Holiday Movie Preview

Holiday Movie Preview 2009

If there's one theme running through this holiday's movie slate … it's that no release is quite like the next. From seasonal family fare ('A Christmas Carol') to stylistic drama ('The Lovely Bones'), teen sensation ('The Twilight Saga: New Moon') to Oscar hopeful ('Up in the Air') and quiet indie ('Precious') to loud blockbuster ('2012'), these promising next two months offer something for everyone.

Summit Entertainment / 20th Century Fox / Paramount / The Weinstein Co.

'A Christmas Carol'
Release Date:Nov. 6
The Scoop: Dickens' ghosts of Christmas past, present and future get a futuristic makeover via Robert Zemeckis' 3-D motion-capture animation. With Jim Carrey playing Scrooge and all three haunting spirits, expect 'The Grinch' meets 'Polar Express.'
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Disney

'The Men Who Stare at Goats'
Release Date:Nov. 6
The Scoop: Men actually do stare at goats in this black comedy about a U.S. military unit charged with honing telepathy for use in combat. George Clooney's a (supposedly) psychic operative who lets a reporter (Ewan McGregor) tag along with him in Iraq. Hilarity ensues.
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Overture Films

'The Fourth Kind'
Release Date:Nov. 6
The Scoop: Based around actual reports of "the most compelling evidence of alien abduction ever documented" -- a series of mysterious disappearances in Alaska (insert Sarah Palin joke here) -- this thriller combines traditional narrative with reenactments of interviews with haunted subjects.
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Universal

'Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire'
Release Date:Nov. 6
The Scoop: This is stark yet riveting tale about an obese teen abused by her mother, and twice impregnated by her father, is on course to be this year's Little Movie That Could. The film and its stars -- including a nearly unrecognizable Mariah Carey -- garnered a flurry of awards and praise throughout the '09 festival circuit.
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Lionsgate

'2012'
Release Date:Nov. 13
The Scoop: 'Independence Day' and 'Day After Tomorrow' director Roland Emmerich claims he loves "good stories" more than "disaster movies." So we'll claim we don't think the spectacle of seeing the world's most famous landmarks disintegrate is friggin' awesome.


Columbia TriStar

'Fantastic Mr. Fox'
Release Date:Nov. 13
The Scoop: Director Wes Anderson's first foray into animation, 'Fox' brings Roald Dahl's best-selling book to the big screen with a little added pizzazz and humor. Mr. Fox even has a trademark move to go with his old-school corduroy suit, and a band of fellow frisky animals that includes Bill Murray and Owen Wilson.

20th Century Fox

'The Twilight Saga: New Moon'
Release Date:Nov. 20
The Scoop: In the obsessively anticipated, second chapter of 'Twilight,' Bella (Kristen Stewart) forms a special bond with Jacob (Taylor Lautner) after her love Edward (Robert Pattinson) -- hoping to spare her a life plagued with bloodsuckers -- leaves Forks. One of the world's most devoted fan bases gasps and sighs throughout.

Summit Entertainment

'Planet 51'
Release Date:Nov. 20
The Scoop: It's human-alien role reversal fun in this animated adventure about an astronaut (Dwayne Johnson) who lands on the distant, eponymous globe to discover a population of little (and funny!) green people. We have much higher hopes for this than Johnson's next kid flick, 'Tooth Fairy.'

Sony

'The Blind Side'
Release Date:Nov. 20
The Scoop: This inspirational drama tells the story of Michael Oher, a poor kid who becomes one of the most heavily recruited offensive lineman in the country, thanks to the efforts of his adoptive parents (Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw). Bates plays the tutor who helps get him to the bigs.

Warner Bros.