We thought spring was supposed to the season of light, flowers and new growth - but apparently we've stumbled into a rainy season. Judging by the movie forecast, our spring will be filled with dark and dreary clouds, dotted only occasionally with bursts of sun.

Dramas are big this season, from kidnappings ("Freedomland," "Waist Deep") to gruesome deaths ("The Hills Have Eyes," "Silent Hill"). Terrorists make an appearance ("V for Vendetta," "Flight 93"), as do mobsters ("Running Scared," "Find Me Guilty") and mutants ("Ultraviolet," "The Hills Have Eyes").

Trying valiantly to lighten the mood are some romantic comedies ("Failure to Launch"), a cartoon or two ("The Wild") and family-friendly fare ("Aquamarine").

It's the unpredictable nature of the season - and the movie theater.

February 17

"Freedomland"

Starring: Julianne Moore, Samuel L. Jackson, Edie Falco

Director: Joe Roth

Summary: A single mother (Moore) blames a black man for kidnapping her daughter, and a detective (Jackson) and reporter (Falco) work together to solve the case.

Early buzz: Not to give out too many spoilers, but word is the script was based loosely on the real-life Susan Smith case.

"Eight Below"

Starring: Paul Walker, Jason Biggs, Bruce Greenwood

Director: Frank Marshall

Summary: Two Antarctic explorers (Walker, Biggs) are forced to leave their team of sled dogs behind in bitter cold.

Early buzz: Paul Walker used to have such a promising career. So sad.

"Date Movie"

Starring: Alyson Hannigan, Adam Campbell, Fred Willard

Directors: Jason Friedberg, Aaron Seltzer

Summary: A romantic comedy spoof in which a young man (Campbell) tries to get the girl of his dreams (Hannigan) to fall in love with him.

Early buzz: From the guys who brought us "Scary Movie," but with roses and candlelight instead of gore and blood.

"Winter Passing" (limited)

Starring: Ed Harris, Zooey Deschanel, Will Ferrell

Director: Adam Rapp

Summary: A struggling actress (Deschanel) goes home to Michigan to convince her famous father (Harris) to publish letters he wrote to her mother.

Early buzz: It's clear the father figure is supposed to be a reclusive J.D. Salinger clone, which is annoying. But we're dying to see Ferrell and Deschanel team up again.

February 24

"Madea's Family Reunion"

Starring: Tyler Perry, Blair Underwood, Lynn Whitfield

Director: Tyler Perry

Summary: Madea (Perry) returns to the big screen, juggling a myriad of family problems.

Early buzz: We get that Perry is talented, but we're going to start doubting it if he can't play anything other than his grandmother.

"Running Scared"

Starring: Paul Walker, Cameron Bright, Chazz Palminteri

Director: Wayne Kramer

Summary: A stolen gun brings a colorful cast of characters together - including a mob wannabe (Walker) and his son (Bright).

Early buzz: Director Kramer wowed us with his last directorial effort, 2003's "The Cooler," but Walker (bad actor) and Bright (child prodigy) as father and son is a tough sell.

"The Magic Roundabout"

Starring: Voices of Robbie Williams, Ian McKellan, Bill Nighy

Directors: Dave Borthwick, Jean Duval

Summary: A fun-loving canine accidentally lets loose an evil villain from prison, who promptly starts the next ice age.

Early buzz: The voice talent here is outstanding, but very … British. Will audiences show up?

March 3

"Ultraviolet"

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Cameron Bright

Director: Kurt Wimmer

Summary: One woman (Jovovich) gets caught in the middle of a civil war between regular humans and those infected with a special disease.

Early buzz: Apparently, Wimmer wrote this part for Jovovich after seeing her in "Resident Evil." He must not have much faith in her versatility because the character is essentially the same.

"16 Blocks"

Starring: Bruce Willis, Mos Def

Director: Richard Donner

Summary: A near-retirement cop (Willis) tries to escort a witness (Mos Def) to a courthouse, but certain people don't want them to make it from point A to point B.

