1975)

Drama

Sony Pictures Classics

With: Jack Nicholson, Maria Schneider

The idea: A jaded reporter swaps identities with a corpse while covering local guerrilla fighters in North Africa.

Writers: Michelangelo Antonioni, Mark Peploe, Peter Wollen

Director: Antonioni

* So? Flawed but stunning

Sarah Silverman:

Jesus Is Magic

Comedy

Roadside Attractions

With: Sarah Silverman, Bob Odenkirk, Brian Posehn

The idea: The tart-tongued comedian is not afraid of controversial material in a performance based on her off-Broadway show.

Writer: Silverman

Director: Liam Lynch

* So? Test of faithful

Tristram Shandy:

A Cock and Bull Story

Comedy

Picturehouse

With: Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, Gillian Anderson

The idea: A film about the filming of a film of the peculiar proto-novel involving the title character’s eccentric family.

Writer: Martin Hardy, based on the novel “The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman” by Laurence Sterne

Director: Michael Winterbottom

* So? Quite likely worthwhile

Fall TBA

Electric Shadows

Drama

First Run Features

With: Xiaotong Guan, Yihong Jiang, Haibin Li, Yu Xia

The idea: A boy and girl who spent their formative years attending a small-town cinema together reunite years later in Beijing.

Writers: Qingsong Cheng, Jiang Ziao

Director: Xiao Jiang

* So? Growing up at the movies

Emmanuel’s Gift

Documentary

First Look Pictures

With: Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah

The idea: Born disabled in Ghana, a man dedicates his life to raising awareness.

Directors: Lisa Lax and Nancy Stern

* So? Champion enlightenment

Go for Zucker!

Comedy

First Run Features

With: Henry Hubchen, Hannelore Elsner, Udo Samel, Golda Tencer

The idea: Two brothers, separated for years by the Berlin Wall, discover they must mourn and bury their deceased mother according to Jewish law in order to share the inheritance.

Writers: Holger Franke, Dani Levy

Director: Levy

* So? Persuasively motivated

La Ultima Noche

Comedy

Televisa Cine

With: Andres Garcia, Cecilia Gabriela, Alexis Ayala

The idea: A dysfunctional family endures a comedy of errors in this third film of a trilogy debunking sexual myths in Latino culture.

Writers: Alejandro Gamboa, Marina Stavenhagen

Director: Gamboa

* So? Amusing

Unveiled