DISTINGUISHING FEATURES HOLLYWOOD PROMISES A LOT FOR THE COMING MONTHS, BUT WILL PRIDE GOETH BEFORE A FALL?

Sure, it's fall, the time of year when adults develop all sorts of great expectations for all the wonderful movies that are about to come our way. And, yes, there will be some good films, definitely more than we were given this summer, although we certainly liked ``Shrek,'' ``Ghost World,'' ``The Deep End'' and ``The Others'' quite a bit, thank you.

But before your spirits soar too high, remember this: Last year, some poor misguided souls thought ``The Legend of Bagger Vance,'' ``Pay It Forward'' and ``All the Pretty Horses'' sounded like Oscar material, and assumed that Adam Sandler playing Satan's offspring in ``Little Nicky'' would be good for a laugh or two. And nobody had any idea about charming little movies like ``You Can Count on Me'' and ``Best in Show.''

Our advice: Keep the optimism in check. Avoid ``Sidewalks of New York.'' And reserve your tickets for ``Monsters, Inc.'' (Hey, the Pixar people never disappoint.)

The following release dates are tentative, and many of the films will likely fall from autumn to 2002. (Example: ``Moulin Rouge'' and ``Enemy at the Gates'' were on last year's fall roundup.) Caveat Emptor!

BEST IN SHOW

SEPT. 14

China: The Panda Adventure IMAX film about an independent woman who travels to 1930s China to bring back the first live giant panda to America. (IMAX)

The Glass House: Orphaned teens move to Malibu. Things turn ugly when their guardians turn out to be evil. Talk about a parent trap. (Columbia)

Go Tigers!: Documentary about a decaying Ohio Rustbelt town and its beloved high school football team. (IFC)

Haiku Tunnel: Temp office worker looks for something more permanent in life. (Sony Pictures Classics)

Hardball: Keanu Reeves coaches Little Leaguers. Just make sure you check those birth certificates, guy. (Paramount)

Kill Me Later: Depressed young woman is saved from jumping off a building by a bank robber who takes her hostage. The thing is: She wants to be killed. (Seventh Arts)

Lisa Picard Is Famous: Struggling actress makes it big after appearing in a racy cereal commercial. (First Look)

Vengo: Gypsies feud and do a lot of flamenco dancing. (Cowboy Booking)

< SEPT. 21

Big Trouble: Barry Sonnenfeld (``Get Shorty,'' ``Wild Wild West'') adapts columnist Dave Barry's novel about a bunch of shady characters (and a psychedelic toad) and their comic quest for a black market nuclear bomb. With Tim Allen, Rene Russo and Stanley Tucci. (Touchstone)

The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition: Liam Neeson narrates this documentary about the British explorer's 1914 doomed journey. (Cowboy)

Glitter: Mariah Carey went bonkers at the thought of this movie coming out. Good news for her: It might not. (20th Century Fox)

Liam: Stuttering schoolboy copes with poverty in 1930s Liverpool. Steven Frears (``High Fidelity'') directs. (Lions Gate)

Megiddo: Omega Code 2: Another attempt to exploit people's fears and cash in on the apocalypse. If they keep making these movies, the end can't come soon enough. (8X Entertainment)

Sidewalks of New York: Ed Burns (``The Brothers McMullen'') continues his downward career spiral with this poorly received movie about six Manhattanites looking for love. (Paramount Classics)

Training Day: Idealistic LAPD cop (Ethan Hawke) has his mettle tested by a corrupt mentor (Denzel Washington). Worth it just to see Washington go to the dark side of the force. (Warner Bros.)

< SEPT. 28

Don't Say a Word: Manhattan psychiatrist (Michael Douglas) must coax a catatonic woman into telling him the location of a stolen diamond - or face losing his daughter to kidnappers. (20th Century Fox)

ExtremeDays: Four extreme sports lovers take a road trip. Wouldn't you hate to be in the car next to these guys? (Providence)

Hearts in Atlantis: ``Stand by Me'' meets ``The Green Mile'' in this Stephen King tale of an 11-year-old boy who meets a magical stranger (Anthony Hopkins) in the last summer of his childhood. (Warner Bros.)

