’Twas the eve of the holiday movie season and all through Hollywood, no creatures were stirring but Nazis, vampires, and — eek — Adam Sandler. Along with the usual Oscar dramas, multiplexes will be filled with pandering genre flicks to help you forget you can hardly afford coal for your stocking this recessionary yuletide. (Opening dates are subject to change.)
Bedtime Stories
Release date: Dec. 25
Stars: Adam Sandler, Keri Russell, Guy Pearce, Courteney Cox
Story: Move over, Goofy — you’ve got some competition. This is Sandler’s first Disney movie.
Witnessing the Waterboy watered down enough to join the Mouse House brand could be, um, interesting, given Sandler’s sometimes less-than-wholesome style of humor.
The titular bedtime stories of this family film are those that a handyman (Sandler) tells to his niece and nephew; they then fantastically begin to come to life. The studio hasn’t released many details about what Sandler’s co-stars — including Russell Brand — get to do, but director-choreographer Adam Shankman of “Hairspray” fame has been known to put on a fun show. Rated: PG
Bolt
Release date: Friday
Stars: Voices of John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Malcolm McDowell
Story: A deluded puppy actor who plays a superhero on TV (Travolta) doesn’t realize he lacks his fictional powers in the real world.
Behind the Scenes: In Disney’s 47th full-length animated feature, the company’s breakout sensation Ms. Cyrus voices Bolt’s owner, a little girl named Penny.
The buzz: Paws up! Any project associated with the teenybopper queen makes a mint, especially when it is aimed squarely at kids.
Rated: PG
Milk
Release date: Nov. 26
Stars: Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, James Franco
Story: The biopic is about the 1978 assassination of San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk (Penn), one of the first openly gay politicians elected to office in the United States.
Behind the scenes: The idea of a feature dramatization about the activist has been in the works for decades, ever since Rob Epstein’s riveting 1984 documentary “The Life and Times of Harvey Milk” won an Academy Award.
The buzz: Sure-fire Oscar bait. This has the most exciting assemblage of serious male acting talent of any film this year under the direction of the respected Gus Van Sant (“Good Will Hunting”).
Rated: R
Frost/Nixon
Release date: Dec. 12
Stars: Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Kevin Bacon
Story: The acclaimed Broadway play, about the historic 1977 television showdown between an ambitious British journalist (Sheen, of “The Queen”) and a fallen president (Langella), comes to the big screen by way of director Ron Howard.
Behind the scenes: Some of the dialogue comes verbatim out of the actual transcripts of the famous interviews, which finally forced Richard Nixon to face Watergate.
The buzz: Though it deals in White House politics after a seemingly endless election cycle, this intense mano-a-mano looks like a trophy winner.
Rated: R
Twilight
Release date: Friday
Stars: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Cam Gigandet
Story: It’s Fangs-giving day! Stephenie Meyer’s poker-hot series of “Twilight” books have a devoted following, especially among teens, a demographic segment most coveted by Hollywood.
Based on the eponymous first installment in the series, the romantic thriller follows the unconventional courtship between a high school girl and a cute vampire boy, Edward, who can run faster than a mountain lion and stop a moving car with bare hands. Oh, and he hasn’t aged since 1918.
Headlining couple Stewart (“Panic Room”) and Pattinson (Cedric in the “Harry Potter” movies) are getting a huge career boost through this aggressively promoted franchise with sequel potential; earlier this month, a scheduled appearance by Pattinson caused a mini-riot at a San Francisco’mall. Rated: PG -13
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Release date: Dec. 12
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Jaden Smith, John Cleese
Story: The remake of Robert Wise’s 1951 cult classic tells the story of an extraterrestrial (Reeves) who arrives by UFO on our planet with warnings of impending doom.
Behind the scenes: This version is being billed as more character-oriented, but fans of the original will still hear that notorious space invader mantra: “Klaatu barada nikto!”
The buzz: With Mr. Reeves of “The Matrix” involved, genre buffs will be eager for more of him in a science-fiction actioner.
Not yet rated
Seven Pounds
Release date: Dec. 19
Stars: Will Smith, Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson
Story: Smith reunites with his “Pursuit of Happyness” director Gabriele Muccino for more tear-jerking drama, this time as an IRS agent who impacts seven people — including a hottie with a heart condition (Dawson).
