Presents from Tinseltown

It's that time again, when big-budget family comedies rub shoulders at the multiplex with serious films being released - even if in only a token way - in time for Oscar consideration. They may all turn out to be crap, but we have high hopes for at least a half dozen. Peter Jackson's King Kong is at the top of the list, followed not so distantly by the musical remake of Mel Brooks's The Producers. Steven Spielberg gets serious again with the historical Munich; he also coproduced Rob Marshall's version of Memoirs of a Geisha, in which several Japanese characters are played by Chinese actors.

I can testify to the emotional impact of Ang Lee's gay cowboy film, Brokeback Mountain; The Promise, Chen Kaige's entry in the arty-director-goes-martial-arts trend, has, well, promise. And, after a string of discouraging films, Woody Allen may make a comeback with the comedy thriller Match Point, whose festival dates have given him his best reviews since Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989).

Besides The Producers and King Kong, remakes and sequels include Cheaper by the Dozen II, Fun with Dick and Jane, and maybe (in a stretch) Rumor Has It, whose characters may or may not have been the inspiration for The Graduate.

Disney tries to come up with a rival to Warner's Harry Potter franchise by filming The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the first of C.S. Lewis's seven-part Chronicles of Narnia. Disney hasn't done a lot right lately, but it may be a good sign that the company turned the property over to Shrek director Andrew Adamson.

* DECEMBER 2 *

Aeon Flux. In the grand tradition of Halle Berry and Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron follows up her Oscar win by playing a cartoon/comic-book character, in this case the high-flying assassin from MTV's animated series. Marton Csokas, Jonny Lee Miller, Sophie Okonedo, and Pete Postlethwaite costar; Karyn Kusama (Girl Fight) directed. (Paramount)

Breakfast on Pluto. Cillian Murphy puts on a dress in Neil Jordan's adaptation of Patrick McCabe's novel about a cross-dressing Irish orphan searching for his mother. Liam Neeson, Stephen Rea, and Brendan Gleeson costar. See accompanying story, pg. 22. (Sony Classics)

First Descent. Kemp Curley and Kevin Harrison directed this documentary about snowboarding. Shawn Farmer, Nick Perata, Terje Haakonsen, and Shaun White are among the participants. (Universal)

The Kid & I. Tom Arnold (who also wrote the screenplay) plays, coincidentally, an actor hired by a studio exec to write a screenplay, only to find out that it's supposed to star the exec's teenage son, who has cerebral palsy. Linda Hamilton, Henry Winkler, Joe Mantegna, and Eric Gores costar; Penelope Spheeris (Wayne's World) directed. (The Kid & I Productions)

Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont. An elderly woman (Joan Plowright), dumped by her family in a hotel, becomes friends with a young writer (Rupert Friend). Dan Ireland (Passionada) directed from Ruth Sacks's adaptation of a novel by Elizabeth Taylor (not the one with the violet eyes). (Cineville)

Private. First-timer Saverio Costanzo directed this Italian production about a Palestinian family caught in the crossfire. The cast includes Hend Ayoub, Mohammed Bakri, Lior Miller, and Arin Omary. (Typecast)

39 Pounds of Love. Documentarian Dani Menkin follows a young man with a rare form of muscular dystrophy that has stunted his growth, who, despite predictions of an early death, keeps on living and working as an animator. (Balcony)

Transamerica. Felicity Huffman plays a former man, who learns that she fathered a son (Kevin Zegers), back when she still could. Elizabeth Peña, Fionnula Flanagan, and Graham Greene also star in director Duncan Tucker's feature debut. (Weinstein Company)

* DECEMBER 9 *

Brokeback Mountain. In the early '60s, two young Westerners (Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger) fall in love, but are unable to grab more than a few moments of happiness together in the ensuing decades. Ang Lee (Sense and Sensibility) directed this adaptation of Annie Proulx's short story. See accompanying feature. pg. 20. (Focus)

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The first book of C.S. Lewis's fantasy series comes to the screen courtesy of writer-director Andrew Adamson (Shrek). Tilda Swinton, James McAvoy, Rupert Everett, Jim Broadbent, and Ray Winstone are among the cast. (Disney)

Ekajnabee. Amitabh Bachchan plays a misfit who becomes involved in a quest for a kidnapped little girl. Apoorva Lakhia directed. (G.S. Entertainment)

Marebito. Takashi Shimizu, the man behind the Ju-on films, directed this story of a cameraman (Tetsuo director Shinya Tsukamoto) who finds a terrifying world of spirits in the subway tunnels. (Tartan)

Memoirs of a Geisha. Rob Marshall (Chicago) directed this adaptation of Arthur Golden's best-seller about a geisha (Ziyi Zhang) in the 1930s. The all-star cast also includes Ken Watanabe, Michelle Yeoh, Koji Yakusho, Youki Kudoh, and Gong Li. (Sony)

Moonlight. A young woman (Laurien Van den Broeck) falls for a wounded Afghan drug dealer, whom she nurses back to health. Paula van der Oest (Zus & Zo) directed this 2002 Dutch thriller. (Indican)

Mrs. Henderson Presents. Before and during World War II, a upper-class British widow (Judi Dench) stages a live show with nude women. Bob Hoskins, Kelly Reilly, Will Young, and Christopher Guest are among the players in this latest from Stephen Frears (The Grifters). (Weinstein Company)

