Sunday, September 9, 2007

UPCOMING MOVIES: Critic's

recommendations are highlighted. (Note: Dates are subject to change.)

14 -- "Across the Universe" tells the story of Jude (Jim Sturgess) and Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood) and their star-crossed love affair that is set against the cultural upheavals of the 1960s. From director Julie Taymor ("Titus" and Broadway's "Lion King").

14 -- "Dedication" marks the directorial debut of actor Justin Theroux, who has enlisted Billy Crudup and Mandy Moore in a romantic comedy about a misanthropic children's book author (we need more of those!) whose ideas about love and life are challenged by a cute illustrator (we need more of those, too!).

14 -- "The Hunting Party" plunges viewers into the high-stakes world of television war reporting, here against the backdrop of the war in Bosnia. When a reporter played by Richard Gere has a meltdown, he disappears, only to emerge years later with the scoop of a lifetime -- the whereabouts of a notorious war criminal. With Terrence Howard and Jesse Eisenberg.

14 -- "Eastern Promises" re-teams director David Cronenberg with his "History of Violence" star Viggo Mortensen, here playing a London criminal who sets a harrowing plot in motion when he meets an innocent midwife (Naomi Watts).

14 -- "Mr. Woodcock" stars Seann William Scott as a self-help author whose return to his home town is ruined by the discovery that his mom (Susan Sarandon) is keeping company with his high school nemesis, a gym teacher named Mr. Woodcock (Billy Bob Thornton).

14 -- "December Boys" stars Daniel Radcliffe in a rare non-Potter role as one of a group of orphans living in Australia in the 1960s who believe their chance at finding families may never come, and whose summer trip to the seaside may give them a chance to change their fate.

14 -- "Great World of Sound," from first-time director Craig Zobel, stars Pat Healy and Kene Holliday as struggling talent agents whose big break continues to elude them. Produced by David Gordon Green ("George Washington").

14 -- "In the Valley of Elah," written and directed by Paul Haggis ("Crash"), stars Tommy Lee Jones as a war veteran searching for his son, a veteran of the Iraq war who has inexplicably gone missing. Susan Sarandon plays his wife; Charlize Theron is the police detective assigned to the case.

14 -- "The Brave One" stars Jodie Foster as a New York radio host who, after a brutal attack that leaves her wounded and her fiance dead, embarks on a rampage of revenge that draws cheers from citizens and the attention of a police detective (Terrence Howard). From Neil Jordan ("The Crying Game").

14 -- The DC Shorts Film Festival gets underway at Landmark's E Street Cinema, featuring 89 films dealing with everything from urban paranoia, bipartisan passion and love for one's garbage disposal to childhood dreams, the work of Willem de Kooning and how one woman unconventionally overcomes her fear of clowns. Through Sept. 20.

14 -- "In the Shadow of the Moon," a documentary, combines amazing images from space with the very human stories of space travel from NASA's Apollo astronauts.

18 -- The Latin American Film Festival begins at the AFI Silver. The 18th edition of the festival will feature more than 20 films from 20 countries. Through Oct. 7.

21 -- "Good Luck Chuck," so named because his girlfriends always wind up settling down with the next guy they meet, is played by Dane Cook in this romantic comedy that co-stars Jessica Alba as the comely penguin expert (hey, it could happen) who inspires him to change his luck this time.

21 -- "Resident Evil: Extinction" brings back Milla Jovovich as Alice, here hiding in the Nevada desert with allies old and new. Their job: Destroy a deadly virus that threatens to create ever more spinoffs of the hit video game series. We wish them Godspeed.

21 -- "Sydney White" stars Amanda Bynes as a college freshman who, as a tomboy at heart, ditches her snooty sorority and gathers up a team of nerds, dorks and outcasts to declare war on the campus queen bee (Sara Paxton).

21 -- "Trade" stars Kevin Kline as a Texas police officer who helps a distraught brother search for a young Mexican woman kidnapped by sex traffickers. Based on a New York Times Magazine article by Peter Landesman.

21 -- "Forever" is Heddy Honigmann's documentary about P?re-Lachaise cemetery in Paris, where the famous (Edith Piaf, Marcel Proust, Jim Morrison) as well as the not-so-famous are buried.

21 -- "The Hottest State," which Ethan Hawke adapted from his novel, directs and stars in, follows a young man (Mark Webber) in loving pursuit of a singer/songwriter (Catalina Sandino Moreno) from the East Coast to Texas. Bittersweet, we're told, it's bittersweet.

