Fall movie preview

The year 2000 so far has truly been a disappointing one for movies. Of course, the triumph of television's "Survivor" in the midst of the summer season doesn't help. Now the television's reality craze has finally come to an end and the Oscar race has officially begun, there are a number of fall films that look just promising enough to renew the faith of moviegoers. Although it's unlikely most of these films will be played in Bloomington thanks to the generally tasteless and always greedy Kerasotes Theatres, these films still give us something to look forward to on the shelves of Classical Film & Music.\n15 FILMS TO WATCH FOR:\nTraffic (Dec. 22)\nSteven Soderbergh is no longer just the best working director in America, he is also now one of the most bankable directors thanks to the runaway success of "Erin Brockovich." Based on a Channel Four miniseries about drug wars, "Traffic" boasts such high-profile stars as Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Don Cheadle and Benicio Del Toro. This one certainly has Oscar bait written all over it.\nDancer in the Dark (Now playing)\nThis "Palme d'Or" and "Best Actress" winner at Cannes Film Festival is unquestionably this fall's most buzz-worthy entry. The controversial musical tragedy, directed by Danish auteur Lars von Trier and starring Bjork, has been generating uniformly extreme love-it-or-hate-it responses from critics and audiences alike. This highly anticipated follow-up to "Breaking the Waves" and "The Idiots" will definitely be the talk among movie buffs this fall.\nCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Dec. 8)\nA crowd-pleaser at Cannes, Toronto and New York film festivals, director Ang Lee of "Sense & Sensibility" and "The Ice Storm" returns to his Taiwanese roots to create this sweeping martial arts epic. Starring Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh, the film features the gravity-defying fight sequences orchestrated by choreographer Yuen Wo-Ping of "The Matrix." This is the most high-profile foreign-language entry since "Life is Beautiful."\nYi Yi (Oct. 6)\nWinner of "Best Director" at this year's Cannes Film Festival, Taiwanese director Edward Yang's meditation on three generations of an alienated middle-class family is reportedly so powerful that it drew tears from countless middle-aged men during its screening at Cannes. Despite no initial interest from American distributors, Winstar Cinema finally purchased it prior to its North American premieres at this year's Toronto and New York film festivals.\nState and Main (Dec. 22)\nAfter venturing into period territory with "The Winslow Boy," David Mamet returns to the familiar "Wag the Dog" territory with his latest. A screwball satire about a Hollywood crew invading a quiet New England town, "State and Main" boasts an impressive cast that includes Alec Baldwin, Charles Durning, Patti LuPone, William H. Macy, Sarah Jessica Parker, David Paymer, Rebecca Pidgeon, Julia Stiles and Phillip Seymour Hoffman.\nThe Gift (December)\nA new thriller directed by Sam Raimi and written by "One False Move" and "A Family Thing" team Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson. The film, starring Cate Blanchett, Katie Holmes, Greg Kinnear, Keanu Reeves, Hilary Swank and Giovanni Ribisi, centers on a psychic whose life and family are jeopardized by her ability to uncover secrets of a small Southern town and solve a murder.\nIn the Mood for Love (November)\nWhile John Woo, Tsui Hark and Ringo Lam pretty much have all traded the little artistic integrity they have for a shot at Hollywood, Hong Kong's most off-beat auteur Wong Kar-wai is still making beautiful arthouse fare that is neither appreciated by Hong Kong nor by Hollywood. His latest period romance starring Tony Cheung and Maggie Cheung has scored a North American distribution deal before the film was even completed. Maybe the American audience is finally ready for him. \nRequiem for a Dream (Oct. 6)\nFresh off the visionary "š" and on his way to rescue the fallen Batman franchise for Warner Bros., director Darren Aronofsky takes on Hubert Selby Jr.'s drug-induced novel and creates the American version of "Trainspotting." The Motion Picture Association of America has slapped this film with a kiss-of-death NC-17 rating, while its distributor Artisan Entertainment will release it without alteration. The film, starring Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly and Marlon Wayans, will definitely be a thrilling ride.\nGirlfight (Now playing)\nA runaway hit and prize-winner at the Sundance Film Festival, Karyn Kusama's gritty drama about a young female boxer's coming of age is already drawing favorable comparisons to other Sundance favorites such as "Hoop Dreams." Watch for Michelle Rodriguez in an Oscar-worthy star-making turn as the film's heroine.