Fall's film bounty

Will Jude Law be as deliciously despicable as Michael Caine for the remake of "Alfie"? Will Colin Farrell -- either because of or despite director Oliver Stone -- make "Alexander" truly The Great?

Will Chucky the Devil Doll ever stop inspiring sequels?

Those and other burning movie questions will be answered as the summer blockbusters fade away with the temperatures.

It's that time of year between the summer and holiday rushes when the smaller, artsier and somewhat more adult movies arrive to herald the beginning of Oscar season.

Sure, there are still some comedies that seem like summer leftovers, from Jimmy Fallon's film debut in "Taxi" to Johnny Knoxville's "The Ringer."

Mostly, fall is the time to catch up on art films that couldn't stand the summer competition, from the drug drama "Maria Full of Grace" to the Italian/Turkish "Facing Windows" about infidelity and homelessness to "Head in the Clouds" set in London, Paris and Madrid of the 1930s.

Kids also have it good this fall, with four major animations, from SpongeBob SquarePants' big-screen debut to some finny, funny mobsters in "Shark Tale" to the over-the-hill superheroes of "The Incredibles" to a lavish Christmas adventure aboard "The Polar Express."

For the date crowd, Renee Zellweger is back as Britain's most beloved wallflower, Bridget Jones, while Richard Gere takes dance lessons from Jennifer Lopez.

Here are capsule looks at 33 films that are scheduled to open here before the holiday season gets under way. As always, dates may change. Enjoy!

Opening Friday

"Ladder 49" (PG-13) Loving, dramatic tribute to firefighters trying to put their lives back together after the terrorist attack of Sept. 11. Joaquin Phoenix plays a fireman whose life flashes before him when he becomes trapped in a burning building. John Travolta is his captain -- and father figure -- trying to rescue him.

"Shark Tale" (PG) "The Godfather" gets Nemo-ized in this animated DreamWorks tale, which has drawn protests for stereotyping sharks as Italian-American. Robert DeNiro provides the voice of the godfather, whose apparent death sparks a loudmouthed wannabe fish named Oscar (Will Smith) to take credit in hopes of getting some street cred and respect.

"Facing Windows" (R) Italian/Turkish romantic drama about a young woman (Giovanna Mezzogiorno) in a troubled marriage who is tempted by the handsome young man across the way but whose life becomes wrapped up with a homeless Holocaust survivor she and her husband take into their home. In Italian with English subtitles.

Oct. 8

"Taxi" (PG-13) "SNL" alumnus Jimmy Fallon makes his big-screen debut in this action comedy about an inept cop who teams with a mouthy cabbie (Queen Latifah) to track down a team of gorgeous jewel thieves headed by model Gisele Bundchen.

"Friday Night Lights" (PG-13) It's the feel-good sports drama of the season with Billy Bob Thornton as the driven coach of the Permian High Panthers in football-obsessed Odessa, Texas. "Raise Your Voice" (PG) Teen queen Hilary Duff is back for her third film of the year (after "A Cinderella Story" and "The Perfect Man"), this time as a small-town gal who moves to the big city to enroll in a performing arts high school. John Corbett and Rebecca DeMornay join her in this romantic comedy with music.

Oct. 15

"Shall We Dance?" (PG-13) Romantic drama with Richard Gere getting to strut his dance stuff again, this time in a ballroom contest that just might save his failing marriage to Susan Sarandon. Gere plays a burned-out businessman who secretly enrolls in Jennifer Lopez's dance classes to escape his daily grind. When he shows real promise, she pushes him to go public.

"Team America: World Police" (not yet rated) Those naughty "South Park" guys, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, take on the upcoming presidential election and world politics in this outrageous satire performed by marionettes. They are equal-opportunity offenders as they seek to end terrorism and put tired celebrity activists out of their misery.

"P.S." (not rated yet) Director Dylan ("Roger Dodger") Kidd explores the older woman/younger man phenomenon with Laura Linney as a college professor who is startled by, then attracted to, a new student (Topher Grace of "That '70s Show") who bears an uncanny resemblance to her dead boyfriend.

"The Final Cut" (PG-13) Robin Williams stars in this futuristic thriller in which people can get implants to record their entire lives. He's a video editor working on recorded memories of the deceased when he comes across information about himself that puts his life in jeopardy. Also starring James Caviezel and Mira Sorvino.

"Maria Full of Grace" (R) To help her desperately poor family, a 17-year-old Colombian girl (Catalina Sandino Moreno) agrees to smuggle heroine in capsules in her stomach into America. But what starts as a routine trip turns into a harrowing journey of survival. In Spanish with English subtitles.

Oct. 22

"Alfie" (R) Jude Law, who seems to be everywhere with five movies out this year, re-creates the role of a cynical and selfish cockney womanizer that turned Michael Caine into an overnight Oscar-nominated star. Law's Alfie must re-examine his skirt-chasing ways when his health fails and the rejections mount.

"Surviving Christmas" (PG-13) Tart black comedy to temper the holiday's usual sweetness. Ben Affleck plays a depressed exec who returns to the house where he was raised and begs the current owners to take him in for the holidays. With Christina Applegate, James Gandolfini and Catherine O'Hara.

"The Grudge" (R) After all those years of vampire butt-kicking, Sarah Michelle Gellar plays a victim in this thriller from Takashi Shimizu. She's an American nurse working in Tokyo who is exposed to a mysterious and deadly virus that causes its victims to go into a powerful rage.