27 -- The Asian Pacific American Film Festival gets underway at the AFI Silver Theatre with a screening of "Finishing the Game," a comedy about the desperate search to find a replacement for Bruce Lee in "Game of Death," which he was filming when he died in 1973. Through Oct 6.

28 -- "The Jane Austen Book Club" features Emily Blunt, Maria Bello, Hugh Dancy and Amy Brenneman in the story of six Californians who form a book club to read the novels of Jane Austen, only to find their lives taking on the plots of the books.

28 -- "Feast of Love," from veteran director Robert Benton ("Places in the Heart"), examines love in its various incarnations in an ensemble romantic drama starring Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear, Selma Blair and Radha Mitchell.

28 -- "Into the Wild" is Sean Penn's adaptation of the best-selling Jon Krakauer book about amateur adventurer Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch), who left his entire material life behind to hitchhike to Alaska and live in the wilderness. With Catherine Keener, William Hurt and Marcia Gay Harden.

28 -- "The Game Plan" stars Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as a hard-driving, hard-partying, love-'em-and-leave-'em football player whose life changes with the arrival of the 7-year-old daughter he never knew he had. Kyra Sedgwick plays his un-maternal sports agent.

28 -- "The Kingdom" stars Jamie Foxx in a political thriller about an elite team of FBI agents sent to investigate the bombing of an American facility in the Middle East. With Jennifer Garner and Chris Cooper.

28 -- "Blame It on Fidel!" tells the story of a 9-year-old girl who experiences the radical politics of the early 1970s through the experiences of her parents, who decide to become full-time activists. From writer-director Julie Gavras, the daughter of legendary political filmmaker Costa-Gavras ("Z").

28 -- "King of California" stars Michael Douglas in a comic turn as an unstable man who, upon his release from a mental institution, tries to convince his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) that there is Spanish gold buried under the tracts of suburbia. From first-time writer-director Mike Cahill.

TBA -- "Ira and Abby" features Chris Messina ("Six Feet Under") and Jennifer Westfeldt ("Notes From the Underbelly") as a New York couple who impulsively decide to get married. Then the hard part begins.

TBA -- "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" tells the story of America's most famous outlaw as he plots his next train robbery, battles enemies and learns which of his friends he can trust. With Brad Pitt in the title role, joined by Casey Affleck, Sam Shepard and Mary Louise Parker.

TBA -- "The Darjeeling Limited" brings audiences back into the weird and wonderful orbit of Wes Anderson, who has made his usual amalgam of comedy and drama with a story about three brothers (Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Adrien Brody), who travel through India after the death of their father.

TBA -- "My Kid Could Paint That" is a documentary about Marla Olmstead, a precocious 4-year-old whose paintings have been compared to Picasso's and whose story has sparked controversy over the authenticity of her talent and the ethics of her parents. Directed by Amir Bar-Lev ("Fighter").

TBA -- "Sleuth" is Kenneth Branagh's remake of the 1972 film about an aging crime writer who gets back at his wife's young lover by leading him on a lethal cat-and-mouse game at his country estate. Michael Caine, played the young blade in the first film; here, he's the wily codger and Jude Law plays his prey. Oh, it's on, my good man! It's on!

4 -- All Roads Film Festival opens at National Geographic with screenings of 20 feature length and short films from indigenous and minority-culture filmmakers from around the world. Highlights include "Super Amigos," a documentary that combines live action and animation to tell the story of a group of Lucha Libre wrestlers, and "Miss Navajo," another nonfiction film that follows the titular competition. Through Oct. 7.

5 -- "Feel the Noise," a drama starring Omarion Grandberry, is about a young man in New York's South Bronx who longs to make it as a rapper but, after a run-in with some thugs, must hide out in Puerto Rico. There, he discovers the joys of reggaeton. With Giancarlo Esposito.

5 -- "The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising" is a fantasy adventure about a young man who learns he is the last of a group of warriors dedicated to fighting forces called The Dark. (In Russian, it's called "Night Watch"!) With Jonathan Jackson, Ian McShane and Christopher Eccleston.

5 -- "Lust, Caution" stars Tony Leung as a powerful political figure in World War II-era Shanghai in this dramatic thriller directed by Ang Lee.

