Opening dates are tentative. Subject to change at a studio’s whim. After all, look what happened to It’s Pat.…

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SEPTEMBER

JUST LIKE HEAVEN — Reese Witherspoon is a ghost who haunts Mark Ruffalo, the man who moved into her apartment after she died. In an improbable and utterly unpredictable twist, they fall in love. And then maybe spend some time making pottery as well. (9/16)

CRY WOLF — ”Scary” movie of the season #1. High school kids play an online game with dire consequences. Many of them die horrible deaths. Notable teen star: Jared Padalecki. Notable ”What am I doing here?” star: Jon Bon Jovi. (9/16)

VENOM — ”Scary” movie of the season #2. Teenagers trapped in a Louisiana swamp must save themselves from a man possessed by the souls of 13 evil people. Notable teen star: Jonathan Jackson. Director’s prior scary movie credit: I Know What You Did Last Summer. (9/16)

TIM BURTON’S CORPSE BRIDE — In this day of CGI, isn’t it comforting to know there exists an obsessive like Burton, who insists on making animated movies the old fashioned way — one friggin’ frame at a friggin’ time? Let’s keep our bony fingers crossed — this one looks extraordinary. (9/23)

Everything is Illuminated

EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED — A young Jewish American (Elijah Wood) goes on a journey to find the woman who saved his grandfather from the Nazis. Directed by Liev Schreiber. (9/23)

FLIGHTPLAN — Jodie Foster’s getting a rep for playing single mothers in utter peril, but gee, she plays them so well — it’s as though no man were necessary in her life (or her movies). Still, there are a few men in her latest (icky Sean Bean, sexy Peter Saarsgard), in which she plays a single mother who loses her 6-year-old daughter on a very big airplane and sets off widespread panic. The twist: The child apparently died days earlier and was never on the plane in the first place. Why, it’s The Forgotten meets Panic Room! (9/23)

PROOF — Star Gwyneth Paltrow is reunited with Shakespeare in Love director John Madden in this screen adaptation of the Tony- and Pulitzer prize-winning play about a daughter who must tend to her father (Anthony Hopkins), a mathematical genius on the decline. With Jake Gyllenhaal and Hope Davis. (9/23)

THE THING ABOUT MY FOLKS — Paul Reiser, Peter Falk and Olympia Dukakis all together in one movie! The only thing keeping us from going completely mad about it is the absence of Helen Hunt. (9/23)

OLIVER TWIST — Roman Polanski does Dickens. (9/30)

THUMBSUCKER — Lou Taylor Pucci stars as a teen who won’t take his thumb out of his mouth, despite the efforts of Vincent D’Onofrio, Tilda Swinton and Keanu Reeves to free him of his addiction. One of the year’s most buzzed about indies. (9/30)

SERENITY — Hey, Lord and Master of Buffy, there is life after Firefly. Fairly big budgeted life. Who knew? (9/30)

A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE — The latest from David Cronenberg concerns a mild-mannered man (Viggo Mortensen), whose life is changed after he commits murder in self-defense and is swarmed with unwanted media attention. With Maria Bello and Ed Harris. (9/30)

INTO THE BLUE — Who needs a plot? It’s got Paul Walker, shirtless. (9/30)

COTE D’AZUR — The latest from the makers of The Adventures of Felix. A family summer vacation is thrust into madcap hilarity upon the realization that one of the sons is gay. (9/30)

MIRRORMASK — Famed graphic novelists Neil Gaiman (screenwriter) and Dave McKean (director) combine their talents to create a cross between Labyrinth and Alice in Wonderland. In other words, eye-dazzling fantasy. And all for only $4 million, which is pretty much the price of a bag of popcorn these days. (9/30)

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OCTOBER

IN HER SHOES — We’re panting like good little homo boys over this campy girl comedy starring Toni Collette and Cameron Diaz as sisters, and Shirley MacLaine as the grandmother they never knew existed. (10/7)

WALLACE & GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERERABBIT — Like Burton, Nick Park is an old-timer, but he prefers flawed clay to pristine plasticine. Either way, it’s still made one friggin’ frame at a friggin’ time. (10/7)

WAITING… — Ryan Reynolds plays a waiter who strives to be the best in the world. He might as well, he ain’t getting anywhere in the acting department. (10/7)

TWO FOR THE MONEY — Al Pacino shouts at Matthew McConaughey while dodging the chin of Rene Russo. (10/7)

REEL AFFIRMATIONS 15 — It’s year 15 for the GLBT festival presented by One in Ten. Highlights include Adam and Steve (opening night), Loggerheads (closing night), and a film adaptation of The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green. Don’t miss Metro Weekly’s full coverage of this year’s festival films in our annual special issue, Thursday, Oct. 13. For more information, visit www.reelaffirmations.org. (10/13)

ELIZABETHTOWN — Orlando Bloom stars in Cameron Crowe’s latest heart-warmer about a young man who gets back to his Kentucky roots and falls in love — with Kirsten Dunst, no less. (10/14)

THE FOG — ”Scary” movie of the season #3. Can it get any better than John Carpenter’s original version with Adrienne Barbeau? We sure hope so. At least this one has Smallville‘s Tom Welling to gawk at. (10/14)

