CATCH THEM IF YOU CAN MOVIES OF 2002 JUST KEEP GETTING BETTER.

Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Writer

A good year for movies is about to turn into a great one.

Expectations always run high this time of year because the studios save their good movies (or at least the ones they think are going to be good) for the end of the year so that they're fresh in Oscar voters' minds. Typically, though, the reality often fails to live up to the hype, and many high-pedigree projects like ``Ali'' and ``The Majestic'' (to cite two from last year) crash and burn, leaving quality sleepers like ``Gosford Park'' to sneak in and steal the attention.

This year, however, the studios not only are delivering the goods, but they're also producing some entertaining non-Oscar bait that exceeds all expectations. Thus, you have a Bond film that's the best in years, a dream-match romantic-comedy starring Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock, George Clooney re-teaming with director Steven Soderbergh in the dreamy ``Solaris'' and a ``Lord of the Rings'' sequel that promises to be just as grandly entertaining as the first film.

If ``The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' doesn't find a place in critics' top-10 lists this year, it will probably be more a case of overcrowding than lack of merit. The coming weeks boast a wealth of outstanding films, including crowning career performances from Michael Caine (``The Quiet American'') and Jack Nicholson (``About Schmidt''), not to mention two delightful turns from Meryl Streep (``The Hours,'' ``Adaptation'') and a crowd-pleasing directorial debut from Denzel Washington (`'Antwone Fisher''). Speaking of ``The Hours,'' Nicole Kidman - with a prosthetic nose - gives an eye-opening performance as novelist Virginia Woolf, while Julianne Moore, already seen in the '50s-era ``Far From Heaven,'' returns to that decade as a stifled housewife.

And since we mentioned ``Adaptation,'' it should be noted that the filmmaking team of director Spike Jonze and writer Charlie Kaufman have somehow topped the fun-house ride of ``Being John Malkovich,'' only this time they're working for a major studio (Columbia) and with big-name stars (Streep, Nicolas Cage). Meanwhile, Spanish director Pedro Almodovar follows his Oscar-winning ``All About My Mother'' with the brilliant ``Talk to Her,'' a passionate look at life and love, this time through the eyes of men.

If that doesn't pique your interest, Mirmax is offering a lavish musical (``Chicago''), two heart-wrenching dramas from Phillip Noyce (``The Quiet American'' and ``Rabbit-Proof Fence''), Roberto Benigni playing Pinocchio, a loopy Chuck Barris biopic directed by George Clooney and the long-delayed Martin Scorsese epic ``Gangs of New York.'' Even though Miramax hasn't screened any of these films, aside from the killer twin-bill from Noyce, we're betting that, at worst, they'll be interesting failures at worst.

Whether audiences will want to pony up the admission price for a beautifully botched movie remains to be seen. But with box-office receipts currently running 12 percent ahead of last year's total (that translates into almost $1 billion - before ``Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets''), the pump seems to be primed.

Want more proof that it's a very good year? Well, we've written 500 words and we haven't even mentioned that there's a new Steven Spielberg movie called ``Catch Me If You Can'' that promises to steer clear of the dark, robot-boy-infested waters that have disturbed some fans of late. Instead, Spielberg has made a light-on-its-feet caper comedy starring Tom Hanks AND Leonardo DiCaprio. And if that doesn't say, ``Merry Christmas,'' then your name is Scrooge.

Season's screenings

By Bob Strauss and Glenn Whipp

Film Writers

NOV. 22

DIE ANOTHER DAY: The latest James Bond entry comes amid the biggest wave of spy thrillers since the one 007 originally set off in the 1960s. Will Pierce Brosnan be able to stand out from the crowd? Maybe; at least this time he'll have help from Oscar-winning bad girl Halle Berry. (MGM)

THE EMPEROR'S CLUB: Classics professor Kevin Kline's life is forevermore affected by a remarkable student. (Universal)

FRIDAY AFTER NEXT: What is it with movies with ``Friday'' in the title? ``Friday the 13th,'' ``Freaky Friday'' - like Jason, they never seem to die. Here, Ice Cube and Mike Epps return to their roots in the third installment of this series, which has the boyz looking for a ghetto Santa Claus who stole all their gifts. (New Line)

THE QUIET AMERICAN: Cynical British journalist (Michael Caine) enjoys life in 1952 Vietnam until the title character, who may or may not be a CIA agent (Brendan Fraser), arrives and falls for his young, Vietnamese girlfriend. The film will play for a two-week Oscar-qualifying run. (Miramax)

SOLARIS: Tarkovsky's 1972 Russian version, not the Steven Soderbergh film opening the week after. It's a masterpiece, even without George Clooney. (Kino)

