It's that time again: Welcome to Summer 2005. "Next verse, same as the first." Once again, Angelenos will have the opportunity over the next three months to sample more than 100 films - 99 of which will have an aggregate gross somewhat lower than Revenge of the Sith. As always, there are a bunch of remakes (War of the Worlds, The Bad News Bears, Dark Water, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), a bunch of sequels/series entries (The Pink Panther, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, Herbie: Fully Loaded), and TV shows (Bewitched, The Dukes of Hazzard, The Honeymooners) thrown up on the big screen.

There are tons of horror films, romantic comedies, and crime movies, and (amazingly enough) even more documentaries. Go figure. There are comic-book adaptations (Fantastic Four) and videogame adaptations (Doom).

And all that isn't even counting the summer's two big festival events - the Los Angeles Film Festival (June 16-June 26) and Outfest (July 7-July 18) - not to mention all the great stuff at UCLA, the County Museum, and the American Cinematheque's dual locations.

Below is a listing of the season's feature releases, organized by dates that, I swear to you, are accurate as of today (even if they're totally changed a week from now). Take a gander.

JUNE 1

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Teenage girls bond over a pair of jeans? Could lead to breeches of trust. Ken Kwapis directed this adaptation of Ann Brashares's novel; Amber Tamblyn, America Ferrera, Blake Lively, and Alexis Bledel star. (Warner)

JUNE 3

Après Vous. Daniel Auteuil, Sandrine Kiberlain, and José Garcia are the vertices of this French romantic comedy triangle from Pierre Salvadori. (Paramount Classics)

Bustin' Bonaparte. David Lister directed this South African production of Olive Schreiner's 1883 children's classic The Story of an African Farm, filmed on location. Richard E. Grant, Armin Mueller-Stahl, and Kasha Kropinski star. (Freestyle)

Cinderella Man. Russell Crowe stars as Depression-era heavyweight Jim Braddock, with Renée Zellweger as Mrs. Braddock. Will he be able to survive a fight with Max Baer (father of Jethro Clampett)? Ron Howard directed; Paul Giamatti, Craig Bierko, Bruce McGill, and Paddy Considine costar. (Universal)

Deep Blue. Documentary of the bizarre sights at the bottom of the sea. Alastair Fothergill and Andy Byatt directed. (Miramax)

Funny Ha Ha. First-timer Andrew Bujalski directed this look at the confused post-college life of a young woman (Kate Dollenmayer), who can't seem to get it together jobwise. (Goodbye Cruel Releasing)

Lords of Dogtown. Fictionalized tale of the Venice skateboarding scene from Stacy Peralta's documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys. Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen) directs from Peralta's script. The cast includes Emile Hirsch, Heath Ledger, Rebecca De Mornay, Johnny Knoxville, and America Ferrera. (Sony)

Rock School. Documentary about Paul Green, loud Philadelphia teacher of rock 'n' roll. Don Argott directed and coproduced with Sheena M. Joyce. See feature story, page 22. (Newmarket)

Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Romeo Dallaire. Peter Raymont's documentary looks at Romeo Dollaire, the Canadian general who led U.N. peacekeeping troops during the 1994 Rwandan genocide (as depicted in Hotel Rwanda) and who was forbidden from taking the preemptive steps that might have prevented the killing. (California Newsreel)

Stolen Childhoods. Meryl Streep narrates Len Morris's documentary about child labor around the world - as told by the children. (Balcony)

JUNE 10

The Adventures of Shark Boy & Lava Girl in 3-D. Two years after Spy Kids 3-D, Robert Rodriguez returns to the depths with this tale of a lonely boy (Cayden Boyd) and his two imaginary superhero pals, both of whom, curiously enough, are played by actors with the first name Taylor. Taylor Lautner, Taylor Dooley, George Lopez, Kristin Davis, and David Arquette star. (Dimension)