5 -- "The Heartbreak Kid," a remake of the Elaine May-Neil Simon 1972 comedy, stars Ben Stiller in a role originated by Charles Grodin: a man who meets his ideal woman while on his honeymoon. (Cybill Shepherd played the gorgeous young thing then; now it's Michelle Monaghan.) The Farrelly Brothers direct.

5 -- "Weirdsville" stars Scott Speedman and Wes Bentley as stoners who mistakenly think their friend (Taryn Manning) has overdosed and eventually run up against a Satanic cult, their drug dealer, then a whole town.

5 -- "The Good Night" looks like "The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" by way of "Hot Fuzz." Simon Pegg plays a middle-aged man who, in the throes of existential crisis, tries to dream his perfect woman into reality. First-time director Jake Paltrow has cast sister Gwyneth as Pegg's wife; Penelope Cruz is the dream girl.

5 -- "Michael Clayton" finds George Clooney in "Syriana" mode, starring in a contemporary thriller about a legal "fixer" who becomes embroiled in a legal and ethical maelstrom surrounding a huge civil action case. Tom Wilkinson and Tilda Swinton co-star; "Bourne" screenwriter Tony Gilroy makes his directorial debut.

5 -- "Vanaja" features Indian actress Mamtha Bhukya as a 15-year-old girl struggling to help support her family and come of age in rural South India.

6 -- Ingmar Bergman's Autumn, a two-day program at the National Gallery of Art, will feature screenings and discussions of three films by and about the recently departed master: "Saraband" (2003), "Bergman's Island" (2004) and "Sunday's Children" (1992).

10 -- "Control," shot in black and white, traces the rise and fall of Ian Curtis (Sam Riley), the founder of the British pop band Joy Division, who killed himself in 1980. Samantha Morton plays his wife.

11 -- The Labor Film Festival commences at AFI Silver. The always interesting series this year will include a mini-retrospective of Ken Loach (including "Riff-Raff," "Land and Freedom," "Which Side Are You On?," "The Wind That Shakes the Barley," "Poor Cow" and "Kes"). Through Oct. 16.

12 -- "Lars and the Real Girl" is a contemporary comedy about a guy who embarks on an odd relationship with a doll he finds on the Internet. With Jessica Alba, Alessandro Nivola and Parker Posey.

12 -- "Rendition" features Jake Gyllenhaal as a CIA analyst who reconsiders an assignment after witnessing disturbing interrogation methods in an undisclosed detention facility; Reese Witherspoon stars as the American wife of an Egyptian terrorism suspect.

12 -- "We Own the Night" stars Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg and Robert Duvall in a crime drama about a nightclub manager trying to save his brother and father from the Russian mafia. From James Gray ("The Yards").

12 -- "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" finds Cate Blanchett once again playing the English queen nearly 10 years after her regal turn in "Elizabeth" and once again under the direction of Shekhar Kapur, whose "Golden Age" explores the relationship between Elizabeth and the explorer Sir Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen). Yum.

12 -- "Terror's Advocate" is Barbet Schroeder's nonfiction portrait of Jacques Verg?s, who served as the legal representative for some of the most notorious terrorists in history, including Klaus Barbie and Carlos the Jackal.

12 -- "Grace Is Gone" stars John Cusack as a man whose wife is killed in Iraq; upon hearing of her death, he takes their two daughters on a road trip.

12 -- "The Final Season" shines a deserved spotlight on Sean Astin, here hitting center stage -- er, screen -- to play real-life high school baseball coach Kent Stock, who in the 1990s quit his job and suspended his wedding plans to lead his team to victory.

12 -- "Milarepa: Magician, Murderer, Saint" tells the story of Milarepa, Tibet's greatest saint, who after his father's sudden death sets out to learn the art of revenge but whose heart is eventually turned.

12 -- "Tyler Perry's 'Why Did I Get Married?' " is another of Perry's rambunctious social satires. This time, a group of former college friends, now married, learn that one of their circle is cheating on his wife. Also features Janet Jackson, Malik Yoba, Jill Scott and Sharon Leal.

12 -- "Rogue" stars Radha Mitchell and Michael Vartan as a tour guide and journalist who embark on a wildlife tour through Australia's crocodile-infested wetlands, only to discover that tour guides and journalists are crocodiles' favorite foods! From writer-director Greg McLean ("Wolf Creek").

13 -- Aaron Copland Film Scores, a one-day program, unspools at the National Gallery of Art, where viewers can see and discuss films featuring some of the composer's early film music, including "Of Mice and Men," "The Cummington Story" and "The North Star."

