  "Disney's A Christmas Carol" (left), "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" (centre), and "Love Happens" (right).
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Fall is traditionally when Hollywood puts away its toys and unpacks the Oscar bait. But with audiences showing little appetite for anything but effects-driven escapism and low-brow laughs, is it any wonder the next few months are thick with crowd-pleasers, thrillers, chillers and comedies? Here then are 10 of the big releases from now until mid-November when the U.S. Thanksgiving weekend kicks off the holiday movie season. But that's a preview for another day. One word of caution: all release dates are tentative.
The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Nov. 20)
Adored by "Twi-hards" and loathed by the guys who date them, this franchise about the romance between a sex-abstaining vampire and mortal teen may never match the box office heights of The Dark Knight or Transformers, but it doesn't have to. Do the math: last year's Twilight cost $40 million and grossed $400 million worldwide. So while it probably won't win any new converts, expect it to be the season's top money-maker. As the deliriously faithful already know, this second chapter begins with Edward (Robert Pattinson) dumping Bella (Kristen Stewart). Distraught, she finds comfort with her childhood friend Jacob (Taylor Lautner). Did we mention he's part of a tribe of wolf people (although apparently not the Mexican circus kind)? Although Summit Entertainment bungled when it replaced Canadian Rachelle Lefevre with Bryce Dallas Howard in next summer's Eclipse, no one expects the controversy to take much of a bite out of this sequel's box office haul.
Where the Wild Things Are (Oct. 16)
Spike Jonze's adaptation of Maurice Sendak's children's book is finally here after years of delays and rumoured clashes with studio brass who reportedly didn't feel Jonze's dark vision was family-friendly enough. What did they expect from the maker of Being John Malkovich and Adaptation -- Night at the Museum? Anyway, Max Records stars as a boy who retreats into an imaginary world of monsters after he's sent to bed without supper. Despite the tumultuous production, we're tremendously hopeful, based on the sensational trailer -- and Jonze's ingenious blend of old-school puppetry and digital effects to render Sendak's creatures.
9 (Sept. 9)
In this post-apocalyptic animated fantasy, a ragdoll (voiced by Elijah Wood) awakens to discover he and eight other puppets contain the last vestiges of humanity. Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer and John C. Reilly also lend their voices to Shane Acker's directorial debut, which is based on his own short film. Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted) are the producers. The movie opens on the ninth day of the ninth month of the ninth year of the century.
Whip It (Oct. 2)
Juno on roller-skates? Canadian Ellen Page stars in Drew Barrymore's directorial debut as a small town beauty pageant contestant who finds her calling in the raucous, free-wheeling world of roller derby. The estrogen-strong cast includes Kristen Wiig, Juliette Lewis and Marcia Gay Harden as Page's mother.
The Informant (Sept. 19 limited, Oct. 9 wide)
A doughy Matt Damon stars in this fact-based account of a whistleblower who became a nightmare for federal agents. Think The Insider played for bone-dry laughs -- thus a marketing campaign that emphasizes this is from Steven Soderbergh, "the director of Ocean's Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen" and not Steven Soderbergh, "the director of Che and The Girlfriend Experience."
2012 (Nov. 13)
Director Roland Emmerich (Independence Day), who never met an apocalypse he didn't like, directs this end-of-world thriller inspired by the Mayan prophecy that predicts the world is going to end in three years. John Cusack, Amanda Peet and dozens of demolished monuments star. Footage screened at Comic-Con looked screamingly dumb -- yes, even dumber than Jake Gyllenhaal outrunning cold air in The Day After Tomorrow. If 10,000 B.C. didn't qualify as Emmerich's stab at self-parody, this might.
Couples Retreat (Oct. 9)
Between directing Iron Man movies, Jon Favreau steps back in front of the camera to reunite with Swingers cohort Vince Vaughn for this comedy about four couples forced to undergo relationship counselling as part of a tropical getaway. While the cast is rich with comic talent -- Malin Akerman, Kristen Bell and Jason Bateman included -- there's still the question of whether this is more Wedding Crashers or Four Christmases. Either way, it will probably make a mint.
Disney's A Christmas Carol (Nov. 6)
Robert Zemeckis follows The Polar Express and Beowulf with a 3D animated remake of Dickens' classic about Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey), a miserly old man who is visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. The motion-capture performance technology meant Carrey got to play multiple roles, even if there was still enough work to keep Bob Hoskins, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Robin Wright Penn employed.
Jennifer's Body (Sept. 18)
Juno scribe Diablo Cody penned this snarky horror thriller about a high school cheerleader (Megan Fox) possessed by a flesh-devouring demon. Amanda Seyfried from HBO's Big Love plays Jennifer's BFF, the tellingly-named Needy, who must stop her fiendish former friend. Far-fetched? No more than teenagers speaking Cody's hyper-articulate dialogue, is it?
The Road (Oct. 16)
Usually when a film is delayed a year, it signals trouble. But early word on this adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic opus remains potent. So I'll just optimistically repeat what I wrote last year: "Viggo Mortensen stars as a man leading his young son through an America ravaged by war and populated by cannibals, thieves and gangs. John Hillcoat, who last helmed the sullen, superb western The Proposition, seems perfectly suited to McCarthy's dour but poetic material. Look for Charlize Theron in flashbacks as Mortensen's hope-starved wife."
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