The fall movie season is officially upon us – and not a moment too soon. In the next three months, more than 120 new movies will be released in theaters, a good deal of which will showcase Hollywood’s best efforts with a wealth of films ranging from the eagerly anticipated magic of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” (Nov. 16) to tonight’s opening of Scott Hicks’ “Hearts in Atlantis,” the coming-of-age movie starring Anthony Hopkins and Anton Yelchin based on Stephen King’s novel.

Given the events of Sept. 11, perhaps more necessary than ever are the comedies Hollywood will be releasing in the coming weeks, starting tonight with “Zoolander,” Ben Stiller’s spoof on the 007 movies and male supermodels that stars Stiller as a brain-dead fashion-plate fighting crime with his cheekbones, makeup kit and je ne sais quoi.

In October, John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale fall hard for each other in Peter Chelsom’s romantic comedy “Serendipity” (Oct. 5); Chris Kattan takes on the FBI in the questionable “Corky Romano” (Oct. 5); Drew Barrymore hits the driver’s seat as a single mom in Penny Marshall’s “Riding in Cars with Boys” (Oct. 19); and on Oct. 12, Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton star with Cate Blanchett in what looks to be October’s most promising comedy, “Bandits.”

Directed by Barry Levinson, “Bandits” isn’t October’s only heist film. On Oct. 19, Gene Hackman and Danny DeVito star in David Mamet’s “Heist,” a gritty thriller more in keeping with the darker rhythms of Mamet’s “House of Games” and “The Spanish Prisoner” than with the biting satire of his last film, “State and Main.”

Rounding out October are David Atkins’ dark comedy, “Novocaine” (Oct. 19); David Lynch’s surrealistic “Mulholland Drive” (Oct. 19); Albert and Allen Hughes’ period thriller, “From Hell” (Oct. 19); and, for Halloween, the horror movie “13 Ghosts” (Oct. 26), a remake of the 1960 William Castle classic.

All of this, of course, is a mere warm-up for Hollywood’s biggest films, which hit theaters in November and December. As hard as it is to believe, every week during the final two months of the year seems to offer something worth seeing, whether it’s the computer-animated monsters of “Monsters, Inc.” (Nov. 2); the Farrelly Brothers’ new comedy, “Shallow Hal” (Nov. 9); Tony Scott’s pairing of Robert Redford and Brad Pitt in “Spy Game” (Nov. 21); Hilary Swank’s costume drama, “The Affair of the Necklace” (Nov. 30); or Will Smith as Mohammad Ali in Michael Mann’s “Ali” (Dec. 7).

Also due Dec. 7 is “Ocean’s 11,” Stephen Soderbergh’s remake of the 1960 Vegas caper that replaces the rat pack with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Julia Roberts. Don’t expect Soderbergh to pull off another “Traffic,” but do expect an unusual collaboration between an A-list director and his A-list cast.

Speaking of unusual collaborations, Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz move their tabloid romance to the big screen in Cameron Crowe’s “Vanilla Sky” (Dec. 14), a remake of Alejandro Amenabar’s 1998 Spanish thriller, “Open Your Eyes,” which suggests, at least when it comes to Cruise’s recent projects, the actor can’t seem to keep his eyes open – or, for that matter, wide shut.

On Dec. 19, director Peter Jackson tackles Tolkien in “The Fellowship of the Ring,” and on Dec. 21, six movies hit theaters: Robert Altman’s “Gosford Park,” Martin Scorsese’s “Gangs of New York,” Tim Allen’s “Joe Somebody,” the computer-animated children’s film, “Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius,” Wes Anderson’s “The Royal Tenenbaums,” and Frank Darabont’s “The Majestic,” a Capra-esque drama that stars Jim Carrey in his latest stab at an Academy Award.

Making their own push for Oscar gold are Russell Crowe in Ron Howard’s “A Beautiful Mind” (Dec. 25) and Kevin Spacey in Lasse Hallstrom’s “The Shipping News” (Dec. 25), a drama based on E. Annie Proulx’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that co-stars Julianne Moore, Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett. The big question, of course, is what any of these movies will mean to audiences in the face of war.

Right now that’s Hollywood’s greatest concern, a fear that has studios juggling release schedules, postponing films and scrapping others in an attempt to cut their losses and save face. But while it’s true that some of fall’s movies undoubtedly will seem more frivolous than ever, there are those that nevertheless will resonate, either with a few hours of escapism, a moment that captures the country’s mood, or, better yet, with a scene that underscores a basic human truth.

Christopher Smith is the Bangor Daily News film critic. His reviews appear Mondays and Fridays in Style, Tuesdays on “NEWS CENTER at 5” and Thursdays on “NEWS CENTER at 5:30” on WLBZ-2 and WCSH-6. He can be reached at BDNFilm1@aol.com.

THE VIDEO CORNER

Renting a video? NEWS film critic Christopher Smith can help. Below are his grades of recent releases in video stores.

Along Came a Spider ? C-

Citizen Kane (DVD debut) ? A+

A Knight’s Tale ? C

Amores Perros ? A

Crocodile Dundee in Los

Angeles ? C-

Driven ? D

The Luzhin Defense ? B+

Startup.com ? A-

The Widow of St. Pierre ? A-

Spy Kids ? A-

Blow ? D+

Someone Like You ? D

The Dish ? A-

Exit Wounds ? D

Memento ? A-

The Tailor of Panama ? A-

Joe Dirt ? D+

See Spot Run ? F

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate

Factory ? A-

Hannibal ? C+

Say it Isn’t So ? D

15 Minutes ? D+

Blow Dry ? C+

Enemy at the Gates ? C

An Everlasting Piece ? B+

Get Over It ? B-

Josie and the Pussycats ? F

Say It Isn’t So ? D+

Tomcats ? F

Chocolat ? A-

The Mexican ? C-

3000 Miles to Graceland ? D

The Brothers ? B

Head Over Heels ? D

The Trumpet of the Swan ? C+

Pollock ? A-

Sweet November ? D-

Valentine ? F

The Gift ? B+

Family Man ? D-

Saving Silverman ? F

Down to Earth ? D

Monkeybone ? D

Thirteen Days ? A-

Unbreakable ? C+

The Wedding Planner ? D+

You Can Count on Me ? A

Proof of Life ? C-

Save the Last Dance ? C-

State and Main ? B

O Brother, Where Art Thou ? A-

Grades of recent releases

A.I.

Artificial Intelligence ? C+

America’s Sweethearts ? D-

American Outlaws ? F

Angel Eyes ? C+

Atlantis: The Lost Empire ? C

Bridget Jones’s Diary ? A-

crazy/beautiful ? B

The Deep End ? A

Dr. Dolittle 2 ? C-

Evolution ? D-

The Fast and the Furious ? B-

Final Fantasy:

The Spirits Within ? C+

Freddy Got Fingered ? BOMB

The Golden Bowl ? C+

Hardball ? C+

Jay and Silent Bob

Strike Back ? F

Jeepers Creepers ? D

Jurassic Park III ? B-

Legally Blonde ? B+

Lost and Delirious ? C

Monty Python

and the Holy Grail ? B+

Moulin Rouge ? A-

The Mummy Returns ? D

The Musketeer ? D-

O ? B+

Original Sin ? F+

Osmosis Jones ? C-

The Others ? B+

Pearl Harbor ? D+

Planet of the Apes ? C-

Rat Race ? B+

Rock Star ? B

Rush Hour 2 ? D

The Score ? B

Sexy Beast ? B+

Shrek ? A-

Summer Catch ? C-

Swordfish ? C