Behind the scenes: In his first acting role, Connor Cruise, the 13-year-old son of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, portrays a younger version of Smith’s character.
The buzz: Because Columbia is keeping details about the story under wraps, it’s hard to tell if this will be a manipulative or a sincere tampering with our vulnerable holiday emotions.
Not yet rated
The Tale of Despereaux
Release date: Dec. 19
Stars: Voices of Matthew Broderick, Dustin Hoffman, Tracey Ullman
Story: Based on the Newbery Medal-winning children’s bestseller, this animated fable features an incarcerated mouse (Broderick) who brightens up a depressed royal kingdom.
Behind the scenes: Kate DiCamillo, the author of the 2003 book, also wrote the novel behind the 2005 live-action family film “Because of Winn-Dixie.”
The buzz: Between Stuart Little and “Ratatouille’s” Remy — not to mention Mickey — there is already precedence for the multiplex appeal of plucky cartoon rodents.
Not yet rated
Yes Man
Release date: Dec. 19
Stars: Jim Carrey, Zooey Deschanel
Story: A naysaying loan officer (Carrey) decides to change his life by saying “yes” to everything — even if it means giving away his stuff and his dignity.
Behind the scenes: As Will Farrell’s co-star in 2003’s “Elf,” Zooey Deschanel has experience playing the straight woman/love interest for larger-than-life movie clowns.
The buzz: Carrey hasn’t anchored a high-concept, mass-appeal farce in years. The question is whether folks still have an appetite for that.
Rated: PG-13
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Release date: Dec. 25
Stars: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton
Story: In this fantasy romantic drama based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story, Pitt plays a man who ages in reverse.
Behind the scenes: This marks the cinematic debut of 2-year-old Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, the ultimate DNA lottery winner, who was filmed as a baby in a scene with her Daddy.
The buzz: A unique premise, a stunning trailer and a roster of proven talent — including director David Fincher (“Fight Club”) — bring hopes high for this one.
Rated: PG-13
Marley and Me
Release date: Dec. 25
Stars: Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson, Alan Arkin
Story: The realistic family drama, based on the best-selling memoir by journalist John Grogan, describes how an adorable but incorrigible Labrador retriever transforms a marriage.
Behind the scenes: Some 22 different yellow Labradors at various ages portray the title’s furry embodiment of hyperactivity and property destruction.
The buzz: Break out the industrial-size box of hankies, canine lovers, because you know what eventually happens after you own a dog a long time. (Hint, hint.)
Not yet rated
The Spirit
Release date: Dec. 25
Stars: Gabriel Macht, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Eva Mendes
Story: A masked vigilante (Macht) rises from the dead to canoodle with seductive babes and vanquish his arch-enemy The Octopus (Jackson).
Behind the scenes: Respected graphic novelist Frank Miller, creator of “300” and “Sin City,” writes and directs this adaptation of Will Eisner’s 1940s comics series.
The buzz: You won’t be able to keep fanboys away, but will the regular filmgoers be as intrigued?
Rated: PG-13
Revolutionary Road
Release date: Jan. 2
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Kathy Bates
Story: Winslet reunites for the first time with DiCaprio and Bates, two of her co-stars from 1997’s record-breaking smash hit “Titanic.” Apparently, Leo and Kate’s hearts do go on, but this time in a more complicated love story for art-house audiences and Academy Awards voters.
The film, based on the critically acclaimed 1961 novel of the same name by Richard Yates, follows the relationship of a couple in 1950s suburbia as it slowly disintegrates. Director Sam Mendes, who also happens to be Winslet’s husband, has explored the crumbling of the American dream before — in the Oscar-winning “American Beauty.”
Rated: R
Valkyrie Release date: Dec. 26
Stars: Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Wilkinson
Story: In a story based on a real episode during the Third Reich, Cruise plays a German officer who plots to off Der Fuhrer.
The movie, whose release date has been changed several times, was in the news in 2007 when a German Defense Ministry official stated that filming in one of the country’s military sites would be prohibited due to Cruise’s affiliation with Scientology. The comment was later reversed.
Still, Jerry Maguire as Col. Klink?! Since the fading megastar is staking his claim on the competitive Christmas weekend, let’s hope that there’s no monocle or guttural Bavarian accent involved.