13 -- "Helvetica: A Documentary Film" is Gary Hustwit's documentary about the font we all love to change to Times New Roman. At the Corcoran Gallery, 7 and 9:30 p.m.

17 -- Black Box, the Hirshhorn Museum's series of new media and film, screens the work of contemporary Romanian filmmaker Mircea Cantor. Through Dec. 9.

19 -- "Gone Baby Gone" finds Ben Affleck behind the camera directing an adaptation of the Dennis Lehane novel. It's a crime drama about two Boston detectives who confront personal and professional crises while investigating the disappearance of a little girl.

19 -- "Tim Burton's the Nightmare Before Christmas 3-D" is "Tim Burton's the Nightmare Before Christmas." In 3-D.

19 -- "Reservation Road" stars Mark Ruffalo, Joaquin Phoenix, Jennifer Connelly and Mira Sorvino in a story about how the lives of two couples collide in the wake of the death of a child. From Terry George ("Hotel Rwanda"). Altogether now, MR fans: "You had us at Ruffalo."

19 -- "Mr. Untouchable" traces the life and career of Nicky Barnes, the notorious Harlem heroin dealer who reached heights of unimaginable wealth and power in the 1970s. From documentary filmmaker Marc Levin ("Slam").

19 -- "30 Days of Night" posits that every winter, the burg (or is that berg?) of Barrow, Alaska is plunged into 30 days of darkness. What better time and place for a bus full of vampires to take their winter vacation? Josh Hartnett plays the besieged sheriff and Melissa George his frightened (and no doubt very cold) wife.

19 -- "August Rush" stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Keri Russell as musicians whose chance encounter and ill-fated relationship leave behind an orphaned baby who grows up to be a prodigy.

19 -- "King Korn" is a doc from college buddies Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, who reveal that America's fast-food empire is fueled by . . . corn. They head to Iowa, grow an acre of the yellowy goodness and then try to follow its fate. (High fructose syrup? Cow feed? Oil for french fries? Etc.)

19 -- "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" brings master director Sidney Lumet back to the thrillers he's so good at, this time with a story about two brothers, a heist gone wrong and all manner of misfortune and tragic setbacks. With Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney and Marisa Tomei.

19 -- "Lake of Fire," a documentary about abortion, from the always provocative British director Tony Kaye ("American History X"), received high marks at last year's Toronto Film Festival. Talking heads include Noam Chomsky, Alan Dershowitz, Randall Terry and Norma McCorvey (the plaintiff in Roe v. Wade).

19 -- "The Comebacks" satirizes the inspirational-coach movie in this comedy about a down-and-out coach (David Koechner) who leads a team of college football misfits. The ensemble includes Matthew Lawrence, Brooke Nevin, Jackie Long and Jessie Garcia.

20 -- Edward Hopper and American Film Culture, a series of lectures about the painter's relationship to the films of his time, gets underway at the National Gallery. Through Nov. 4.

23 -- "C'est Chic: New Films From France," a festival of contemporary French cinema, returns for its second year in Washington with more than 20 features and shorts, including the doc "Lagerfeld Confidential," about designer Karl Lagerfeld, and Christophe Honor?'s 2007 Cannes entry, "Les Chansons d'Amour." Venues include the Avalon Theatre and Landmark's E Street Cinema. Through Nov. 1.

26 -- "Run, Fat Boy, Run," a comedy written by Michael Ian Black and directed by David Schwimmer, stars Simon Pegg ("Shaun of the Dead," "Hot Fuzz") as a guy who jilts his girlfriend, realizes years later he screwed up, and vows to run a marathon to prove his love for her. With Thandie Newton and Hank Azaria.

26 -- "Dan in Real Life" finds Steve Carell playing an advice columnist whose own best advice doesn't cut it when he falls for his brother's new girlfriend. Juliette Binoche and Dane Cook co-star.

26 -- "Bella," a mystically charged romance from Mexican filmmaker Alejandro Gomez Monteverde, traces the linked destinies of three strangers -- a soccer star, a waitress and a cook -- in New York one auspicious day.

26 -- "Funny Games" is a remake of Austrian writer-director Michael Haneke's 1997 film, a thriller that follows two deeply disturbed young men as they take a mother, father and son hostage in a vacation home invasion. Fun for the whole family? Stars Naomi Watts and Tim Roth.

