September 2

“Identity”

This is a thriller that has elements of a horror movie, and the cast includes John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, and Alfred Molina. During a torrential storm that washes out the roads, a disparate group of strangers ends up stranded at a remote motel. When the motel guests start dying grisly deaths, one by one, the survivors try to figure out how to deal with the situation. The explanation is eventually revealed via a huge plot twist.

“A Man Apart”

Vin Diesel stars in this action movie. Diesel portrays DEA agent Sean Vetter who, with help from his partner Demetrius Hicks (Larenz Tate), puts drug kingpin Lucero behind bars. Then Diablo, Lucero’s successor, is responsible for the murder of Vetter’s wife, and Vetter sets out to get revenge with the help of Hicks and Lucero. The film is structured primarily around action sequences and secondarily to show Diesel emoting.

September 9

“Bulletproof Monk”

This martial-arts movie stars Chow Yun-Fat as the Monk With No Name, who is charged with guarding the Scroll of the Ultimate. However, the Scroll must have a new guardian every 60 years, and with his term running out, Monk begins grooming a young American protégé named Kar (Seann William Scott) as his successor. Monk and Kar must battle evil Nazis, who are trying to get the Scroll so they can use it to achieve world domination.

“Confessions of a Dangerous Mind”

This biopic chronicles the life of Chuck Barris, who created TV series like “The Dating Game” and “The Gong Show.” Barris wrote an autobiography in which he claims he was also an undercover CIA agent who carried out assassinations, using trips related to his TV shows as a cover. This film is based on his book, and Sam Rockwell portrays Barris. Also appearing in the movie are Drew Barrymore, George Clooney, and Julia Roberts.

“The Core”

In this science-fiction film, the Earth’s core stops spinning, and the resulting loss of electromagnetic field is expected to cause all human life to end within a matter of months. Using a new technology, specialists travel toward the Earth’s center, where they hope to set off nuclear explosions and get the core spinning again. Appearing in the movie are Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, Delroy Lindo, Stanley Tucci, and D.J. Qualls.

 “Malibu’s Most Wanted”

In this comedy, Jamie Kennedy plays a movie version of B-Rad, a character who was created for the TV series “JKX: The Jamie Kennedy Experiment.” Brad Gluckman (Kennedy) is a privileged white kid living with his parents in Malibu, but he has adopted a hip-hop persona and prefers to be called B-Rad. When his wealthy father runs for governor, black actors are hired to kidnap B-Rad and scare him into behaving like an ordinary white kid.

“View From the Top”

Gwyneth Paltrow plays Donna Jensen, the central character in this lightweight movie that chronicles the experiences of a young woman who escapes a suffocating small town by taking a job as a flight attendant. She makes friends (Kelly Preston, Christina Applegate), takes a lover (Mark Ruffalo), and finds a mentor (Candice Bergen). Donna mostly likes her job, but there are problems, and she still must decide what she wants out of life.

September 16

“Anger Management”

Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson star in this comedy. Sandler plays Dave Buznik, a mild-mannered guy who gets involved in a big misunderstanding while on an airline trip. As a result, Dave is sentenced by a judge to anger management sessions with therapist Dr. Buddy Rydell (Nicholson). Yet Dave’s problems escalate, and Buddy gets increasingly caught up in them. The movie also features Marisa Tomei and has many celebrity cameos.

“Confidence”

This crime drama stars Edward Burns as con man Jake Vig, who tells his convoluted tale in flashback as a hit man holds a gun on him. Jake’s troubles began when he conned a man who worked for a gangster known as the King (Dustin Hoffman), then worsened when he got involved in pulling off a con for the King. There are double-crosses and plot twists aplenty in this movie that also features Rachel Weisz and Andy Garcia.