NOV. 27

ADAM SANDLER'S 8 CRAZY NIGHTS: A musical comedy from Adam Sandler. In cartoon form. With Sandler doing all the lead voices. Thank God the Oscars created that new category for animation. (Columbia)

EXTREME OPS: Lunatic snowboarders gather on an isolated mountain peak for a film shoot. Little did they expect murderous war criminals to be lurking there, too. (Paramount)

PERSONAL VELOCITY: Three stories about women trying to make sense of topsy-turvy lives make up this Sundance Film Festival prize-winner, written and directed by Rebecca Miller (playwright Arthur's kid, if you didn't know). The confused ladies are played by Kyra Sedgwick, Parker Posey and Fairuza Balk. (United Artists)

SOLARIS: Steven Soderbergh goes to space in this adaptation of Stanislaw Lem's 1961 cult sci-fi novel about strange doings on a space station. George Clooney is the psychologist sent to investigate the mind games. Once aboard, he falls victim to the same forces, which, in his case, may reunite him with the love of his life. (20th Century Fox)

TREASURE PLANET: Disney's latest animated offering is a sci-fi reinvention of Robert Louis Stevenson's ``Treasure Island.'' Here Long John Silver is a half-human, half-cyborg figure. But don't worry, he's still up to no good. (Disney)

WES CRAVEN PRESENTS: THEY: Young woman realizes she isn't the only one having bad dreams at night. (Dimension)

NOV. 29

FRIENDS AND FAMILY: Gay mafia hit men comedy. Yes, you read that right. (Regent)

RABBIT-PROOF FENCE: Phillip Noyce's controversial historical film about Australia's mistreatment of aboriginal girls. (Miramax)

TAKE CARE OF MY CAT: Young Korean women struggle to adjust to adult life. (Small Planet)

DEC. 6

ADAPTATION: Long-awaited follow-up from Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman, the director and writer, respectively, who gave us ``Being John Malkovich.'' This one is equally bizarre: A writer, Charlie Kaufman (Nicolas Cage), struggles with the job of bringing a best-selling novel (Susan Orlean's ``The Orchid Thief'') to the screen. With Meryl Streep as Orlean, Chris Cooper as the orchid poacher and Nicolas Cage (again) as Kaufman's freeloading brother. (Columbia)

ANALYZE THAT: Billy Crystal and Robert De Niro go the ``Sopranos'' route, literally, when De Niro's reformed mobster gets a job as a consultant on a Mafia TV show called ``Little Caesar.'' (Warner Bros.)

EMPIRE: John Leguizamo plays a gangster trying to escape the life and the South Bronx. First film from Arenas Entertainment, a new Latino film label in partnership with Universal. (Universal)

EQUILIBRIUM: Futuristic thriller about a society where feelings and the things that might provoke them - art, music, poetry, caffeine - are strictly forbidden. (Dimension)

KAANTE: Bollywood crime thriller ... on IMAX. (Media Partners)

MY KINGDOM: Aging crime lord sees his empire crumble after his wife's murder. Notable for being Richard Harris' last leading role. Plays for one week in an Oscar-qualifying run. (First Look)

DEC. 13

ABOUT SCHMIDT: Jack Nicholson plays an insurance salesman looking back on a lifetime of failure in this film from Alexander Payne (``Election''), which won acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. (New Line)

DRUMLINE: Harlem street drummer heads south to be part of a university marching band. (20th Century Fox)

MAID IN MANHATTAN: Ralph Fiennes and Jennifer Lopez are probably the last two people you'd think of as co-stars of a romantic comedy, yet here they are in this story of a hotel maid and the Prince Charming whose bed she turns down at night. Cue ``Pretty Woman.'' (Columbia)

EVELYN: Pierce Brosnan plays a single father who takes on the ultraconservative, 1950s Irish Supreme Court when it denies him custody of his three children. Based on a true story. ``Driving Miss Daisy's'' Bruce Beresford directs. (United Artists)

THE GUYS: New York journalist (Sigourney Weaver) helps firefighter (Anthony LaPaglia) grieve after 9-11. (Focus)

THE HOT CHICK: Rob Schneider comedy. Lord, please don't let him play the title role. (Touchstone)

SKINS: Chris Eyre, director of the intriguing ``Smoke Signals,'' returns with another tale of friendship and family dysfunction on a contemporary Indian reservation. Graham Greene and Eric Schweig star. (First Look Media)

STAR TREK: NEMESIS: The Next Generation may launch its final journey when the Enterprise crew encounters a particularly monstrous alien race. The usual suspects report for duty. (Paramount)

