City of God
Divine Intervention

One great movie and one good movie… neither of which is destined to hit eight figures in this country, which is a shame.

Lost in La Mancha

A great doc on the pain of filmmaking and not filmmaking.

Shanghai Knights
The Quiet American

Will Jackie Chan recover from The Tuxedo? Is Owen Wilson "box office?" And will audiences join critics in their appreciation of The Quiet American or will it be relegated to art house status?

Daredevil
Gerry

Big Ben-Lo puts on the red leather. Mark Steven Johnson loves the comic, but is he a better director now than he was when he made Simon Birch? And how will a "second tier" superhero sell on the big screen? Blade numbers? X-Men numbers? We'll see. Also, Gus Van Sant's movie that has people fighting on the way to the parking lot - boring rap or auteuristic genius?

Dump Day!
Gods & Generals
Dark Blue
The Life of David Gale
Poolhall Junkies

Three movies that got bumped from the 2002 schedules. One is essentially a TNT miniseries that is getting a theatrical release for ego reasons only. The second is a cop thriller that has just left people cold. And the third is the final nail in Kevin Spacey's movie superstar coffin. (Soon, he'll be coming out and complaining about how the media forces gay men into the closet.) Also, a low budget release from Samuel Goldwyn Co., hoping to catch a Christopher Walken Oscar wave.

The Dancer Upstairs

John Malkovich's directing debut and Javier Bardem's follow-up to Before Night Falls finally arrives in America. Will anyone care?

The Hunted

Billy Friedkin can still direct, right? It stinks of a Rambo meets The Fugitive pitch, but I'm willing to hope for the best. Release To Live & Die In L.A. tomorrow and it's a $130 million smash!

Irreversible

Gaspar Noe's breathtaking story of a relationship, a rape and a revenge, told in reverse. (Yes, you can understand all the dialogue.. well, if you speak French.) Of all the highly sexualized movies of recent years, this is by far the most powerful, challenging ride.

Bend It Like Beckham

A pop hit overseas, it is a soccer movie, but Americans love it too! I haven't seen it, but it seems to get every room rocking when it screens.

Phone Booth
Johnny English
Spun
Duplex

Could be…. We'll see… You have the delayed sniper flick that is actually a pretty effective entertainment. Is Colin Farrell able to open a movie? You have your Rowan Atkinson comedy that could be a surprise hit. Spun is a drug comedy that could become a teen cult movie. And Danny DeVito gets behind the camera again, hoping that Smoochy is, indeed, dead.

Identity

John Cusack is a movie star role, a 10 Little Indians story at a motel, directed by the heretofore show-off hacky James Mangold.

POST ACADEMY AWARDS SEASON

The Core
Dreamcatcher

Paramount moved The Core out of November. Will it really be ready in March? (It'll be finished. Will is be ready?) Lawrence Kasden returns with a thriller. Keep those fingers crossed.