HOLIDAY MOVIES Hollywood wraps up some stellar flicks

By MILAN PAURICH
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Talk about an embarrassment of riches! After a fall that was skimpy on quality films, the expected year-end flood of potential box-office smashes and major awards contenders kicks in with a vengeance.
There are two tony literary adaptations starring Meryl Streep ("The Hours" and "Adaptation"); two movies starring Leonardo DiCaprio, who's been MIA since "The Beach" three years ago; sequels to "Lord of the Rings," "Analyze This," "The Santa Clause," and "Harry Potter"; a James Cameron-produced sci-fi film directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Soderbergh's current muse, George Clooney; romantic comedies with Sandra Bullock and Jennifer Lopez; another Disney animation tentpole ("Treasure Planet"); new installments in the 007 and "Star Trek" franchises; 'toons starring Fat Albert and Adam Sandler; and rappers Ice Cube and Eminem, too.
In other words, there's something for everyone on this year's Christmas movie list. Since release dates are notoriously subject to change -- especially at this time of year -- use a pencil when marking any of these down on your calendar.
FRIDAY
"I Spy." CIA super-agent Owen Wilson teams with undefeated middle-weight champ Eddie Murphy for a hush-hush mission to recover a stealth fighter plane in this feature film version of the 1960's Bill Cosby/Robert Culp TV series. Directed by Betty ("Dr. Dolittle," "The Brady Bunch Movie") Thomas.
"The Santa Clause 2." In a sequel to the 1994 box-office smash, Santa (Tim Allen again) panics upon learning that he must find a Mrs. Claus. Although former "Home Improvement" star Allen seems to have lost his box-office mojo, this should make back its modest production costs before "Harry Potter" and Disney's holiday 'toon "Treasure Planet" arrive.
NOV. 8
"8 Mile." Set against a backdrop of the mid-'90s Detroit rap scene, this semi-autobiographical tale of a young man (Eminem) trying to transcend his boundaries was directed by the esteemed Curtis Hanson ("L.A. Confidential," "Wonder Boys"). Co-starring Kim Basinger and Brittany Murphy, this will never be confused with Vanilla Ice's "Cool as Ice."
"Equilibrium." In a fascistic futuristic society where all forms of feeling are illegal, a man (Christian Bale of "American Psycho") charged with enforcing the law rises to overthrow the system. Emily Watson and Taye Diggs costar in Miramax's variation on Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451."
"Far From Heaven." 1950s housewife Julianne Moore's perfect world is irrevocably changed after learning of husband Dennis Quaid's homosexuality. The latest envelope-pusher from cult director Todd Haynes ("Velvet Goldmine," "Safe") is already generating storms of controversy -- and Oscar buzz.
"Femme Fatale." An alluring seductress (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos from "X Men") ensnares a voyeuristic photographer (Antonio Banderas) in her bizarre quest for vengeance. This latest exercise in high-style suspense from Brian DePalma ("Dressed to Kill," "Body Double") was the Closing Night Gala presentation at September's Toronto Film Festival.
NOV. 15
"Half-Past Dead." Morris Chestnut infiltrates a high-tech prison to find out where a death-row inmate hid $200 million in gold. Steven Seagal is the undercover FBI agent who must stop him before it's too late.
"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." Harry ignores the warnings of elf Dobby and returns to Hogwarts to find the school plagued by a series of attacks and a strange voice haunting him. Kenneth Branagh joins the cast as Gilderoy Lockhart. Everything else (cast, director Chris Columbus, etc.) remains the same -- including, no doubt, blockbuster holiday business.
NOV. 22
"Die Another Day." Pierce Brosnan is back as James Bond in another high-octane outing, hopping from Korea to Hong Kong, Cuba and (naturally) London. Oscar winner Halle Berry plays 007's foxy and very devious nemesis, Jinx.
"The Emperor's Club." Kevin Kline takes Robin Williams' "Dead Poets Society" role as an inspirational prep school teacher who butts heads with strong-willed student Emile Hirsch ("The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys").
