The weekend of Oct. 19 doesn't have a lot to offer on the arthouse side of things — despite its being a busy slot for wide release films — but there are still a few features worth keeping an eye on: a New Zealand drama, a festival favorite finally finding its way into theater and ... an Oscar hopeful (it wouldn't be fall without at least one of those every week).

New Zealand films aren't that common in theaters outside their country of origin. Most people know of Peter Jackson's New Zealand connection, but if the Lord of the Rings trilogy shone a light on the down-under islands, and allowed a few actors to make their way to Hollywood, New Zealand cinema is still largely unknown. Out of the Blue, then, as comparatively small as its release might be, will at least be bringing a piece of New Zealand to U.S. theaters. Well, perhaps I should say to U.S. theater, since Blue, directed by Robert Sarkies, is scheduled to open exclusively at the IFC Film Center of New York City.

Out of the Blue is based on a true story that occurred in New Zealand in 1990, when an unemployed man killed 13 of his neighbors, a rampage that would be remembered as the Aramoana Massacre. All the actors are pretty much unknown outside their native country, except for Karl Urban in the role of a cop who tried to stop the massacre. Urban, who found fame thanks to his Eomer role in Lord of the Rings, came back home for this film, after appearing in such Hollywood fare as The Chronicles of Riddick, The Bourne Supremacy, Doom and Pathfinder. Out of the Blue opened in New Zealand a year ago, after getting it world premiere in Toronto. It was welcomed by excellent reviews, and its current IMDb User Rating, 7.8, indicates the audience responded as well as the critics.

With a $7 price tag in Ultimate Movie Moguls leagues, Out of the Blue remains a slight gamble in Fantasy Moguls, having very little in the way of true buzz or overall awarenesss. The film still guarantees a very comfortable User Rating and, with strong reviews and a single theater on opening weekend, it could snag a PTA point or two, though that's far from being a sure thing.

It's been a while since Wristcutters: A Love Story premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2006. The film, which centers on a fantasy afterlife for people who have committed suicide, has since been screened at film festivals around the world. The long wait helped Wristcutters build a strong word of mouth, which has resulted in the strange comedy's having  achieved soon-to-be-cult status, and also helped it gain a solid reputation thanks to more than a half-dozen awards collected, and a funny nomination from last year's Gotham Awards: "Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You."

While there's little doubt that this odd-looking feature will (has?) become an underground favorite, the more important question is, does it have the potential to be a Fantasy Moguls home run (or even a double)? A first feature from director Goran Dukic, Wristcutters: A Love Story will definitely capitalize on its reputation to try and pack the seats in the few theaters in which it's going to be playing. From that point of view, the R-rated film has a chance of taking home a couple of PTA points ... though the strange premise of positioning "suicides" (people who've take their own lives) as heroes will probably narrow its audience to film buffs and (sadly) a handful of death fetishists hoping to capture a few morbid thrills (those people have never seen Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amélie, or it would have annihilated their worship). One other thing that could awaken a mild degree of curiosity is the interesting cast including Patrick Fugit, Shannyn Sossamon, Tom Waits, Will Arnett, Abraham Benrubi and Mark Boone Jr.

Wristcutters can be had for $7 in October Ultimate leagues, or $8 in September. One thing you'll get for sure out of this one is a good IMDb User Rating — the number is  currently at 7.5 based on 700 votes.

The big arthouse centerpiece of the week is definitely Reservation Road, Terry George's follow up to his critically acclaimed indie-mainstream crossover hit Hotel Rwanda. Road is the Irish director's second film with American actor Joaquin Phoenix, who, since appearing in Hotel Rwanda, has added to his tally of Oscar nomination with a Best Actor bid for his portrayal of Johnny Cash in Walk the Line. In Reservation Road, Phoenix plays a man devastated by the loss of his 10-year-old son, killed in a hit-and-run, who tries to cope with his grief by finding the person responsible for his child's death.