26 -- "The Bubble," set in modern-day Tel Aviv, follows the social upheaval in a circle of young Israelis when a young Palestinian man enters their life.

26 -- "For the Bible Tells Me So," a documentary from Daniel G. Karslake, presents members of the gay community and the religious right exploring the issue of homosexuality. Interviewees include South African Bishop Desmond Tutu and former congressman Dick Gephardt.

26 -- Halloween Film Series, at the AFI Silver, delivers the dark classics "Nosferatu," "The Wicker Man" and John Carpenter's original "Halloween." Through Oct. 31.

26 -- "Music Within" stars Ron Livingston as Richard Pimentel, real-life Vietnam veteran who lost his hearing in the war and ultimately became one of the primary activists behind the Americans With Disabilities Act.

26 -- "Saw IV" scotches our futile dream that, because the malevolent Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is dead, the "Saw" franchise will grind to a halt. Even in death, his postmortem machinations are at work, as a pair of FBI agents and a SWAT commander discover.

26 -- "The Signal," a cautionary horror movie, follows a citywide outbreak of violence provoked by a mysterious signal transmitted through cellphones and other electronic devices.

26 -- "Things We Lost in the Fire" brings Halle Berry and Benicio del Toro together as grieving friends trying to get over a mutually painful loss -- the death of her husband (David Duchovny), who was his best friend. Susanne Bier, a leading light from the Danish film movement, Dogme 95, directs.

27 -- "Foster Hirsch on Otto Preminger" at the AFI Silver brings the author of a new Preminger biography to introduce a selection of the flamboyant director's works over two days, including "Advise & Consent," "Bunny Lake Is Missing," "Fallen Angel" and "Angel Face."

27 -- "Wild Choir: Cinematic Portraits by Jeremy Blake" opens at the Corcoran Gallery. Blake was an accomplished artist in a variety of media. This series will include his digital video "pop portraits" as well as the unfinished project he was working on when he took his own life in July. Through March 2, 2008.

28 -- "In The Beginning Was the Image: Conversations With Peter Whitehead," showing at the National Gallery of Art's East Building, is Paul Cronin's expansive new documentary about the British avant-garde filmmaker of the 1960s.

TBA -- "Darfur Now" chronicles the efforts of six activists -- including actor Don Cheadle -- to bring world attention to the genocide in the embattled Darfur region of Sudan.

TBA -- "Starting Out in the Evening" stars Frank Langella as a retired author whose self-imposed privacy is shattered by a graduate student (Lauren Ambrose) who is researching his novels.

TBA -- "Crossing Over." Wayne Kramer ("The Cooler") directs some big stars in this drama about immigrants of different nationalities struggling to get legal status in Los Angeles.

1 -- "European Union Film Showcase," an annual celebration of contemporary films from the EU, returns to the AFI Silver; many filmmakers will attend to discuss their works. Through Nov. 20.

2 -- "Martian Child" stars John Cusack as a widowed sci-fi writer who adopts a boy who claims to be from Mars. Featuring Amanda Peet and Joan Cusack.

2 -- "American Gangster," based on a true story, stars Denzel Washington as an ambitious drug dealer who smuggles heroin in the coffins of American soldiers returning from Vietnam. Russell Crowe plays the cop determined to bring him down. From screenwriter Steven Zaillian ("Schindler's List") and director Ridley Scott ("Gladiator").

2 -- "Bee Movie," a CGI-animated feature in the tradition of "A Bug's Life," stars the voice of Jerry Seinfeld as a bee who is so outraged to learn humans eat the honey his species produces, he plans to sue them. Other voices: Renee Zellweger, Chris Rock and John Goodman.

2 -- "The Kite Runner," adapted from the best-selling novel and set during Afghanistan's passage from monarchy to Taliban rule, centers on Amir (Khalid Abdalla), a Pashtun boy haunted by his betrayal of a childhood friend. Marc Forster ("Finding Neverland") directs.

2 -- "War/Dance," a documentary filmed in northern Uganda, follows three girls from a refugee camp school, who recount tragic experiences suffered during the civil war, as they prepare to compete in a national talent contest.

3 -- "Seasons of MacDowell," a compendium of four 20-minute films in different genres made by former fellows of New Hampshire's 100-year-old MacDowell art colony. Program includes shorts made by local MacDowell grads, including Aviva Kempner. At the National Gallery's East Building.

