NOV. 5

NOV. 5
"The Matrix Revolutions." The third (and final?) chapter in the Wachowski Brothers' cyber-punk franchise should finally answer all the questions that have been plaguing fans since the first "Matrix" arrived in 1999. We can dream, can't we?
NOV. 7
"Elf." While on sabbatical from the North Pole, oversize Santa's helper Will Ferrell tries tracking down his biological dad in New York City.
"Love Actually." An ensemble-romantic comedy from Richard Curtis, who penned "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and "Notting Hill." The dreamy cast includes Billy Bob Thornton as the U.S. president along with Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Colin Firth, Rowan Atkinson, Liam Neeson, Keira Knightley and Laura Linney.
NOV. 14
"Looney Tunes: Back in Action." Fed up with Bugs Bunny's getting all the attention, Daffy Duck quits Hollywood and embarks upon an around-the-world adventure with stuntman Brendan Fraser. Directed by Joe Dante ("Gremlins," "Innerspace") whose movies have always displayed a cartoonish bent, it promises to be a lot better than the last Looney Tunes-live action hybrid, 1996's "Space Jam."
"Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World." In this swashbuckling high-seas adventure based on Patrick O'Brian's popular historical novels, Russell Crowe guns for another Oscar playing Captain Jack Aubrey. At a cost of $135 million, director Peter Weir's Napoleonic War epic needs to gross "Pirates of the Caribbean" bucks to break even. Good luck.
"21 Grams." The destinies of three strangers (Sean Penn, Naomi Watts and Benicio Del Toro) collide in "Amores Perros," director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's first English-language film.
"Tupac: Resurrection." Through archival footage -- including never-before-seen home movies -- Tupac Shakur returns to life in this "self-portrait" made by MTV producer Lauren Lazin in collaboration with the late rapper's mom.
NOV. 19
"The Missing." Ron Howard passed on "The Alamo" to direct this western thriller about a frontier woman (Cate Blanchett) who teams up with estranged pop Tommy Lee Jones to rescue her kidnapped daughter. Am I the only one who thinks this sounds suspiciously like 1968's "The Stalking Moon," which starred Gregory Peck and Eva Marie Saint?
NOV. 21
"Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat." As if you didn't already know, Mike Myers plays the titular feline in a live-action version of Theodor Geisel's beloved 1957 tome. Advance buzz is that it's a big improvement over Jim Carrey's middling-but-blockbuster "Grinch" from three years ago. Thank heavens.
"Gothika." Repressed shrink Halle Berry awakens to find herself a patient in the asylum where she works -- and with no memory of committing a horrible crime. Robert Downey Jr., Penelope Cruz and Charles F. Dutton costar.
NOV. 26
"Bad Santa." Hot indie director Terry Zwigoff ("Ghost World," "Crumb") tries his hand at mainstream fare with this holiday comedy about a crook (Billy Bob Thornton) trying to pull off a Yuletide heist disguised as Santa. Co-starring Bernie Mac, Lauren Graham from "The Gilmore Girls" and John Ritter. Naughty or nice? You be the judge.
"The Haunted Mansion." Workaholic real estate agent Eddie Murphy becomes a better dad thanks to some busybody spirits at a poltergeist-infested estate. Disney's latest attempt to mine box-office gold from a theme park ride should have no trouble scaring up family audiences over the holidays.
"In America." Irish immigrants Paddy Considine and Samantha Morton struggle for a new life in present-day Manhattan with their two young daughters. Oscar-nominated director Jim Sheridan's first U.S.-lensed production.
"Timeline." Richard Donner's adaptation of Michael Crichton's novel sends archaeology student Paul Walker back to the 14th century after his professor disappears. I guess it beats writing a term paper.
DEC. 5
"Honey." Music video choreographer Jessica Alba shuns the glamorous world of MTV to open a dance school for inner-city kids. Yeah, right.
"The Last Samurai." Recruited by the Japanese emperor to help modernize his army, U.S. Civil War vet Tom Cruise goes native and starts acting like a real samurai warrior. The battle scenes at least look spectacular.
