MICHAEL DWYER'S NEW YEAR MOVIE PREVIEW

ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 For a change, this is a French-produced remake of a US movie - John Carpenter's gritty 1976 thriller (itself a reworking of Rio Bravo) set inside an isolated police station that's under siege. With Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne and Maria Bello. Jan 21

THE AVIATOR Martin Scorsese's biopic of the young Howard Hughes stars Leonardo DiCaprio, with Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn, Kate Beckinsale as Ava Gardner and the ubiquitous Jude Law as Errol Flynn. Jan 14

THE CHORUS (LES CHORISTES) A huge box-office success in France, Christophe Barratier's irresistibly charming film is set in 1949 in a harsh institution, when a new teacher introduces the young delinquents to the joy of music. Mar 11

CHURCHILL: THE HOLLYWOOD YEARS Ex-Comic Strip director Peter Richardson lampoons Hollywood again in this yarn about a Winston Churchill biopic starring an all-American action hero (Christian Slater). Jan/Feb

CLOSER Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman, Jude Law, and Clive Owen play the protagonists in this infidelity drama based on Patrick Marber's award-winning play, directed by Mike Nichols. Jan 21

CONSTANTINE The comic book Hellblazer comes to the screen with Keanu Reeves as a detective investigating supernatural mysteries, this time teaming up with a police officer (Rachel Weisz) to probe the death of her twin sister. Mar 18

CREEP This horror movie set in the London Underground features Franka Potente (from Run Lola Run) as a late-night traveller whose journey turns into a nightmare. Jan 28

CRIMINAL Diego Luna, John C. Reilly, Peter Mullan and Maggie Gyllenhaal head the cast in the US remake of the Argentine conmen picture, Nine Queens. Feb 18

DEAR FRANKIE Emily Mortimer plays a woman inventing stories to protect her deaf nine-year-old son from the truth that they have run away from his father.Jan 21

ELEKTRA In a loose sequel to Daredevil, Jennifer Garner returns as the eponymous assassin, unexpectedly falling for her next prey (Goran Visnjic). Jan 14

5X2 François Ozon's perceptive picture begins with the cold, clinical ending of a marriage in divorce, and works backwards to when the couple (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi and Stephane Freiss) first met. Mar 18

FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX Dundalk native John Moore follows Behind Enemy Lines with a hi-tech remake of Robert Aldrich's all-male 1965 drama, transposed to the Gobi desert after a plane crash and adding a woman (Miranda Otto) to a cast led by Dennis Quaid and Giovanni Ribisi. Feb 25

GARDEN STATE Scrubs actor Zach Braff wrote, directed and stars in this picture of a young Hollywood actor on a journey of self-discovery to his New Jersey hometown. With Natalie Portman and Peter Sarsgaard. March

HAROLD AND KUMAR GET THE MUNCHIES This comedy yarn follows two stoner dudes (John Cho and Kal Penn) over an eventful night in search of the perfect burger. Mar 4

HEAD-ON Winner of the best film prize at the Berlin festival last year, Fatih Akin's film deals with a marriage of convenience between Germans of Turkish descent. Feb 18

HIDE AND SEEK Robert De Niro plays a psychologist whose daughter (Dakota Fanning) responds to her mother's death by inventing a malevolent playmate. John Polson directs. Feb 11

HITCH In this romantic comedy, Will Smith plays a sophisticated matchmaker who finds himself falling for a tabloid reporter (Eva Mendes). Mar 11

A HOLE IN MY HEART Swedish director Lukas Moodysson follows Lilya 4-Ever with a nihilistic picture of a dissolute man shooting a porn movie featuring a male friend and a young woman. Feb 18

THE HOLY GIRL (LA NINA SANTA) Argentinian director Lucrecia Martel's film is set at a hotel during a medical conference, as the divorced owner enjoys the attention of a visiting doctor, unaware that he has preyed on her teenage daughter. Feb 4

HOSTAGE A retired hostage negotiator (Bruce Willis) is called back into action when three teens take a mob accountant (Kevin Pollak) as their prisoner. Feb 4

HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS Hero director Zhang Yimou piles on the choreographed musical and action set-pieces in this melodrama set in China in 859 AD as the authorities seek out a guerrilla army. Jan/Feb

IN GOOD COMPANY Dennis Quaid plays an advertising salesman who discovers that his young new boss (Topher Grace) is having an affair with his daughter (Scarlett Johansson). Paul Weitz (About a Boy) directs. Feb 25

KINSEY Liam Neeson delivers an authoritative portrayal of pioneering US sexologist Alfred Kinsey, in Bill Condon's wonderfully adept film biopic. With Laura Linney and Peter Sarsgaard. Mar 4

LADDER 49 Joaquin Phoenix stars as a Baltimore fireman trapped inside a blazing warehouse, with John Travolta as the mentor who tries to save him. Jan 21

THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU Reunited with Rushmore director Wes Anderson, Bill Murray plays an oceanographer intent on tracking down the jaguar shark that devoured his best friend. With Owen Wilson, Anjelica Huston, Cate Blanchett, Michael Gambon and Willem Dafoe. Feb 25

LIFE IS A MIRACLE Emir Kusturica returns to the theme of the Balkan war with this picture set in 1992, as the wackily disparate inhabitants of a Bosnian village try to persuade themselves it will never happen. Mar 11

THE MACHINIST Christian Bale shed four stone to play a skeletal insomniac in this intriguing psychological thriller directed by Brad Anderson. With Jennifer Jason Leigh. Mar 11