L.I.E.: Teen-age boy robs houses and has a relationship with a pedophile. Surprise: The movie's rated NC-17. (Lot 47)

Vampire Hunter D  Bloodlust: Anime about vampire bounty hunters. Maybe the title sounds better in Japanese. (Urban Vision)

Zoolander: Ben Stiller writes, directs and stars in this comedy about the world's dumbest and most famous male model and his attempts to unravel the following thorny question: Why are there no male models who live past the age of 30? The trail leads back to, of all places, John Wilkes Booth. (Paramount)

< OCT. 5

Collateral Damage: Arnold Schwarzenegger plays an L.A. firefighter who turns into a predator after a Colombian terrorist accidentally murders his family. (Warner Bros.)

Grateful Dawg: Documentary about the friendship between Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia and mandolin player David Grisman. The movie only lasts 80 minutes - shorter than your typical Dead song. (Sony Pictures Classics)

Iron Monkey: Yuen Woo-Ping, the action choreographer who made ``The Matrix'' and ``Crouching Tiger'' come to life, directs this story of a Chinese Robin Hood and his fight for the common man. (Miramax)

Joyride: College freshman (Paul Walker) takes a road trip to pick up his dream girl (Leelee Sobieski). On the way, his brother convinces him to play a practical joke on a lonely trucker who goes by the CB handle ``Rusty Nail.'' Lesson: Never poke fun at a guy who calls himself ``Rusty Nail.'' (20th Century Fox)

Max Keeble's Big Move: Seventh-grade nerd decides to exact revenge on town bullies before he moves out of town. Unfortunately for Max, his parents' plans change and he has to face the music - and the noogies. (Walt Disney)

Serendipity: John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale play strangers who meet through ... well, read the title. But will destiny be enough? (Miramax)

< OCT. 12

Bandits: Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton make a run for the border after robbing a bank. On the way, they meet a housewife (Cate Blanchett) looking to escape the doldrums of her life. Barry Levinson directs. (MGM)

Better Than Sex: Somehow, we doubt it. (Goldwyn)

Corky Romano: Geeky veterinarian title character (``SNL's'' Chris Kattan) infiltrates FBI at the behest of his mobster family. Wackiness ensues. (Touchstone)

Fat Girl: Twelve-year-old girl watches her older sister score during a summer vacation. From French enfant terrible Catherine Breillat (``Romance''). (Cowboy Booking)

Focus: Married couple (William H. Macy and Laura Dern) are mistaken for Jews and persecuted in Brooklyn during World War II. Based on an Arthur Miller novel. (Paramount Classics)

The Last Castle: Court-martialed general (Robert Redford) finds himself in a jail run by a warden (James Gandolfini) who's a far cry from Brubaker. (DreamWorks)

Mulholland Drive: David Lynch's latest concerns an amnesiac femme fatale and the woman trying to figure her out. It's typically surreal, which is why the project got bounced from network television to the big screen. Audiences loved it - and hated it - at Cannes. (Universal Focus)

< OCT. 19

From Hell: Jack the Ripper gets his due in this gorefest from the Hughes brothers. Johnny Depp stars as the Scotland Yard detective on the Ripper's trail. (20th Century Fox)

My First Mister: Teen takes up with button-down clothes salesman. With Leelee Sobieski and Albert Brooks. (Paramount Classics)

Novocaine: Steve Martin plays a dentist - this time an agreeable one - who becomes involved in a bizarre murder plot. Little shop of horrors, indeed. (Artisan)

On the Line: Love story with a couple of the 'N Sync guys. (Miramax)

Riding in Cars With Boys: Drew Barrymore plays a young woman trying to make something of herself. The Penny Marshall-directed film spans 20 years, so we're guessing there are some speed bumps along the way. (Columbia)

Waking Life: Richard Linklater Film Festival, Part II. This surreal film was shot as live action then turned into an animated flick. What's it about? Oh ... the State of the Human Condition. Sundance audiences loved the impressionistic feel; the verdict from Peoria is less certain. (Fox Searchlight)

< OCT. 24

Bones: Just in time for Halloween, rapper Snoop Dogg plays an angry gangsta ghost out to avenge his own brutal murder. (New Line)

OCT. 26

Donnie Darko: Freaky teen-ager battles his demons - and a big rabbit. Drew Barrymore produces and co-stars. (Newmarket)

Heist: David Mamet goes back to the double-cross with this tale of a thief (Gene Hackman) forced into one last heist. Same plot as ``The Score,'' but bound to be better. (Warner Bros.)

