King Kong
Lord of the Rings mastermind Peter Jackson returns to take Hollywood by storm once more. The cast includes the always reliable (and conveniently gorgeous) Naomi Watts, the always sincere (and dreamy, I suppose) Adrien Brody, and the always unpredictable (and unimaginably beautiful) Jack Black. The trailer is wickedly intense and this massive action-adventure epic looks, dare we say it, Tolkien-esque. The stakes are high for Jackson after sweeping the Oscars with Return of the King and it looks like (with any luck) he's on form.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Easily the biggest pop culture phenomenon of the last decade, this film sees Harry, Ron, and Hermione grow up, get progressively better-looking, and tackle both the Triwizard Tournament and the throes of puberty (ah, to be young again). Look out for Ralph Fiennes as Harry's nemesis, Lord Voldemort-a throwback to Fiennes' penchant for malice that made our skin crawl in Schindler's List.
The Producers
A movie turned Broadway smash turned movie, Mel Brooks' uproarious The Producers could very well be the comic highlight of the holiday season. For those of you unfamiliar with the play version, down-on-his-luck producer Nathan Lane and his accountant Matthew Broderick hatch a get-rich-quick scheme that involves using an escaped Nazi's play (Will Ferrell) called Springtime for Hitler (yes, deliberately tasteless) and a Swedish bombshell named Ulla (the never-sexier Uma Thurman.
Munich
Steven Spielberg directs the story of the Israeli agents that track down the Palestinian terrorists responsible for the murder of the Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics in (you guessed it) Munich. Aussie hottie Eric Bana stars as the Mossad assassin whose job it is to eliminate the terrorists one by one, with the help of a lethal team of experts. Spielberg smartly enlists the help of Pulitzer-prize winning playwright Tony Kushner (Angels in America), but the film's success will hinge on Bana's ability to find the depth and conflict within his character.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Disney's got its paws on what hopes to be the next Lord of the Rings. C.S. Lewis' saga is brought to life by Shrek 2 director Andrew Adamson who has quite a daunting task ahead of him. Featuring a cast of relative unknowns, Narnia will either be a huge bust or a giant bonanza. If audiences sink their teeth into this first installment, the buzz (and money) surrounding this franchise could become epic.
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