Holly Edition: Coming soon to a theater near you

Transporter 3
Release date: Nov. 26
Starring: Jason Statham, Natalya Rudakova
Director: Olivier Megaton
Rated: PG-13
Plot: A man must deliver the kidnapped daughter of a Ukranian government official to Odessa, while contending with thugs who want to intercept the package.
Prediction: Just another film of Jason Statham doing what he does best: Driving fast cars and kicking people.

Milk
Release date: Nov. 26
Starring: Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin
Director: Gus Van Sant
Rated: R
Plot: The story of California's first openly gay elected official, Harvey Milk.
Prediction: Sean Penn should be amazing, but when was director Gus Van Sant's last successful movie? Good Will Hunting?

Four Christmases
Release date: Nov. 26
Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Vince Vaughn
Director: Seth Gordon
Rated: PG-13
Plot: A couple struggle to visit all four of their divorced parents on Christmas Day.
Prediction: An interesting take on the traditional "home for the holidays" horror story movies, and the unlikely matchup of Witherspoon and Vaughn looks like there will be some cute chemistry.

Australia
Release date: Nov. 26
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Rated: N/A
Plot: As an English aristocrat and the stock-man she loves drive 2,000 head of cattle over unforgiving landscape of Northern Australia, they experience the bombing of Darwin, Australia by Japanese forces firsthand.
Prediction: People either love Baz Luhrmann's movies or they hate them, but his new epic scope he's going for in Australia will be unlike anything he's ever done before.

Punisher: War Zone
Release date: Dec. 5
Starring: Ray Stevenson, Dominic West
Director: Lexi Alexander
Rated: R
Plot: After hunting down and killing hundreds of violent criminals, The Punisher faces his most deadly foe yet.
Prediction: When the original actors (in this case, former Punisher Thomas Jane) choose not to reprise their roles, that almost never bodes well for the sequel. 

Nothing Like the Holidays
Release date: Dec. 12
Starring: John Leguizamo, Debra Messing, Alfred Molina
Director: Alfredo De Villa
Rated: PG-13
Plot: A Puerto Rican family living in the area of Humboldt Park in west Chicago face what may be their last Christmas together.
Prediction: Sounds like a Puerto Rican version of The Family Stone. But then again, The Family Stone was pretty good.

The Day the Earth Stood Still
Release date: Dec. 12
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Jaden Smith
Director: Scott Derrickson
Rated: PG-13
Plot: A remake of the 1951 classic sci-fi film about an alien visitor and his giant robot counterpart who visit Earth.
Prediction: This looks interesting, but unnecessary. If it's not broken, why remake it?

Seven Pounds
Release date: Dec. 19
Starring: Will Smith, Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson
Director: Gabriele Muccino
Rated: PG-13
Plot: A guilt-ridden man attempts to make amends for his past by changing the lives of seven strangers.
Prediction: Smith's "Serious Winter Movies" are usually worth seeing, but this one might be too cryptic for its own good.

The Tale of Despereaux
Release date: Dec. 19
Starring: Matthew Broderick, Emma Watson Sigourney Weaver, Dustin Hoffman
Director: Sam Fell, Robert Stevenhagen
Plot: Befriending a princess gets a small mouse banished to the rat-invested darkness of the castle dungeon.
Prediction: It looks sweet, but fans who are devoted to the book might have issues with it.

Yes Man
Release date: Dec. 19
Starring: Jim Carrey, Zooey Deschanel
Director: Peyton Reed
Rated: PG-13
Plot: A guy challenges himself to say "yes" to everything for an entire year.
Prediction: Despite initial reservations, this film is starting to sound uplifting.

Bedtime Stories
Release date: Dec. 25
Starring: Adam Sandler, Keri Russell, Courtney Cox
Director: Adam Shankman
Rated: PG
Plot: A man's life changes when the lavish bedtime stories he tells his niece and nephew start to magically come true.
Prediction: This big-budget, effects-heavy release is something kids will want to see, and parents won't mind tagging along.

The Spirit
Release date: Dec. 25
Starring: Gabriel Macht, Sarah Paulson, Samuel L. Jackson
Director: Frank Miller
Rated: PG-13
Plot: A Rookie cop named Denny Colt returns from the beyond as The Spirit, a hero whose mission is to fight against the bad forces from the shadows of Central City.
Prediction: The stylized look of Sin City but with superheroes? Sweet. Its PG-13 rating means teens can see it too.

Marley & Me
Release date: Dec. 25
Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson
Director: David Frankel
Rated: N/A
Plot: A family learns important life lessons from their adorable, but naughty and neurotic dog.
Prediction: Marley's antics are sure to get some laughs, but pack some Kleenex just in case.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Release date: Dec. 25
Starring: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett
Director: David Fincher
Rated: PG-13
Plot: A man is born in his eighties and ages backwards.
Prediction: The film, adapted from the 1920s story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, makes the bizarre premise look magically believable.

Valkyrie
Release date: Dec. 26
Starring: Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh
Director: Bryan Singer
Rated: PG-13
Plot: Based on actual events, a plot to assassinate Hitler is unfurled during the height of WWII.
Prediction: The man who brought us The Usual Suspects looks like he has a gripping story to tell.