September 23

“Daddy Day Care”

Eddie Murphy stars in this comedy about men running a day care center. When Charlie (Murphy) loses his job, his wife goes to work, and he stays home with their son. He begins operating a day care business in his home and brings in Phil (Jeff Garlin) and Marvin (Steve Zahn) to help. As Charlie struggles to deal with kids and regulations, he is bedeviled by Miss Harridan (Anjelica Huston), who runs a nearby child care facility.

“The Dancer Upstairs”

Directed by John Malkovich, this police drama takes place in an unnamed Latin American country and most of the actors are Hispanic, but the dialogue is almost entirely in English. Javier Bardem stars as Agustin Rejas, a police official trying to track down a Marxist terrorist whose brutal acts are destabilizing the country. Along the way, Rejas becomes romantically involved with his daughter’s lovely dance teacher (Laura Morante).

“Holes”

Based on Louis Sachar’s popular juvenile novel, this non-formulaic movie appeals to both young people and adults. The central character is a teenage boy named Stanley Yelnats (Shia LaBeouf), who is sent to a camp for delinquents where the inmates dig holes all day. Interwoven are tales of the Yelnats family curse and a 19th-century kissing bandit. The cast includes Jon Voight, Sigourney Weaver, Tim Blake Nelson, and Patricia Arquette.

“A Mighty Wind”

Christopher Guest skewered dog competitions in “Best in Show” and community theater in “Waiting for Guffman,” and in “A Mighty Wind” his target is folk music. Three groups—the Folksmen, the New Main Street Singers, and Mitch and Mickey—are brought back for a concert to honor a legendary impresario who died. The cast includes Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Fred Willard, Bob Balaban, Parker Posey, and Jennifer Coolidge.

September 30

“2 Fast 2 Furious”

This action movie is the sequel to “The Fast and the Furious,” and Paul Walker is back, but Vin Diesel is not. This time around, Brian O’Connor (Walker) has lost his job with the Los Angeles Police Department and moved to Miami, where he has become active in the street racing scene. But federal agents recruit O’Connor to go after a drug lord and money launderer, and in that endeavor he partners with ex-con Roman Pearce (Tyrese).

“Bend It Like Beckham”

This feel-good movie is about a teenage girl whose family is from India, but lives in the London area. The title refers to soccer legend David Beckham. In the film, Jess Bharma comes from a conservative family that is looking forward to the wedding of her older sister. Then against her family’s wishes, Jess begins to play soccer on a women’s team. As the big game and the big wedding approach, Jess and her family must deal with a number of issues.

“Better Luck Tomorrow”

This offbeat movie paints a bleak portrait of the lives of four alienated Asian-American high school boys who live in a suburban environment in Orange County, California. They come from upper-middle-class families and excel at academics, but they become bored with their nice-kids images and turn to lives of crime. They start by selling cheat sheets, graduate to petty larceny, and finally move up to drug dealing and guns.

“Boat Trip”

This comedy is about the adventures of a heterosexual man when he ends up on a cruise for gay men. After Jerry (Cuba Gooding Jr.) is dumped by his girlfriend Felicia (Viveca A. Fox), he and his pal Nick (Horatio Sanz) go on a singles cruise. It’s only after they’re out to sea that they realize the other passengers are all gay men. But Jerry falls for the dance instructor (Roselyn Sanchez), and Nick becomes attracted to someone on board as well.

“Dreamcatcher”

This horror movie involves nasty extraterrestrial aliens. Four young men who share telepathic gifts go to a cabin in the Maine woods. There they find themselves under attack from aliens who invade human intestinal tracks and explode from their victims’ rectums. Meanwhile, Colonel Curtis (Morgan Freeman) heads up a U.S. government unit tasked with containing the aliens, and he’s willing to kill humans to carry out his mission.

“Nowhere in Africa”

Winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, this poignant German-language drama tells the story of a Jewish family that moves from Germany to Kenya in 1938 to escape the Nazis. The family—which consists of father, mother, and young daughter—were city dwellers and have difficulty in adjusting to life in rural Kenya, where the father manages a farm. The marriage is troubled, and all must make sacrifices.