As this issue has the last Pulse for the summer — not counting the special editions in the Law School and Back to the Books papers — it seemed fitting to look forward. And what industry is a champion of forward thinking quite like the movie industry?
The fall and holiday season officially starts in less than a month, and like debutantes at a ball filled to maximum capacity, this year’s crop is packed with some big hopefuls, future flops and probably the next big surprise hit. And as the press kits for these beauties start to file in, the Pulse desk is ready to fill its dance card. (All movies are listed by release date.)
Sept. 7 — “Two Can Play That Game.” Mark Brown, who wrote the 1997 Bill Bellamy vehicle “How To Be a Player,” returns to write, direct and co-produce this romantic comedy starring Vivica A. Fox, a master craftswoman at relationships and a fountain of advice for her girlfriend. But when her “boyfriend, Keith, is caught red-handed stepping out with her archrival, Conny,” the Screen Gems press kit reveals, Fox’s character deploys a 10-day plan involving cooking and lingerie, among other things, to win him back.
Sept. 14 — “The Glass House.” Leelee Sobieski, who co-starred last year with Chris Klein in “Here On Earth,” returns with Diane Lane for this psychological thriller that appears to be a serious treatment of a running joke from “The Simpsons.” After Sobieski’s character’s parents are killed in a car crash, her new guardian offers her and her brother, played by Trevor Morgan, a wonderful new life in California. All they have to do is move into — and live in — a large, creepy Malibu house.
Sept. 28 — “Don’t Say a Word.” After his successful comic role in “Wonder Boys,” Michael Douglas returns to the heavy drama of his other success last year, “Traffic.” In “Don’t Say a Word,” directed by Gary Fleder of “Kiss the Girls” fame, Douglas plays an adolescent psychiatrist searching for his kidnapped daughter. Famke Janssen, who played Jean Grey in “X-Men,” co-stars.
Oct. 5 — “Joy Ride.” John Dahl, who directed the Nick Cage film noir “Red Rock West,” spins another dark tale, but this time using slapstick funnyman Steve Zahn, who has turned in comedic roles in “Suburbia” and “That Thing You Do,” as the lead character. In “Joy Ride,” Zahn and Paul Walker play friends on a road trip in a big 1970s car equipped with a CB radio. Overcome with nostalgia and the ability to talk in a high-pitched voice, Zahn tricks a random trucker into thinking he’s actually a she and the trucker should meet “her” at a sleazy hotel for a late-night rendezvous. The fun and games stop when the trucker gets really, really mad and goes after the two “I Know What You Did Last Summer” style.
Oct. 19 — “Riding in Cars With Boys.” Zahn continues his automotive fall with this part-drama-part-comedy co-starring Drew Barrymore and directed by Penny Marshall. The movie focuses on Barrymore’s character as she comes of age in the late 1960s. The movie is based on a true story. Lorraine Bracco, Dr. Melfi from “The Sopranos” and Karen Hill in “Goodfellas,” co-stars.
Oct. 19 — “From Hell.” After tracking the Headless Horseman in “Sleepy Hollow,” Johnny Depp kinda-sorta reprises his role as a police inspector tracking Jack the Ripper in “From Hell.” Heather Graham plays Christina Ricci’s character from Sleepy Hollow, period-piece, corset-bound dresses and all.
Nov. 2 — “The One.” Hot Asian action star Jet Li shares the screen with hot British action star Jason Statham — from Guy Ritchie’s movies — in “The One.” Now that Li has kicked in the face of each person on this planet, he moves to parallel universes. This film pits Li’s character against himself Captain Kirk style, but with a battle of fists, not wits. With each defeated version of himself, Li’s character grows stronger until he is “The One.”
Nov. 9 — “Shallow Hal.” Still trying to recapture his “High Fidelity” success, Jack Black has made a safe bet by teaming with the Farrelly Brothers, the creators of “Dumb and Dumber,” “There’s Something About Mary,” and other unapologetically low-brow comedies that make truckloads of money. Black plays a man who becomes hypnotized into seeing only the most beautiful part of a person, even if that part is inner beauty alone. When he meets an obese woman, Black’s character turns her inner beauty into Gwyneth Paltrow, and he turns into one smitten beau. But when the hypnosis wears off, Black’s character must confront his full-figured lady, probably while that light, touching music plays in the background, signaling that the character is coming to terms with something. Then a moral will follow. But if the Farrellys wrote and directed it, the middle is sure to be a knee-slapper.
Nov. 16 — “The New Guy.” Cast members from “Road Trip,” “Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo” and “Bring It On” combine forces in this comedy. A nerdy high school kid gets a second chance to start from scratch and be the cool kid everyone likes. We assure you, this movie is not “Never Been Kissed.” The high schooler is a guy. And the guy, played by D.J. Qualls, is described by the Columbia Pictures press kit as the “geeky dud Dizzy [who is turned] into the hip, studly ‘Gil Harris.’” He then goes on to destroy the popularity-obsessed social system, boost school morale and, rumor has it, score the hot girl.
Nov. 21 — “Black Knight.” Martin Lawrence plays a mop guy at a medieval theme park — until he falls into a moat at the park and comes out in 16th-century England. Once there, he will scare the Middle Ages royalty with the myriad of gadgets he just happened to have on his person when he fell in the moat, woo a lady in waiting and save the day for someone somehow — just like in every remake of “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.”
Dec. 7 — “Ali.” Without a doubt, “Ali” has all the Hollywood buzz for all the right reasons. Will Smith plays Mohammed Ali in this biographical film. Smith has proved his legitimate dramatic ability with his Oscar-worthy “Six Degrees of Separation” performance. Smith will use that ability and the raw emotion and energy he throws at his action movie roles to complete the character. The movie will have the distinct, washed-out look that director Michael Mann brought to “The Insider” and “Heat.” Jon Voight co-stars.
Dec. 14 — “Not Another Teen Movie.” Mr. T is back. Back, at least, from doing just title loan and long distance commercials. Although the Columbia Pictures press kit bills him next-to-last on the cast list, his name — and Randy Quaid’s, who is listed last — is the one that stands out for this comedy poking fun at the quirkiness of the teenage years.
Dec. 21 — “Joe Somebody.” Tim Allen gives his typecast role of Everyman-With-A-Kid another ride in “Joe Somebody,” in which the kid is a daughter, incidentally. Again, Allen’s character begins to succeed at something, this time a rise up the corporate ladder, but realizes the price of losing his kid’s — and a love interest’s — affection is too high a price to pay.