TALK TO HER: Oscar winner Pedro Almodovar (``All About My Mother'') brings us another outlandish Spanish love story. This one's about men in love with women in comas. And bullfighting. (Sony Pictures Classics)

DEC. 18

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS: Frodo and Sam, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli and the rest of the gang return to battle evil and destroy that darned ring in the middle chapter of the Tolkien trilogy. (New Line)

DEC. 19

25TH HOUR: Spike Lee's latest concerns a Manhattan partier (Ed Norton) who tries to make peace with his family and friends on the day before going to prison for seven years. (Touchstone)

DEC. 20

ANTWONE FISHER: Denzel Washington makes his directorial debut on this true story about a young sailor who confronts his abusive past. Fisher wrote the screenplay; Washington plays the psychologist who helped him out of the woods. (Fox Searchlight)

GANGS OF NEW YORK: Martin Scorsese's epic about warring immigrant groups in 19th-century Manhattan finally arrives. We think. With Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz and a jar of severed ears. (Miramax)

INTACTO: Spanish thriller about three individuals and an aging crime lord (Max von Sydow) who all possess a gift for luck, a gift that can be transmitted from person to person. (Lions Gate)

MORVERN CALLER: When her writer boyfriend commits suicide, an impoverished supermarket clerk steals his unpublished novel, sells it as her own and moves to Spain. From accomplished Scottish filmmaker Lynne Ramsay. (Cowboy Pictures)

NARC: Investigating a colleague's murder, two cops-on-the-edge (Jason Patric and Ray Liotta) discover that the drug underworld is even worse than they'd thought. (Paramount)

SPIDER: No, not psycho horror master David Cronenberg's attempt at a superhero movie, but the study of a mentally disturbed individual's efforts to come to terms with his traumatic past. Ralph Fiennes, Miranda Richardson, Gabriel Byrne and Lynn Redgrave star in Patrick McGrath's adaptation of his own novel. (Sony Pictures Classics)

TWO WEEKS NOTICE: Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock in a romantic comedy, a dream pairing if you dream about ``Four Weddings and a Funeral'' while you're sleeping. (Warner Bros.)

THE WILD THORNBERRYS MOVIE: If your ``Hey, Arnold!'' movie doesn't succeed, try again with a big-screen version of another Nickelodeon cartoon. (Paramount)

DEC. 25

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN: Crooked master role-player Leonardo DiCaprio leads FBI agent Tom Hanks on a long, frustrating chase in this true story-based caper directed by Steven Spielberg. (DreamWorks)

THE LION KING: Disney's biggest animated moneymaker roars back in IMAX format. (Disney)

PINOCCHIO: For his follow-up to ``Life Is Beautiful,'' Roberto Benigni tries something even tougher - a live-action version of the great fairy tale about a little wooden boy. Let the backlash begin. (Miramax)

DEC. 27

CHICAGO: Everyone's favorite musical about adultery and murder comes to the big screen with Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere providing the razzle dazzle. (Miramax)

CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND: Chuck Barris: Television producer by day, CIA assassin by night. Who knew? George Clooney makes his directorial debut (unless Miramax chieftain Harvey Weinstein takes over) with Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore, Julia Roberts and Clooney himself in the cast. (Miramax)

THE HOURS: Michael Cunningham's best-selling, three-part novel built around Virginia Woolf's ``Mrs. Dalloway'' gets an all-star mounting with Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore and Nicole Kidman in the key roles. (Paramount)

MAX: Jewish art lover (John Cusack) takes a young Adolf Hitler (Noah Taylor) under his wing in post-World War I Germany. (Lions Gate)

NICHOLAS NICKLEBY: The Dickens war horse is mounted again with an all-star cast featuring Christopher Plummer, Nathan Lane, Alan Cumming, Jamie Bell, Jim Broadbent, Tom Courtenay and Timothy Spall. (United Artists)

THE PIANIST: Holocaust survivor Roman Polanski's Cannes Film Festival prize winner about a Jewish musician's struggle to live through Nazi occupation. Adrien Brody stars. (Focus)

SONNY: Male prostitute looks to go out of business. Nicolas Cage makes his directorial debut. (Gold Circle/Samuel Goldwyn)

DEC. 30

LOVE LIZA: Sundance Festival favorite about a young widower's unshakable grief. The always-compelling Philip Seymour Hoffman stars. (Sony Classics)

CAPTION(S):

4 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) sno-biz spectacular!

Have a ball with our holiday entertainment guide

(2) Leonardo DiCaprio in ``Catch Me If You Can'' (Dec. 25).

(3) Nicole Kidman in ``The Hours'' (Dec. 27).

(4) ``Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' (Dec. 18).

Box:

SEASON'S SCREENINGS (see text)