9 -- "Fred Claus" reveals that -- who knew? -- Santa Claus has an estranged, deadbeat brother (Vince Vaughn), whose bad behavior forces an unwanted reunion with his saintly sib (Paul Giamatti) at the North Pole.

9 -- "Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten" is a Julien Temple ("Absolute Beginners") documentary about the life of Joe Strummer, late leader of the groundbreaking punk band the Clash. Includes interviews with Bono, Johnny Depp and John Cusack, and members of the Clash.

9 -- "Lions for Lambs," with Robert Redford, Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise, is a political mystery in which the actions of two American soldiers (Derek Luke and Michael Pe?a) in Afghanistan affect a congressman (Cruise), a journalist (Streep) and a college professor (Redford, who also directs).

9 --"No Country for Old Men," based on Cormac McCarthy's novel of the same name, stars Tommy Lee Jones as a hunter unwittingly embroiled in a drug deal gone wrong. "Fargo" filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen wrote and directed.

12 -- "German Cinema From the Library of Congress," a Monday night series at the Goethe-Institut, highlights the contribution of Germany to the silent era with four classics of the 1920s: Paul Leni and Leopold Jessner's "Backstairs," E.A. Dupont's "Variety," F.W. Murnau's "Tartuffe" and Joe May's "Asphalt." Burnett Thompson will provide live musical accompaniment. Through Nov. 26.

16 -- "Beowulf" stars Ray Winstone as the ancient warrior who vows to kill the terrorizing demon known as Grendel (Crispin Glover). The all-star cast includes Anthony Hopkins, Robin Wright Penn, John Malkovich and Angelina Jolie (as the voice of Grendel's vengeful mother).

16 -- "The Buffy Musical Big Screen Interactive Extravaganza," an audience-participatory tribute to a cult episode ("Once More, With Feeling") of the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" TV series, returns to the Avalon for two rousing nights.

16 -- "Elegy," an adaptation of Philip Roth's novel, "The Dying Animal," stars Ben Kingsley as a professor whose life falls apart when he becomes involved with Consuela Castillo (Penelope Cruz), a student in one of his courses.

16 -- "Love in the Time of Cholera," adapted from Gabriel Garcia M?rquez's novel, centers on the smitten Florentino Ariza (Javier Bardem), whose romantic obsession for Fermina Daza (Giovanna Mezzogiorno) lasts half a century as he waits for her husband (Benjamin Bratt) to die of old age. It's directed by Mike Newell.

16 -- "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" stars Natalie Portman as the unwilling inheritor of a magic toy shop who must discover the enchantment inside herself. The fantasy also stars Dustin Hoffman and Jason Bateman.

16 -- "The Price of Sugar," an investigative documentary, sets out to expose the inhuman working conditions of sugar cane laborers in the Dominican Republic.

16 -- "Stories of Bucharest: New Films From Romania," at the National Gallery's East Building, shows contemporary works -- shorts, documentaries and features -- from the former communist country. Filmmakers range from upcoming artists to veteran Lucian Pintilie. Through Dec. 30.

21-- "Enchanted" a contemporary fairy tale, intermixes live action and animation and stars Amy Adams as a storybook princess whose betrothal to a handsome beau (James Marsden) is threatened when the wicked Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) banishes her to modern-day New York.

12 -- "Hitman," adapted from the hit video game "Hitman: Codename 47," stars Timothy Olyphant as Agent 47, a genetically engineered assassin who works for a shadowy agency called, of all things, the Agency.

21-- "Margot at the Wedding," written and directed by Noah Baumbach ("The Squid and the Whale"), follows the concerned travails of Margot (Nicole Kidman), a neurotic writer who wants to talk her free-spirited sister (Jennifer Jason Leigh) out of marrying a less-than-desirable man (Jack Black).

21 -- "The Mist," based on Stephen King's novella, stars Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden and Andre Braugher as citizens of a Maine town besieged by murderous creatures that emerge after a freak storm.

21 -- "This Christmas," an ensemble comedy starring Delroy Lindo, Loretta Devine, Regina King and Idris Elba, brings together the Whitfields, a family bubbling over with rivalries, resentments and other issues guaranteed to spike the festive eggnog.

21 -- "I'm Not There" is Todd Haynes's impressionistic biopic of Bob Dylan, starring Richard Gere, Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Michelle Williams and Julianne Moore -- among others -- as Dylan's myriad personae.

