Parade of fall films

By Jack Garner
Gannett News Service

Science-fiction fans — and Jude Law fans — can look forward to "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow," a futuristic flick full of flying machines and robots. It's scheduled to hit theaters in September. Gwyneth Paltrow co-stars in this adventure that's retro-stylized into the look of the 1930s Flash Gordon era. Paramount Pictures

Will Smith is the voice of Oscar, center, and Ziggy Marley and Doug E. Doug are the voices of Ernie and Bernie in "Shark Tale." This comedy is from the "Shrek" folks, this time with mobster sharks teaching a timid shark to be more aggressive. Robert De Niro, Renee Zellweger, Angelina Jolie and Martin Scorsese are among the other voice actors. DreamWorks Pictures

Renee Zellweger packed on the pounds again to play the British reporter in "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason," with co-star Colin Firth. Universal Pictures

Dustin Hoffman, left, and Robert De Niro are featured in in "Meet the Fockers," the sequel to the 2000 hit comedy "Meet the Parents." Universal Pictures

Also on tap are four animated films, 13 comedies and — surprisingly — five sports movies. Less surprising is Hollywood's dependence on old ideas: 11 films this autumn will be remakes or sequels.

Typically, the studios schedule their best stuff for the last third of the year — it's better positioning for Oscar nominations and best-of lists.

High hopes for ...

It remains to be seen which of the 2004 titles will strike gold, but here are the 10 films I'm especially eager to see. The rest of the schedule follows. (Dates are subject to change.)

1. "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow": a futuristic adventure, retro-stylized into the look of the 1930s Flash Gordon era. Jude Law (who's starring in no less than six films before year's end) and Gwyneth Paltrow co-star. Sept. 17.
2. "Friday Night Lights": A drama focusing on the 1988 season of a Texas high school football team, previously chronicled in a best-selling book. Billy Bob Thornton plays the coach; Derek Luke co-stars. Oct. 8.
3. "Ray": Taylor Hackford's biopic on the life and times of the late, great Ray Charles, with a performance by Jamie Foxx as Charles that's already garnering Oscar buzz. Oct. 29.
4. "Alexander": Oliver Stone's epic take on the life and times of Alexander the Great, with Colin Farrell as the young world conqueror. Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer and Anthony Hopkins co-star. Nov. 5.
5. "The Polar Express": A state-of-the-art animated version of the popular children's book. The film employs digital "performance capture," which means real actors (like Tom Hanks) play roles and are then copied into digital animation. Another techno breakthrough: The reportedly $165 million film will be released in both conventional and IMAX 3-D versions. Nov. 10.
6. "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason": Renee Zellweger put on the weight again to play her best screen character, the British reporter with the up-and-down love life. Colin Firth and Hugh Grant also return. Nov. 19.
7. "Beyond the Sea": Kevin Spacey directs and stars in this biography of the star-crossed music legend Bobby Darin. A singing star at 22 and nominated for an Oscar at 27, he was dead of heart disease at 37. This has been a longtime work of passion for Spacey, but can a 45-year-old actor play a guy in his 20s? Find out on Nov. 26.
8. "Cinderella Man": A biopic on famed Depression-era boxer James Braddock, played by Russell Crowe. Ron Howard ("A Beautiful Mind") directs Crowe — again. Also stars Renee Zellweger. Dec. 17.
9. "The Aviator": Martin Scorsese's profile of Howard Hughes — famed aviator, filmmaker, lady's man and eccentric billionaire. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Hughes, along with Alan Alda, Cate Blanchett and Kate Beckinsale. Dec. 17.
10. "Meet the Fockers": The sequel to the hit comedy "Meet the Parents." The first film focused on Teri Polo introducing her husband (Ben Stiller) to her parents. This time, we meet his parents, intriguingly played by Dustin Hoffman (a former lawyer) and Barbra Streisand (a sex therapist). Robert De Niro and Blythe Danner also return as Polo's folks. Dec. 22.