DEC. 10
"Big Fish." Tim Burton directs this oddball heartwarmer about an estranged father (Albert Finney) and son (Billy Crudup) trying to mend fences. Ewan McGregor plays dad as a young man; Jessica Lange and Alison Lohman are mom at various ages. Because this is the ever-quirky Burton, look for giants, blizzards, a witch and conjoined-twin lounge singers to play a part in the family drama.
DEC. 12
"Girl With a Pearl Earring." Based on Tracy Chevalier's novel, first-time director Peter Webber's film details the erotically charged but unconsummated relationship between 17th century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth) and the young maidservant (Scarlett Johansson) who became his most famous model.
"Love Don't Cost a Thing." Nick Cannon from "Drumline" plays a loser who hires Christina Milian to pose as his girlfriend in this retread of 1987's Patrick Dempsey sleeper "Can't Buy Me Love."
"Something's Gotta Give." Jack Nicholson is typecast as an aging lothario with a taste for younger babes who falls for his new lover's mother (Diane Keaton). Adding spice to the mix is a thirtysomething doc (Keanu Reeves) who also digs Mom. Director Nancy Meyers' last film (Mel Gibson's "What a Woman Wants") was a Christmas smash; this could be, too.
"Stuck on You." Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear play Siamese twins -- roles originally earmarked for Jim Carrey and Woody Allen -- in the latest politically incorrect farce from those irrepressible Farrelly Brothers ("Shallow Hal," "There's Something About Mary"). Look for cameos from Meryl Streep and Cher.
DEC. 17
"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King." The breathlessly awaited climax of Peter Jackson's J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy, in which Frodo continues trying to destroy the One Ring; Sam battles a killer spider; and the Battle of the Pelennor Fields decides the fate of Middle Earth (and Jackson's Oscar chances?) once and for all.
DEC. 19
"Calendar Girls." True story about a group of British housewives who posed nude for their annual Women's Institute calendar. A chick-flick "The Full Monty"? Disney can only hope.
"The Fog of War." Groundbreaking nonfiction filmmaker Errol Morris' riveting portrait of former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara. If Oscar can get past its long-standing Morris bias, "Capturing the Friedmans" just might have some competition in the best documentary category after all.
"Mona Lisa Smile." Julia Roberts gets all "Dead Poets Society" on us in this 1950s-set drama where she plays an inspirational art history professor at an all-girls college. Julia Stiles, Kirsten Dunst and Maggie Gyllenhaal are among the pretty woman's students.
DEC. 25
"The Alamo." Billy Bob Thornton dons a coonskin cap to portray Davy Crockett in Disney's ambitious (read: expensive) retelling of the legendary 1863 Texas battle. Jason Patric (Jim Bowie), Patrick Wilson (William Travis) and Dennis Quaid round out the cast.
"Cheaper by the Dozen." Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt are parents to 12 rambunctious tykes -- including "Lizzie McGuire" Hilary Duff -- in a remake of Clifton Webb's 1950 family comedy.
"Cold Mountain." Wounded Confederate soldier Jude Law journeys back home to wife Nicole Kidman in Anthony Minghella's epic romance based on Charles Frazier's best-selling Civil War romance. Featuring Renee Zellweger, Natalie Portman and Philip Seymour Hoffman, this is Miramax's best shot at repeating last year's Oscar sweep.
"The Company." "Scream" ingenue Neve Campbell (who also co-produced) toplines director Robert Altman's behind-the-scenes dance drama filmed in conjunction with Chicago's Joffrey Ballet. Not one of Altman's finest hours, but the fluidly shot performance footage should make it a hit with balletomanes.
"Paycheck." After going to work for computer mogul Aaron Eckhart, tech engineer Ben Affleck gets his memory erased. While trying to retrieve it, he romances scientist Uma Thurman. John Woo ("Face/Off," "Broken Arrow") directs this high-tech thriller.
"Peter Pan." P.J. Hogan ("My Best Friend's Wedding") helms the umpteenth version of J.M. Barrie's classic. Newcomer Jeremy Sumpter is Peter; Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy in "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets") plays the dastardly Captain Hook.
DEC. 26
"House of Sand and Fog." Recovering alcoholic Jennifer Connelly battles Iranian immigrant Ben Kingsley over a Northern California home. Adapted from Andres Dubus III's 1999 novel, it marks the feature-film debut of commercials director Vadim Perelman.