Pitt vs. Aniston; Cruise vs. evil; Kidman vs. kangaroos: Check out our Holiday Movie Preview

by Clint O'Connor/Plain Dealer Film Critic

Friday November 21, 2008, 12:01 AM

Hugh Jackman makes out. Meryl Streep finds religion. Brad Pitt ages backward. Jennifer Aniston chases a dog. Beyonce sings the blues. Tom Cruise tries to kill Hitler.

Let your multiplex-plotting begin as we hurtle into the crowded holiday movie season. There are Oscar contenders from Will Smith and Sean Penn, comedies from Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler, and Keanu Reeves in a robot movie. And he's not even playing the robot.

Twenty-five films land in Greater Cleveland in the next five weeks, including eight on Christmas Day.

In Hollywood, this season is already known more for what's missing. Today was supposed to be a monumental release date, with "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" fighting for marquee space with Jamie Foxx's "The Soloist," and Viggo Mortensen's "The Road." Instead, to save money and fill some scheduling holes, they all bolted to 2009.

Because it's been a less than sterling year for strong films, any of the new releases could jump immediately to the front of the Oscar line. A sneak peek:

Wednesday, Nov. 26

"Australia"

Cast: Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Bryan Brown.

Buzz: The sweeping, epic, $130 million love story set in -- guess where -- is the brainchild of Baz Luhrmann, who directed a singing Kidman in "Moulin Rouge!" Jackman plays a dashing cowboy who helps Kidman with a cattle drive against the backdrop of World War II. He takes his shirt off a lot, and there's a kissing-in-the-rain scene, so it must be romantic.

"Four Christmases"

Cast: Vince Vaughn, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Duvall, Jon Favreau.

Buzz: A broad, Christmas-from-hell comedy in which Vaughn and Witherspoon are forced to visit all four of their divorced parents.

"Transporter 3"

Cast: Jason Statham, Natalya Rudakova, Francois Berleand.

Buzz: The marvelously stoic Statham returns as Frank Martin for another ridiculously dangerous delivery.

"I've Loved You So Long"

Cast: Kristin Scott Thomas, Elsa Zylberstein.

Buzz: Thomas plays a woman who reunites with her estranged sister after 15 years in prison. Already receiving Oscar buzz for the actress (previously nominated for "The English Patient").

Friday, Dec. 5

"Cadillac Records"

Cast: Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright, Beyonce Knowles.

Buzz: One of the great music stories of the 20th century was the rise of Chess Records in Chicago. This swinging drama captures the spirit of the '50s and '60s and the turbulent lives of legends like Willie Dixon (Cedric the Entertainer) and Chuck Berry (Mos Def).

"Ashes of Time Redux"

Cast: Leslie Cheung, Brigitte Lin, Carina Lau.

Buzz: Acclaimed director Wong Kar Wai ("2046") has recut, restored and remastered his "Ashes of Time" from 1994 with better sound and a new soundtrack.

Friday, Dec. 12

"The Day the Earth Stood Still"

Cast: Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Jaden Smith.

Buzz: "Klaatu barada nikto!" The 1951 original with Michael Rennie as Klaatu was an absolute classic, a Cold War sci-fi thriller with an alien and his robot warning Earthlings to end violence. The remake updates the story with Reeves, as Klaatu, befriending a woman and her stepson.

"Milk"

Cast: Sean Penn, James Franco, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch.

Buzz: Gus Van Sant takes us back to late-'70s San Francisco, where Harvey Milk (Penn), the first openly gay city supervisor, is assassinated.

Friday Dec. 19

"Seven Pounds"

Cast: Will Smith, Rosario Dawson.

Buzz: Smith reunites with "Pursuit of Happyness" director Gabriele Muccino for the tale of an IRS agent trying to help seven random people.

"Slum Dog Millionaire"

Cast: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Madhur Mittal.

Buzz: A homeless orphan from Mumbai becomes a finalist on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire."

"Yes Man"

Cast: Jim Carrey, Zooey Deschanel, Bradley Cooper.

Buzz: Carrey plays a man who turns his life around once he embraces the power of "Yes." Similarities to Carrey's "Liar, Liar" are purely intentional.

Thursday, Dec. 25

"Marley and Me"

Cast: Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson, Alan Arkin.

Buzz: A dog-lovers' movie based on John Grogan's best seller about his neurotic Labrador retriever. Aniston faces off at the box office with her ex (see below).

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

Cast: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Taraji P. Henson.

Buzz: An old man is born and ages backward. Sounds like weird sci-fi, but it's based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story from 1922. Thanks to CGI, Pitt plays Button almost the entire time in this $150 million roll of the dice from Paramount.

"Frost/Nixon"

Cast: Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Kevin Bacon.

Buzz: Sheen and Langella reprise their stage roles as the British TV blabber and disgraced president hunkering down for the famous 1977 interviews.

"Bedtime Stories"

Cast: Adam Sandler, Guy Pearce, Keri Russell.

Buzz: A hotel handyman's fantastical stories start coming true for his niece and nephew.

"The Reader"

Cast: Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, David Kross.

Buzz: No, this isn't the much-hyped Winslet-Leo DiCaprio reunion (that's "Revolutionary Road," which won't land here until Jan. 9). In this drama, a man finally tracks down his long-lost love in the 1940s, but she's in a precarious spot: on trial for Nazi war crimes.

"Doubt"

Cast: Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams.

Buzz: John Patrick Shanley adapted his own play about a Catholic school principal (Streep) and her crusade against a priest.

"The Spirit"

Cast: Gabriel Macht, Eva Mendes, Sarah Paulson.

Buzz: Frank Miller ("Sin City") mines the comic-book series for movie magic. Macht is The Spirit, back from the dead to fight evil in Central City.

"Hurricane Season"

Cast: Forest Whitaker, Isaiah Washington, Taraji P. Henson.

Buzz: After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, a coach in New Orleans patches together a basketball team for a run at the state championship.

Friday, Dec. 26

"Valkyrie"

Cast: Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy.

Buzz: There was always the question: Why didn't the Germans rise up and kill Hitler? Some tried. The ill-fated plot to assassinate the Fuhrer in 1944 is explored in this thriller from Bryan Singer ("X-Men"), with Cruise as real-life conspirator Claus von Stauffenberg.

Also in December: Alan Rickman stars in the kidnapping caper "Nobel Son" (12/5) ... Ray Stevenson steps in for Thomas Jane as The Punisher in "Punisher: War Zone" (12/5) ... The animated "Delgo" (12/12) visits the mystical world of Jhamora ... Freddy Rodriguez and Debra Messing square off in the family drama "Nothing Like the Holidays" (12/12) ... and Kate DiCamillo's charming novel "Tale of Despereaux" (12/19) becomes something truly rare: a G-rated movie.