New movies falling into theaters

Fall movies used to come on exactly like the weather. One week, space battles and teenage hormones rampaged freely through the multiplex; the following week, the noisemakers were gone, replaced by prestigious actors in period dress. It was as if an occult hand smacked Arnold Schwarzenegger back to Austria and replaced him with Jeremy Irons, each and every September.

The paradigm shifted a few years back, when the major studios figured out they could make absurd money pretty much year-round. This fall and winter will bring effects-laden fantasy epics, animated features, teen romances, cheesy horror flicks -- pretty much everything but terrorism-driven action thrillers, which were bumped from the release schedule due to events beyond Hollywood's control.

Andrew Davis' "Collateral Damage" and Barry Sonnenfeld's "Big Trouble," two movies with terrorist subplots, won't be appearing in theaters this fall; Davis' film, a Schwarzenegger vehicle, may not be seen at all, ever. It begins with a skyscraper exploding; Arnold tracks the terrorist responsible for the blast to Columbia and whups him in his inimitable style. The film's tag line: "This fall, the war hits home."

"Collateral Damage" or none, this fall's releases look and behave like summer films, which may be exactly what we need right now. I doubt any news, no matter how dire, will be able to keep audiences away from "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," Chris Columbus' adaptation of J.K. Rowling's ubiquitous children's novel, when it hits screens Nov. 16. Nor will the war hinder the Dec. 19 release of "The Fellowship of the Ring," the first of director Peter Jackson's adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

Scattered around these sure successes is a wealth of films -- some commercial, some less so. "From Hell," a Hughes Brothers take on the case of Jack the Ripper, bows Oct. 19 and should offer another quirky, seamless performance from Johnny Depp, who's really racking them up. Oct. 26 brings "K-PAX," another variation on the "E.T." formula starring Kevin Spacey as a homesick alien who wears Bono's wraparound shades and weighs heavily on the mind of his analyst (Jeff Bridges).

Pixar, the endlessly inventive studio that created "A Bug's Life" and "Toy Story," offers "Monsters, Inc." on Nov. 2. The trailers for this computer-animated comedy have been drawing laughs for more than a year now.

The thrills aren't completely gone. John Travolta and Vince Vaughn face off in Harold Becker's "Domestic Disturbance," a dad-gone-bad thriller opening Nov. 2. In "Spy Game," opening Nov. 21, Brad Pitt and Robert Redford match wits and hairdos under the chaotic direction of Tony Scott.

And let's not forget the king of the road: Steven Soderbergh's star-studded remake of "Ocean's 11," scheduled for a gala opening Dec. 7 at Bellagio. Can George Clooney walk in the Chairman's shoes? No, but it should be a good time nonetheless, especially if you love heist movies as much as I do.

The beloved 18-24 demographic can expect a feast this fall and winter. On Nov. 9 Peter and Bobby Farrelly add another offensive gross-out comedy to their repertoire with "Shallow Hal," the movie that dares to put celebrity toothpick Gwyneth Paltrow in a fat suit. Red-hot Jack Black co-stars.

"On the Line" wraps a thin plot around the music and acting of members of 'N Sync; it opens Oct. 19. Not to be outdone, rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg goes shlock-horror with "Bones," opening Oct. 24.

And there's no shortage of prestigious films. Michael Mann's "Ali" opens Christmas Day, with Will Smith as the legendary fighter. "The Majestic," opening Dec. 21, pairs Jim Carrey with "Shawshank Redemption" director Frank Darabont. Penny Marshall's "Riding in Cars with Boys," opening Oct. 19, features Drew Barrymore in comedic-dramatic guise; it's certain to replace "A League of Their Own" as the Penny Marshall movie that plays on cable eight times a day.

And there's the film I'm most eager to see: "The Royal Tenenbaums," director Wes Anderson's follow-up to 1998's extraordinary left-fielder, "Rushmore." It opens on Christmas Day with enough star power to read by: Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Danny Glover, Bill Murray and the terrifically funny Owen Wilson. It may not equal "Harry Potter" or "Fellowship of the Ring's" grosses, but if it's anything like "Rushmore" it's certain to be remembered, and enjoyed, long after this dour fall fades into memory. What else do we ask of movies, really?

archive