The Honeymooners. Trying to recast the classic TV show is about as logical as trying to "cast" a new Marx Bros. movie; Jackie Gleason and Art Carney own those roles. On the other hand, Cedric the Entertainer is about the best Gleason surrogate imaginable, so maybe there's hope. Mike Epps, Gabrielle Union, Regina Hall, Eric Stoltz, and John Leguizamo costar; John Schultz directed. (Paramount)

Howl's Moving Castle. The latest from revered animator Hayao Miyazaki (Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away) is about an 18-year-old girl (voice of Emily Mortimer), who, after being turned into an old woman by a witch, seeks the help of a mysterious wizard (Christian Bale). (Disney)

Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Angelina Jolie breaks up Brad Pitt's marriage! Meanwhile, within the film, the two play a couple, neither of whom knows that the other is an assassin. Kind of James Bond meets Prizzi's Honor. Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity) directed; Kerry Washington, Vince Vaughn, and Angela Bassett costar. (Fox)

Other openings include Paolo Virzí's drama Caterina in the Big City (Empire); Alexander Aja's horror film High Tension (Lions Gate); A League of Ordinary Gentlemen, Christopher Browne's doc about professional bowlers (Magnolia); The Night We Called It a Day, a comedy from Aussie director Paul Goldman, in which Dennis Hopper plays ... Frank Sinatra?; Gillies MacKinnon's Pure, about a little boy trying to get Mom off smack (Indican); a twin-bill reissue of Rebel Without a Cause and East of Eden (Warner Classics); and Wild Side, a French drama from Sébastien Lifshitz (Wellspring).

JUNE 15

Batman Begins. Christopher Nolan (Memento) delves into how Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) took to the cape. Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Rutger Hauer, Ken Watanabe, and Morgan Freeman are among the cast. See feature story, page 18. (Warner)

JUNE 17

The Deal. International financial shenanigans are at the heart of this thriller from Harvey Kahn, starring Christian Slater, Selma Blair, John Heard, Angie Harmon, Colm Feore, and Robert Loggia. (Front Street)

5x2. The latest from the always interesting François Ozon (8 Women, Swimming Pool) tells the story of a failed marriage in reverse chronology. (Hey! Just like Betrayal!) Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi and Stéphane Freiss are the unlucky couple. (ThinkFilm)

My Summer of Love. Two 16-year-old Brit girls (Natalie Press and Emily Blunt) from very different backgrounds discover love one summer ... with each other. Pawel Pawlikowski directed this adaptation of Helen Cross's novel; Paddy Considine costars. (Focus)

The Perfect Man. In a plot so hoary that even TV would be embarrassed, a teenager creates a fake secret admirer for her mom, then realizes that she's eventually going to have to find someone to fit the bill. A similar plot was funny in Dear Ruth about 60 years ago. Hillary Duff stars: I am so not there. Let me know how it is. Heather Locklear and Chris Noth costar; Mark Rosman directs. (Universal)

The Rider Named Death. Andrei Panin plays a terrorist in pre-revolutionary Russia, in this adaptation of an autobiographical novel by Boris Savinkov, who walked the walk. Karen Shakhnazarov directed. (Kino)

Other openings include Heights, Chris Terrio's drama about five New Yorkers whose initially separate paths begin to intersect, with Elizabeth Banks, Glenn Close, James Marsden, Jesse Bradford, and John Light (Sony Pictures Classics); and Allen Mindel's Milwaukee, Minnesota, about a slow-witted ice-fishing champ (Troy Garity) and the con man (Randy Quaid) out to exploit him (Tartan Films).

JUNE 22

Herbie: Fully Loaded. After a 25-year hiatus, the magical VW returns to the big screen. Ooooh. Pinch me. Lindsay Lohan, Justin Long, Breckin Meyer, Matt Dillon, and Michael Keaton star; Angela Robinson (D.E.B.S.) directed. (Disney)

JUNE 24

Bewitched. Nora Ephron directs this meta-adaptation of the '60s TV show, with Nicole Kidman as a witch who gets cast in a remake of the series. Will Ferrell is her hapless love interest; Shirley MacLaine plays the Endora figure; and Michael Caine, Stephen Colbert, Jason Schwartzman, and Steve Carell round out the cast. I approach with guarded optimism, based on the casting. (Sony)

