MOVIES.Byline: - Listings written by Bob Strauss and Glenn Whipp They want your money. They want your awards consideration. They want to give you the most spiritually stirring, artistically accomplished entertainment the best talents in the world can provide. Well, two out of three is more than one. But holiday time is when the powers that be in Hollywood traditionally try to release their best efforts at combining commercial consideration and worthwhile subject matter. Considering the dreadful quality of the stuff they've pumped out over the last 10 1/2 months, the year-end prestige product has its work cut out. The following list contains every movie we know about that's scheduled to open in L.A. between now and the end of the year. Most will, some may not, others might sneak in before we greet 2002, and actual release dates are always subject to change. NOV judgment notwithstanding the verdict (N.O.V.) n. reversal of a jury's verdict by the trial judge when the judge believes there was no factual basis for the verdict or it was contrary to law. The judge will then enter a different verdict as "a matter of law. . 21 Black Knight Black Knight A company that makes a hostile takeover offer on a target company. Notes: An allusion to the fairytale villains, this term demonstrates how a targeted company sees its adversary. : 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) Out Cold: Alaskan snowboarders conspire con·spire v. con·spired, con·spir·ing, con·spires v.intr. 1. To plan together secretly to commit an illegal or wrongful act or accomplish a legal purpose through illegal action. 2. to keep yuppie scum off their mountain. Boasts the, um, long-awaited movie return of Lee Majors. (Touchstone) Sidewalks of New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of : Ed Burns (``The Brothers McMullen'') continues his downward career spiral with this poorly received movie about six Manhattanites looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. love. (Paramount Classics) Spy Game: CIA CIA: see Central Intelligence Agency. (1) (Confidentiality Integrity Authentication) The three important concerns with regards to information security. Encryption is used to provide confidentiality (privacy, secrecy). 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 Bangkok Dangerous: Thai attempt at a Hong Kong gangster thriller, featuring a deaf assassin. Gives new meaning to the term ``silent but deadly.'' (First Look Pictures) In the Bedroom: Stoic, ordinary people deal with tragic loss. Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson star in the Sundance award winner. (Miramax) NOV. 30 ABCD See CompTIA. : Adult, Indian American siblings deal with the pressures of modern cross-cultural life while their mother rethinks her long-ago move here from the Asian subcontinent. (Eros) The Affair of the Necklace: Aristocrat (Hilary Swank) goes after the titular tit·u·lar adj. 1. Relating to, having the nature of, or constituting a title. 2. a. Existing in name only; nominal: the titular head of the family. b. object in this 18th-century tale of love and revenge. (Warner Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) .) Behind Enemy Lines: Military thriller, rushed into release, about a downed Navy pilot's struggle to survive until rescue during the Bosnian War. Owen Wilson and Gene Hackman star. (20th Century Fox) Diamond Men: Robert Forster (``Jackie Brown'') and Donnie Wahlberg star in this ``Death of a Salesman''-ish story of a young and veteran gem merchant on the road. (Panorama Entertainment) Porn Star: The Legend of Ron Jeremy: The ugly guy who gets all the girls is, um, revealed in this documentary. Texas Rangers: The long-threatened release of the TV actor-filled western may finally be upon us. Then again, this thing has been delayed so many times, don't be surprised if the eyes of Texas never open. (Dimension) Trouble Every Day: Director Claire Denis' (``Beau Travail'') modern horror film about an unusual cerebral-sexual ailment and cannibalism cannibalism (kăn`ĭbəlĭzəm) [Span. caníbal, referring to the Carib], eating of human flesh by other humans. . It's French. (lot 47) DEC. 5 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. 7 Baran: Majid Majidi (``Children of Heaven'') directed this study of Afghan refugees through a young Iranian man's eyes. (Miramax) The Business of Strangers: Businesswoman and her assistant play mind games during an airport layover lay·o·ver n. A short stop or break in a journey, usually imposed by scheduling requirements. Noun 1. layover - a brief stay in the course of a journey; "they made a stopover to visit their friends" stopover, stop . Stockard Channing and Julia Stiles star. (IFC (Internet Foundation Classes) A class library from Netscape that provides an application framework and graphical user interface (GUI) routines for Java programmers. IFC was later made part of the Java Foundation Classes (JFC). See JFC, AFC and AWT. See also ICF. ) Final: Denis Denis, king of Portugal: see Diniz. Leary wakes up in what he's told is a mental hospital but what he suspects is a facility where he'll be carved up for organ transplants. Crazy or just perceptive? Film marks the solo directing debut of actor Campbell Scott, who co-directed ``Big Night.'' (Cowboy Booking) Gentleman Bandit bandit: see brigandage. : Real-life bank robber Charlie Mattera wrote and stars in this autobiographical tale of an ex-con trying to rebuild his life in L.A. Ryan O'Neal co-stars. (Pathfinder Pictures) The Independent: Jerry Stiller plays the world's most prolific, and probably least talented, independent filmmaker in this show-biz mockumentary. (Arrow Entertainment) Lost in the Pershing Point Hotel: Atlanta had its gay, glam rock '70s drug scene, too. Starring Leslie Jordan and based on his play. (Northern Arts) 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.) Second Skin: Bisexual romantic triangle from Spain. Stars ``Before Night Falls' '' Javier Bardem. DEC. 12 Behind the Sun: Hatfields and McCoys Hatfields and McCoys Two families of the U.S. Appalachian Mountains who engaged in a backwoods feud in the late 19th century. The families, each with at least 13 children and numerous other relatives, lived on opposite sides of a border stream, the Hatfields in West Virginia , Brazilian-style. 