"Friday After Next." Ice Cube and Mike Epps move out of their parents' homes and into their own crib. When the boys get burgled on Xmas Eve, they decide to track down the anti-Santa. The second sequel to the 1995 sleeper.
"Personal Velocity." The winner of the Grand Jury Prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival tells the affecting stories of three women (Kyra Sedgwick, Parker Posey and Fairuza Balk) struggling to make sense of their lives.
"The Quiet American." A love triangle between a British journalist (Michael Caine), a young American (Brendan Fraser), and the beautiful Vietnamese woman set against the backdrop of the French Indochina War in Vietnam circa 1952. Based on the Graham Greene novel.
NOV. 27
"8 Crazy Nights." Animated musical comedy about basketball, old girlfriends, holiday spirits and the mall in which Adam Sandler voices three characters. The PG-13 rating for "frequent crude and sexual humor, drinking and brief drug use" would seem to indicate that no one will ever confuse this with a Disney 'toon.
"Extreme Ops." After accidentally catching a Serbian war criminal on film, a camera crew and some extreme sports-loving kids become locked in a life-or-death chase through the Austrian Alps. Sort of a cross between "Behind Enemy Lines" and "Jackass: The Movie."
"Solaris." In this Steven Soderbergh-directed remake of a 1972 Russian cult film, rocket man George Clooney is sent to investigate some mysterious deaths at a space station and discovers unsettling evidence of supernatural phenomena. No less a sci-fi authority than James ("Aliens," "The Abyss") Cameron produced.
"They." Miramax horror flick about a psychiatric grad student whose childhood fears return to haunt her. Director Robert Harmon should know a thing or two about terror after his 1986 cult hit, "The Hitcher."
"Treasure Planet." Speaking of Disney 'toons, their animated version of "Treasure Island" moves the setting of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic pirate yarn into outer space. From the creators of such past Mouse House smashes as "The Little Mermaid" and "Aladdin," it features the vocal stylings of Emma Thompson, Martin Short and David Hyde Pierce.
DEC. 6
"Adaptation." Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman's follow-up to their Oscar-nominated 1999 indie smash "Being John Malkovich." Nicolas Cage is a confused LA screenwriter overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy, sexual frustration, self-loathing -- and the screenwriting ambitions of his freeloading twin brother (also Cage). Meryl Streep plays the author of the book that Cage's character is struggling to adapt.
"Analyze That." Mafioso Paul Vitti (Robert De Niro) needs further counseling in this sequel to the 1999 Harold Ramis-directed hit. Playing Frasier Crane to DeNiro's Tony Soprano once again is Billy Crystal.
DEC. 13
"About Schmidt." Retired widowed sixtysomething retiree Jack Nicholson must come to terms with his daughter's marriage to a man he can't stand and the failure that his life has become. Written and directed by the great American social satirist Alexander Payne ("Election"), this won raves at the Cannes and New York Film Festival.
"The Guys." A journalist (Sigourney Weaver) helps a NYC fire captain (Anthony LaPaglia) write eulogies for his men who were killed in the line of duty on 9/11. Adapted from an off-Broadway play from earlier this year that starred Weaver and Bill Murray.
"The Hot Chick." Disney teen comedy about a popular but mean-spirited high school student (Rachel McAdams) who wakes up to find herself transformed into a thirtysomething guy (Rob Schneider).
"Maid in Manhattan." A senatorial candidate (perpetually gloomy Ralph Fiennes in his first romantic comedy) falls in love with a hotel maid (Jennifer Lopez) whom he mistakes for a socialite in this contemporary fairy tale from "Joy Luck Club" director Wayne Wang.
"Star Trek: Nemesis." They're baaack! The crew of the Starship Enterprise find themselves on the planet Romulus where they discover a new threat to Earth. The 10th big-screen "Star Trek" outing and the first since 1998's "Insurrection."
DEC. 18
"Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers." Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) continue their quest to destroy the One Ring. Meanwhile, a growing shadow falls upon Middle-Earth as the Dark Lord's army marches on. For those keeping score, this is twenty minutes shorter than last year's "The Fellowship of the Ring."