The best films of the season might surprise us. Here are the major offerings. Release dates are subject to change:

Sept. 10

• "Cellular": A kidnapping thriller in which cell phones play a key role. Kim Basinger, William H. Macy and Chris Evans co-star.
• "Resident Evil: Apocalypse": A sequel to the 2002 original, which was based on a video game. Here, an elite military agent is stranded in the ruins of Raccoon City in the wake of a virus outbreak, which has turned the residents into bloodthirsty zombies.

Sept. 17

• "Wimbledon": A low-ranked player (Paul Bettany) shocks the tennis world by threatening to win the prestigious tournament — and the heart of the bad girl of tennis (Kirsten Dunst). Dunst reportedly turned down "The Village" to make this film instead.
• "Mr. 3000": Bernie Mac snags this role, which originally had Richard Gere, Denzel Washington and John Travolta as the possible lead in this baseball fantasy film about an aged player's (Mac) return to the game. His goal is to try to secure a record 3,000 hits. Angela Bassett co-stars for director Charles Stone III.
• "National Lampoon's Gold Diggers": Will Friedle and Chris Owen co-star in a comedy about two losers who go looking for gold to win the women they love.

Sept. 24

• "The Forgotten": A psychological thriller about a single woman (Julianne Moore) who believes her son is missing after a plane crash.
• "First Daughter": With Katie Holmes as the daughter of the president who demands the right to go to college without Secret Service protection. Michael Keaton plays her dad.

Oct. 1

• "Shark Tale": Think "Sopranos" underwater. This highly anticipated animated comedy is from the "Shrek" folks, this time with mobster sharks trying to teach a timid young shark to be more aggressive. Robert De Niro, Will Smith, Renee Zellweger, Angelina Jolie, Jack Black and Martin Scorsese are among the voice actors.
• "Cursed": Christina Ricci stars in this Wes Craven werewolf horror romp.
• "Saw": A purportedly grimy thriller about two men who awaken to find themselves chained in a basement with a dead body between them, the apparent captives of a serial killer. Cary Elwes and Danny Glover star.
• "Ladder 49": A firehouse drama, with Joaquin Phoenix as the rookie firefighter and John Travolta as the veteran. We can only hope it stacks up to FX's "Rescue Me."

Oct. 8

• "I Am David": The story of a resourceful 12-year-old boy who escapes a communist concentration camp in Bulgaria in 1952 and makes his way across Europe. Jim Caviezel co-stars.
• "Raise Your Voice": A modern variation of "Fame," with a teenage girl finding new horizons at a California school for the arts. Hilary Duff stars.
• "A Sound of Thunder": A time-travel adventure based on a famous Ray Bradbury story about a hunter sent back by a time machine so he can shoot a dinosaur. Ed Burns stars.
• "Taxi": Queen Latifah plays a speedy cab driver hired by the cops to help them solve a crime.

Oct. 15

• "Shall We Dance?": Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez star in this Americanization of a popular Japanese film about a harried business executive who takes dance lessons to unwind — and to meet the beautiful dance instructor.
• "Team America: World Police": A retro-styled comedy with wooden marionettes, this comedy adventure tells the story of Team America, a group of superhero-style adventurers who travel the world fighting terrorism.

Oct. 22

• "Alfie": Jude Law stars in this remake of the 1966 film that made Michael Caine a star, the portrait of a cockney cad. This time the British playboy is at work in Manhattan.
• "The Flight of the Phoenix": A remake of the 1965 saga about the crew and passengers of an aircraft that's crashed in the desert, and the effort to get the plane airborne once again.
• "House of Wax": Yet another remake, this time of the 1953 horror classic that was at the center of the 3-D craze of the '50s. This time, car troubles lead a group of college students to wander into a museum overseen by a sadistic curator. No 3-D this time.
• "Surviving Christmas": A holiday comedy with Ben Affleck as an unhappy Manhattan executive who visits his childhood home to rekindle Christmas memories only to discover an even more dysfunctional family than the one in which he grew up. Bizarre note: Though this title resembles the popular John Grisham book, "Skipping Christmas," this is not the film adaptation. For that, see "Christmas with the Kranks" (below).

Oct. 29

• "Undertow": A drama about the turmoil in a rural Georgia family when a disreputable uncle comes back to town. Jamie Bell ("Billy Elliot") stars.

