Page 5 of 5

This has the potential for giggles galore, as Kate Hudson moves into a haunted house while John Hurt overacts from his death bed and Gena Rowlands flutters all over the set. The trailer says this is from the writer of the American remake of The Ring, helpfully omitting that he's also responsible for such junk as Reindeer Games and The Ring Two.

AUGUST 19

THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN

TNA. Steve Carell, Jim Carrey's adversary in Bruce Almighty, plays the title character, a nerd desperately seeking sex; Catherine Keener, currently in The Interpreter, plays his new girlfriend, who dates him only on the condition that they not do the nasty.

RED EYE

The trailer cleverly makes this look like a standard romance in which a young woman (The Notebook's Rachel McAdams) meets an intriguing stranger (Cillian Murphy) while they're waiting for the same flight; only in the final seconds is it revealed to be a thriller. Might be worth a look; I'd feel more comfortable if Wes Craven wasn't such a terrible director.

VALIANT

TNA. Ewan McGregor, Tim Curry and John Cleese are among those lending their vocals to this Disney animated effort about a plucky but undersized pigeon who dreams of joining the Royal Homing Pigeon Service during World War II.

AUGUST 26

THE CAVE

Alien in a cave; what else is there to say?

INDEPENDENT’S DAY

A notorious (and notoriously raunchy) vaudeville joke is at the center of THE ARISTOCRATS, as over 100 comedians (everyone from Chris Rock to Fred Willard) offer their own unique version of the hoary gag whose punchline is "The Aristocrats!"... Yet another documentary that focuses on the splendor of the world's oceans, DEEP BLUE, narrated by Pierce Brosnan, promises viewers some never-before-seen underwater footage... George W. Bush's close and personal friend Kenneth Lay is the star of ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM, a documentary (based on the best-selling book) that relates the whole sordid story behind the rise and collapse of a company whose corrupt leadership irrevocably damaged the lives of countless ordinary Americans... HUSTLE & FLOW arguably generated the most buzz at Sundance this year; it stars Terrence Howard as a pimp who finds success as a rapper... The LADIES IN LAVENDER are Dames Judi Dench and Maggie Smith, cast as sisters who come to the aid of a stranger (Daniel Bruhl) who has washed up on the beach next to their seaside home... Schoolkids in New York City learn the pleasures of professional dancing in the documentary MAD HOT BALLROOM... Narrated by Morgan Freeman, MARCH OF THE PENGUINS centers on one flock of emperor penguins as they make their way across the Antarctic... ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW copped a Sundance honor for writer-director Miranda July, who also co-stars in this piece about a lonely shoe salesman (John Hawkes) and his relationships with those around him... Another award winner at Sundance, MURDERBALL is a nonfiction film about former rugby players who don't allow their newfound status as quadriplegics to interfere with their enjoyment of sports... MY SUMMER OF LOVE finds two girls (Natalie Press and Emily Blunt) on vacation in the English countryside falling in love with each other, much to the consternation of the born-again brother (Paddy Considine) of one of them... A bigger hit in its Russian homeland than either Spider-Man 2 or Return of the King, NIGHT WATCH (NOCHNOI DOZOR) is the first entry in a trilogy based on Sergei Lukyanenko's sci-fi novels; it relates how the centuries-old balance between good and evil has been upset by the sudden emergence of a figure known only as "The Other"... Not to be confused with the Jack Black comedy School of Rock, the documentary ROCK SCHOOL focuses on Philadelphia's Paul Green School of Rock Music, where kids ages nine through 17 learn the history of rock from A to Zappa.