The Bridge of San Luis Rey. Somehow - in between the horrible Godsend and Hide and Seek - Robert De Niro found the time to appear in Mary McGuckian's adaptation of Thornton Wilder's junior high school classic (previously filmed in 1929 and 1944) about God's mysterious ways. The bizarre cast also includes Kathy Bates, Harvey Keitel, Geraldine Chaplin, F. Murray Abraham, Jean-Pierre Jeunet regular Dominique Pinon, director Jim Sheridan, Brotherhood of the Wolf's Samuel Le Bihan and Émilie Dequenne, twin directors Mark and Michael Polish, and Gabriel Byrne and John Lynch (who look almost as much alike as the Polish brothers). (Fine Line)

George Romero's Land of the Dead. After a long hiatus, zombie-master Romero returns to the big screen with - what else? - a zombie film. Simon Baker, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper, and Asia Argento star. (Universal).

Me and You and Everyone We Know. Performance artist Miranda July wrote, directed, and stars in this story of a conventional shoe salesman (John Hawkes), who falls for an unconventional artist (July). A big winner at Sundance, it promises to be one of the quirkier, more interesting indies of the summer. (IFC)

Yes. Okay, it sounds like just another adultery drama: When her husband (Sam Neill) cheats on her, a scientist (Joan Allen) gets involved with a Lebanese refugee (Siman Abkarian), once a doctor, now working as a cook. But here's the catch: The dialogue is entirely in rhyming couplets of iambic pentameter, which you don't run into very often these (or even those) days. Sally Potter (Orlando) is just oddball enough to pull it off. (Sony Pictures Classics)

Other openings include three documentaries: The Last Mogul, Barry Avrich's look at former Univeral boss Lew Wasserman, with Robert Evans, Jack Valenti, Dominick Dunne, Mike Ovitz, and Jimmy Carter (ThinkFilm); Luc Jacquet's wildlife film March of the Penguins, narrated by Morgan Freeman (Warner Independent); and David LaChapelle's Rize, about "krumping," an athletic form of modern dance, straight out of South L.A. (Lions Gate).

JUNE 29

War of the Worlds. Tom Cruise stars; Steven Spielberg directs; aliens invade in this updated version of the H.G. Wells novel. Anything else you need to know? (Paramount)

JULY 1

The Beat That My Heart Skipped. It's hard to imagine anyone choosing to remake the 1978 Fingers, James Toback's directorial debut, but Jacques Audiard (Read My Lips) has done just that. Romain Duris plays the troubled young man originally portrayed by Harvey Keitel. (Wellspring)

Other openings include Macedonian filmmaker Ivo Trajkov's The Great Water, in which a dying government official looks back on his life (Picture This!); Lila Says, about a flirtatious blonde (Vahina Giocante) who moves into an Arab neighborhood in Marseille, directed by Ziad Doueiri (the excellent West Beirut) (Samuel Goldwyn Films); Rebound, directed by Steve Carr, with Martin Lawrence as a former college basketball coach trying to revive his career at a junior high team (Fox); and Undead, yes, another zombie film, this one written and directed by Michael and Peter Spierig.

JULY 8

The Beautiful Country. The love child (Damien Nguyen) of an American G.I. (Nick Nolte) and a Vietnamese woman sets out to find his real parents in an odyssey that takes him from Vietnam's countryside to Saigon to Malaysia and finally to the U.S. Hans Petter Moland (Zero Kelvin) directs; Tim Roth and Bai Ling costar. (Sony Pictures Classics)

Dark Water. Walter Salles (The Motorcycle Diaries) directs this Hollywood remake of the 2002 Japanese horror film directed by Hideo Nakata (Ringu). Jennifer Connelly steps in as the struggling single mom whose new apartment seems almost ... supernaturally drippy. Ariel Gade, John C. Reilly, Tim Roth, Dougray Scott, Shelley Duvall, Camryn Manheim, and Pete Postlethwaite costar. (Disney)

