Winter movie preview part two: This...this is it?

In the first part of my winter movie preview, I had listed a series of films that I was anticipating from the upcoming holiday movie season. One was "Fantastic Mr. Fox", which I loved immensely. Another, Peter Jackson's adaptation of "The Lovely Bones", had my friend Brett pretending to put a gun in his mouth about an hour into the movie. Not a good sign (I'll still see it anyway despite the 'warning').

Recently, I went to check on what was left to be released for the remainder of the year. While there doesn't seem to be a huge amount of must see films, there certainly are ones that have caught my eye (in addition to all the films I skipped this fall that I need to catch up on).

The second part of my wish list is as follows:

"Avatar" (opens December 18th)

Here it comes. James Cameron's super-expensive (God only knows how much 20th Century Fox spent on it) and somewhat anticipated 3-D sci-fi epic. While the 15 minutes or so of footage I saw last August really didn't do much for me one way or the other, the recent ads have at the very least made me want to see just what Jimmy has been up to over the past few years. Whether audiences flock to it or not is another story. I'm sure Fox is hoping for another "Titanic" on their hands. Something tells me they should be hoping for another "True Lies" at best.

"Nine" (limited release on December 18th)

After he turned "Memoirs of a Geisha" into a torturous 2 1/2 trip to the flicks four years ago, director Rob Marshall goes back to the genre that made him a Hollywood player: the Broadway musical. Marshall did a fine job bringing "Chicago" to the big screen, so perhaps his film version of the long-running musical "Nine" will be his next success story. At the very least, the cast is for the most part impressive: Daniel "Drinkin' Milkshakes" Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Sophia Loren, Judi Dench, Penelope Cruz and Marion "Schwing!" Cotillard. Kate Hudson and Fergie from the Black-Eyed Peas also star, but I'm willing to ignore that aspect.

"Me and Orson Welles" (opening in limited release throughout December)

I wasn't sure about this film when I first heard about it. I heard Zac Effron's name pop up and I instantly rolled my eyes. But when I heard who had directed the film (Richard Linklater), my interest grew considerably. Hit or miss, Linklater is a director that is always interesting to watch, so this will be one I am going to keep my eye on.

"The Young Victoria" (opening in limited release thoughout December)

Another one I know litte about. I am guessing it is about Queen Victoria in her younger days. What caught my eye about this film is that Emily Blunt is in the lead role. Not only is Blunt quite the talented actress, she also has that mysterious British allure that makes her irresistible (pale skin, the accent, the bod...okay, I'll stop). It wouldn't suprise me to see her name bounced around the awards circuit during the next few weeks and months.

"Broken Embraces" (opening in limited release throughout December)

I have to be honest: I was not a fan of Pedro Almodovar's earlier works. In fact, with the exception of "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" and most of "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!", I thought most of his output from the 1980s was pretty weak. Over the past decade, however, his films have become less camp and more mature. A perfect example of that is 1999's "Talk to Her", which I think is the best film he has made to date. Now comes "Broken Embraces", which finds Almodovar reuniting with Penelope Cruz for a drama about a blind writer. A friend of mine said it was good, but not among Almodovar's best. If they keep the camp to a minimum, I'll be happy.

And there you have it. A small list that should keep me out of trouble over the next few weeks and hopefully away from theaters showing the "Alvin and the Chipmunks" sequel.