\nTwo Family House (Oct. 6)\nRaymond De Felitta's Sundance "Audience Award" winning crowd-pleaser features several cast members from the hit TV series "The Sopranos" including Michael Rispoli, Katherine Narduccyi and Vincent Pastore. The heartwarming comedy focuses on a frustrated crooner who constantly struggles to make ends meet and unexpectedly befriends a fresh-off-the-boat Irish girl (Kelly MacDonald of "Trainspotting").\nVenus Beauty Institute (Oct. 27)\nA small film that goes on to sweep the "Best Picture" prize at this year's Cesar Awards, Tonie Marshall's intimate romantic comedy set in a beauty salon with assorted eccentric customers. The film tells the story of a beautician who looks for love in all the wrong places while struggling not to fall in love with a man who is obviously perfect for her. \nRatcatcher (Oct. 17)\nSet around a working-class Glasgow neighborhood during a 1970s, Lynne Ramsay's first feature tells a coming-of-age tale about a child haunted by the memories of a drowned friend. The film has been described as the British equivalent to François Truffaut's masterpiece "The 400 Blows," while Ramsay has been also compared to legendary British filmmakers such as Mike Leigh and Ken Loach. \nYou Can Count on Me (Nov. 17)\n"Analyze This" screenwriter Kenneth Lonergan's director debut won the "Grand Jury Prize" at this year's Sundance Film Festival. The film, which stars Laura Linney and Matthew Broderick, is about a pair of orphaned siblings who have taken very different paths as adults finally reuniting to change each other's lives.\nGeorge Washington (Oct. 27)\nNow that American indie's enfant terrible Harmony Korine has officially graduated into auteurdom, 24-year-old David Gordon Green is quickly filling Korine's vacancy with his stunning debut film. The film, which revolves around a group of neglected Southern kids, is likely to draw many comparison to Korine's classic "Gummo."\nSigns & Wonders (November)\nThree years after his critically acclaimed but little-seen Sundance "Grand Jury Prize" winner "Sunday," director Jonathan Nossiter returns with a complex thriller that stars Stellan Skarsgård and Charlotte Rampling. Despite the fact that Nossiter is American, the film's American backer Fox Searchlight drops out of the film and it becomes an entirely French production. Judging from the strength of "Sunday," this one will be intriguing.\nTHE REST\nNow playing in a theater very far away from you:\n30 Days, Barenaked in America, Beautiful, Best in Show, The Broken Hearts Club -- A Romantic Comedy, Chain of Fools, Crime + Punishment in Suburbia, Double Parked, The Fantasticks, Goya in Bordeaux, Human Resources, Into the Arms of Strangers, Left Luggage, Luminarias, Never Better, On the Run, Paragraph 175, The Price of Air, The Specials, The Tao of Steve, Tigerland, Twilight: Los Angeles, Urbania, Under Suspicion, The Wind Will Carry Us, \nOctober:\nBamboozled, Bootmen, Cyberworld, Digimon: The Movie, Get Carter, Meet the Parents, Mercy Streets, Whispers: An Elephant's Tale (Oct. 6); The Red Stuff (Oct. 11); The Animal Factory, Billy Elliot, Bounce, The Contender, Dr. T and the Women, Followers, Just Looking, Lost Souls, One (Oct. 13); Bedazzled, Just One Time, Pay It Forward, Ring of Fire, A Room for Romeo Brass, The Yards (Oct. 20); Sound and Fury (Oct. 25); Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows, Collectors, The Little Vampire, Loving Jezebel, Lucky Numbers, Stardom, A Time for Drunken Horses (Oct. 27); Boys Life 3, Live Nude Girls Unite!, Me & Isaac Newton, The Personals, Sexy Beast, The Story of O, Too Tired to Die (TBA).\nNovember:\nThe Amati Girls, Charlie's Angels, The Legend of Bagger Vance, Monkeybone, Red Planet, The Weekend (Nov. 3); Suzhou River (Nov. 8); Little Nicky, Maléna, Men of Honor (Nov. 10); Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Lies, Original Sin, Rugrats in Paris: The Movie, The 6th Day, What's Cooking? (Nov. 17); 102 Dalmatians, The Trench, Quills, Unbreakable (Nov. 22); Cherry Falls, Dungeons and Dragons, Lockdown, Simon Mágus, Sweet November (TBA).\nDecember:\nHillbrow Kids (Dec. 6); Songcatcher, Vertical Limit (Dec. 8); Chocolat, The Emperor's New Groove, The Family Man, What Women Want (Dec. 15); 13 Days, But Forever in My Mind (Dec. 20); Cast Away, Enemy at the Gates, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Wes Craven Presents: Dracula 2000 (Dec. 22); An Everlasting Piece, Finding Forrester, Miss Congeniality, Moulin Rouge, Vatel (Dec. 25); Shadow of a Vampire (Dec. 29); Buying the Cow, The House of Mirth, Kingdom Come, The Million Dollar Hotel, Pollock, Proof of Life, Squelch, The Tailor of Panama (TBA). \nRe-releases:\nThis is Spinal Tap, The Times of Harvey Milk, House of Wax (in 3-D), Two-Lane Blacktop (in release); All About Eve (Oct. 6); Diary of a Chambermaid (Oct. 13); Wonder Boys (Oct. 20); Billy Liar (Nov. 17); A Hard Day's Night (Dec. 1); Miss Sadie Thompson (Dec. 22); The Mystery of Picasso (Dec. 29); 2001: A Space Odyssey (Dec. 31). \nSources: The Associated Press, The Village Voice