‘Tis The Season
Much like the Packers and falling leaves, fall marks the time of year when movies start to change their colors

By Steven Snyder

It’s fascinating, as a film critic, to watch the trends from year to year. 2002 was an abysmal year at the movies. Last year, the Oscar darlings fell short while the early winter and spring offerings were surprisingly strong.

And this year, after a bleak spring and a moderately strong summer, all eyes are fixated on a most promising fall schedule from the major studios. There is real potential in some of the titles slated for release over the next four months, and real cause for excitement that, come Oscar time, movies will once again reach their perennial high point.

Here’s your guide as to this season’s movie lineup, and what titles you should get excited about as you fill in your autumn entertainment calendar.

SEPTEMBER

September 3

“ Wicker Park”

Breakdown: Can young heartthrobs make us care?

Major “Fatal Attraction” vibes from this story of romance and passion, starring Josh Hartnett (“Hollywood Homicide”) as a young investment banker who becomes obsessed with a woman he sees at a café, believing this stranger is the woman of his dreams.

September 10

“Cellular”

Breakdown: Exciting premise, but will it lose reception?

A man (Chris Evans) gets a cell phone call from a distraught woman (Kim Basinger) who says she’s been kidnapped, pleading for him to help save her son from becoming the next victim. From the same screenwriter as “Phone Booth”

September 17

“ Wimbledon”

Breakdown: Sports romance with two unproven romantic leads.

A down-and-out British tennis player (Paul Bettany) has two weeks to resurrect his career during a British tennis tournament, all the while falling in love with the rising female star of the tennis world (Kirsten Dunst).

September 24

“The Forgotten”

Breakdown: Tantalizing premise. Great cast. Surprise hit?

A single mother (Julianne Moore) is distraught after losing her son in an airplane crash, only to be confronted by a psychiatrist (Gary Sinise) who says she never had a son, and that her memories are only symptoms of her psychosis.

“Mr. 3000”

Breakdown: A movie featuring Milwaukee AND the Brewers! How can you miss it?

A cranky baseball player (Bernie Mac), who retired from baseball immediately following his 3,000 th base hit, returns to the Milwaukee Brewers when three of his hits are nullified after the fact. Note: Most filming was done in New Orleans.

OCTOBER

October 1

“Shark Tale”

Breakdown: Hyped for about a year, are expectations too deep?

The latest quirky CG children’s film, about a mafia family of sharks and what happens when a shark boss (Robert De Niro) is killed.

October 8

“I Am David”

Breakdown: The first major historical drama of the fall.

A young boy (Ben Tibber) in a 1952 concentration camp is aided by another inmate (James Caviezel) in escaping, charged with traveling from Bulgaria to Copenhagen with only a compass and a loaf of bread to his name.

“Ladder 49”

Breakdown: An impressive cast in a fireman movie that means so much more post-9/11.

A trapped firefighter (Joaquin Phoenix) waits for his colleagues to save him from a burning building, reflecting on his life as he faces almost certain death.

October 15

“Shall We Dance”

Breakdown: Remaking a brilliant foreign film, in true Hollywood style.

A remake of a beautiful Japanese film, this romance features an overworked, bored accountant (Richard Gere) who sees a dance instructor (Jennifer Lopez) through her studio window, takes up dancing lessons, and soon enters a dancing competition.

“Team America: World Police”

Breakdown: From the makers of South Park? Sure to be deliciously offensive.

Maximizing exposure near the election, this puppet film features a team of American action heroes who traverse the globe battling terrorism and other evils, made as a mix of action sequences and musical numbers.

October 22

“Alfie”

Breakdown: Remakes typically suffer, but this one’s got Law.

A remake of the 1966 romantic comedy, “Alfie” is the story of a womanizing playboy (Jude Law) who prides himself on his ability to get women into bed, often breaking the mold of the film in speaking directly to the viewer.

NOVEMBER

November 5

“Alexander”

Breakdown: Oliver Stone, Colin Farrell, biopic, action spectacle: Movie Gold.

An action epic about Alexander the Great (Colin Farrell), and the eight years in which he led his armies against the Persian Empire, expanding his reach to Egypt, India and forever leaving his mark on the world.

“Birth”

Breakdown: An unlikely, low-key role for Nicole Kidman.

A thirty-something (Nicole Kidman) meets a child who claims to be her reincarnated husband, forcing her to reevaluate the course of her life.

November 10

“The Ring 2”

Breakdown: No profitable film can escape the sequel.

A follow-up to 2002’s “The Ring,” the same ominous, lethal videotapes resurface for an investigative reporter (Naomi Watts) who starts to unravel facts about the phenomenon.

November 12

“Surviving Christmas”

Breakdown: Six weeks before Christmas - Jumping the gun?

A wealthy, lonely executive (Ben Affleck) returns home for Christmas, convincing the family now living in his boyhood home to take him in for the holidays. But, as luck would have it, this family is even crazier than his.

November 19

“Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason”

Breakdown: Zellweger’s comedic return.

