Sometimes it takes a while for foreign films to be released in American theaters. For House of the Sleeping Beauties, it's taken years. Directed by German actor turned filmmaker Vadim Glowna, this mysterious drama tells of a strange house where a man can spend the night alongside a beautiful woman in a state of sleep. It sounds weird, and the trailer looks even weirder, with the aforementioned sleeping beauties rolling this way and that in bed, half naked, but never awakening.

Had this been made by a more noteworthy director, it might have sounded attractively intriguing, but a look at Vadim Glowna's resume shows that the only things he's directed this past decade are episodes of the German TV series "Siska" and "Der Alte." At that point, I more or less gave up on House of the Sleeping Beauties. Now, if I'm wrong, if you or someone you know has seen the movie and found it extraordinary, then tell me now. After all, the film marks the return to the big screen of Maximilian Schell, one of the most renowned German actors of the 20th century (although technically he is Austrian). He won a Best Actor Oscar 46 years ago for Stanley Kramer's Judgement at Nuremberg. The last time I remember seeing Schell in a movie, he was on the beach, holding Tea Leoni in his arms, waiting for that huuuge tsunami in Deep Impact. Or maybe it was as the evil cardinal in John Carpenter's Vampires. Anyway it was 10 years ago at least.

Although it opens in only one theater, and costs a mere $2 in either Ultimate Movie Moguls or Box Office Moguls leagues, I really can't find any reason to advise you to grab House of the Sleeping Beauties. Reviews don't seem likely to be impressive, word of mouth is nonexistent, at this point, and the IMDb User Rating isn't likely to overwhelm. This time of the year is just too crowded with serious arthouse contenders and big Hollywood films to expect PTA points out of these Sleeping Beauties. Pass your way, ladies and gentlemen.

You may have a better shot with the latest Bollywood offering, Dostana. I have always been a bit jealous of British and American cinephiles, at least ever since I became infatuated with Bollywood movies. In France, Bollywood is not very popular. In 2002, Lagaan was the first Bollywood film ever released here, but it seems it never really caught on with French audiences. As a result, only half-a-dozen Bollywood films have been released here since, and none at all in the past two years. If a Bollywood movie got released here every month, maybe I'd get tired of them. But since I'm starving for a taste of India, I get jealous every time I have to preview a Bollywood film in my column.

That being said, Dostana is one Bollywood film I am not really dying to see. I hope this is not the one that will finally break the streak of Indian films being shunned in France. Dostana seems to be a flashy Bollywood feature entirely shot in Miami, all glam, colorful and supposedly hip. It is far away from sobriety or traditions, and all about westernization. Not the most interesting side of Bollywood, to be sure. The director, Tarun Mansukhani, takes the big leap after having officiated as assistant director on such modern Bollywood classics as Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham and Kal Ho Naa Ho. In front of the camera, no Shah Rukh Khan, but instead Abhishek Bachchan, son of Amitabh Bachchan and husband of the gorgeous Aishwarya Rai (speaking of being jealous — rowwwr!).

As per usual for a Bollywood film, Dostana should be released in 100 locations or so, garner a strong PTA on opening weekend, and get a decent, if unimpressive, User Rating. The problem is, with two stronger arthouse films opening on that same weekend, plus Quantum of Solace and its certain-to-be-huge take and the potentially lingering PTA punch of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas ... well, there ain't much place left for Dostana. I think the very best it can hope for is 1 PTA point, $2 million or $3 million in total receipts, and a 6 User Rating. Of course it costs only $4 in Ultimate leagues, but for the same price you can acquire Valkyrie plus another Bollywood film, Rab ne Bana di Jodi (and this one features Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Kajol and Rani Mukherjee — all huge stars on the Bollywood circuit).

Sometimes it's hard to write about certain movies, because their reputation is good and they look like nice films that deserve a chance in theaters. In the end, however, after telling you what you need to know about the film, I have to leave an impression that says either "take it" or "leave it," with a few grey areas. And as likeable as The Dukes seems, there is no way I can let you go this week with the idea of putting it on one of your slates.

This one's an old-fashioned comedy about a group of singers way past their primes. Finding themselves in need of money, they decide to turn into robbers. Robert Davi, a widely traveled, well-liked character actor in the '80s, in such films as The Goonies, Die Hard and License to Kill, makes his directing debut here, and appears onscreen alongside Chazz Palminteri and Peter Bogdanovich. Maybe I am wrong, and maybe The Dukes will attract and charm audiences during its New York City launch on Nov. 14, thus getting the oomph it needs to move into a larger number of theaters. But despite its many festival wins all over the globe, in the end, a few 50- and 60-year-olds singing 1950s style and trying for a heist does not look like a winning combination for Fantasy Moguls players. Fantasy Moguls only predicts $800k at the box office, 1 PTA point and a 6.4 User Rating, but still wants $6 for the film. Even if it did deliver that precious PTA point, I do not think it would be worth it.

A couple of weeks after I looked at, and encouraged you to take, I've Loved You So Long, another acclaimed French drama is making its way towards U.S. screens, A Christmas Tale. Of course, I have to point out how disappointing I've Loved You So Long has been for Fantasy Moguls players on opening weekend. Not even a single PTA point. I was genuinely surprised that, despite a small number of screens, terrific reviews and Kristin Scott-Thomas's Oscar-buzzed presence, the film didn't manage to crack the PTA Top 5. That will make most of you very suspicious of the new Gallic offering, which was assigned the same price tag as its compatriot film in Ultimate leagues, $11 (it's $12 in the brand new November-January leagues).

