The tried and true come back for holiday movies

By Jack Garner
Gannett News Service

The Disney animated feature "Treasure Planet" updates "Treasure Island" into a sci-fi space adventure. The children's film is expected to be shown in theaters on Nov. 27. Walt Disney Pictures

Rebecca Romijn-Stamos and Antonio Banderas turn up the heat in the sexy thriller "Femme Fatale," now playing in theaters. Warner Bros.

Robert De Niro's mobster, Paul Vitti, is once again seeing his shrink; Ice Cube and the "Friday" gang are celebrating Christmas, and Adam Sandler has turned himself into a cartoon — literally.

The Christmas season also is time for prestige pictures — with Oscar glory and gold on the horizon. This year's crop includes a double dose of Leonardo DiCaprio — Martin Scorsese's long-awaited "Gangs of New York" and Steven Spielberg's "Catch Me If You Can" — and Denzel Washington's directorial debut, the uplifting "Antwone Fisher."

Here's the holiday schedule, which as always is subject to change:

Opened Wednesday

• "Femme Fatale" — Veteran director Brian De Palma is back with his first film in 10 years, a noir thriller set in France (but mostly in English) about a woman trying to go straight despite a shady past. Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Antonio Banderas, Peter Coyote and Jean Reno co-star.

Today

• "8 Mile" — Eminem makes his dramatic film debut playing a character not unlike himself — a young Detroit man who channels his anger into rap music.

Nov. 15

• "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" — The wizard-in-training returns for his second term at the Hogwarts School. More magic, monsters, exciting airborne Quidditch games and breathless adventures await, along with several new characters. Kenneth Branagh is among the newcomers, playing professor Gilderoy Lockhart. Chris Columbus once again directs.
• "Half Past Dead" — Perhaps the perfect counterprogramming to the popular Potter: A hard-core Steven Seagal action film about a power struggle within a prison. Morris Chestnut co-stars.

Nov. 22

• "Die Another Day" — James Bond is back and the lovely Oscar-winning Halle Berry is by his side. More explosions, wild gimmicks, beautiful women, dastardly villains and 007 saving the world. Pierce Brosnan returns for his fourth Bond go-round.
• "The Emperor's Club" — A drama about an inspirational prep school teacher, clearly in the tradition of "Dead Poets Society." This time Kevin Kline is the teacher.
• "Friday After Next" — Ice Cube and the rest of the "Friday" gang return for another urban street comedy, this time centered on the Christmas season.

Nov. 27

• "Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights" — A cartoon variation of Sandler comedy, described as animated basketball musical. It's based on characters first heard in a Sandler comedy CD.
• "Extreme Ops" — A thriller in which a crew filming the mountain exploits of three extreme sports enthusiasts stumbles upon the Austrian Alps hideaway of a Serbian war criminal. Intrigue and action ensue, including spectacular skiing.
• "Solaris" —A highbrow sci-fi adventure, from a novel by Stanislaw Lem. The phenomenally talented writer-director Steven Soderbergh tries to regain his footing after the disaster of "Full Frontal." George Clooney and Natascha McElhone star.
• "Treasure Planet" — A Disney animated feature that updates "Treasure Island" into a sci-fi space adventure.

Dec. 6

• "Analyze That" — A sequel to the mega-hit comedy, with mob boss Paul Vitti (De Niro) fresh out of prison, and once again needing to see his shrink (Billy Crystal). The first film soared on De Niro's witty parody of his mob characters.
• "Equilibrium" — A dark sci-fi thriller about a society doped into peaceful tranquility by drugs. The man responsible for administering the medication begins to have doubts. Christian Bale, Taye Diggs and Emily Watson co-star.

Dec. 13

• "The Hot Chick" — A teen comedy about a popular teenage girl who wakes up to find she's been turned into a man in his 30s (Rob Schneider). The film's the latest from Adam Sandler's Happy Madison production company. (Sandler contributes a brief cameo.)
• "Maid in Manhattan" — A romantic comedy in the "Cinderella" and "Pretty Woman" tradition. Ralph Fiennes is the handsome heir to a powerful political dynasty. In New York, he meets and falls hard for a beautiful woman (Jennifer Lopez.) He has no idea she's a hotel chambermaid.
• "Star Trek: Nemesis" — The latest in the "Star Trek" franchise, and the latest to star the "Next Generation" gang. Fans will happily note it's an even-numbered film — the 10th in the series — because myth has it that the best Trek films are even-numbered.

Dec. 18

• "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" — The eagerly awaited second installment in the Tolkien trilogy, continuing the adventures of the hobbits and other forest folk, saving Middle Earth from dark forces.

Dec. 20

• "Antwone Fisher" — Denzel Washington's impressive directorial debut, the true story of a trouble-making Navy recruit (Derek Luke) who meets with a military therapist (Washington) to explore the root of his violent temper.
• "Gangs of New York" — One of the most eagerly awaited films of the year, a lavish Scorsese epic about the first waves of gang warfare in the New York of the early 1800s, triggered by the arrival of Irish immigrants. Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis and Cameron Diaz co-star.
• "Two Weeks Notice" — A romantic comedy about the volatile relationship between a Manhattan millionaire (Hugh Grant) and his chief counsel (Sandra Bullock).
• "The Wild Thornberrys" — The big-screen debut of the popular animated characters from the Nickelodeon TV series. They're a family that traverses the globe, making nature documentaries.

Dec. 25

• "Catch Me If You Can" — Steven Spielberg's film about the true-life adventures of Frank Abagnale Jr., a high school student who persuaded people he was an airline pilot and a physician, and who lived on millions of dollars of bogus checks. Leonardo DiCaprio is Abagnale. Tom Hanks plays the FBI agent in pursuit.
• "Pinocchio" — A new live-action Italian version of the children's story, directed by and starring Roberto Benigni. His first film since the Oscar-winning "Life Is Beautiful." It set box-office records upon opening in Italy.