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Fall Arts
Movies: A fine year for actors

By Moira Macdonald
Seattle Times movie critic

LAURIE SPARHAM Renée Zellweger reprises her Academy Award-nominated title role in "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason," based on Helen Fielding's best seller.

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So many movies, so little time. The fall schedule is crammed with movies big and small, with nearly 100 opening between now and Thanksgiving weekend. And somewhere in that lengthy list is hiding this year's "Lost in Translation" or "School of Rock" or "The Station Agent" — movies that arrive without fanfare or hype, but proceed to charm us and linger in our memories long afterwards.

The season's riches also offer a chance to see favorite actors tackling very different roles in multiple movies. Jude Law (see "One to Watch") is this season's Iron Man, with six movies, but fans of Laura Linney ("P.S.," "Kinsey"), Angelina Jolie ("Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow," "Shark Tale," "Alexander"), Naomi Watts ("I [Heart] Huckabees," "The Ring 2") and Jim Broadbent ("Bright Young Things," "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason," "Vera Drake") have cause for celebration.

And, in the category of Something For Everyone, everybody's favorite demon-doll franchise is celebrating the season as well, with "Seed of Chucky" (Nov. 12). Stay tuned for a full-fall movie preview on Sept. 26, and happy popcorn munching.

CRITIC'S PICKS

"Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason." Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth and Hugh Grant? Hey, I'm there. The posh-voiced singleton returns for a sequel to "Bridget Jones' Diary"; but the real question is — does Mark Darcy's reindeer jumper return as well? Nov. 19.

"Finding Neverland." Johnny Depp always surprises ... and so, apparently, does director Marc Forster, who follows up the dark contemporary drama of "Monster's Ball" with a gentle literary tale set in Victorian England. Depp plays writer J.M. Barrie, creator of "Peter Pan." Nov. 12.

	The creative wizards behind "Finding Nemo" and "Toy Story" return with another animated comedy for all ages; this time about a family of suburban superheroes called upon to save the world.

"The Incredibles." The creative wizards behind "Finding Nemo" and "Toy Story" return with another animated comedy for all ages; this time about a family of suburban superheroes called upon to save the world. Samuel L. Jackson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Jason Lee, Wallace Shawn and John Ratzenberg lend their voices. Nov. 5.

"I [Heart] Huckabees." Writer/director David O. Russell hasn't made a movie since his terrific 1999 "Three Kings." This one, about a businessman (Jude Law), a supermodel (Naomi Watts), and a pair of existential detectives (Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin), sounds like it could be either insane or brilliant; considering Russell's talent, it's quite possibly both. Oct. 8.

"The Motorcycle Diaries." Advance word is practically reverential for Walter Salles' film, an award winner at Cannes, based on the journals of Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara (played by Gael Garcia Bernal, of "Y tu mamá también"). October.

"Ray." Taylor Hackford's much-anticipated film biography of the late Ray Charles stars Jamie Foxx (currently on screen giving a terrific performance in "Collateral"). Regina King and Kerry Washington co-star. Oct. 29.

"Sideways." Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, the wise creators of "Citizen Ruth," "Election," and "About Schmidt," return with another dark comedy, this time about two men (Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church) who take a life-changing road trip through the California wine country. October.

ONE TO WATCH

	DAVID APPLEBY Versatile Jude Law appears in six movies this fall.

Jude Law

Versatile British actor Jude Law, who can charm a camera into babbling, helpless submission simply by looking at it sideways with his sky-blue eyes, isn't exactly a new face: He's a veteran of 10 years of moviemaking and two Oscar nominations ("The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "Cold Mountain").

But those of us who've long wondered (since "Wilde," to be exact), why this handsome devil isn't a bigger star may get our reward this fall, with a six-movie Jude Law Film Festival.

As is typical of Law's idiosyncratic approach to his career (he's got leading-man looks but has seemed to prefer character roles, such as the rodent-like hit man in "Road to Perdition" or the Gene Kelly-ish Gigolo Joe in "A.I."), he's doing a little bit of everything this season. He's a rakish womanizer in the remake of "Alfie" (Oct. 22), a heroic '30s pilot in "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" (Sept. 17), an ambitious executive in "I [Heart] Huckabees" (Oct. 8), a cheating lover in "Closer" (Dec. 3), naughty screen star Errol Flynn in "The Aviator" (Dec. 17), and the narrative voice of Lemony Snicket in "Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events" (Dec. 17).

All Jude, all the time? There are worse fates, surely.

Moira Macdonald mmacdonald@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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