DEC. 20
"Antwone Fisher." True-life story of a sailor (newcomer Derek Luke) whose therapy sessions with a Navy shrink (Denzel Washington, who also directed) inspire him to seek out the family who abandoned him as a child.
"Narc." When the trail goes cold on a policeman's unsolved murder, an undercover narcotics officer is lured back to the force to help crack the case. Ray Liotta, Jason Patric and "Boston Public & quot;'s Chi McBride star in this Sundance Film Festival hit executive-produced by Tom Cruise.
"The 25th Hour." The title of Spike Lee's new movie refers to the last day of freedom for a man (Edward Norton) about to serve a seven-year sentence for dealing drugs. Sharing his final hours are best friends Philip Seymour Hoffman and Barry Pepper and girlfriend Rosario Dawson.
"Two Weeks Notice." Manhattan attorney Sandra Bullock is losing sleep over her charming millionaire boss Hugh Grant. The directorial debut of screenwriter Marc Lawrence who penned Bullock's Xmas '00 smash, "Miss Congeniality."
"The Wild Thornberrys." The Thornberrys travel to Africa in this latest attempt to transfer a Nickelodeon 'toon's fleeting charms to the big screen.
"Gangs of New York." Martin Scorsese describes his long-delayed $90-million epic set on the streets of lower Manhattan in the 1860s as "a cross between a Western and a gangster film." With Leonardo DiCaprio starring as a young man out to avenge the murder of his father (Liam Neeson), he can call it anything he likes. Co-starring Daniel Day-Lewis as a ruthless Irish crime boss and Cameron Diaz as DiCaprio's gal pal.
DEC. 25
"Catch Me If You Can." True story of legendary con man Frank Abagnale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) and the FBI agent (Tom Hanks) who eventually caught him. Don't be surprised if Steven Spielberg's latest gets pushed back to 2003 to avoid head-to-head competition with "Gangs of New York," DiCaprio's other year-end release.
"Fat Albert." Bill Cosby's legendary childhood buddy finally gets the big-screen treatment in this animated kid flick.
"Pinocchio." Roberto Benigni's follow-up to his Oscar-winning "Life is Beautiful" is yet another retelling of Carlo Collodi's classic fairy tale about a wooden marionette who aches to become human. American audiences will only get the chance to hear an English-dubbed version of Benigni's Italian-language original.
DEC. 27
"Chicago: The Musical." Eagerly awaited film version of Kander and Ebb's 1975 Broadway musical perversely casts three fine actors (Renee Zellweger, Richard Gere and Catherine Zeta-Jones) who can neither sing nor dance. Hey, it worked for "Moulin Rouge."
"Confessions of a Dangerous Mind." George Clooney directed this adaptation of Chuck Barris' autobiography in which the game-show mogul claims to have been a CIA assassin. Sam Rockwell plays Barris and Clooney, Julia Roberts and Drew Barrymore provide support. Look for cameos by Clooney's "Ocean's 11" mates Brad Pitt and Matt Damon.
"The Hours." Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore and Meryl Streep play women from different eras who are all profoundly affected by novelist Virginia Woolf's "Mrs. Dalloway." Based on Michael Cunningham's award-winning book, this was directed by Stephen ("Billy Elliott") Daldry.
"Max." The unlikely friendship in 1920's Berlin between Adolf Hitler (Noah Taylor) and his Jewish art teacher (John Cusack) is chronicled in screenwriter Menno ("The Color Purple") Meyjes' directorial debut.
"Nicholas Nickleby." Writer/director Doug ("Emma") McGrath and an impressive cast (including Christopher Plummer, Nathan Lane, Tom Courtenay, Timothy Spall and Jim Broadbent) tackle one of Charles Dickens' most beloved novels. Anne Hathaway ("The Princess Diaries"), Charlie Hunnam ("Abandon") and Jamie Bell ("Billy Elliott") hope to provide some youth appeal.
"The Pianist." A Jewish musician (Adrien Brody) survives the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto and WW II's concentration camps. Director Roman Polanski's two-and-a-half-hour Holocaust drama won the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival.