THIS YEAR'S MOVIES, PART THREE

CORRECTIONS:

Despite what I reported in Part Two of this column, Blackout is not Philip Kaufman's first film in ten years. In 2000, he directed Quills. I feel especially ashamed at making this inexcusable mistake because not only did I see the film but I've even seen the play, starring Howard Hesseman as the full frontal Marquis. I'd like to thank readers F. Elliot, Greg Bryant, John S. Walsh, Jean-Michel Cavrois, and "Shantamm," who each wrote in with the correction and were kind enough not insult me for my lapse.

Also, Tom DeMary notified us that a Texas paper has reported that Carter Burwell will score The Alamo, which Variety confirmed.

John S. Walsh let me know that I confused writers Andre Dubus (author of "Killings," the basis for In the Bedroom) and Andre Dubus III (House of Sand and Fog, soon to be a major motion picture scored by James Horner). As I have a degree in English Literature from U.C.L.A., I am especially ashamed to admit that until In the Bedroom came out I had never even heard of either of the Dubuses.

Parts One and Two of this column may be accessed on the website.

Despite Speed 2, Jan DeBont has been entrusted with another sequel. The story for this film was written by the production designer and one of the producers: that may not be a good sign.

A Civil War veteran in Japan. Is it time for James Horner to break out his old sakauhachi?

From the director of the lesbian drama High Art. An uptight yuppie and his fiancée visit his free-spirited mother. Oddly, Bale and Beckinsale play Yanks, while American Alessandro Nivola plays a Brit.

Diane Johnson's acclaimed comic novel receives the Merchant-Ivory treatment. Soundtrack collectors can probably already hum the Richard Robbins score. A trivia note: Hudson played Heath Ledger's love interest in The Four Feathers, while Watts is his real-life girlfriend. Time for Six Degrees of Heath Ledger?

Based on Alan Moore's terrific graphic novel: Allan Quatermain (Connery) teams up with a group of other fantasy characters (Captain Nemo, Dr. Jekyll, etc.) to battle a supervillain. Director Norrington did a terrific job with Blade and if done right this could be the coolest movie of the year, but it would require a truly epic budget to pull off satisfactorily. The filmmakers have added younger characters (Dorian Gray, Tom Sawyer) as a sop to the youth market, but more damagingly, Mark Isham is a terrible choice to score this project, which requires a composer with the imagination and symphonic breadth of a Herrmann, Goldsmith or Williams. Moore's spectacular From Hell was adapted poorly for the screen, replacing his remarkable historical detail with tired clichés (psychic detective, hooker with a heart of gold); I'm hoping this one turns out much better.

I suppose Witherspoon might as well keep her commercial viability with stuff like this until another project of the caliber of Election comes along.

The directorial debut of the screenwriter of Men in Black, this drama of an ex-con's search for redemption boasts one of the most impressive casts of the year, as well as the cinematography of the Coen Brothers' DP Roger Deakins. Composer Everett is also known as "E" of the group The Eels.

This capital punishment drama boasts an Oscar bait cast and director, but the real question is why it didn't come out during December. The delay would indicate something went seriously wrong. If you believe the reviews, everything went wrong, especially the script.

Need we say more?

Joe Dante's first feature in five years, this can only be a better vehicle for Bugs and the gang than the witless, mercenary Space Jam.

This romantic comedy about a blocked writer is Reiner's first film in four years. If it's anything like his last one, The Story of Us, let's hope it's more than four years 'til the next.

Count Dooku battles James Whale, while the Hobbits delay their trip to Modor with a Fire Island getaway.

This ensemble romantic comedy marks the directorial debut of the writer of Four Weddings and a Funeral. Set your phasers to whimsy.

A white wannabe rapper gets an unexpected taste of life in the hood. Sure, Jamie Kennedy is funny, but does he have the movie star charisma of a Rob Schneider?

A tough cop goes after the villains who murdered his wife. They're kidding, aren't they? Co-writer Gudegast is the son of actor Eric Braeden (aka Hans Gudegast), who played Forbin in Colossus: The Forbin Project and Dr. Hasslein in Escape From the Planet of the Apes.

Kudrow takes over her father's rap label. Writer Rudnick's "Libby Gelman-Waxner" columns in Premiere are the funniest writing being done on movies today.

This nautical adventure would appear to be ideal material for a composer, but unfortunately director Weir tends to favor drones over symphonies.

Based on the recent novel, this comedy tells a con man whose schemes go awry when confronted with his long-lost daughter. A Ridley Scott comedy? O-kay.

First of two back-to-back Matrix sequels: Agent Smith gets ahold of a sports almanac from the future and uses it to change the present, while two Neos show up at the high school prom.

Second of two back-to-back Matrix sequels: Morpheus's sewer ship travels back to the Old West, where he falls in love with a pretty schoolmarm who shares his love of Philip K. Dick novels.

The master of improvised mockumentaries takes on the folk music scene.

F.B.I. trainee profiles are stalked by a killer in their midst. Will we actually learn something about how profiling is really done, or will it just be the usual psychic B.S. that has filled all the post-Thomas Harris profiling thrillers? Composer David Julyan was about to record the score for the film when he and director Harlin had a parting of the ways.

Yakin, the rare director who never makes the same film twice (Fresh, A Price Above Rubies, Remember the Titans) directs this comedy about a young socialite who becomes a nanny.

Free-spirit Roberts teaches Wellesley girls in 1953. Newell has directed everything from Four Weddings and a Funeral to Donnie Brasco to The Awakening.

Once again, Eastwood picks a phenomenal group of actors for his latest film, based on Dennis Lehane's mystery novel. How much do you want to bet Lennie Niehaus does the score?

Do they even need to give the film a real title? I mean, isn't just the thought of a new film from the director of Parent Trap and What Women Want mouth-watering enough? (To quote Homer Simpson, "I'm being sarcastic.")

Armed and Dangerous again, with racial overtones. Zahn, Feore and Duke are far too talented for this sort of thing. Lawrence is, as always, an acquired taste, not helped by a script that gives us virtually no reason to like him.

The director of Monsters Ball takes on the life of Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie, so there probably won't be a role for Puff Daddy. (Though Vanessa Redgrave is considered the P. Diddy of the British theater)

Director Casseteves (son of John, natch) started off well with the charming, low-key Unhook the Stars. His second film, She's So Lovely, was dreadful, and his third, John Q, was clumsy and unbelievable, though it did manage to make a few bucks. He has a terrific cast once more, but the source material is a novel from the author of Message in a Bottle and A Walk to Remember, so my expectations are low.

The plot (such as it is) is a mess and hard to defend, but the film is consistently hilarious, especially due to Vince Vaughn (back in comedies where he belongs) and Will Ferrell, who may be a comic genius.

Sequel to Desperado, it was actually made before Spy Kids 2. It was shot in high-definition video, so it may not have the rich, Leone-ish look of its predecessor.

Costner returns to directing with an old-fashioned Western. I was originally going to write about how much I was looking forward to this one, but then I learned that Basil Poledouris was supposed to do the score but has been replaced by Kamen, so now I'm mad. Hell, why don't they replace Robert Duvall with Robert Conrad while they're at it?

Religious horror story reteaming the director and stars of A Knight's Tale, it was yanked shortly before its planned January release and retitled. I sure hope it's better than Knight's Tale.

The director and star of the terrific, too little seen Devil in a Blue Dress reunite for a romantic noir.

MailBag@filmscoremonthly.com