1910-set family feud drama also features circus acts, we're told. From the producer and director of ``Central Station.'' (Miramax) DEC. 14 The Devil's Backbone: Mexican director Guillermo del Toro (``Cronos'') takes us to a haunted school during the final days of the Spanish Civil War Spanish civil war, 1936–39, conflict in which the conservative and traditionalist forces in Spain rose against and finally overthrew the second Spanish republic. . (Sony Pictures Classics) Iris: Judi Dench and Kate Winslet play novelist/philosopher Iris Murduch at different stages of her life, when she first met her husband John Bayley and as she succumbed to Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (ăls`hī'mərz, ôls–), degenerative disease of nerve cells in the cerebral cortex that leads to atrophy of the brain and senile dementia. before her death. (Miramax) Lantana lantana (lăntā`nə): see verbena. lantana Any of more than 150 shrubs that make up the genus Lantana in the verbena family, native to the New World and African tropics. : Australian drama about four bad marriages and a missing woman. With Anthony LaPaglia, Geoffrey Rush and Barbara Hershey. (Lions Gate) Last Orders: Four elderly English friends go on an extended pub crawl at the behest of a mutual friend's last wishes. Directed by Fred Schepisi and based on a prize-winning novel, the film features a who's who of Brit acting talent: Michael Caine, Tom Courtenay, David Hemmings, Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren and Ray Winstone. (Sony Pictures Classics) No Man's Land: Satirical war movie about a Bosnian and a Serb stranded in a booby-trapped trench. (United Artists) Not Another Teen Movie: Good news: They're spoofing adolescent gross-out comedies. Ding-dong, the genre's dead! (Columbia) 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, Bill Murray, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, and Owen and Luke Wilson. (Touchstone) 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 Wizard of Oz reaches and departs from Oz in circus balloon. [Children’s Lit.: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz] See : Ballooning Wizard of Oz false wizard takes up residence in Emerald City. [Am. Lit. .'' (New Line) DEC. 21 A Beautiful Mind: Math genius tries to make his life add up. Ron Howard directs; Russell Crowe crunches the numbers. (Universal) Happenstance hap·pen·stance n. A chance circumstance: "Marriage loomed only as an outgrowth of happenstance; you met a person" Bruce Weber. : French fluff about love and coincidence, starring the current It Girl of such things, ``Amelie's'' Audrey Tautou. (Lot 47) 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) 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) Kate & Leopold: Victorian duke Hugh Jackman time travels a century into the future, meets harried New York businesswoman Meg Ryan. Think they'll like each other? (Miramax) 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 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) Imposter: In the future, an alien-fighter is accused of being an alien spy. Gary Sinise and Madeleine Stowe star. (Dimension) 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 a. & adv. 1. Less. Hallstrom (``Chocolat,'' ``The Cider House Rules''). Kevin Spacey spac·ey adj. Slang Variant of spacy. Adj. 1. spacey - stupefied by (or as if by) some narcotic drug spaced-out, spacy unconventional - not conventional or conformist; "unconventional life styles" , Julianne Moore, Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench star. (Miramax) DEC. 26 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. 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 Black Hawk Down: The combined forces of ``Gladiator'' (director Ridley Scott) and ``Pearl Harbor'' (producer Jerry Bruckheimer) ally to bring us a war film for our time. It's about the disastrous 1993 ambush of American peacekeeping forces in Somalia. Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor and Sam Shepard star. (Columbia) Charlotte Gray: Busy girl Cate Blanchett stars in this World War II drama that mixes romance with resistance. (Warner Bros.) Dark Blue World: ``Pearl Harbor,'' Czech style, as two flyboy fly·boy or fly-boy n. Slang A member of an air force, especially a pilot. buddies flee the Nazis before World War II and end up vying for the same English woman's love while fighting for the Royal Air Force. (Sony Pictures Classics) I Am Sam: Sam is 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) JAN. 1 Beauty and the Beast Beauty and the Beast is a traditional fairy tale (type 425C -- search for a lost husband -- in the Aarne-Thompson classification). The first published version of the fairy tale was a meandering rendition by Madame Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, published in : A tale as old as time goes IMAX IMAX Noun a film projection process that produces an image ten times larger than standard with new footage and a new song, ``Human Again,'' that was featured in the stage version. (Walt Disney) CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Brad Pitt and George Clooney star in Steven Soderbergh's update of the Rat Pack classic ``Ocean's Eleven,'' about a gang of thieves trying to rob three Las Vegas casinos. |
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