Oct. 29

"Saw" (R) Low-budget, graphic horror tale from Aussie director James Wan and star Leigh Whannell that delivers the goods in bloody spades. Whannell and Cary Elwes wake up amid a pile of corpses to discover that they are prisoners of a monster called "The Jigsaw Killer," so-named because of his dismemberment techniques.

Nov. 5

"Alexander" (not rated yet) Director Oliver Stone gives lavish epic treatment to the story of the Macedonian warrior, Alexander the Great, who conquered 90 percent of the known world by the time he was 25. Colin Farrell plays the ambitious conqueror, who had affairs with both women (Angelina Jolie) and men (Jared Leto).

"The Incredibles" (PG) Animator Brad Bird, who gave us the touching "The Iron Giant," helms this action/comedy about a family of retired, out-of-shape cartoon superheroes who are called back into service to save the world -- if they still can. Voiced by Craig T. Nelson, Samuel L. Jackson, Holly Hunter and Jason Lee.

"Birth" (R) Spooky romantic drama about a widow (Nicole Kidman) who is shocked to find herself drawn to a young boy (Cameron Bright) who claims to be the reincarnation of her late husband. Also starring Lauren Bacall.

"Head in the Clouds" (rating) Sweeping romantic drama set in the late 1930s with Charlize Theron, Penelope Cruz and Stuart Townsend as friends who share a Paris apartment but not the same ideals. When World War II breaks out, two rush off to fight fascism while the third refuses to let it get in the way of her personal goals.

Nov. 10

"The Polar Express" (not rated yet) Robert ("Back to the Future") Zemeckis is the visionary behind this astonishingly realistic animated family tale about a boy whose belief in Santa Claus is rewarded when a magical steam train pulls up to his house on Christmas Eve and whisks him away to the North Pole. With the voices of Tom Hanks, Chris Coppola and Michael Jeter.

"After the Sunset" (not rated yet) Crime thriller with Pierce Brosnan as a master thief who retires to an exotic island with his main squeeze Salma Hayak only to be hounded by FBI agent Woody Harrelson, who is determined to get the goods on him once and for all.

"Child's Play 5: Seed of Chucky" (not rated yet) Director Don Mancini crafts a dark and grisly spoof of suburban family values when killer dolls Chucky (Brad Dourif) and his bride, Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly), rise from the grave and settle into family life with their son in Los Angeles.

Nov. 12

"The Ringer" (not rated yet) Newcomer Barry Blaustein is the director but the raunchy Farrelly Brothers are coaching from the sidelines for this tale of a pair of con men who pretend to be mentally disabled in order to win a Special Olympics prize and pay off their debts. Starring Johnny Knoxville, Katherine Heigl and Brian Cox.

Nov. 19

"Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason" (R) Renee Zellweger packs on 40 pounds again for her second outing as the plump, tart-tongued single Everywoman, this time settling into couplehood with Colin Firth only to discover that she isn't as happy as she thinks she should be. Caddish Hugh Grant is back to complicate matters.

"The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" (PG) The squishy yellow hero of kiddie TV comes to the big screen for the first time as he leaves his Bikini Bottoms home to track down King Neptune's stolen crown.

Nov. 24 (wed)

"Christmas With the Kranks" (not rated yet) Wacky family comedy with Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis as a couple forced to stay home from a planned holiday vacation and hurriedly get their house into shape for an old-fashioned family Christmas when their daughter calls at the last minute.

"National Treasure" (not rated yet) Nicolas Cage and Diane Kruger head a cast of would-be Indiana Joneses as professional treasure hunters who find themselves in a race with the FBI to find a war chest hidden by America's founding fathers on the eve of the Revolutionary War.

Autumn undated

"The Last Shot" (R) Mobster comedy with Matthew Broderick as a naive filmmaker whose first film is backed by organized criminals as a front to launder money. Undercover FBI agent Alec Baldwin infiltrates the project as a co-producer to bring them to justice. With Ray Liotta, Tony Shalhoub and Calista Flockhart.

"Shaun of the Dead" (R) This comic zombie romp from director Edgar Wright is considered the sleeper hit of the fall. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are drinking buddies who, during a night of pub revelry, find themselves battling the undead.

"I (Heart) Huckabees" (R) Lily Tomlin and Dustin Hoffman plays a husband-and-wife team of existential detectives who try to help people sort out the meanings of their lives in this offbeat comedy from writer-director David O. Russell. Among their clients are Jason Schwartzman, Jude Law and Mark Wahlberg.

"Mean Creek" (R) Dramatic tale of a revenge plot gone wrong. When shy Rory Culkin is targeted by class bully Josh Peck, he complains to his brother who enlists his buddies for the ultimate payback. But as the vengeance plan unfolds, the former victim sees the bully in a new and sympathetic light. But can he stop what's already in motion?

"The Yes Men" (R) An underground cult hit at film festivals this year, this politicized documentary from Dan Ollman and Sarah Price follows anti-corporate activists traveling from conference to conference impersonating members of the World Trade Organization. Think of it as "Jackass" for political science freaks.

"Undertow" (R) Drama about a rural Southern family falling apart over an inheritance left to two brothers. Josh Lucas is the black sheep who comes back to get his share, but it drives away his nephews (Jamie Bell and Devon Alan) and precipitates a showdown with his brother, Dermot Mulroney.