THE MAGIC ROUNDABOUT The old TV series gets the CGI animated treatment - and a voice cast led by Robbie Williams (as Dougal), Kylie Minogue, Ian McKellen and Tom Baker.Feb 11

MARIA FULL OF GRACE Joshua Marston's award-winning drama deals with a young Colombian woman (Catalino Sandino Moreno) smuggling narcotics secreted in her stomach in order to reach the US. Mar 25

MEAN CREEK A revenge plot against a school bully goes dangerously wrong in this well-regarded Oregon-set drama starring Rory Culkin. March

MEET THE FOCKERS In Jay Roach's sequel to Meet the Parents, Ben Stiller and Teri Polo return as the engaged couple, as do Robert De Niro and Blythe Danner as her parents, with Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman joining the cast as Stiller's parents. Jan 28

MELINDA AND MELINDA Woody Allen stays behind the camera for his latest Manhattan-set romantic comedy, which features Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell and Chloë Sevigny. Mar 25

MILLION DOLLAR BABY Clint Eastwood has received rave reviews as actor and director for this film in which he plays a retired prize-fighter reluctantly agreeing to coach a determined young woman boxer (Hilary Swank). With Morgan Freeman. Jan 14

MILLIONS The new Danny Boyle movie deals with two young boys who find a stash of stolen bank money but - and here's the implausible bit - it's only seven days before Britain replaces sterling with the euro. March

MISS CONGENIALITY 2: ARMED AND FABULOUS Sandra Bullock returns as FBI agent Gracie Hart, this time going undercover for a case in Las Vegas. Mar 25

NANNY McPHEE Emma Thompson scripted and stars in this yarn about a governess who uses magic to deal with her unruly charges. With Colin Firth and Angela Lansbury. Kirk Jones, who made Waking Ned, directs. Mar 25

9 SONGS Already the subject of heated debate here since the censor passed it uncut with an 18 cert, Michael Winterbottom's sexually graphic picture deals with an Englishman (Kieran O'Brien) and an American woman (Margo Stilley) who meet in London. Mar 11

OCEAN'S TWELVE In Steven Soderbergh's sequel, Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and his gang follow their Las Vegas heist with a scam in Europe. With Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Don Cheadle, Andy Garcia and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Feb 4

PAPARAZZI Mel Gibson produced and, no kidding, hired his former hair stylist, Paul Abascal, to direct this yarn in which a movie star (Cole Hauser) settles a score with nasty media photographers. Jan 28

RACING STRIPES There's a whiff of Babe about this animated romp in which a zebra dreams of being a racehorse. Feb 4

RAMONES: END OF THE CENTURY A candid documentary on the seminal punk rock band. Jan 28

RAY Blind since childhood, singer Ray Charles is depicted as ambitious, astute, adulterous and heroin-addicted in Taylor Hackford's biopic featuring a terrific performance from Jamie Foxx. Jan 21

ROBOTS The new animated feature from the directors of Ice Age pits a young robot against an unscrupulous villain. Ewan McGregor, Greg Kinnear and Halle Berry head the voice cast. Mar 18

THE SEA INSIDE (MAR ADENTRO) Javier Bardem is remarkable as a quadriplegic man demanding the right to suicide in Alejandro Amenábar's masterly and moving Spanish film. February

SHALL WE DANCE? Peter Chelsom's US remake of the 1996 Japanese movie features Richard Gere as a mild-mannered, married lawyer transformed when he takes ballroom dancing classes from instructor Jennifer Lopez. With Susan Sarandon. Feb 18

SIDEWAYS Alexander Payne's literate, sharply observed serious comedy features Paul Giamatti as a frustrated writer spending a week with his best friend (Thomas Haden Church) in the Californian wine country, where they meet two women (Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh) who know a lot about both men and wine. Jan 28

SOMERSAULT Laden with awards in its native Australia, Cate Shortland's debut feature is a coming-of-age drama dealing with a 15-year-old girl who runs away from home. Mar 4

SPANGLISH This comedy-drama from James L. Brooks charts the culture clash when a Mexican woman (Paz Vega) becomes the housekeeper for an affluent Los Angeles couple (Adam Sandler and Tea Leoni). Feb 25

THE SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS MOVIE A spinoff from the animated series on the Nickelodeon channel. Feb 11

TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE Trey Parker and Matt Stone follow their South Park movie with a satire in which the villain schemes to arm terrorists with weapons of mass destruction. Jan 14

2046 Tony Leung returns as the lovelorn writer in Wong Kar-wai's sumptuous sequel to In the Mood for Love. With Zhang Ziyi and Gong Li. Jan 14

THE VALIANT Ewan McGregor, Ben Kingsley, Rupert Everett, John Hurt, John Cleese and Ricky Gervais head the voice cast in the animated wartime tale of a wood pigeon turned RAF hero. Mar 25

VANITY FAIR Reese Witherspoon plays Becky Sharp in Mira Nair's new treatment of the Thackeray novel. With Gabriel Byrne, Jim Broadbent, Bob Hoskins, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Romola Garai. Jan 14

A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT In her second film for Amèlie director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Audrey Tatou plays a young woman desperately seeking her fiancé, who is believed to have been killed in the first World War. Jodie Foster, speaking perfect French, has a cameo. Jan 21

WEDDING DATE Debra Messing (from Will & Grace) plays a woman returning home to London for her sister's wedding and hiring a male escort (Dermot Mulroney) to pose as her new boyfriend. Feb 18

THE WOODSMAN Kevin Bacon, never more impressive, plays a convicted paedophile trying to adjust to life when he is paroled after 12 years in prison. Directed by Nicole Kassel. Feb 25