23 -- "Global Film Initiative," a series of shorts and dramatic features designed to foster awareness of other cultures, comes to the AFI Silver. Through Dec. 27.

23 -- "The Red Balloon," about a boy and his balloon, and "White Mane," about a boy and a horse, two re-released, short fables made by French director Albert Lamorisse in the 1950s, will be shown together.

23 -- "Shohei Imamura Retrospective," at the American Film Institute, celebrates the work of the Japanese filmmaker, whose 19 films, over 45 years, probed that society's lower classes. Through Dec. 27.

29 -- "The Washington Jewish Film Festival" presents 46 films, documentaries and shorts from 15 countries that explore Jewish themes. Filmmakers will attend. At various venues, including the AFI Silver, the Aaron & Cecile Goldman Theater, Busboys & Poets, and the Goethe-Institut. Through Dec. 9.

30 -- "Cassandra's Dream," Woody Allen's third consecutive movie set in England, follows the ill-fated paths of two brothers (Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor) when they become infatuated with the same femme fatale (Hayley Atwell).

30 -- "Flawless," set in London in the 1960s, stars Michael Caine as the disgruntled janitor of a major diamond merchant, who plans a heist with the help of an American executive (Demi Moore).

30 -- "Pathology" stars Milo Ventimiglia as a young hospital intern who falls in with a group of med students who indulge in macabre games of murder. Cast includes Alyssa Milano, Lauren Lee Smith and Johnny Whitworth.

TBA -- "Juno," a dark comedy written by gonzo blogger Diablo Cody, stars Ellen Page as Juno MacGuff, a teenager who gets pregnant and decides to put her baby up for adoption. Jason Reitman ("Thank You for Smoking") directs.

TBA -- A selection of Monty Python Films at AFI Silver, including "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" and "The Life of Brian." Through January.

TBA -- "The Savages" stars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney as bickering siblings who must patch up their longtime differences to care for their ailing father (Philip Bosco).

TBA -- "Youth Without Youth," which breaks Francis Ford Coppola's 10-year absence from directing after 1997's "The Rainmaker," stars Tim Roth as a Romanian professor whose dramatic life rejuvenation formula elicits the interests of the Nazis. The cast includes Bruno Ganz and an uncredited Matt Damon.

TBA -- "The Great Debaters" stars Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker in a drama inspired by a true story, about a debate team from a predominantly black college that overcame Jim Crow politics and culture to compete at Harvard.

3 -- "The Red Elvis: Dean Reed in Film," a Monday night series at the Goethe-Institut, draws attention to Dean Reed, a charismatic American singer and Marxist whose global wanderings took him to the former East Germany -- where he became a film actor and director. The films include a 2007 documentary ("The Red Elvis"). Through Dec. 17.

6 -- "New African Films Festival," at the AFI Silver, presents new works of African filmmakers. Through Dec. 17.

7 -- "Atonement," the long-anticipated adaptation of Ian McEwan's 2002 novel, stars Keira Knightley and James McAvoy as the ill-fated couple whose romantic destiny is affected by a young girl's fabrications.

7 -- "The Golden Compass," based on the first novel in Philip Pullman's trilogy, "His Dark Materials," is set in a wondrous world of witches and talking bears in which its preteen heroine (Dakota Blue Richards) must save her world and ours. The ensemble cast includes Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Sam Elliott and Ian McShane.

7 -- "How to Cook Your Life," a documentary from German director Doris Doerrie ("Men"), visits with Buddhist Zen master Edward Espe Brown, who shows how the preparation of food and the guiding principles of Zen Buddhism are inextricably linked.

7 -- "Leatherheads" brings George Clooney and Renee Zellweger together in a pigskin romance set during the early days of professional football. Directed by Steven Soderbergh.

7 -- "Motel Hell" is a remake of the 1980 horror classic in which a creepy farmer made popular, tasty sausages out of humans he kept alive and in the back yard, buried to their necks.

9 -- "Night and Fog" and "Nobody's Business" are two "essay films" at the National Gallery. The former, from 1955, is a cinematic study of the Holocaust; the latter, of 1996, is a portrait of filmmaker Alan Berliner's father that interweaves past and present. Screenings will be preceded by a lecture from essayist and poet Philip Lopate titled "In Search of the Essay Film."

12 -- "Nanking," a documentary by Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman ("Twin Towers"), tells the story of the Japanese invasion of Nanking, China, in the days preceding World War II, and of the heroic efforts of a small group of people to save 200,000 Chinese citizens.

