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The Ringer Comedy about a man who schemes to pay off a crushing debt by pretending to be developmentally challenged and entering the Special Olympics. Directed by Barry Blaustein (“Beyond the Mat”) from a screenplay by Ricky Blitt. With Johnny Knoxville (“The Dukes of Hazzard”), Katherine Heigl (“Valentine”), Brian Cox (“Red Eye,” “Match Point”), Steven Chester Prince (“The Alamo”), Jed Rees (“Galaxy Quest,” “Elizabethtown”), Bill Chott (“Dude, Where’s My Car?”), Katherine Willis (“Sin City”), Lauren-Elaine Edleson (“Sin City”), Zen Gesner (“Fever Pitch”), John Rothman (“Taxi”), Edward Barbanell and Damian Fannin. Scope. PG-13: Crude and sexual humor; language; some drug references. Dec. 23. Fox Searchlight.     Transamerica Comedy-drama about a transsexual born-again Christian who sets out to form a relationship with the son she never knew she fathered, now a teen hustler in New York. Written and directed by Duncan Tucker (“Boys to Men”). With Felicity Huffman (“Christmas With the Kranks”), Kevin Zegers (“Dawn of the Dead”), Fionnula Flannagan (“Four Brothers”), Graham Greene (“Snow Dogs”) and Elizabeth Peña (“Tortilla Soup”). Flat. R: Sexual content; nudity; language; drug use. Dec. 2. Weinstein. The White Countess Drama, set in Shanghai before World War II, about a blind American diplomat who falls for a beautiful and enigmatic Russian refugee. Directed by James Ivory (“The Golden Bowl,” “Le Divorce”) from a screenplay by Kazuo Ishiguro (“The Saddest Music in the World”). With Ralph Fiennes (“The Constant Gardener,” “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”), Natasha Richardson (“Asylum”), Vanessa Redgrave (“Crime and Punishment”), Lynn Redgrave (“Kinsey”), John Wood (“The Body”) and Madeleine Potter (“The Golden Bowl”). Flat. PG-13: Some violent images and thematic elements. Dec. 16 in New York and Los Angeles. Sony Pictures Classics. Rumor Has It Comedy about a young woman who discovers that her parents and grandparents may have been the inspiration for the novel on which Mike Nichols’ 1967 comedy “The Graduate” was based. Directed by Rob Reiner (“The Story of Us,” “Alex & Emma”) from a screenplay by Ted Griffin (“Ocean’s Eleven,” “Matchstick Men”). With Jennifer Aniston (“Along Came Polly,” “Derailed”), Greta Scacchi (“Beyond the Sea,” “Syriana”), Shirley MacLaine (“In Her Shoes”), Mena Suvari (“Domino”), Mark Ruffalo (“Just Like Heaven,” “All the King’s Men”) and Charlie Hunnam (“Green Street Hooligans”). Flat. PG-13: Mature thematic material; sexual content; crude humor; a drug reference. Dec. 25. Warner Bros.     When the Sea Rises French-language comedy about a married fortysomething stand-up comic who, while touring rural towns along the French-Belgian border, finds herself sharing a mutual attraction with a flighty young man she meets on the road. Written and directed by Yolande Moreau & Gilles Porte. With Moreau (“Amélie”), Wim Willaert, Olivier Gourmet, Philippe Duquesne (“A Very Long Engagement”), Vincent Mahieu and Jan Hammenecker (“Kings and Queen”). Also known as “Quand la mer monte ... ” Dec. 23 in New York. New Yorker. Derailed Thriller about two married executives who find themselves blackmailed by a violent criminal who knows about their affair. Based on the novel by James Siegel. Mikael Håfström directs from a screenplay by Stuart Beattie (“Collateral”). With Clive Owen (“Sin City”), Jennifer Aniston (“Along Came Polly,” “Rumor Has It”), Melissa George (“The Amityville Horror”), RZA (“Unleashed”), Xzibit (“XXX: State of the Union”), Giancarlo Esposito (“Ali”) and Tom Conti (“Beyond Therapy”). Scope. R: Strong disturbing violence; language; some sexuality. Nov. 11. Weinstein.     Kids in America Comedy about a diverse group of high school kids who – when their principal infringes upon what they believe to be their basic First Amendment freedoms – conspire to derail her campaign for superintendent. Veteran TV writer Josh Stolberg (TV’s “Sabrina the Animated Series”) directs from a screenplay by Stolberg and actor Andrew Shaifer (“The Master of Disguise,” “Roomies”). With Gregory Smith (“American Outlaws”), Julie Bowen (“Joe Somebody”), Caitlin Wachs (“Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood”), Emy Coligado (“Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous”), Nicole Ritchie (TV’s “The Simple Life”), W. Earl Brown (“The Last Shot”), George Wendt (“Outside Providence”) and Adam Arkin (“Hitch”). PG-13: Sexual content; mature thematic elements; language. Nov. 4. Slowhand.     The Libertine Period comedy-drama, set during the Restoration, about the Earl of Rochester, a philanderer whose poetry was labeled pornographic by many. Laurence Dunmore makes his directorial debut from a screenplay by Stephen Jeffreys. With Johnny Depp (“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”), John Malkovich (“Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”), Samantha Morton (“Enduring Love”), Tom Hollander (“Stage Beauty,” “Pride and Prejudice”) and Rosamund Pike (“Die Another Day,” “Pride and Prejudice”). Scope. 100 min. Nov. 23 in New York and Los Angeles. Weinstein.     Summer Storm German-language coming-of-age drama, set in a summer camp, about a teen who comes to realize he is attracted to his male best friend and rowing teammate. Directed by Marco Kreuzpaintner from a screenplay by Kreuzpaintner and Thomas Bahmann. With Robert Stadlober (“Enemy at the Gates”), Kostja Ullmann, Jürgen Tonkel, Miriam Morgenstern, Alicja Bachleda-Curus and Tristano Casanova. 97 min. Nov. 4 limited. Regent. c