‘The Queen’ Remember when Princess Diana died and it seemed like Queen Elizabeth II kinda … didn’t care? Helen Mirren is already getting Oscar buzz for her turn as the icy royal. Sept. 30
‘The Departed’ Boys will be boys, especially in Scorsese movies. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a cop who infiltrates a Boston mob. Matt Damon is a mobster who infiltrates the police. Jack Nicholson plays the kingpin. Gentlemen, start your engines. Oct. 6
‘Little Children’ Writer-director Todd Field (“In the Bedroom”) adapts the novel about a disheveled wife (Kate Winslet) who falls for the hottest dad on the block (Patrick Wilson), a Mr. Mom emasculated by his successful spouse (Jennifer Connelly). Oct. 6
‘Running With Scissors’ Based on Augusten Burroughs’s memoir, this tragicomic coming-of-age tale stars Annette Bening as a narcissistic mother who sends her teenage son (Joseph Cross) to live with her loony psychiatrist. Bening’s Oscar jinx could be over. Oct. 20
‘Man of the Year’ What if Jon Stewart ran for president–and won? Robin Williams reteams with “Good Morning Vietnam” director Barry Levinson to play a fake-news host running for kicks. Oct. 20
‘Flags of Our Fathers’ Clint Eastwood’s latest is this WWII saga about the soldiers who raised the flag at Iwo Jima, then came home to be sanctified, and exploited, as heroes. Oct. 20
‘The Prestige’ Director Christopher Nolan takes a break from the “Batman” franchise–but not from his Batman, Christian Bale. He and Hugh Jackman star in this fin de siècle tale about rival magicians dueling over Scarlett Johansson (above, right). Oct. 20
‘Volver’ Only the great Pedro Almodóvar could make a story about incest, murder and maternal resurrection so poignant and funny. Count on Penélope Cruz (below, left) to dazzle. Nov. 3
‘Borat’ This peculiar (and fake) journalist from Kazakhstan is a mortal lock to be the most beloved and oft-quoted import since Austin Powers. Sacha Baron Cohen (previous page) created Borat for his HBO series “Da Ali G Show”; in the film, he comes to the United States to make a documentary about our country, with uproarious and indecent results. Consider yourself warned. Nov. 3
‘Stranger Than Fiction’ In this Charlie Kaufman-esque quirkfest, Will Ferrell plays Harold Crick, an IRS auditor who starts hearing a woman (Emma Thompson) nar-rating his humdrum life. How odd. The plot thickens when she lets slip a line about his “imminent death.” Nov. 10
‘Fast Food Nation’ It’s the perfect diet: see this film and you’ll never eat another Whopper. This fictionalized take on Eric Schlos-ser’s book spans the fast-food pyramid–from illegal workers to shady suits. Nov. 17
‘Casino Royale’ Bond has rebooted. Blond-haired Brit Daniel Craig (“Munich”) takes the lead in a new film based on the original 007 novel and directed by Bond veteran Martin Campbell (“Goldeneye”). It tells the story of how the super-assassin got his start. Nov. 17
‘The Fountain’ Darren (“Requiem for a Dream”) Aronofsky’s trippy love story stars Hugh Jackman as a biochemist who won’t let a little thing like the space-time continuum get in the way of curing his dying wife (Rachel Weisz). Nov. 22
