Holiday films deliver the 'Tron' and 'True'

The holiday movies have returned with a blissful mix of baby boomer catnip, special effects adventures, animated comedies and contemporary reworkings of classic material.

Julie Taymor has a new take on Shakespeare's “The Tempest.” The Coen brothers rework John Wayne's “True Grit.” We get another “Meet the Parents” sequel.

Walt Disney Animation gives us the Rapunzel story with a new braid. The seminal video game movie “Tron” receives an extra life credit at the box office.

Even Cher makes a comeback, and this time it's not on TV's “Will and Grace.”

Kick back, relax and experience the Daily Herald movie guide for the holidays. Just remember that release dates are like suggested retail prices on your favorite toys. Sometimes they change without notice.

Nov. 24

• "Burlesque" The PG-13 version of the NC-17 "Showgirls" maybe? An idealistic small-town girl from Iowa (Christina Aguilera) arrives at Cher's faltering Burlesque Lounge just in time to save it from tanking. With Alan Cumming, Kristen Bell, Stanley Tucci and Eric Dane.

• "Faster" Chicago's George Tillman Jr. directs Dwayne Johnson as an ex-con out to avenge his brother's death during a double-cross. Toss in a hit man and a dogged cop, with the simmering Carla Gugino, and you've got an action film.

• "Love and Other Drugs" Chicagoan Ed Zwick directs a hot romance (with some comedy) between a shallow, super-slick Viagra salesman (Jake Gyllenhaal) and a fiery woman (Anne Hathaway) suffering from a debilitating disease. Call it the 21st-century version of • "Love Story."

• "Made in Dagenham" Not-so-funny story about the time women walked out of the Ford Dagenham automaking plant to protest sexual discrimination. Sally Hawkins and Bob Hoskins star.

• "The Nutcracker in 3-D" Tim Rice created eight songs for this update of the classic holiday tale about a girl (Elle Fanning) who must rescue her friend the Nutcracker (Charlie Rowe) from the evil Rat King (John Turturro) and his devious mom (Frances de la Tour). Nathan Lane plays Uncle Albert. We're so sorry.

• "Tangled" Walt Disney's computer-animated 3-D take on the hairy tale of Rapunzel. Voices by Mandy Moore, Brad Garrett and Jeffrey Tambor.

Nov. 26

• "Ahead of Time" Bob Richman's doc about 96-year-old Ruth Gruber, the youngest person to receive a Ph.D. in 1931 (at 20) and who escorted 1,000 Holocaust survivors on a secret wartime mission from Naples to New York.

• "Outside the Law" Three brothers fight for Algeria's independence from France after World War II. From Rachid • "Days of Glory" Bouchareb.

• "Singalong Sound of Music" If you can't help belting out "Do-Re-Me," you'll love the Music Box Theatre's singalong version of "The Sound of Music," the Oscar-winning best picture for 1965.

• "Welcome to the Rileys" After suffering the loss of their teenage daughter eight years ago, an estranged married couple (James Gandolfini and Melissa Leo) have their relationship saved by an unlikely catalyst: a 17-year-old runaway (Kristen Stewart).

Dec. 2

• "Idiots and Angels" The great animator Bill Plympton directs a story about a selfish bankrupt man who inexplicably wakes up with wings one morning, and he doesn't like them one bit because they make him do good deeds! At Chicago's Music Box Theatre.

Dec. 3

• "Black Swan" The always fascinating Darren Aronofsky directs Natalie Portman in a ballet drama filtered through a horror-thriller. With Winona Ryder, Mila Kunis and Vincent Cassel.

• "Carlos" Fact-based made-for-TV miniseries about Carlos the Jackal, the notorious terrorist who raided the 1975 OPEC meeting. The Music Box Theatre in Chicago will run the entire series Friday through Sunday; the shortened theatrical version will run Monday through Thursday.

• "Leaving" Kristin Scott Thomas and Sergi Lopez star in a searing romance about a bored bourgeois wife who starts up a violent affair with a French contractor in Southern France.

Dec. 10

• "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" I've seen extended footage of this sequel and it's stuffed with special effects and the same level of acting as the previous "Narnia" pictures. Lucy and Edmund magically return to Narnia where they journey to the edge of the world and fight dragons, dwarves and warriors along the way.

• "The Fighter" A bio drama about boxer • "Irish" Mickey Ward, whose brother helped him prepare to hit the professional ring in the 1980s. Christian Bale, Mark Wahlberg and Amy Adams star.

• "I Love You Phillip Morris" A married man (Jim Carrey) suffers a traumatic event and realizes he's gay. Then he becomes a con artist so he can afford his new lifestyle and romance a prisoner named Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor). A hard-R-rated comedy with Leslie Mann, based on a true story.