Fantastic Four. The Marvel quartet finally makes it to the big screen (the '90s version produced by Roger Corman never having been officially released). Ioan Gruffudd, Michael Chiklis, Jessica Alba, and Chris Evans respectively play Mr. Fantastic, the Thing, Invisible Woman, and the Human Torch, with Julian McMahon as archenemy Doctor Doom. Directed by Tim Story, ?18 who has done good work (Barbershop) and awful (Taxi). (Fox)

Saraband. Eighty-six-year-old Ingmar Bergman, one of the world's greatest (albeit glummest) directors, has been working in TV for more than two decades, and this is the first of his efforts to receive an American theatrical release in almost as long. In this autobiographical drama, he revisits the couple (Erland Josephson and Liv Ullmann) from his 1973 Scenes from a Marriage. Sure, we make fun of the guy, but he really is a master. (Sony Pictures Classics)

Other openings include Sebastián Cordero's serial-killer thriller Crónicas, with John Leguizamo, Leonor Watling, and Alfred Molina (Palm); and Murderball, a documentary about the wheelchair-bound U.S. Paralympic Rugby team, directed by Dana Adam Shapiro and Henry Alex Rubin (ThinkFilm).

JULY 13

Hustle & Flow. Terrence Howard, who gave a strong performance as the well-to-do TV director in Crash, goes 180 degrees here to portray a pimp, trying to become a rapper. Craig Brewer wrote and directed; the cast includes Anthony Anderson, Taryn Manning, DJ Qualls, and Ludacris. (Paramount Classics)

JULY 15

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Tim Burton adapts the Roald Dahl classic, formerly filmed as Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory back in 1971. Johnny Depp (a.k.a. The God Who Walks Among Us), as the strange Mr. Wonka, is reteamed with young Finding Neverland costar Freddie Highmore, as Charlie. No one expects the same old same old from Burton, and indeed the trailer makes this look like a cross between Sid and Marty Krofft and the nightmares of Michael Jackson's "sleepover guests." (Warner)

Also opening are Happy Endings, an indie comedy from Don Roos (The Opposite of Sex), starring Tom Arnold, Jesse Bradford, Bobby Cannavale, Sarah Clarke, Steve Coogan, Laura Dern, Lisa Kudrow, Jason Ritter, David Sutcliffe, and Maggie Gyllenhaal (Lions Gate); and Wedding Crashers, a comedy from David Dobkin (Clay Pigeons), with Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn as divorce mediators who like to cruise weddings (New Line).

JULY 22

The Bad News Bears. It sounds like the worst remake idea of the summer, in large part because the original was better than the story deserved, but you've got Richard Linklater (Before Sunset, School of Rock) behind the camera and Billy Bob Thornton in front of it, so there's actually hope. (Paramount)

The Devil's Rejects. Rob Zombie's sequel to House of 1000 Corpses surrounds Natasha Lyonne, Sheri Moon Zombie, Daniel Roebuck, and Rosario Dawson with four decades of B-movie icons, including Ginger Lynn Allen, Billy Moseley, Elizabeth Daily, Steve Railsback, Sid Haig, Michael Berryman, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, William Forsythe, Leslie Easterbrook, Priscilla Barnes, Danny Trejo, and - dig this - P.J. Soles! Might be almost enough to get me there. (Lions Gate)

The Island. Michael Bay finally leaves the Jerry Bruckheimer nest with this sci-fi thriller about a compound of clones, bred only to supply spare parts for their "originals." (This is almost exactly the plot of Wes Craven's novel Fountain Society.) Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson are the two who attempt to escape, with Djimon Hounsou chasing them. Sean Bean, Steve Buscemi, and Michael Clarke Duncan costar. (DreamWorks)

Last Days. Michael Pitt (The Dreamers) plays a character not unlike Kurt Cobain in Gus Van Sant's look at the last hours of a brilliant musician. Lukas Haas and Asia Argento costar. It is reported to be shot in the odd, Bela Tarr-derived style Van Sant used in the remarkable Elephant. (HBO/Fine Line)

