Holiday films in the bag

Like many people, moviegoers might feel conflicted during the holidays -- because the films that arrive this season can pull movie buffs in different directions.

On the one hand, there are plenty of crowd-pleasers catering to families who are home for the holidays and children who are out of school for Christmas break. This year, those offerings include computer-animated gems, epic fantasies and the return of the computer-gamers' Rosetta stone, "Tron."

On the other hand, it's also the season for Oscar-worthy -- or at least Oscar-seeking -- prestige pictures. Many of this year's main awards contenders will hit theaters in the next two months.

So here's The Salt Lake Tribune's rundown of 44 titles, big and small, that will lure you to the movie theaters this holiday season.

Oscar contenders

Who's in the hunt for best actor? Two contenders lead the pack: Colin Firth, portraying King George VI in "The King's Speech" (Dec. 22), overcoming a speech impediment with the help of an unconventional teacher (Geoffrey Rush); and James Franco, portraying climber Aron Ralston in "127 Hours," (in theaters) overcoming a boulder pinning his arm.

Mark Wahlberg is "The Fighter" (Dec. 10), a true-life tale directed by David O. Russell ("Three Kings") about boxer Micky Ward, who dealt with a new love (Amy Adams) and his crack-addicted brother (Christian Bale) on the way to the title. Competition on the stage starts to unravel a ballerina (Natalie Portman) in Darren Aronofsky's "Black Swan" (Dec. 17).

The Coen brothers take a turn at Charles Portis' Western novel with "True Grit" (Dec. 22), starring Jeff Bridges as the irascible Rooster Cogburn, the role that got John Wayne his only Oscar. Julie Taymor ("Frida," "Across the Universe") puts a gender spin on Shakespeare's "The Tempest" (Dec. 10), with Helen Mirren as the sorcerer, renamed Prospera.

Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams play a couple in and out of love in the raw drama "Blue Valentine" (to be determined). Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart play a couple dealing with the loss of their son in "Rabbit Hole" (to be determined). And Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen play an older couple who see unhappiness all around them in Mike Leigh's latest, "Another Year" (to be determined).

Halle Berry experiences multiple personalities in "Frankie & Alice" (to be determined). Meanwhile, Javier Bardem is a man in emotional free fall in "Biutiful" (to be determined), directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu ("27 Grams").

More drama

Real-life D.C. intrigue comes in "Fair Game" (in theaters), about the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame (Naomi Watts) because of the opinions of her husband, Joseph Wilson (Sean Penn); and in "Casino Jack" (to be determined), starring Kevin Spacey as influence peddler Jack Abramoff.

Executives deal with life after downsizing in "The Company Men" (to be determined), starring Kevin Costner and Ben Affleck. Women at a British auto plant protest sexual harassment in 1968 in the true-life "Made in Dagenham" (Dec. 22).

Gwyneth Paltrow plays a country singer on the rise in "Country Strong" (Jan. 7). Christina Aguilera makes her screen debut as an up-and-coming performer in "Burlesque" (in theaters), co-starring with Cher, Kristen Bell and Julianne Hough. A strung-out actor (Stephen Dorff) is reunited with his daughter (Elle Fanning) in Sofia Coppola's "Somewhere" (Dec. 22).

An infamous '70s terrorist is profiled in "Carlos" (Dec. 3), a truncated version of a European miniseries. And "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" (today) rounds out Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy and the story of Swedish punk hacker Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace).

Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst star in "All Good Things" (to be determined), based on a real-life unsolved murder case in New York. A French family is caught in the unrest of Africa in Clare Denis' "White Material" (Dec. 17).

Comedy

Romance meets seriocomedy in "Love & Other Drugs" (in theaters), starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a '90s pharmaceutical salesman with a new product -- Viagra -- and a hot new girlfriend (Anne Hathaway) who has Parkinson's disease.

Director Stephen Frears ("The Queen") adapts Posy Simmons' graphic novel "Tamara Drewe" (opens today), starring Gemma Arterton as a gorgeous journalist whose visit home riles up the denizens of a writers retreat. Meanwhile, an ex-athlete (Reese Witherspoon) is pursued by two guys (Paul Rudd and Owen Wilson) in James L. Brooks' latest, "How Do You Know" (Dec. 17).

In the indie "Tiny Furniture" (Dec. 22), writer-director Lena Durham plays a college grad trying to figure out the next step in her life. Parenthood is the next step for Greg (Ben Stiller) and Pamela (Teri Polo) in "Little Fockers" (Dec. 22), which also brings back Robert DeNiro and Blythe Danner -- and Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman -- as the new grandparents.

And the long-delayed "I Love You, Phillip Morris" (Dec. 24), starring Jim Carrey as a con artist who seduces Ewan McGregor, finally sees the light of day. Maybe.

Action

It's been 28 years, but the computer graphics have finally caught up in the geek-a-rific "Tron Legacy" (Dec. 17), which sends Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) into the computer to find his long-lost father, Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges, back from the 1982 original).

Dwayne Johnson returns in "Faster" (in theaters) as an ex-con avenging his brother's death. Russell Crowe tries to bust his wife (Elizabeth Banks) out of prison in "The Next Three Days" (in theaters), by "Crash" writer-director Paul Haggis. Johnny Depp is "The Tourist" (Dec. 10), lured into a trap in Venice by Angelina Jolie.

Korean action star Jang Dong Gun slices through the old West, along with Kate Bosworth and Geoffrey Rush, in "The Warrior's Way" (Dec. 3). And an expedition to the North Pole finds Santa and his elves, but not the way you think, in the Finnish action-comedy "Rare Exports" (to be determined).

Family

C.S. Lewis' fantasy series returns with the third installment, "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" (Dec. 10). Meanwhile, Jonathan Swift's classic "Gulliver's Travels" (Dec. 22) gets a modern update, with Jack Black in the lead.

Disney puts a new twist in the Rapunzel fairy tale -- in the form of a handsome thief who matches wits with the long-haired beauty -- in the computer-animated "Tangled" (in theaters). The smarter-than-the-average bear, "Yogi Bear" (Dec. 17), gets the computer-animated treatment with Dan Aykroyd and Justin Timberlake voicing Yogi and Boo-Boo. And the makers of "The Triplets of Belleville" return with "The Illusionist" (to be determined), an adaptation of a Jacques Tati story about a down-and-out magician.

And, of course, the beginning of the end is near for the Hogwarts crew in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1" (in theaters). You may have heard something about it.