12 -- "The Walker," from writer-director Paul Schrader, stars Woody Harrelson as a Washington man who serves as an escort to the city's grand dames, whose husbands are otherwise engaged in political power circles. On paper, it looks like a modern-day D.C. version of Schrader's classic 1980 drama, "American Gigolo."

14 -- "Alvin and the Chipmunks" recycles the '50s kitsch about singing rodents, with animation pro Tim Hill calling the shots and Jason Lee as the main voice.

14 -- "Thomas Kinkade's The Christmas Cottage" is inspired by the works of the super-successful artist and/or huckster (take your pick) of "cozy cottage" paintings.

14 -- "Perfect Christmas" is a family drama in which a youngster turns to a department store Santa to find romance for her mom. The cast includes Terrence Howard and Gabrielle Union. Queen Latifah narrates.

14 -- "I Am Legend" is the third remake of the Richard Matheson novel about the last man on Earth, with Will Smith as "Himself" trying to survive a planet full of zombies.

14 -- "Christmas Classics," including "It's a Wonderful Life," "A Muppet Christmas Carol" and "A Christmas Story," begins its 12-day run at AFI Silver.

14 -- "Redacted" gives director Brian De Palma a shot to sound off on the war (in high-definition video), in this feature based on real events from the war in Iraq.

17 -- Black Box, at the Hirshhorn, features the work of Brazilian photographer and filmmaker Rivane Neuenschwander, whose film "Quarta-Feira de Cinzas/Epilogue" will be shown. Through April 20, 2008.

21 -- "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" is the sequel to "National Treasure," except that this time Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger and Justin Bartha are searching for 18 missing pages from John Wilkes Booth's diary.

21 -- "Be Kind Rewind" proves that Jack Black hasn't quite destroyed his career yet; he plays a man who destroys a video store's collection of films and has to "re-create" them for an elderly renter.

21 -- "Walk Hard" features John C. Reilly as "Dewey Cox," a fictional singer in this parody of overblown C-W movie biographies.

22 -- "The Strange Madame X," a rare 1951 film directed by Jean Gremillon, is shown at the National Gallery of Art.

22 --"Rialto Pictures" celebrates the revival house that has restored and released classic pictures for the past 10 years, many of which will be shown at the AFI Silver. Through Jan. 10.

25 -- "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" tells the story of a French magazine editor who, paralyzed by a stroke, found a way to communicate through the one free part of his body, his eyelid, and wrote -- blinked-- a book about his inner life.

25 -- "Alien vs. Predator: Survival of the Fittest" lets visual effects supervisors Colin and Greg Strause sit in the franchise's director's chair, as warring predators and aliens invade a small town (full of unknown actors).

25 -- "The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep" takes a Scottish legend and brings it to life during World War II in a family fantasy (with Emily Watson and David Morrissey).

25 -- "Charlie Wilson's War" features Tom Hanks in the Mike Nichols film about the congressman who supervised the Afghan war against the Soviets.

25 -- "Sweeney Todd" reaches the movies, courtesy of visionary director Tim Burton and clever little Johnny Depp in the Demon Barber role.

28 -- "Mongol" features Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano as the slave who, during the second half of his life, conquered the world under the name Genghis Khan.

28 -- Films by Wes Anderson, perhaps best known for "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "Rushmore," at the AFI Silver through Jan. 10.

8 -- "Untitled J.J. Abrams'" project, from the director of "Mission Impossible: III."

18 -- "New Films Festival" begins its 16th annual look at what's new in cinema from Germany, Switzerland and Austria. A Goethe-Institut film program, it includes six days of screenings at Landmark's E Street Cinema.

TBA -- "Persepolis" recounts a young aristocratic girl's enthusiasm for, and then disillusionment with, the revolution that followed the Shah in Iran.

TBA -- "There Will Be Blood" is the new Paul Thomas Anderson ("Boogie Nights," "Punch Drunk Love") film, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, about greed in the Texas oil fields at the turn of the century.

TBA -- "Caramel" is a romantic comedy that looks at five Lebanese women in a beauty salon as a microcosm of Beirut.

TBA -- "Taxi From the Dark Side" is a documentary by Alex Gibney ("The Smartest Guys in the Room") about the death of an Afghan taxi driver at the Bagram air base, a case that serves as a lens into the Bush Doctrine on torture.