Tropical Malady. This latest from artsy Thai director Apichatpong "Joe" Weerasethakul tells of a young soldier whose lover, a country boy, disappears and is rumored to have been transformed into a wild animal. I haven't been able to warm to Weerasethakul's work so far, but this does sound promising. Banlop Lomnoi and Sakda Kaewbuadee costar. (Strand)

Also opening are 9 Songs, combining sex and music, two of director Michael Winterbottom's favorite subjects (Tartan); November, a thriller from Greg Harrison, starring Courteney Cox, James LeGros, and Nora Dunn (Sony Classics); and 3 Dancing Slaves, Gaël Morel's French drama about three brothers (Nicolas Cazalé, Stéphane Rideau, and Thomas Dumerchez) trying to get out from under their father's thumb (TLA).

JULY 29

The Aristocrats. More than 100 comedians tell, reminisce about, or reflect upon an astonishingly dirty joke called "The Aristocrats." This documentary, directed by Paul Provenza (who coproduced with Penn Jillette), includes Hank Azaria, Mario Cantone, Drew Carey, George Carlin, Billy Connolly, Whoopi Goldberg, Eric Idle, Eddie Izzard, Michael McKean, Martin Mull, Kevin Pollak, Bob Saget, Jon Stewart, Fred Willard, Steven Wright, and all the other really funny people in the world. Don't miss it: You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll hurl. See feature story, page 23. (ThinkFilm)

Brothers Grimm. Fairy tale writers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (Heath Ledger and Matt Damon) find themselves confronting a true supernatural evil. Terry Gilliam directs, and it sounds like the perfect material for him; the cast also includes Lena Headey, Monica Bellucci, Peter Stormare, and Jonathan Pryce. (Dimension)

Sky High. The trials and tribulations of the non-super son (Michael Angarano) of superhero parents (Kelly Preston and Kurt Russell) trying to fit in at a high school for future superheroes. Mike Mitchell directs; Lynda Carter, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Bruce Campbell, and Dave Foley costar. Sure, this project predated The Incredibles. Uh huh. (Disney)

Also opening are Night Watch, the first installment of Russian director Timur Bekmambetov's fantasy trilogy (Fox Searchlight); The Edukators, Hans Weingartner's German film about students who (in the manner of the recent Korean film 3-Iron) break into wealthy homes and move stuff around (IFC); Must Love Dogs, a generic- ?22 sounding romantic comedy, directed by Gary David Goldberg and starring Diane Lane, John Cusack, Dermot Mulroney, Elizabeth Perkins, and Stockard Channing (Warner); Andrew Douglas's documentary Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus, which follows singer Jim White's tour of the white South and its music (Shadow); and Stealth, a high-tech aviation thriller, directed by Rob Cohen and starring Josh Lucas, Jessica Biel, and Jamie Foxx (Sony).

JULY (no set date)

Pulse. This 2001 production (currently being remade in Hollywood) is another Japanese horror film about suicide, teenagers, and the Internet, but this time directed by the always interesting, sometimes brilliant Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Cure). (Magnolia)

AUGUST 5

Broken Flowers. In Jim Jarmusch's latest, Bill Murray plays an aging Lothario, who starts to reevaluate his romantic history. Jeffrey Wright, Sharon Stone, Frances Conroy, Jessica Lange, Tilda Swinton, and Julie Delpy costar. (Focus)

The Pink Panther. Neither Alan Arkin nor Roberto Benigni managed to dim anyone's memories of Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau; now Steve Martin takes a whack at the same thankless task, in a new adventure, not the remake suggested by the title. On the up side, Kevin Kline, Beyoncé Knowles, and Jean Reno costar; but that is more than counterbalanced by the presence of director Shawn Levy, who also made the loathsome Cheaper by the Dozen and the unwatchable Just Married. (MGM, through new corporate masters Sony. Could this be the last film under the MGM banner?)