Nov. 5

• "Birth": A mystical romance with Nicole Kidman as a woman in her 30s who is surprised to meet a 10-year-old boy who seems to have a crush on her. He then claims to be the reincarnation of her dead husband. I detect echoes of "Ghost."
• "The Incredibles": The latest Pixar animation (the firm responsible for "Toy Story" and "Finding Nemo"). On one hand, they're a family of superheroes called The Incredibles. On the other, they just another dysfunctional family.

Nov. 10

• "Seed of Chucky": That killer baby doll refuses to go away. It was ridiculous in the first film. It's been ridiculous in three sequels. What's going to change things now?

Nov. 12

• "After the Sunset": A romantic thriller with Pierce Brosnan as a "retired" jewel thief who falls in love with Salma Hayek, the crafty FBI agent who's making sure he means it.
• "Kinsey": Liam Neeson and Laura Linney star as Alfred and Clara Kinsey, the researchers who riveted the nation with their studies on sexual behavior during the 1940s (limited release).

Nov. 19

• "National Treasure": An adventure that seems to combine Indiana Jones with American history. Nicolas Cage is an archaeologist in search of a lost treasure, supposedly left behind by George Washington during the Revolutionary War.
• "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie": The popular children's animated TV series about an adventurous sponge gets its first big-screen outing. Starring the voices of Tom Kenny, Alec Baldwin and Jeffrey Tambor.

Nov. 24

• "Christmas with the Kranks": Ah, now this is the Christmas comedy based on John Grisham's "Skipping Christmas." An empty-nest couple decides to skip Christmas and go on vacation. Then a daughter comes home and expects an old-fashioned holiday. Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis co-star.

Dec. 3

• "Closer": Mike Nichols' adaptation of the play about the romantic entanglements and betrayal among two couples. Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts and Clive Owen star in a film that's getting early Oscar buzz for its cast.

Dec. 10

• "Blade Trinity": The third film in the vampire franchise, adapted from a hit comic-book series. Wesley Snipes returns for the big paycheck as the buff vampire slayer with attitude.
• "Ocean's Twelve": Director Steven Soderbergh has corralled his entire cast from "Ocean's Eleven" for another glossy crime caper. (The 12th in the title refers to Julia Roberts, who was in the first film, but not the gang. Now she's a member.) George Clooney and Brad Pitt also star.

Dec. 17

• "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events": The first of what'll probably be a series of films based on about a dozen children's books about an eccentric family and their wacky and wild adventures. Stars Jim Carrey, Meryl Streep and Jude Law.
• "Spanglish": A comedy about a newly arrived Mexican housekeeper and her difficulties adjusting to the crazy lifestyle of the American couple for whom she works. Adam Sandler, Tea Leoni and Paz Vega co-star for famed writer-director James L. Brooks.

Dec. 24

• "An Unfinished Life": A drama with Jennifer Lopez as an impoverished and abused young mother who discovers the only option for her and her daughter is to move in with her father-in-law (Robert Redford) to live on his Wyoming ranch, even though they have been estranged for quite some time.
• "The Life Aquatic": Wes Anderson (of "Rushmore" and "The Royal Tenenbaums") turns again to Bill Murray to top-line his saga about a globetrotting oceanographer and his son (Owen Wilson). Cate Blanchett co-stars.
• "Proof": Gwyneth Paltrow and Jake Gyllenhaal star in this film about a woman struggling to overcome her father's death. Anthony Hopkins plays the father in this story based on a Pulitzer prize-winning play.

Dec. 25

• "Fat Albert": A live-action adaptation of the TV animated series, based on Bill Cosby's routines about childhood. Kenan Thompson plays the big man. Kyla Pratt and Raven Symone also star for director Joel Zwick, who last struck gold with "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."

Also opening in December (dates to be determined):

• "Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera": The worldwide hit musical makes it to the big screen, with Joel Schumacher directing. Gerard Butler plays the darkly romantic title character.
• "Finding Neverland": Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet star in a biopic about J.M. Barrie, author of "Peter Pan." This, too, is generating Oscar talk for Depp. (In limited release.)