K-PAX: The title is the name of the planet that Prot (Kevin Spacey) hails from. Or maybe not. Prot's in a mental institution and his psychiatrist (Jeff Bridges) doesn't know what to make of Prot's intentions to return to his home planet. (Universal)

Life as a House: Kevin Kline plays an architect who, upon learning that he's dying, decides to attempt the ultimate rebuilding project - his own mess of a life. (New Line)

13 Ghosts: Glass house holds dark secret. Remake of the 1960 William Castle thriller. (Warner Bros.)

Vulgar: Downtrodden clown reinvents himself as transvestite entertainer. Bring the kids! (Lions Gate)

< OCTOBER UNSCHEDULED

Burnt Money: Gay lovers rob banks in Argentina. (Strand)

< NOV. 2

Amelie: Parisian waitress discovers a box of childhood treasures, returns it to its rightful owner and watches the world change for the better. (Miramax)

Brotherhood of the Wolf: A howler about an 18th-century French province plagued by wolves and a dark secret. (Universal Focus)

Happenstance: French ``Serendipity.'' (See Oct. 5) (Lot 47)

The Man Who Wasn't There: The Coen brothers venture into film noir with this tale of a small-town barber (Billy Bob Thornton) looking to blackmail his cheating wife (Frances McDormand). (USA)

Monsters, Inc.: You know those monsters in your kids' closet? It turns out that they're more afraid of children than children are of them. From Pixar Animation, the folks that gave us the ``Toy Story'' movies. (Walt Disney)

The One: Jet Li fights Jet Li in this reality-bending martial-arts flick. (Columbia)

Punks: Gay African-Americans look for love. (Urbanworld)

Tape: Ten years after they graduated from high school, three friends meet in a seedy hotel room to trash out the past. With Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Robert Sean Leonard. Richard Linklater directs. (Lions Gate)

< NOV. 9

King of the Jungle: It's not Tarzan, and it's not George. It's a lesbian looking for her dead partner's mentally challenged son. (Urbanworld)

Metropolis: Japanese anime about robots and the future and stuff. (Columbia)

Shallow Hal: Jack Black plays the title character, a womanizer hypnotized into believing that a 300-pound lonely-heart is his ideal girl. Gwyneth Paltrow dons the heavy padding to play the object of Hal's affection. From the Farrelly brothers, so you know the material will be handled with the utmost in good taste. (20th Century Fox)

Windtalkers: Another story from the Greatest Generation, this time about the Navajo soldiers who used their language to thwart Japanese code- breakers during World War II. Nicolas Cage plays a Marine assigned to protect one such Navajo - or kill him if he's in danger of being captured. John Woo directs. (MGM)

< NOV. 14

The Wash: Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre play car-wash workers whose boss is kidnapped. Eminem pops up in a cameo. Yeah, but does anyone cover the Rose Royce song on the soundtrack? (Lions Gate)

< NOV. 16

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: Orphan boy discovers he's a wizard. Studio conjures up a moneymaking franchise. (Warner Bros.)