The competition was just too strong for I've Loved You So Long and, in the end, the pedigree of the film too short. A Christmas Tale clearly displays stronger selling points by comparison. Consider this: Tale is the latest film to be directed by Arnaud Desplechin, respected French filmmaker and creator of such films as My Sex Life ... or How I got Into an Argument and Kings and Queen. Last May,  A Christmas Tale was in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, and collected a Special Prize for its lead actress, Catherine Deneuve. That's another argument in favor of the film's arthouse success, as the French actress is quite popular among cinephiles, as is her co-star Mathieu Amalric. The latter, at the same moment A Christmas Tale opens, will be oozing villainy as the bad guy of the most anticipated Hollywood blockbuster of the fall, Quantum of Solace.

Now, personally, I am not a fan of Desplechin's cinema. His very Parisian and hysterical features tend to annoy (and bore) me to the fullest. This one, although I did find more qualities in it than in his previous films, was no exception. (I am almost a pariah among Paris's cinephiles for saying that!) As much as I love the themes explored, and the actors in front of the camera, I despised almost every single character in the movie (no need to tell you how hard it is to appreciate a film with that in mind). Yet, expect the reviews for A Christmas Tale to be eulogistic, and the New York cinephiles to be many to come and discover Desplechin's latest. I've Loved You So Long opened at 10 locations, while Tale will be exclusively screened at New York City's IFC Film Center, so don't be surprised if the PTA is much higher than the tepid output for I've Loved You. And with almost nothing new opening on the weekend of Nov. 21, I'll put my trust in A Christmas Tale and predict it will cash in PTA points for more than one week, winning at least 6 of them. The User Rating will steadily stay at 7.5 or so. This film is more interesting in October leagues than in November ones.

If you are looking for a second film backed by all of America's critics, Slumdog Millionaire should also do some marvels. Personally, I usually stay on my guard when a film has garnered a reputation such as this one. Basically, this is being sold to us as this year's Juno, mostly because it was such a big success at the Toronto International Film Festival, charming both the critics and the audience (it won the Audience Award), and presenting itself as the little film looking for a bright spot among the giants. Despite his very uneven career as a filmmaker, I respect Danny Boyle's work, and admire some of his films quite a bit (Sunshine not the least). This time, after sending Icarus II towards the sun, the British cineaste tells the story of a poor Indian boy who finds himself a contestant on the Indian version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?"

Slumdog Millionaire is an adaptation of the book "Q&A" by Vikas Swarup (which I have been wanting to read for months and still haven't!!!). It takes place in India, and features an all-Indian cast, including the always perfect Irfan Khan, seen recently in The Namesake and The Darjeeling Limited. I think it is safe to say that Slumdog Millionaire will encounter success, given the word of mouth it is already benefiting from. The question is, will it be successful enough to justify spending $23 (yikes!) in Ultimate leagues?

After all, Danny Boyle has never been a box-office winner, the cast has no famous faces whatsoever, and with only two weeks until the date of release, there is still no trailer available for the film. Two weeks away from the release! I mean, I understand little films do not come up with teasers or trailers months ahead like a Hollywood movie, but this film was shot a year ago, it was premiered at Toronto two months ago with a terrific reputation coming out of it, and Fox Searchilight, a generally crafty distributor, has no trailer to show us so close to the film's release? Now, I know that critical support and word of mouth will lift the film's launch up, but still, this kind of bad timing is quite worrisome.

Fantasy Moguls predicts $20 million in box office receipts, 9 PTA points, 2 Top 5 points and an 8 User rating. Honestly, unless Fox Searchilght gets moving in a hurry, I don't see Slumdog Millionaire reaching such numbers. It can. It should. it has the potential. But, two weeks away, it seems like a long road. And honestly, that is why I will not grab Slumdog Millionaire on my Ultimate Movie Moguls slates. I don't see the film grabbing 2 Top 5 points, although the PTA points seem completely reachable. The User Rating, well, for the moment it is below 7 with more than 300 votes. I predict that it will go up, but not necessarily to 8. As for the box-office take, I would not be surprised if the film topped out south of $20 million.

Don't get me wrong, I think Slumdog Millionaire has the potential to be interesting for Fantasy Moguls players. But right now, it seems like a big bet for $23. $5 in Box Office leagues provides an interesting opportunity to cash in on the film's word of mouth without taking such extravagant risks with your budget.

That's a wrap for this week, ladies and gentlemen. Next week, as my fellow columnists Shrykespeare and Mister Informative have announced, I will be a Special Edition column, delving into this winter's best arthouse offerings. Unfortunately, I recently learned that Gong Li will not, after all, be charming American audiences this Christmas in Shanghai. That film, which also stars John Cusack, has been pushed back into 2009. Fortunately, there will be plenty of other interesting films, even if they will all lack Ms. Li's beauty.

Indie Jones is younger than Robert Davi and Peter Bogdanovich, but he needs money, too. Maybe he can get his fellow Moguls columnists to form a gang with him and pull off an elaborate heist. If you know of any targets for a good heist, then keep things on the QT ... but Indie's e-mail is danceswiththearthouse@gmail.com.