2046. Tony Leung Chiu-Wai reprises his writer character from In the Mood for Love in director Wong Kar-Wai's semi-sequel. That film's costar, Maggie Cheung, also briefly shows up, along with Ziyi Zhang, Gong Li, Faye Wong, and Carina Lau. (Sony Classics)

Also opening are Doom, with Andrzej Bartkowiak directing The Rock in an adaptation of the computer game (Universal); The Dukes of Hazzard, another big-screen spin-off of an old TV series that sucked the first time, with Club Dread director Jay Chandrasekhar putting Johnny Knoxville, Seann William Scott, Jessica Simpson, Burt Reynolds, and Willie Nelson through their paces (Warner); Grizzly Man, Werner Herzog's doc about late bear buff Timothy Treadwell, who lived among the grizzlies (Lions Gate); Junebug, Phil Morrison's drama about an urban type (Embeth Davidtz) meeting the Southern family of her husband (Alessandro Nivola) (Sony Classics); and Untitled Mike Judge Comedy (formerly 3001), about a soldier who, after a thousand years of cryogenic sleep, wakes up in a world of morons (Fox).

AUGUST 10

Supercross. Two brothers (Steve Howey and Mike Vogel) engage in hot motorbike action, under the guidance of director Steve Boyum. (Fox)

AUGUST 12

Four Brothers. John Singleton directs Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, Andre Benjamin, and Garrett Hedlund as four adopted brothers, who get together to avenge the killing of their mother. Very loosely adapted from the 1965 John Wayne flick The Sons of Katie Elder. (Paramount)

Also opening are Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, with Rob Schneider reprising his unbeloved character, under the guidance of Mike (no apparent relation) Bigelow (Sony); Pretty Persuasion, Marcos Siega's drama about a snotty Beverly Hills teenager (Evan Rachel Wood), who organizes her friends to accuse their drama teacher (Ron Livingston) of sexual harassment (Samuel Goldwyn Films/Roadside Attractions); and The Skeleton Key, an Old Dark House thriller with Kate Hudson, Gena Rowlands, Peter Sarsgaard, and John Hurt, under the direction of Iain Softley (Universal).

AUGUST 19

Asylum. A psychiatrist's wife (Natasha Richardson) falls in love with one of her husband's patients, in this thriller from director David Mackenzie. The cast also includes Sir Ian McKellen, Marton Csokas, and Hugh Bonneville. (Paramount Classics)

The 40 Year Old Virgin. The Daily Show's Steve Carell plays the title character in this feature directorial debut from Freaks and Geeks creator Judd Apatow. Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, and Romany Malco costar. (Universal)

Also opening are Red Eye, a new non-horror thriller from Wes Craven, starring Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy, and Brian Cox (DreamWorks); and Valiant, a computer-animated Disney feature about a heroic pigeon, featuring the voices of Ewan McGregor, Ricky Gervais, Tim Curry, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Laurie, John Cleese, and John Hurt (Disney).

AUGUST 26

The Constant Gardener. Fernando Meirelles, director of the hugely acclaimed City of God, helmed this John le Carré adaptation about a mild-mannered man (Ralph Fiennes), who decides to track the murderer of his wife (Rachel Weisz) in Africa. Danny Huston, Bill Nighy, and Pete Postlethwaite costar. (Focus)

Matando Cabos. Alejandro Lozano directed this dark, Tarantino-esque crime comedy about a group of Mexico City teens and their misbegotten kidnap attempts. (Televisa Cine)

Unknown White Male. Rupert Murray's documentary tells the story of Doug Bruce, who woke up on Coney Island with no memory of his life. (Wellspring)

Also opening are The Cave, a horror film with Cole Hauser, Morris Chestnut, and Piper Perabo, directed by Bruce Hunt (Screen Gems); Dirty Deeds, a teen comedy from director David Kendall, starring Milo Ventimiglia, Lacey Chabert, and Zoe Saldana (Green Diamond); Games of Love and Chance, Abdellatif Kechiche's drama about a Paris delinquent (New Yorker); Tony Takitani, Jun Ichikawa's adaptation of a Haruki Murakami story about a widower trying to cope (Strand); and Undiscovered, Meiert Avis's romantic comedy about an actress and a musician (Lions Gate).