Guide: Feast or famine for holiday movie fare

From George Clooney up in the air to Meryl Streep in love (and both of them also taking turns as animated foxes), Hollywood is running out the year with a last-ditch effort to break box office records, even in the midst of an economic crisis.

In a record-breaking summer, the movie industry learned that people don't want serious fare when they have to contend with loss of jobs, health care and war debates in a troubled country. Still, there must be someone out there who is open to being moved, intrigued or even challenged by a serious movie.

Starting with the Wednesday release of films this holiday weekend and ending with a bonanza of releases the week of Christmas, Hollywood attempts to make the Top 10 lists for quality while raking in a ton of money - a difficult task. A number of "serious" Oscar hopefuls will be released elsewhere, to qualify for this round of Academy Awards, but won't hit local screens until January.

That leaves room for plenty of escapist fare for those who just have to get out of the house during the holidays.

The schedule includes potentially good movies, but no front-runner Oscar contender. James Cameron's "Avatar" looks from the trailers to be an overproduced sci-fi special effects show. Remember, though, "Titanic" sneaked up on us. There were those who thought it would be a disaster, until they saw it.

Here's the list. All dates are even more subject to change than usual.

"EVERYBODY'S FINE"

Family can be troublesome. Maybe funny. After his wife dies, a businessman (Robert DeNiro) goes on the road to pay unannounced visits to each of his adult children. It's based on a 1990 Italian movie in which Marcello Mastroianni played the lead. The cast includes Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell. PG-13

"ARMORED"

A group of professional armored car guards (Matt Dillon, Jean Reno, Laurence Fishburne) recruit a rookie (Columbus Short) to participate in a $42 million heist. Things don't go entirely right. The cast includes Skeet Ulrich and Fred Ward. PG-13

"BROTHERS"

Good brother vs. bad brother, but is the bad brother turning good? Jake Gyllenhaal plays an irresponsible drifter just out of jail. Tobey Maguire, his older brother, is a staunch family man and a captain in the Marines who is missing in Afghanistan. The drifter volunteers to care for his older brother's wife, Natalie Portman. It's directed by Jim Sheridan, of the award-winning "My Left Foot" (1989) and "In America" (2002), and was written by the same man who did "The Kite Runner," David Benioff. R

"TRANSYLMANIA"

In this horror spoof, a group of American exchange students are thrilled that their new university is housed in an old castle in Transylvania, home of Dracula. R

"INVICTUS"

Clint Eastwood, who will be 80 in May, seems to come up with a top Oscar contender every year in this month. Could this be another one? Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) plans to unite South Africa after apartheid by encouraging the country to rally behind its rugby team as it hosts the 1995 World Cup championships. Matt Damon plays the team's captain. PG-13

"THE MESSENGER"

Returning from Iraq, a staff sergeant (Ben Foster) is assigned to notify families of war deaths. Among his first assignments is to tell a young woman (Samantha Morton) that her husband has been killed. The cast includes Woody Harrelson as the man's partner. (The opening date is subject to change - again. It has already been changed twice.) R

"THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG"

This offers something you thought, or feared, you'd never see again - hand-drawn animation. (Before computers, Disney artists drew everything by hand.) This also marks the return of the Disney clan to a fairy tale story. It's a new, mod treatment of the old tale - set in New Orleans with the voices of Anika Noni Rose and Bruno Campos, plus Oprah Winfrey, Terrence Howard and John Goodman. The co-directors of "The Little Mermaid" are in charge. G

"PARIS"

Juliette Binoche heads an all-star French cast in a compilation of stories designed as a valentine to the city of lights. R

"THE LOVELY BONES"

Peter Jackson (Oscar winner for "The Lord of the Rings") offers a drama about a girl who is murdered and watches from the afterlife as her killer (Stanley Tucci) prepares to strike again. Saoirse Ronan, pictured at right, the Oscar nominee for "Atonement," plays the girl. The cast includes Mark Wahlberg, Susan Sarandon and Rachel Weisz. It is based on a novel by Alice Sebold. (Opening may be delayed to January.) PG-13

"AVATAR"

This war of the worlds with a $200 million production budget is James Cameron's first feature film since "Titanic." It's in 3-D. It is set on a distant planet inhabited by 10-foot-tall, blue humanoids. Sam Worthington plays the U.S. Marine who is an "avatar," mentally piloting an alien body as an advance agent for a human invasion. Complications set in when he falls in love with a female humanoid (Zoe Saldana). The cast includes Sigourney Weaver, CCH Pounder and Giovanni Ribisi. (Not yet rated)

"DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS?"

Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker are miserable, workaholic New Yorkers until the FBI sends them to a small town in Wyoming for protection after they witness a murder. The cast includes Mary Steenburgen and Sam Elliott. (Not yet rated)

"IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE" and  "A CHRISTMAS STORY"

Norfolk's Naro Expanded Cinema presents this double feature of Christmas classics, the first, directed by Frank Capra, with James Stewart and Donna Reed, and the second, based on Jean Shepherd's memoir on growing up in the 1940s, directed by Bob Clark.

"ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE SQUEAKQUEL"

The charming trio sings again in the sequel to the surprise hit. This time, the computerized rodents discover females in the form of a rival singing trio called the Chipettes. Betty Thomas directs. PG

"UP IN THE AIR"

In this mixture of comedy and drama, George Clooney plays a frequent flier hired by reluctant companies to fire employees. He has a knack for doing it, but a young businesswoman (Anna Kendrick) is in favor of just using the Internet and making it quick, which would ground him. Vera Farmiga is the other woman in his life. Directed by Jason Reitman ("Juno"). R

"IT'S COMPLICATED"

Meryl Streep has to choose between her married ex-husband (Alec Baldwin) and her shy architect (Steve Martin). Nancy Meyers both wrote and directed the romantic comedy. (Not yet rated)

"THE YOUNG VICTORIA"

If you always thought Queen Victoria was the stuffy matron who launched the Victorian age, here's a suggestion that even she was young once. Emily Blunt ("The Devil Wears Prada") is the girlish Victoria who is in love with Prince Albert (Rupert Friend) while learning how to run an empire. The cast includes Paul Bettany, Miranda Richardson and Jim Broadbent. PG

"SHERLOCK HOLMES"

It's still set in 1891, but this version of Arthur Conan Doyle's master detective is expected to come across as a modern, blockbuster-movie action hero. Robert Downey Jr. plays a Holmes who is disheveled and has martial arts skills. Jude Law is a lively Watson. Rachel McAdams is the woman. It's directed by Madonna's ex, Guy Ritchie, marking his breakthrough into big-budget land. (Not yet rated)

"NINE"

The 1982 Broadway musical about a troubled, genius movie director reflecting on all the women in his life was based on the classic Federico Fellini movie "8-1/2." Daniel Day-Lewis goes musical in the lead with a stellar cast of ladies including Sophia Loren, Kate Hudson, Judi Dench, Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard and Penelope Cruz. Rob Marshall, Oscar-nominated for directing the musical "Chicago," directs this. PG-13