Domino

DOMINO — She was the daughter of actor Laurence Harvey. She was a model. She was a bounty hunter. She was (presumably) a drug addict. She was (also presumably) a lesbian. Now she’s dead. But her story lives on in this action flick from action flick-maker Tony Scott. (10/14)

WHERE THE TRUTH LIES — A journalist schemes to discover the truth behind a long-buried incident that affected the lives of 50s showbiz duo Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth. (10/21)

DOOM — Why play the video game when you can live the adventure? With the Rock! Yeah! Let’s go hunt some aliens! Now, where’s that darn PS2 controller again?… (10/21)

CAPOTE — Philip Seymour Hoffman stars as the fey, oddball author as he delves into the Holcomb, Kansas, murder that formed the basis of his one great work, In Cold Blood. With Catherine Keener as literary fag hag Harper Lee. (10/21)

STAY — Drama and supernatural elements combine to create a new genre of film: Dranatural. Which is kind of like Dramamine, only better tasting. Anyway, therapist Ewan McGregor tries to prevent Ryan Gosling from committing suicide and learns a thing or two about ghosts. Directed by Marc Forster (Monster’s Ball). (10/21)

THE WEATHER MAN — Nicholas Cage plays a weatherman trying to juggle his personal and professional life. Before you write this off completely, consider this: It’s going to rain tomorrow. (10/28)

SHOPGIRL — Based on the novel by Steve Martin, starring Steve Martin. Which reminds us — where’s that Pink Panther movie again? (10/28)

SAW II — ”Scary” movie of the season #4. Same jigsaw killer. More inventive butchery. New first time director. No Cary Elwes. Thank God. (10/28)

PRIME — Meryl Streep is a therapist who learns her son (Bryan Greenberg) is dating one of her patients (Uma Thurman). Comic hi-jinx ensue. (10/28)

THE LEGEND OF ZORRO — Antonio Banderas dons the mask yet again. Hey, it’s a better gig than giving voice to an allergic bee. (10/28)

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NOVEMBER

CHICKEN LITTLE — Could this CGI animated feature, starring Zach Braff as a panicky chicklet, be this season’s It’s Pat? Wait and see. (11/4)

JARHEAD — Jake Gyllenhaal as a marine! Shirtless! (11/4)

PLEDGE THIS! — Paris Hilton plays a sorority girl who takes her pledges on an adventure. Perhaps this should have been called ”Deep Throat 2.” With Simon Rex. (11/4)

ZATHURA — From the people who gave unto the world Jumanji, another magical bored game. (11/11)

KISS KISS BANG BANG — Val Kilmer as a gay private eye and Robert Downey, Jr. as a criminal pretending to be an actor. Our camp alert is on high. (11/11)

Harry Potter

HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE — Harry finds the real magic in his wand. (11/18)

WALK THE LINE — Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash, who, from what we recall, didn’t have a hairlip. (11/18)

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE — Starring The Rock as the headstrong Elizabeth. Just kidding. (11/18)

Rent

RENT — Chris Columbus gave up Harry Potter for this? Adapted from the stage musical with much of the original Broadway cast intact. Gee, aren’t they a little old to pass for twentysomethings? (11/23)

YOURS, MINE & OURS — Dennis Quaid dodges Renee Russo’s chin in this contemporary remake of the Lucille Ball/Henry Fonda throwaway. (11/23)

THE ICE HARVEST — Harold Ramis directs a promising dark comedy about a failed heist starring John Cusak and Billy Bob Thornton. (11/23)

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DECEMBER

TRANSAMERICA — Desperate Housewives’ Felicity Huffman stars as a pre-operative transsexual, who journeys to New York City upon learning that the son she fathered is a hustler living on the city’s streets. (12/2)

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE — Hey, Harry Potter’s gotta end sometime. Might as well get started with this popular kid series. (12/9)

KING KONG — Peter Jackson does the monkey dance his way. We can hardly wait! (12/14)

BIG MOMMA’S HOUSE 2 — On the other hand, we can wait for this Martin Lawrence sequel. Say, eternity? (12/16)

Brokeback Mountain

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN — The film everyone’s buzzing about (it just won top honors at the Venice Film Festival), Ang Lee’s latest deals with a subject so taboo, it even has George W. Bush shaking in his boots: Gay. Cowboys. And as those gay cowboys — Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger. Makes you almost want to forgive him for The Hulk. Almost. (12/16)

MUNICH — Steven Spielberg’s annual Holiday and Oscar weigh-in concerns the terrorist attack on the 1972 Munich Olympics. (12/25)

THE PRODUCERS: THE MOVIE MUSICAL — In an infinity loop worthy of Escher, the Mel Brooks film adapted into a Broadway musical has been readapted for the screen (which will later be adapted into a book, then a mini-series, and finally, a silent movie). With Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. (12/23)

FUN WITH DICK AND JANE — A remake of a George Segal-Jane Fonda 70s flick that was pretty bad at the time will doubtless be much better, now that it’s starring Jim Carrey and that finest of actresses, Tea Leoni. We’re not expecting much in the way of fun. (12/21)