Lola: Restored version of Jacques Demy's 1961 film about an aimless man who finds meaning in life with a teen cabaret dancer. (Winstar)

The New Guy: Nerdy teen wipes the slate clean and goes on a mission to make geeks popular. (Columbia)

< NOV. 21

American Adobo: ``The Big Chill'' with Filipino-Americans. (Outrider)

Black Knight: Medieval theme park worker (Martin Lawrence) finds himself transported back to the 16th century. Maybe he'll hook up with Heath Ledger. (20th Century Fox)

Spy Game: CIA agent (Robert Redford) puts off retirement to rescue his protege (Brad Pitt) in China - a long distance from the Montana rivers where Pitt and Redford last worked together. (Universal)

< NOV. 23

In the Bedroom: Stoic, ordinary people deal with tragic loss. Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson star in the Sundance award winner. (Miramax)

< NOV. 30

Bay of Angels: Another restored movie from New Wave director Jacques Demy, this one about a gambler who meets a lucky charm (Jeanne Moreau). (Winstar)

< NOVEMBER UNSCHEDULED

The Affair of the Necklace: Aristocrat (Hilary Swank) goes after the titular object in this 18th-century tale of love and revenge. (Warner Bros.)

The Business of Strangers: Businesswoman and her assistant play mind games during an airport layover. Stockard Channing and Julia Stiles star. (IFC)

Domestic Disturbance: Boy who cries wolf witnesses stepfather (Vince Vaughn) actually murdering someone. Nobody believes the kid, except for his father (John Travolta). (Paramount)

The Fluffer: Naive kid lands on gay porn set and finds work, as the title indicates. (First Run)

< DEC. 7

Ali: Will Smith floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee in this big-screen bio of boxer Muhammad Ali. Director Michael Mann (``The Insider'') looks to bring some social context to the subject. (Columbia)

No Man's Land: Satirical war movie about a Bosnian and a Serb stranded in a booby-trapped trench. (United Artists)

Ocean's Eleven: Steven Soderbergh updates the Rat Pack classic about a gang of thieves trying to rob three Vegas casinos. With George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Julia Roberts as the dame that Clooney's Danny Ocean wants to win back. (Warner Bros.)

Pinero: Based on the life of Puerto Rican poet-playwright-actor Miguel Pinero, whose urban rhymes inspired hip-hop and rap. But we won't hold that against him. Benjamin Bratt stars. (Miramax)

< DEC. 14

The Cat's Meow: Director Peter Bogdanovich (``The Last Picture Show'') returns from oblivion to helm this tale of a killing on board William Randolph Hearst's yacht in 1924. (Lions Gate)

Not Another Teen Movie: Good news: They're spoofing adolescent gross-out comedies. Ding-dong, the genre's dead! (Columbia)

Vanilla Sky: Filmmaker Cameron Crowe reteams with his ``Jerry Maguire'' star Tom Cruise in this remake of Alejandro Amenabar's little-seen 1998 Spanish film ``Open Your Eyes.'' Cruise plays a playboy whose ex-girlfriend (Cameron Diaz) isn't too happy about him finding a new love (Penelope Cruz, playing the same role she did in the original). Strange things happen next. (Paramount)

< DEC. 19

The Fellowship of the Ring: Nobody has been this excited about little people since ``The Wizard of Oz.'' (New Line)

< DEC. 21

Gangs of New York: Martin Scorsese makes his dream movie about the other 1860s civil war, this one in lower Manhattan. Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis playing the thugs in the top hats. (Miramax)

Gosford Park: Robert Altman goes across the Atlantic for the first time in this murder-mystery about a killing on an English country estate in 1932. With Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren, Jeremy Northam and Emily Watson.

Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius: Animated tale about a 10-year-old and his robot dog. Nickelodeon views this as a franchise, so, parents, get used to these characters. (Paramount)

Joe Somebody: This year's ``It's a Wonderful Life'' wanna-be has Tim Allen playing a corporate nobody who learns to stand up for himself. (20th Century Fox)

Lantana: Australian drama about four bad marriages and a missing woman. With Anthony LaPaglia, Geoffrey Rush and Barbara Hershey. (Lions Gate)

The Majestic: Frank Darabont (``The Green Mile'') does Frank Capra in this tale of a blacklisted screenwriter (Jim Carrey) who loses his job and identity, but finds fulfillment in a new life. (Warner Bros.)

