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Comedy about a man who becomes the unlikely presidential nominee of a major political party. Actor-screenwriter Chris Rock makes his feature directorial debut from a screenplay by the “Down to Earth” team of Rock & Ali LeRoi. With Rock (“Bad Company”), Bernie Mac (“Ocean’s Eleven”), Tamala Jones (“Two Can Play That Game”), Lynn Whitfield (“Stepmom”), Dylan Baker (“Road to Perdition”), Nick Searcy (“One Hour Photo”) and Robin Givens (“Blankman”). March 28. DreamWorks. Thriller about two young couples who seek refuge from an ominous storm within the confines of a mansion inhabited by murderous lunatics. Musician and video director Rob Zombie makes his feature directorial debut from his own screenplay. With Sid Haig (“Jackie Brown”), Karen Black (“The Underground Comedy Movie”), Bill Moseley (“Mr. Jones”), Michael J. Pollard (“Tumbleweeds”), Sheri Moon and Jeanne Carmen. R: Strong sadistic violence/gore; sexuality; language. March 14. Lions Gate. French-language thriller, with scenes arranged in a chronologically-reversed order, about a man who sets out to avenge his girlfriend’s rape. Written and directed by Gaspar Noé (“I Stand Alone”). With Vincent Cassel (“Read My Lips”), Monica Bellucci (“Brotherhood of the Wolf,” “Tears of the Sun”), Albert Dupontel (“A Self Made Hero”), Philippe Nahon (“The Château”), Jo Prestia (“Femme Fatale”) and Stéphane Drouot. Scope. 99 min. March 7 in New York and Los Angeles; wider March 14. Lions Gate. German-, Swahili- and English-language drama, set in Kenya during World War II, about a Jewish family that, after it flees its German homeland in order to escape Nazi persecution, struggles to establish a new home on the plains of Kenya. Based on the novel by Stefanie Zweig. Written and directed by Caroline Link (“Beyond Silence”). With Juliane Köhler (“Aimée & Jaguar”), Regine Zimmermann, Merab Ninidze (“Bride of the Wind”), Matthias Habich (“Enemy at the Gates”), Lea Kurka, Anthony Bate, Gabrielle Odinis and Karoline Eckertz. Also known as “Nirigendwo in Afrika.” Scope. 140 min. March 7 in New York. Zeitgeist. Drama, set in the mid-1980s, about a writer who uses a journalism scholarship to attend Harvard, where she battles an acute depression that eventually lands her in therapy as a prime Prozac candidate. Based on the memoir by Elizabeth Wurtzel. Directed by Erik Skjoldbjaerg (the Norwegian version of “Insomnia”) from a screenplay by Larry Gross (“Crime and Punishment in Suburbia”) and Frank Deasy. With Christina Ricci (“Pumpkin”), Anne Heche (“John Q”), Michelle Williams (“Me Without You”), Jason Biggs (“American Pie 2”), Jessica Lange (“Titus”), Nicolas Campbell (“New Waterford”) and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers (“Titus,” “Bend it Like Beckham”). Flat. 99 min. R: Language; drug content; sexuality/nudity; some disturbing images. March 14. Miramax. Comedy, set in New York City, about a yuppie couple who realize the only thing keeping them from their dream apartment is the little old tenant currently residing there. Directed by Danny DeVito (“War of the Roses,” “Matilda,” “Death to Smoochy”) from a screenplay by Larry Doyle (TV’s “The Simpsons”). With Ben Stiller (“The Royal Tenenbaums”), Drew Barrymore (“Confessions of a Dangerous Mind”), Eileen Essell, Harvey Fierstein (“Death to Smoochy”), Justin Theroux (“Zoolander”), James Remar (“What Lies Beneath”), Amber Valletta (“Max Keeble’s Big Move”), Tim Maculan (TV’s “Six Feet Under”), Swoosie Kurtz (“The Rules of Attraction”) and Robert Wisdom (“Storytelling”). March 14. Miramax. Russian- and Chechen-language romantic comedy, set in 1996, about the residents of an asylum who find themselves drawn into the Chechen War when a group of soldiers arrives to set up camp. Written and directed by Andrei Konchalovsky (“Tango & Cash,” “The Inner Circle”). With Yuliya Vysotskaya (“Max”), Sultan Islamov, Stanislav Varkki, Vladas Bagdonas, Yevgeni Mironov (“Burnt By the Sun”) and musician Bryan Adams (“Pink Cadillac”) as himself. Also known as “Dom Durakov.” Flat. 104 min. March 21 limited. Paramount Classics. Suspense thriller about 10 occupants of a roadside motel, stranded during a desert storm, who are being murdered one at a time. Directed by James Mangold (“Girl, Interrupted,” “Kate & Leopold”) from a screenplay by Michael Cooney. With John Cusack (“Max”), Amanda Peet (“Igby Goes Down”), Ray Liotta (“Narc”), Clea Duvall (“13 Conversations About One Thing”), Jake Busey (“The First $20 Million is Always the Hardest”), Rebecca De Mornay (“The Winner”), William Lee Scott (“Pearl Harbor”), John C. McGinley (“Stealing Harvard”), Matt Lescher (“The Mask of Zorro,” “Gods and Generals”) and Alfred Molina (“Frida”). Also known as “I.D.” R: Strong violence; language. March 21. Sony. Drama, set in Los Angeles, about a famous, fast-living record producer who is suddenly confronted with the conservative values of her psychiatrist son and his girlfriend when the couple moves nearby. Written and directed by Lisa Cholodenko (“High Art”). With Frances McDormand (“City by the Sea”), Christian Bale (“Equilibrium”), Kate Beckinsale (“Serendipity”), Alessandro Nivola (“Jurassic Park III”) and Natascha McElhone (“Solaris”). Flat. 101 min. R: Sexuality; language; drug use. March 7 in New York and Los Angeles. Sony Pictures Classics. Animated comedy about Winnie the Pooh’s smallest friend, Piglet, and his chance to save his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood from danger. A sequel to 2000’s “The Tigger Movie.” Directed by Francis Glebis. Those reprising their voice roles from the “Tigger” movie include John Fiedler as Piglet, Jim Cummings as Pooh and Tigger, Peter Cullen as Eeyore and Ken Samson as Rabbit. Voice actors new to the series include Nikita Hopkins, Kath Soucie and Andre Stojka. Music by Carly Simon, Brian Hohlfield and the Sherman Brothers. March 21. Buena Vista.