The World's Fastest Indian. Anthony Hopkins plays the real-life Burt Munro, a 68-year-old New Zealander, who dares to attempt a new motorcycle world speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Christopher Lawford, Bruce Greenwood, Paul Rodriguez, and Diane Ladd costar; Roger Donaldson (No Way Out, Thirteen Days) directed. (Magnolia)

* DECEMBER 14 *

King Kong. Peter Jackson rolls the dice big-time in this remake of the beloved 1933 classic. The cast includes Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody, and a big ape. See accompanying story, pg. 19. (Universal)

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. Tommy Lee Jones (who stars) makes his feature directorial debut with this story of a ranch hand who transports a friend's corpse to Mexico for a proper burial. Barry Pepper, Julio Cesar Cedillo, Dwight Yoakam, Melissa Leo, and Levon Helm costar. (Sony Classics)

* DECEMBER 16 *

Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt. Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Kris Kristofferson, and Willie Nelson are among the luminaries who appear in Margaret Brown's biographical documentary about singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt. (Palm)

Cape of Good Hope. An ethnically diverse group of South Africans examine their lives in this comedy/drama from Mark Bamford. Debbie Brown, Eriq Ebouaney, Nthati Moshesh, and Morne Visser star. (Artistic License)

The Family Stone. Young man brings his uptight girlfriend home to meet his lovably wacky family. Shades of You Can't Take It With You. The stellar cast of Thomas Bezucha's comedy includes Claire Danes, Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Dermot Mulroney, Craig T. Nelson, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Luke Wilson. (Fox)

The Producers. One of the funniest films ever made is the basis for this musical, by way of the hit Broadway production. Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick step into the roles played to perfection by Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder in Mel Brooks's 1968 original. Brooks cowrote the screenplay and the songs this time around, but choreographer Susan Stroman directs. Will Ferrell, Uma Thurman, and Roger Bart costar. (Universal)

The Promise. Following in the footsteps of Zhang Yimou (Hero) and Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), mainland Chinese art-house director Chen Kaige turns his hand to a martial-arts fantasy. Early clips include some of the most sumptuous images ever lensed. Nicholas Tse, Cecilia Cheung, and Hiroyuki Sanada are among the players. (Weinstein Company)

* DECEMBER 21 *

Cheaper by the Dozen II. Adam Shankman directs a sequel to Shawn Levy's wretched 2003 hit, which was itself a remake of a 1950 film. Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Hilary Duff, Tom Welling, and Piper Perabo return. (Fox)

Fun with Dick and Jane. Yet still another remake, at least this time of a film - the 1977 Jane Fonda/George Segal caper about a middle-class couple who have to turn to crime to make ends meet - that could be improved upon. Jim Carrey and Téa Leoni step into the leads; Alec Baldwin and Richard Jenkins costar. Directed by Dean Parisot, who made the enduring Galaxy Quest. (Sony)

The White Countess. Ralph Fiennes plays a blind American diplomat in Shanghai in the 1930s, who becomes close to an émigré Russian woman. Natasha Richardson, Vanessa Redgrave, and Lynn Redgrave are all on hand; the "classy," but intermittently okay James Ivory directed from a screenplay by Kazuo Ishiguro (The Remains of the Day). (Sony Classics)

DECEMBER 23 *

Caché (Hidden). In a plot that sounds amazingly like David Lynch's Lost Highway, a French TV host (Daniel Auteuil) receives anonymous videotapes of himself and his family. Given that the main character has the same last name as a major figure in Lynch's film, this may be deliberate homage. Juliette Binoche costars; Michael Haneke (Code Unknown) directs. (Sony Classics)

The Matador. Pierce Brosnan plays a tough-guy hit man who becomes entangled with an average schnook (Greg Kinnear) in a Mexican hotel. Hope Davis, Philip Baker Hall, and Dylan Baker costar in this comic thriller; Richard Shepherd (Oxygen) directed. (Weinstein Company)

Munich. Steven Spielberg directs Tony Kushner's screenplay about the famous terrorist attacks at the 1972 Olympics. Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Geoffrey Rush, and Mathieu Kassovitz star. (Universal)

The Ringer. A businessman decides to fake his way into the Special Olympics. Johnny Knoxville plays the role originated by Eric Cartman; Brian Cox and Katherine Heigl costar. Barry Blaustein directed from Ricky Blitt's script. (Fox Searchlight)

* DECEMBER 25 *

Casanova. Heath Ledger plays the famous 18th-century rake, memoirist, and liar. Sienna Miller, Jeremy Irons, Oliver Platt, and Lena Olin costar; Lasse Hallström directed. (Disney)

The New World. For his fourth feature in 33 years, acclaimed writer-director Terrence Malick (Badlands, Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line) takes on the old story of John Smith and Pocohontas. Colin Farrell, Christopher Plummer, Christian Bale, Wes Studi, and David Thewlis star. (New Line)

Rumor Has It. Not really a sequel to The Graduate: Jennifer Aniston plays a woman who suspects that her grandmother (Shirley MacLaine) may have been the model for Anne Bancroft in Mike Nichols's seminal 1967 film. Kevin Costner, Mark Ruffalo, Richard Jenkins, and Mena Suvari costar in this Rob Reiner comedy. (Warner)

* DECEMBER 28 *

Match Point. The latest from Woody Allen is a comedy thriller centering on a womanizing tennis player (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers). Scarlett Johansson, Emily Mortimer, Brian Cox, and Allen costar. (DreamWorks)