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What's playing: summer movie calendar

May 8, 2005

MAY 13

A Hole in One Drama. The idea: A young woman considers a lobotomy to solve her problems in 1953. With: Michelle Williams, Meat Loaf, Bill Raymond. Writer-director: Richard Ledes. So? Extreme solution

Kicking and Screaming Sports comedy. The idea: A father has to coach his son's soccer team against another dad, an ultracompetitive, control freak. With: Will Ferrell, Robert Duvall, Kate Walsh, Mike Ditka. Writers: Leo Benvenuti and Steve Rudnick. Director: Jesse Dylan. So? Close to real life.

Layer Cake Thriller. The idea: A meticulous British drug dealer has two tasks to complete before he can retire and break free of the criminal world: find the drug-addicted daughter of a crime boss and negotiate a huge deal with an unstable petty thief who's in way over his head. With: Daniel Craig, Colm Meaney, Kenneth Cranham, George Harris, Jamie Foreman, Sienna Miller, Michael Gambon. Writer: J.J. Connolly. Director: Matthew Vaughn. So? Sometimes more is less

Mindhunters Thriller. The idea: While training on a remote island, a group of FBI profilers with the ability to read minds discovers that one of their classmates is a serial killer. Can they figure out who the killer is in time? Did we mention they're on a remote island? With: Val Kilmer, LL Cool J, Christian Slater, Eion Bailey, Clifton Collins Jr., Will Kemp and Jonny Lee Miller. Writers: Wayne Kramer and Kevin Brodbin. Director: Renny Harlin. So? Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians"

Monster-in-Law Comedy. The idea: A woman finds that her Mr. Right comes complete with a mother who's major bad news. With: Jennifer Lopez, Jane Fonda, Michael Vartan, Wanda Sykes. Writer: Anya Kochoff. Director: Robert Luketic So? If "Murphy Brown" were your mother ...

Tell Them Who You Are Documentary. The idea: The director's autobiographical film focuses on his relationship with his famed cinematographer- director father. With: Haskell Wexler, Jane Fonda, Michael Douglas, Ron Howard, Julia Roberts. Writers: Robert DeMaio, Mark Wexler. Director: Mark Wexler. So? Living in light and shadow

Unleashed Action-drama. The idea: A sheltered mob enforcer finds a new life with a blind piano tuner and his teenage daughter. With: Jet Li, Morgan Freeman, Bob Hoskins, Kerry Condon. Writer: Luc Besson. Director: Louis Leterrier. So? "The Transporter" delivered

Up for Grabs Documentary. The idea: The baseball Barry Bonds hit in 2001 to set a single-season home run record becomes a legal hot potato between two fans claiming ownership. Writer-director: Michael Wranovics. So? Sportsmanship

MAY 19

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. Sci-fi adventure. The idea: The A trilogy concludes as Anakin Skywalker forges a dark alliances with Chancellor Palpatine.With: Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Christopher Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, Frank Oz, Ian McDiarmid, Jimmy Smits, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew. Writer-director: George Lucas. So? Six-pack

MAY 20

À Tout de Suite Thriller. The idea: Fact-based story of a free-spirited Parisian art student who experiences betrayal and self-discovery when she goes on the lam with a charming bank robber around the Mediterranean. With: Isild Le Besco, Ouassini Embarek. Writer-director: Benoît Jacquot, story by Elisabeth Fanger. So? Self-absorbing

Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist Horror. The idea: Unusual release of alternative, initial version to last year's "Exorcist: The Beginning" exploring Father Merrin's first rendezvous with the devil. With: Stellan Skarsgard, Gabriel Mann, Clara Bellar, Ralph Brown. Writers: Caleb Carr, William Wisher Jr. Director: Paul Schrader. Possible "Jeopardy" question: "This movie's remake came out before the original."

Fixing Frank Drama. The idea: A young reporter is sent undercover by his psychotherapist boyfriend to investigate a rival's controversial method for "converting" homosexuals. With: Andrew Elvis Miller, Paul Provenza, Dan Butler. Writer: Ken Hanes, based on his play. Director: Michael Selditch. So? UnreproductiveQueer cure

Kings and Queen Drama. he idea: The darkly comic story of a man abruptly transported to a mental institution is contrasted with his wife's somber tale of her father's protracted death until the two tales collide. With: Mathieu Almaric, Emmanuelle Devos, Catherine Deneuve. Writers: Arnaud Desplechin and Roger Bohbot. Director: Arnaud Desplechin. So? Poetic perspective

Mad Hot Ballroom Documentary. The idea: New York City fifth-graders are transformed into little ladies and gentlemen as they learn traditional dances such as the tango. Writer: Amy Sewell. Director: Marilyn Agrelo. So? Happy feat

MAY 27

Bomb the System Drama. The idea: The brutalization of a 15-year-old by police leads to an all-out graffiti war between taggers and the NYPD. With: Mark Webber, Jaclyn Desantis, Jade Yorker. Writer-director: Adam Bhala Lough So? Siege mentality

Genesis Documentary. The idea: An African storyteller evocatively reveals the birth of all things.