Early buzz: This sounds like a typical Willis cop role, and Donner might bring some "Lethal Weapon" action to the flick. What we're most hoping for is some fast-paced dialogue between Willis and Mos Def.

"Aquamarine"

Starring: Emma Roberts, JoJo, Sara Paxton

Director: Elizabeth Allen

Summary: Two teenage girls find a mermaid in the swimming pool at their beach club.

Early buzz: If this teen flick has half the charm of "The Little Mermaid" or "Splash" - the two films "Aquamarine" seems to be a mish-mash of - we're in luck. Julia Roberts' niece can't hurt either.

March 10

"The Hills Have Eyes"

Starring: Ted Levine, Kathleen Quinlan, Dan Byrd

Director: Alexandre Aja

Summary: A family is stranded in the desert, where they are tortured and killed in various gory ways by mutant people living in the hills.

Early buzz: We know what you're thinking - another remake of a classic horror film? But Wes Craven, who directed the 1977 original, approves of this modernized take. And the trailer is wickedly creepy.

"Failure to Launch"

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Sarah Jessica Parker, Zooey Deschanel

Director: Tom Dey

Summary: A slacker (McConaughey) in his 30s suspects his parents of setting him up with the girl of his dreams (Parker) so he'll move out of their house.

Early buzz: The quality is questionable, given the rookie screenwriters, but we'd watch Sarah Jessica Parker in just about anything.

"The Libertine"

Starring: Johnny Depp, Samantha Morton, John Malkovich

Director: Laurence Dunmore

Summary: The story of the Earl of Rochester, a 17th century poet who died early - thanks to drinking and general debauchery - but became famous posthumously.

Early buzz: The Earl sounds pretty wacky, and Depp has that market cornered.

"The Shaggy Dog"

Starring: Tim Allen, Kristin Davis, Craig Kilborn

Director: Brian Robbins

Summary: A man struggles with the fact that sometimes he turns into a sheepdog.

Early buzz: We were over Allen a couple years ago. And it seems somehow wrong to remake this 1959 Disney classic.

"Ask the Dust" (limited)

Starring: Colin Farrell, Salma Hayek

Director: Robert Towne

Summary: An aspiring writer is attracted to a barmaid in Los Angeles during the Great Depression.

Early buzz: This shouldn't be a stretch for Hayek, since she's always playing the fiery Latin love interest, but Farrell will need to don an Italian accent - which we're not so sure he can do.

March 17

"V for Vendetta"

Starring: Hugo Weaving, Natalie Portman, Rupert Graves

Director: James McTeigue

Summary: In a totalitarian city, a freedom fighter (Weaving) uses terrorist tactics to fight back while trying to mold a frightened woman (Portman) into his ally.

Early buzz: This film was supposed to be released last November, but was moved do to the London bombings - a similar incident happens in the film - so the publicity may pay off now. That, and Natalie Portman drastically changed her appearance by shaving her head, so the movie must be good.

"She's the Man"

Starring: Amanda Bynes, Laura Ramsey, Channing Tatum

Director: Andy Fickman

Summary: A girl disguises herself as her brother at his school, then falls for one of her soccer teammates.

Early buzz: This is supposed to be a take on Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night," but Bynes may be a little too grating to pull off any underlying message.

"Thank You for Smoking" (limited)

Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, Katie Holmes

Director: Jason Reitman

Summary: A tobacco spokesman (Eckhart) struggles with doing his job (getting people to love cigarettes) and raising his impressionable son (Cameron Bright).

Early buzz: This was a big hit at Sundance, and the buzz has grown even more with the cutting of a sex scene between Eckhart and Holmes.

"Find Me Guilty" (limited)

Starring: Vin Diesel, Peter Dinklage, Ron Silver

Director: Sidney Lumet

Summary: Based on the longest Mob trial in history in which mobster Jack DiNorscio (Diesel) defends himself at trial instead of ratting out "the family."

Early buzz: We know, historically speaking, that Diesel can't act. But early trailers make the tough guy - with hair! - look promising.

March 24

"Inside Man"

Starring: Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster

Director: Spike Lee

Summary: A criminal's (Owen) plan for the perfect bank robbery goes awry, and a cop (Washington) has to talk him down to save hostages.