• "The King's Speech" Oscar buzz is in the air for Colin Firth's performance as King George VI, whose stutter must be fixed by a voice coach (Geoffrey Rush) before an important speech.

• "Queen of the Lot" A wannabe actress (Tanna Frederick) desperately wants to claw her way to the top of stardom. If she could just get rid of that annoying electronic monitoring bracelet on her ankle. With Noah Wyle and Dennis "Breaking Away" Christopher. Directed by Henry Jaglom, so forget car chases and gunbattles.

• "Tiny Furniture" Lena Dunham's indie comic drama about a young college grad who moves back home and struggles with Mom, men and the job market.

• "The Tourist" Another Hitchcockian thriller about a traveling man (Johnny Depp) whose chance meeting in Italy with a beauty (Angelina Jolie) isn't an accident. Former James Bond Timothy Dalton co-stars as "Jones."

• "Night Catches Us" A Philadelphia native (Anthony Mackie) returns home and rips the scabs off old suspicions that he orchestrated the killing of a fellow Black Power activist. Kerry Washington supplies the romantic subplot.

Dec. 17

• "How Do You Know" From the guy (James Brooks) who gave us "Broadcast News" and "As Good As It Gets" comes a rom-com about a woman (Reese Witherspoon) torn between two lovers: a corporate man in crisis (Paul Rudd) and her ballplayer beau (Owen Wilson).

• "The Tempest" In Julie Taymor's visually stunning re-imagining of Shakespeare's classic play, Helen Mirren plays the magician Prospera, who winds up on a far away island where she takes on the dreaded Caliban. With Alan Cumming, Chris Cooper, Alfred Molina and Russell Brand. That's right. Russell Brand!

bull; "Tron: Legacy" Jeff Bridges reprises his role from the 1982 breakthrough special effects film that put video games on the silver screen. His son (Garrett Hedlund) gets sucked into a vintage game world where the Master Control Program rules the universe. With Michael Sheen and Olivia Wilde.

bull; "Yogi Bear" If this computer-animated comedy is the same quality as the current theatrical trailer, Warner Bros. will have more than one boo-boo up there on the silver screen. A documentary crew cruises through Jellystone Park and hooks up with Yogi (voiced by Dan Aykroyd) and Boo Boo Bear (voiced by Justin Timberlake).

Dec. 22

bull; "Gulliver's Travels" Jack Black stars as the traveler in Jonathan Swift's celebrated literary adventure to the land of Lilliput, where he towers over the citizens as a giant. With Emily Blunt, Jason Segel and Billy Connolly.

bull; "Little Fockers" OK, the bull; "Fockers" name was a funny joke back in 2000. Is this all you got now? The Fockers and Byrnes families prepare for the arrival of a baby. With Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Teri Polo and Barbra Streisand.

bull; "Somewhere" Sofia Coppola wants us to feel all moist and squishy with her drama about a hard-living, selfish actor (Stephen Dorff channeling Charlie Sheen?) whose life gets a wakeup call when his 11-year-old daughter (Elle Fanning) shows up at his doorstep.

bull; "True Grit" The Coen brothers direct a remake of the 1969 western that gave John Wayne his only best actor Oscar. Jeff Bridges takes over the eye patch as Marshal Rooster Cogburn. Matt Damon replaces Glen Campbell as La Beouf. Hailee Steinfeld plays Kim Darby's role of Mattie Ross, the girl after her father's killers.

Dec. 25

bull; "All Good Things" Ryan Gosling, Frank Langella and Kirsten Dunst star in a fact-based missing persons case inspired by wealthy Robert Durst, who was never tried for killing his wife, who disappeared in 1982. At the Music Box.

bull; "The Company Men" A timely drama about three men who must deal with being downsized. With Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Ben Affleck and Kevin Costner.

bull; "Rabbit Hole" A happily married couple becomes unraveled after the accidental death of their son. Starring Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart and Sandra Oh.

Dec. 29

bull; "The Debt" Oscar winner Helen Mirren joins Sam Worthington and Tom Wilkinson in a drama about a Nazi war criminal who surfaces 30 years after three Mossad agents supposedly assassinated him. What's up?

Dec. 31

bull; "My Uncle" French master Jacques Tati's U.S. version of his classic 1958 comedy "Mon Oncle." At the Music Box Theatre, Chicago.

Also

bull; "Client Nine: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer" Alex Gibney's doc on New York's governor, once called "The Sheriff of Wall Street," whose mighty rise to power was shot down by New York Times allegations he hired prostitutes.

bull; "Ong Bak 3" Martial arts superstar Tony Jaa (who also wrote, produced and directed this movie) takes on a supernatural warrior named "Demon Crow" (Dan Chupong).