Four weeks after the story of the 2001 comedy ended, Bridget’s (Renee Zellweger) angst continues as she discovers that married life, and career advancements are not nearly what she hoped they would be.

November 24

“Christmas With The Kranks”

Breakdown: Good sign: Based on Grisham novel. Bad sign: Screenplay by the heavy-handed Chris Columbus.

Based on John Grisham’s novel “Skipping Christmas,” this light-hearted holiday piece is about a family who turns their back on the shallowness of Christmas, only to be surprised by a daughter who returns home expecting the same old yuletide cheer.

DECEMBER

December 10

“Blade Trinity”

Breakdown: The Christmas gift no one asked for.

In this, the third film of the series, superhero Blade (Wesley Snipes) is set up by the vampires he seeks to kill, framed as a dangerous menace that leaves him wanted by the FBI.

“Ocean’s Twelve”

Breakdown: Cast is back, but is the premise being stretched too thin?

The entire group reunited from the fantastic 2001 heist film (the twelfth member being Tess (Julia Roberts)), this sequel finds the same crew of crooks taking down three scores at once.

December 22

“Meet The Fockers”

Breakdown: The family reunion that has everyone buzzing.

The widely-anticipated sequel to 2000’s “Meet The Parents,” “Fockers” hopes to recreate the same awkwardness that existed between Greg (Ben Stiller) and father-in-law (and CIA agent) Jack (Robert De Niro), this time between Jack and Greg’s family.

December 25

“An Unfinished Life”

Breakdown: An Oscar-caliber story. But is Lopez an Oscar-caliber actress?

Timed perfectly to make a run at Oscar gold, “Life” follows a poor and abused mother (Jennifer Lopez) as she and her daughter (Becca Gardner) move in to her father-in-law’s (Robert Redford) Wyoming ranch in hopes of turning their lives around.

5 TITLES TO WATCH FOR

THE TOP 5

1. “Cellular” (Sept. 10)

Written by the same screenwriter as the surprisingly claustrophobic and palpable “Phone Booth,” “Cellular” has the look and feel of a taut, frantic thriller about an innocent guy thrown into an intense situation. However, its success might come down to director David Ellis’ (“Final Destination 2”) ability to create his characters first before throwing them into chaos.

2. “Team America: World Police” (Oct. 15)

Seeing previews for this eccentric comedy, I already admire Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s (“ South Park”) willingness to push the envelope of political correctness and good taste. Made with puppets, and ruthlessly spoofing today’s political leaders, this promises to be a pre-election comedy romp of epic proportions.

3. “Alexander” (Nov. 5)

His first major release since 1999’s “Any Given Sunday,” “Alexander” reunites director Oliver Stone with the biopic, giving him a sweeping canvas with which to incorporate his kinetic style of filmmaking. Focusing on the eight years during which Alexander the Great swept across the world, “Alexander” has the potential to be a profound epic, featuring a cast of such notable talent as Colin Farrell (“Minority Report”), Anthony Hopkins (“The Human Stain”) and Jared Leto (“Requiem For A Dream”).

4. “The Ring 2” (Nov. 10)

Bringing back star Naomi Watts (“21 Grams”) is the most important detail of this sequel, which resurrects those deadly videotapes as Watts searches for more clues. However, the success of the first “Ring” was found largely in its originality. Will that sensation of something new be absent this time around?

5. “Ocean’s Twelve” (Dec. 10)

Admittedly, “Ocean’s Eleven” was just a heist movie, but it was a really good heist movie. And this time around, the same cast and director have returned to play the game a second time. This time divided between three different heists, the cast’s infectious chemistry may be a bit diluted, but that should be more than made up for by the expanded scope of the score.

INDEPENDENT MOVIES THIS FALL

THE INDIE SCENE - 5 Films To Watch For

1. “Shaun of the Dead”

An immensely popular British comedy, “Shaun” exists as the bizarre union of a traditional zombie thriller and a romantic comedy, the lovers hilariously unaware of the world deteriorating around them.

2. “Uncovered: The War On Iraq”

Just when you thought the controversy of “Fahrenheit 9/11” was behind us, here comes Robert Greenwald’s systematic deconstruction of the Iraq War and the Bush administration’s flawed policy, attempting to make another dent in this year’s elections from the screens of the nation’s theaters.

3. “The Motorcycle Diaries”

The ultimate road trip film, based on the real story of a revolutionary who traveled across South America on a motorcycle between 1951 and 1952, experiencing the adventure of a lifetime.

4. “Finding Neverland”

The true story of James M. Barrie (Johnny Depp), the writer of “Peter Pan,” and what struggles in his life helped him to concoct the famous fairy-tale. Early buzz on “Neverland” marks it as a strong Oscar contender, particularly for Depp’s performance.

5. “Phantom of the Opera”

Produced and co-written by songwriter Andrew Lloyd Webber himself, this filmed version of the smash Broadway musical is being directed by Joel Schumacher (“Phone Booth”) and features Gerard Butler (“Timeline”) as the Phantom. “Phantom” fans, take note: The film will reportedly feature a handful of new songs.

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