Early buzz: This looks like Spike Lee's most watchable film in years. And the bang-up cast doesn't hurt.

"R.V."

Starring: Robin Williams, Cheryl Hines, Kristin Chenoweth

Director: Barry Sonnenfeld

Summary: A dysfunctional family take an RV on a road trip to the Colorado Rockies.

Early buzz: This sounds a little "National Lampoon" to us, but the cast is fabulous, with Williams, Hines and a surprisingly adept JoJo. Let's hope the writers give them something to work with.

"Stay Alive"

Starring: Frankie Muniz, Samaire Armstrong, Jon Foster

Director: William Brent Bell

Summary: While playing an online video game, a group of kids start to notice that once their characters die, they die too.

Early buzz: Haven't we exhausted the "we're linked to technology and we're doomed" scenario?

March 31

"Ice Age 2: The Meltdown"

Starring: Voices of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary

Director: Carlos Saldanha

Summary: When the Ice Age comes to an end, a group of animals is worried the melting ice will destroy their land.

Early buzz: Judging by the trailer, featuring just Scrat chasing a nut, this sequel promises to be just as funny and charming as the first.

"A Scanner Darkly"

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Robert Downey Jr.

Director: Richard Linklater

Summary: An undercover cop named Fred (Reeves) is hooked on a popular drug, which causes him to have a split personality - a notorious drug dealer named Bob which Fred is after.

Early buzz: Adapted from a popular Philip K. Dick novel, this film is already stirring up controversy. Many don't like the choice of Reeves in the lead role, and director Linklater chose to shoot a live-action version of the film then animate over it, giving the scenes a paint-by-number appearance.

"Slither"

Starring: Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks, Michael Rooker

Director: James Gunn

Summary: A small town is infected with an alien plague that turns residents into zombies and mutants.

Early buzz: Don't judge a horror movie by its cover. This zombie film seems to be an ode to '80s horror films, which means no one is taking themselves too seriously.

"Basic Instinct 2"

Starring: Sharon Stone, David Morrissey, David Thewlis

Director: Michael Caton-Jones

Summary: A psychiatrist (Morrissey) is asked to evaluate a woman (Stone) who is always in trouble with the law, but she seduces him.

Early buzz: We have no idea what the point of this sequel is, but we don't like it. Not one bit.

"Lucky Number Slevin"

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Ben Kingsley, Morgan Freeman

Director: Paul McGuigan

Summary: A man (Hartnett) mistakenly gets involved in a murder being plotted by a New York City crime boss (Kingsley).

Early buzz: Our faith in Hartnett is already shaken, and we don't know what to think of this title. It may be up to the supporting cast to save the day.

April 7

"The Benchwarmers"

Starring: David Spade, Jon Heder, Rob Schneider

Director: Dennis Dugan

Summary: A group of men wronged in their childhoods start a three-player baseball team to compete in Little League.

Early buzz: We're worried that Heder's "Napoleon Dynamite" rep will be tarnished simply by standing next to Schneider. But Adam Sandler is producing this one, and has a sizable role, so we're hoping he won't let us down.

"Lucky You"

Starring: Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore, Robert Duvall

Director: Curtis Hanson

Summary: A professional card shark (Bana) goes up against the big guns at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

Early buzz: Our first thought about a gambling movie is "bo-ring." But we've been entertained before ("The Cooler," "Hard Eight"), and Hanson is an increasingly capable director.

"Take the Lead"

Starring: Antonio Banderas, Rob Brown, Alfre Woodard

Director: Liz Friedlander

Summary: A former professional dancer (Banderas) teaches dance to public school kids in N.Y.C. Their styles clash, but they end up creating a completely new style.

Early buzz: Yeah, okay, this is definitely just like "Mad Hot Ballroom," but Banderas is trying to bring the life of dancer Pierre Dulane to the big screen.

"Friends with Money" (limited)

Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Frances McDormand, Catherine Keener

Director: Nicole Holofcener

Summary: A woman (Aniston) quits her high-paying job, then worries about her relationships with her wealthy friends.