< DEC. 25

Bad Company: Buddy comedy about a suave CIA agent (Anthony Hopkins) who must transform a punk (Chris Rock) into a sophisticated spy. Repeat: The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain. (Touchstone)

A Beautiful Mind: Math genius tries to make his life add up. Ron Howard directs; Russell Crowe crunches the numbers. (Universal)

The Royal Tenenbaums: Wes Anderson (``Rushmore'') directs this comedy about an eccentric family brought back together by its long-absent father. With Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Billy Murray, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, and Owen and Luke Wilson. (Touchstone)

The Shipping News: Annie Proulx's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about an adrift single father looking to start a new life comes to the big screen courtesy of Miramax's favorite son, Lasse Hallstrom (``Chocolat,'' ``The Cider House Rules''). Kevin Spacey, Julianne Moore, Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench star. (Miramax)

The Time Machine: Special-effects-laden action-adventure about an inventor who travels 800,000 years into the future and finds that mankind is on the verge of extinction. Yeah ... but can you still get a cup of Starbucks coffee? (DreamWorks)

< DEC. 26

How High: Cheech and Chong live in the form of rap superstars Method Man and Redman. The title pretty much tells you all you need to know. (Universal)

Monster's Ball: Racist death-row guard (Billy Bob Thornton) falls for the wife (Halle Berry) of the man he just executed. With Heath Ledger (!) as Billy Bob's son, who desperately doesn't want to follow in his old man's footsteps. Movie has as strong a buzz as any being released this year. (Lions Gate)

< DEC. 28

I Am Sam: Sam's a mentally challenged dad raising a 7-year-old daughter. A social worker doesn't think that's such a good idea. Have your handkerchiefs at the ready. With Sean Penn as Sam and Michelle Pfeiffer as the attorney fighting for his parental rights. (New Line)

Pauline and Paulette: One sister takes care of an illiterate sister. Caretaker dies, leaves a huge inheritance for the person who will take the job. Surviving sisters want the money, but not the duties. (Sony Pictures Classics)

< DECEMBER UNSCHEDULED

Borstal Boy: Sixteen-year-old IRA member goes to reform school during World War II. Based on the memoirs of the celebrated Brendan Behan. (Strand)

Princesa: Brazilian transvestite dreams of a life as a normal housewife. (Strand)

< JAN. 1

Beauty and the Beast: A tale as old as time goes IMAX with new footage and a new song, ``Human Again,'' that was featured in the stage version. (Walt Disney)

CAPTION(S):

18 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) Director Steven Soderbergh is out to roll a winner in `Ocean's Eleven' with Brad Pitt and George Clooney

(2 -- cover -- color) Kevin Spacey does double duty with `The Shipping News' and `K-PAX'

(3 -- cover -- color) `Beautiful Mind' gives director Ron Howard something to (Russell) Crowe about

(4 -- cover -- color) Director Michael Mann puts Will Smith into the ring as `Ali'

(5 -- cover -- color) Lond of the Rings' aims to run cirlces around the competition

(6 -- cover -- color) The buzz is wild about `Harry Potter'

(7 -- cover -- color) `Toy Story' creators look for a `Monsters, Inc.' hit

(8) Richard Linklater shot ``Waking Life'' with breathing actors and then then turned it into an animated film. (Oct. 19)

(9) Jack Black, with heavyweight Gwyneth Paltrow, doesn't even have one oar in the water in ``Shallow Hal.'' (Nov. 9)

(10) Drew Barrymore stars in ``Riding in Cars With Boys.'' (Oct. 19)

(11) Robert Redford plays a disgraced general up against a prison warden (who bears a remarkable resemblance to Tony Soprano) in ``The Last Castle.'' (Oct. 12)

(12) Laurie Holden and Jim Carrey light up ``The Majestic.'' (Dec. 21)

(13) Guy Pearce works ``The Time Machine.'' (Dec. 25)

(14) Bruce Willis, left, and Billy Bob Thornton try to steal scenes from each other in ``Bandits.'' (Oct. 12)

(15) Tim Allen in ``Joe Somebody.'' (Dec. 21)

(16) Brad Pitt, left, and Robert Redford play a ``Spy Game.'' (Nove. 21)

(17) Nicolas Cage's gun speaks in ``Windtalker.'' (Nov. 9)

(18) Samuel le Bihan, left, and a shy friend take on ``The Brotherhood of the Wolf.'' (Nov. 2)