It is clear that this is the kind of film that could get a lot of awards at the end of the year, especially for the actors involved (especially since the story is not handled in a Charles Bronson-esque way, the  path that another Irish director recently chose to follow in spinning a similar story of loss, anger and revenge). Squaring off against Phoenix (who will also be squaring off against himself, thanks to the arrival in theaters on Oct. 12 of We Own the Night) is Mark Ruffalo, who already gratified us with a great performance this year in David Fincher's Zodiac. Each male star is paired up with an Academy Award-winning actress, with Jennifer Connelly as the Phoenix character's spouse, and Mira Sorvino (who hasn't been in the most interesting movies in the last few years) as the Ruffalo character's ex.

So what could stop a film like Reservation Road, with a serious theme, a hot director and some of the finest actors of the moment, from being a huge arthouse hit and serious awards contender? Well, as with Sleuth (discussed in last week's Dances with the Arthouse), a decided lack of critical enthusiasm. Judging from the reviews generated by the film's premiere in Toronto last month, it really looks like George's movie is going to have to go it without critical support. And for a limited release, that's never a sign of future success.

Sure, Reservation Road currently has an 8.1 User Rating, but it's with less than 100 votes. The film's artistic pedigree should still enable it to collect some PTA points on opening weekend, but if the first cold reviews (from none other than Variety and The Hollywood Reporter) are followed by other dismissive notices, then the four PTA points Fantasy Moguls predicts will surely be the very best the film can manage, just as its $4.7 million at the box-office is probably the upper limit in that category as well. For $13 in October Ultimate leagues ($14 in September), it's not a safe bet.

Before I talk to you about a nice-looking film opening a couple of months from now, I just have a few reminders for you. In fact, the first one isn't a reminder, but just a few lines to mention the Oct. 19 release in 1,000 theaters of Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour, a mainstream PG thriller that looks to be the kind of film that will quickly vanish to DVD shelves and the ranks of rentals available from Netflix or Blockbuster. It only costs $2 in Ultimate and Box Office leagues, but even for that price, the best thing to do is look away. Even if the distributor is trying to convince us it's a big event by coming up with the tagline: "The First in a Series of Sarah Landon Mysteries." As John Cleese would say: "Right ..."

My second item, and this one is a reminder, is to mention that Bordertown and Weirdsville, two films I discussed in previous Dances with the Arthouse columns, have been pushed back to Oct. 19 (and let me remind you also that neither film is going to make a sterling addition to your Moguls roster).

Now, as I do each week, I'd like to look ahead, this time to a little film scheduled to open Dec. 14. "Little" is perhaps not the best word to describe it, since this one is without a doubt the most eagerly awaited film of 2007 for many cinephiles. The title is Youth Without Youth, and it's only Francis Ford Coppola's first feature film since 1997. Yes, the director of The Godfather is finally back. (For a while there, some of us were afraid he'd finished his career with a nice but low-key, especially by the towering standards of his early oeuvre, John Grisham adaptation, The Rainmaker ...) It's been a decade of anxiety and longing for Coppola fans, though we've really been waiting for 15 years, ever since the release of his beautiful horror adaptation Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Coppola's new picture, set in Europe just before World War II, is surrounded by mystery, but the word is it follows an old Romanian professor who, after being struck by lightning, finds himself rejuvenating miraculously ... an attracting all kinds of attentions, from the Nazis, the Americans and other spies. This forces him to flee, from identity to identity, country to country. Now if that's not the best premise of the year, for the most interesting directorial comeback of the decade... then what is it? And you want to hear something that makes this film even more enticing? Tim Roth, one of the most underused actors of his generation, is the man on the run. This all looks like a dream come true for film buffs, and it could become a Fantasy Moguls sensation in December. I don't see how Coppola's comeback, on a limited release in New York and Los Angeles, could possibly fail to generate strong numbers on the arthouse front. The film launches in Europe at the end of October, so we'll quickly be hearing reports of its quality.

It's always nice to finish a column with such exciting prospects. Now, if only Monty Python were to announce their return to filmmaking this week, it really would be a heavenly autumn ... even if Graham Chapman and his coconut halves would be sorely missed. In the meantime, we have another rendezvous with filmmaking greatness next week, this time with Sidney Lumet. I told you those are good days for film buffs!

Indie Jones believes that supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony. Lob you scimitars at him at danceswiththearthouse@gmail.com.