Early buzz: The cast is outstanding and director Holofcener wowed audiences and critics with her last outing, "Lovely & Amazing."

April 14

"Scary Movie 4"

Starring: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Craig Beirko

Director: David Zucker

Summary: Cindy Campbell (Faris) must save the world again - this time from a Tr-Ipod attack on Earth.

Early buzz: We're hoping for an improvement on the last "Scary Movie" installment, and judging by Beirko's spot-on Tom Cruise impression in the trailers, we might just get it.

"The Wild"

Starring: Voices of Kiefer Sutherland, Eddie Izzard, Joseph Siravo

Director: Steve "Spaz" Williams

Summary: A captive lion is accidentally shipped to Africa, and his zoo friends have to help bring him home.

Early buzz: This sounds suspiciously like "Madagascar," and we're in no mood to go through that again.

"The Notorious Bettie Page" (limited)

Starring: Gretchen Mol, Lili Taylor, David Strathairn

Director: Mary Harron

Summary: Bettie Page (Mol) was the sexiest pin-up girl of the '50s, but her legendary status made her the subject of a Senate investigation.

Early buzz: Apparently there are some die-hard Page fans still out there, and many of them don't care for the casting of Mol in the lead role. Still, they've been waiting a long time for Page's story to come to the big screen, so they'll probably show up opening day.

April 21

"Silent Hill"

Starring: Radha Mitchell, Laurie Holden, Sean Bean

Director: Christophe Gans

Summary: A woman's (Mitchell) daughter is lost in a town controlled by a dark force.

Early buzz: The poster alone creeps us out, which is good news for scary-movie fans.

"American Dreamz"

Starring: Hugh Grant, Dennis Quaid, Mandy Moore

Director: Paul Weitz

Summary: A satire about American life, based around a popular television singing contest.

Early buzz: The buzz around this flick is all good, with Dennis Quaid as Prez, Willem Dafoe as the Vice President and Mandy Moore as a hyper contestant on a show that looks suspiciously like "American Idol." We can't wait.

"The Sentinel"

Starring: Kim Basinger, Michael Douglas, Kiefer Sutherland

Director: Clark Johnson

Summary: A special agent (Douglas) trying to foil a plot to assassinate the President is framed for having an affair with the first lady (Basinger).

Early buzz: It might be hard to see Sutherland as a pseudo-bad guy post "24's" Jack Bauer. And call us cynical, but we're pretty sure Secret Service agents don't come as hot as Eva Longoria.

"Hoot"

Starring: Logan Lerman, Luke Wilson, Brie Larson

Director: Wil Shriner

Summary: A young man new to the state of Florida joins the fight to protect the area's endangered owl population.

Early buzz: It could be this year's animal-themed hit, a la "March of the Penguins."

April 28

"Flight 93"

Starring: David Alan Basche, Olivia Thirlby, Liza Colon-Zayas

Director: Paul Greengrass

Summary: The true story - told in real time - of what happened on Flight 93, which was hijacked on Sept. 11 and eventually forced into a Pennsylvania field by its heroic passengers.

Early buzz: The trailer will give you goosebumps and bring tears to your eyes. Our only concern is Greengrass' reputation for jerky moviemaking - see "The Bourne Supremacy." We're guessing a movie about a hijacked plane won't make things any smoother.

"Akeelah and the Bee"

Starring: Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne, Keke Palmer

Director: Doug Atchison

Summary: A Los Angeles girl makes it to the National Spelling Bee.

Early buzz: Anyone enchanted with 2002's documentary "Spellbound" will line up for this fictional take. And the reteaming of Bassett and Fishburne can't hurt.

"Waist Deep"

Starring: Tyrese Gibson, Meagan Good, Larenz Tate

Director: Vondie Curtis-Hall

Summary: An ex-convict risks returning to prison when his son is kidnapped during a carjacking.

Early buzz: Director Curtis-Hall is a pro at making the prison-bound tug at our heartstrings. His last directorial effort was "Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story."