After a very interesting summer movie season, both Lad and I have seen a very quiet big screen atmosphere since. Other than some meatballs and some wild things, nothing really to write home about this fall.

However, the holidays are upon us and that, of course, means the second wave of blockbusters for 2009. And the winter months are loaded with promising titles for families of all ages

Kicking everything off is Walt Disney Pictures latest re-imagining of Ebenezer Scrooge with the animated A Christmas Carol on Nov. 6. But this is no ordinary take on the classic tale.

Director Robert Zemeckis tells the story using his revolutionary performance-capture technology seen in his other films, The Polar Express and Beowulf. Adding 3-D elements and a lot of Jim Carrey could make this film an instant holiday classic.

The most anticipated film of the season, however, is James Cameron’s $200 million project, Avatar. In development for more than 10 years, this cutting-edge film uses technological advancements yet to be featured on the big screen.

Lad and I are both very excited about this film, which tells the story of a war veteran, Sam Worthington (Terminator: Salvation, Clash of the Titans), who is brought to another planet, Pandora, to help fight a war of survival.

It has been 12 years since Cameron’s last major release, a little film called Titanic, which I believe everyone on the planet saw. We can only wonder how good this movie will be after so much time and money was put behind it.

Other films of note are the CGI alien adventure on Planet 51, some animalistic entertainment in The Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Princess and the Frog and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakual.”

The season concludes with a Pirates of the Caribbean-like take on the classic detective, Sherlock Holmes. Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law take on the fictional roles of Holmes and Watson, respectively.

While it has been some time since a Sherlock Holmes film was made, this will be an interesting 21st-century look at the classic, fictional character. I expect more action and more comedy than seen before.

Below is a full Release Calendar, including the Dad and Lad-o-meter, which indicates our level of anticipation of the film, rated out of 5:


Nov. 6

- A Christmas Carol: 4

Nov. 20

- Planet 51: 3

Nov. 25

- The Fantastic Mr. Fox: 3

- The Princess and the Frog: 2

Dec. 18

- Avatar: 5

Dec. 25

- Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakual: 2

- Sherlock Holmes: 3