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A trilogy of tales set in three eras: 1923, as novelist Virginia Woolf pens the novel “Mrs. Dalloway”; 1949, as an unhappy expectant mother reading the novel plans a party for her spouse; and 2000, as a New York woman plans a party for the AIDS-stricken former lover who once dubbed her “Mrs. Dalloway.” Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Michael Cunningham. Directed by Stephen Daldry (“Billy Elliot”) from a screenplay by David Hare (“Damage”). With Meryl Streep (“Music of the Heart,” “Adaptation”), Nicole Kidman (“Birthday Girl”), Julianne Moore (“World Traveler,” “Far From Heaven”), Ed Harris (“A Beautiful Mind”), Claire Danes (“Igby Goes Down”), Toni Collette (“About a Boy”), Stephen Dillane (“Spy Game,” “The Truth About Charlie”), Allison Janney (“Nurse Betty”), Miranda Richardson (“Get Carter,” “Nicholas Nickleby”), John C. Reilly (“The Good Girl,” “Chicago,” “Gangs of New York”) and Eileen Atkins (“Gosford Park”). PG-13: Mature thematic elements; some disturbing images; brief language. Dec. 27. Paramount. The second installment of J.R.R. Tolkien’s trilogy of Middle Earth finds the surviving “companions of the ring” scattered in different directions as the coming war intensifies and Frodo and Sam make their way toward the Dark Shadow of Mordor alone. Returnees from part one include the “Heavenly Creatures” – “The Frighteners” team of writer-director Peter Jackson and screenwriter Fran Walsh, as well as screenwriter Philippa Boyens and actors Ian McKellen (the “X-Men” series) as Gandalf, Elijah Wood (“Black and White”) as Frodo Baggins, Sean Astin (“Deterrence”) as Sam Gamgee, Christopher Lee (“Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones”) as Saruman, Liv Tyler (“One Night at McCool’s”) as Arwen, Viggo Mortensen (“28 Days”) as Aragorn, Cate Blanchett (“Heaven”) as fairy queen Galadriel, Billy Boyd as Pippin Took, Dominic Monagham as Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck, John Rhys-Davies (“The Great White Hype”) as Gimli and Orlando Bloom (“Black Hawk Down”) as Legolas. Scope. Dec. 18. New Line. Romantic comedy, set in New York, about an heir to a powerful politcal dynasty who shares a romantic night with one of his fancy hotel’s chambermaids – believing she’s one of his fellow guests. Wayne Wang (“The Center of the World,” “Blue in the Face,” “Chinese Box,” “Anywhere But Here”) directs from a screenplay by John Hughes (“Reach the Rock,” “Just Visiting”) and Kevin Wade (“Junior,” “Meet Joe Black”). With Jennifer Lopez (“Enough”), Ralph Fiennes (“Red Dragon”), Natasha Richardson (“Chelsea Walls,” “Waking Up in Reno”), Chris Eigeman (“The Next Big Thing”) and Stanley Tucci (“Road to Perdition”). Also known as “Uptown Girl” and “The Chambermaid.” Scope. Dec. 13. Sony. Action drama about a results-oriented cop with a troubled career who finds himself called in to jump-start the stalled investigation of a fellow officer’s murder. Written and directed by Joe Carnhan (“Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane”). With Jason Patric (“Your Friends & Neighbors”), Ray Liotta (“John Q,” “Phone Booth”), Chi McBride (“Undercover Brother,” “Paid in Full”), Busta Rhymes (“Halloween: Resurrection”), Anne Openshaw (“Hardball”), Richard Chevolleau (“Who is Cletis Tout?”) and John Ortiz (“Ali”). R: Strong brutal violence; drug content; pervasive language. Dec. 20 limited; wider Jan. 10. Paramount. Drama, based on a true story of World War II-era Warsaw, about a Polish Jew whose fame as a pianist and radio personality didn’t prevent him from going into hiding during the Nazi occupation. Based on the memoirs of Wladyslaw Szpilman. Directed by Roman Polanski (“Death and the Maiden,” “The Ninth Gate”) from a screenplay by Ronald Harwood (“Cry, the Beloved Country”). With Adrien Brody (“Harrison’s Flowers”), Thomas Kretschmann (“Blade 2”), Frank Finlay (“Dreaming of Joseph Lees”), Maureen Lipman (“Solomon & Gaenor”), Ed Stoppard (“The Little Vampire”), Julia Rayner (“Topsy-Turvy”) and Emilia Fox. Flat. 148 min. R: Violence; brief strong language. Dec. 27 in New York and Los Angeles; wider Jan. 17. Focus. Drama about a drug dealer who, with his two best friends, prowls the New York hot spots in the hours just prior to the start of his seven-year prison term. Based on the novel by David Benioff. Directed by Spike Lee (“Summer of Sam,” “Bamboozled”) from a screenplay by Benioff. With Edward Norton (“Red Dragon,” “Frida”), Philip Seymour Hoffman (“Red Dragon,” “Punch-Drunk Love,” “Love Liza”), Barry Pepper (“Knockaround Guys”), Anna Paquin (“Finding Forrester”), Rosario Dawson (“The Adventures of Pluto Nash,” “Love in the Time of Money”) and Brian Cox (“The Bourne Identity,” “The Ring,” “Adaptation”). Dec. 20 limited; wider Jan. 10. Buena Vista.   Comedy about a popular but cruel teen girl who wakes up one morning to find she has been transformed into a 30-year-old man. Screenwriter Tom Brady (“The Animal”) makes his feature directorial debut from a screenplay by Brady and Rob Schneider (“Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo,” “The Animal”). With Schneider (“The Animal”), Anna Faris (“Scary Movie 2”), Matthew Lawrence (“Family Tree”), Eric Christian Olsen (“Not Another Teen Movie”), Andrew Keegan (“O”), Rachel McAdams, Michael O’Keefe (“The Glass House”), Melora Hardin (“Absolute Power”), Robert Davi (“Delta of Venus”), Leila Kenzle (“White Oleander”), Matt Weinberg (“X-Men”) and Alexandra Holden (“Sugar & Spice”). Flat. Dec. 13. Buena Vista. Re-release of the 1961 Italian-language drama about two young Milan office workers who fall for each other amid an impersonal corporate environment. Directed by Ermanno Olmi (“The Fiance”) from a screenplay by Olmi and Ettore Lombardo. With Loredana Detto, Sandro Panseri (“Made In Italy”) and Mara Revel. 90 min. Dec. 13 in New York. Cowboy. Black comedy about a Web designer who becomes addicted to gas fumes following his wife’s mysterious suicide. Actor Todd Louiso (“High Fidelity”) makes his feature directorial debut from a screenplay by Gordy Hoffman. With Philip Seymour Hoffman (“Red Dragon,” “Punch-Drunk Love,” “The 25th Hour”), Kathy Bates (“Dragonfly,” “About Schmidt”), Jack Kehler (“Men in Black 2”), Sara Koskoff (“That Thing You Do!”), Erika Alexander (“Full Frontal”) and Stephen Tobolowsky (“The Country Bears,” “Adaptation”). R: Drug use; language; brief nudity. Dec. 27 in New York and Los Angeles. Sony Pictures Classics. Drama, set in 1918 Munich, about a Jewish war vet and art gallery owner who befriends a homeless, aspiring painter from Austria named Adolf Hitler. Screenwriter Menno Meyjes (“Ricochet,” “The Siege”) makes his feature directorial debut from his own script. With John Cusack (“Serendipity”), Noah Taylor (“Vanilla Sky”), Paul Hipp (“Waking the Dead”), Molly Parker (“The Center of the World”), Leelee Sobieski (“My First Mister”), Ulrich Thomsen (“The World is Not Enough,” “The Weight of Water”), Judit Hernadi (“Mephisto”) and Istvan Kulka. Also known as “Hoffman.” Flat. Dec. 27 in New York and Los Angeles. Lions Gate. Drama, set in Scotland, about a 21-year-old supermarket employee who, after her boyfriend commits suicide, finds his unfinished novel on a computer disk and replaces his name with her own. Based on a novel by Alan Warner (“These Demented Lands”). Directed by Lynne Ramsay (“Ratcatcher”) from a screenplay by Ramsay and Liana Dognini. With Samantha Morton (“Minority Report”), Dolly Wells (“Bridget Jones’s Diary”), Kathleen McDermott, Raife Patrick Burchell, Dan Cadan and Carolyn Calder. Dec. 13. Cowboy. Drama about a young boy who, left penniless following the death of his father, moves to London with his family to seek help from a mendacious uncle. Based on the novel by Charles Dickens (“Great Expectations”). Written and directed by Douglas McGrath (“Emma,” “Company Man”). With Charlie Hunnam (“Abandon,” TV’s “Undeclared”), Jamie Bell (“Billy Elliot”), Christopher Plummer (“Lucky Break,” “Ararat”), Jim Broadbent (“Iris,” “Gangs of New York”), Anne Hathaway (“The Other Side of Heaven”), Nathan Lane (“Austin Powers in Goldmember”), Barry Humphries (“Spice World”) and Miranda Richardson (“Get Carter,” “The Hours”). Scope. Dec. 25 in New York and Los Angeles. MGM. Italian-language version of the classic fairy tale about the wooden puppet that longs to be a boy. Based on the 1870 Carlo Culludi story. The “Life is Beautiful” team of writer-director-actor Roberto Benigni, screenwriter Vincenzo Cerami and actress Nicoletta Braschi. Also with Mino Bellei (“Tea With Mussolini”), Kim Rossi Stuart (“Beyond the Clouds”), Luis Molteni (“The Triumph of Love”), Carlo Giuffre, Bruno Arena and Giuseppe Barra. Scope. Dec. 25. Miramax.