With the winter holidays —and the Oscar season—right around the corner, we give thanks with a preview of the always festive holiday movie season. Ho! Ho! Ho!

By Ken Knox

As anyone who pays attention to movies knows, the month of December is typically a busy one for Tinseltown. While the rest of us are out searching for warm winter jackets and gifts for our loved ones, Hollywood is busy rushing out all those big, “important” movies in time for Oscar consideration. Which means more stories about weighty, topical issues, more movies adapted from Tony-winning stage plays or acclaimed novels and, of course, more Russell Crowe.

Of course, the holidays are also a time for family-minded fare and movies meant to take our minds off all the woes of the world. The 2006 holiday movie season is no exception. From indie dramas about the AIDS pandemic and yet another movie starring George Clooney filmed in black and white to a medieval-set fantasy about a dragon tamer, this year’s crop of holiday hopefuls are a diverse and promising bunch.

Here’s a sampling of the movies that are worth your time—and whatever money you have left over after drinking away the stress of having to deal with your family.

3 Needles
Director: Thom Fitzgerald
Starring: Shawn Ashmore, Stockard Channing, Olympia Dukakis, Lucy Liu, Sandra Oh, Marc Trottier
Release Date: Dec. 1
The Story: Three people in different cultures make a deal with the devil to survive the global AIDS pandemic.
Why We Want to See It: No stranger to gay-themed films (he directed the festival favorite The Hanging Garden), director Fitzgerald has a way with cinematic flair. We’re anxious to see what he is able to do with multiple character arcs and a cast full of “names” like gay faves Channing, Liu, Oh and Dukakis.

Eating Out 2:
Sloppy Seconds
Director: Phillip J. Bartell
Starring: Brett Chukerman, Marco Dapper, Emily Brooke Hands, Jim Verraros
Release Date: Dec. 8
The Story: After convincing his friend to pose as a gay guy to get the girl in the first Eating Out, Kyle (Verraros) decides to pretend he’s straight to land the sexually ambiguous nude model (Dapper) he meets in art class.
Why We Want to See It: We don’t. But if you say you want to see it for any other reason than to see co-stars Dapper and Chukerman (taking over for Eating Out’s wisely departed Ryan Carnes) dropping trou for yet another round of gratuitous nude scenes and lowest common-denominator humor, you’re lying through your overly bleached, pearly-white, gay teeth.

The Holiday
Director: Nancy Meyers
Starring: Jack Black, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Kate Winslet
Release Date: Dec. 8
The Story: Unlucky-in-love single gals Winslet and Diaz swap homes for Christmas and finally meet suitable dating material.
Why We Want to See It: We love the idea of hooking up on holiday, Diaz makes a welcome return to romantic comedy, plus the always watchable Kate Winslet. Oh, and that Jude Law ain’t too shabby either.

Inland Empire
Director: David Lynch
Starring: Laura Dern, Jeremy Irons, Diane Ladd, Harry Dean Stanton, Justin Theroux, Grace Zabriskie
Release Date: Dec. 15
The Story: The lines between reality and Hollywood are blurred when a married actress (Dern) falls into an affair with her studly co-star (Theroux) while shooting a movie.
Why We Want to See It: Because the last time director Lynch put Dern in one of his movies, the results were decidedly “wild at heart.” This one is said to be nearly three hours of pure Lynchian hell—which sounds like heaven to us.
The Good German
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Beau Bridges, George Clooney, Tobey Maguire
Release Date: Dec. 15
The Story: Clooney plays an American journalist who gets entangled in the mysterious death of a soldier (Maguire) while searching for his missing lover (Blanchett) in post-WWII Berlin.
Why We Want to See It: The Casablanca-esque poster is intriguing, it should be fun to watch Maguire play a rare bad guy, but let’s face it, Carrie Bradshaw said it best—Clooney is classic like a Chanel suit.

Arthur AND the Invisibles
Director: Luc Besson
Starring: David Bowie, Snoop Dogg, Mia Farrow, Freddie Highmore, Madonna
Release Date: Dec. 15
The Story: A young boy enlists the aid of a kingdom of mysterious tiny people to find his missing grandfather and help save his family home from real estate developers.
Why We Want to See It: A mysterious, unknown world of little people? Madonna, David Bowie and Snoop Dog doing voice-overs? Luc Besson directing? The real question is, Why wouldn’t anyone want to see it?

Dreamgirls
Director: Bill Condon
Starring: ,Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Hudson, Beyoncé Knowles, Eddie Murphy, Anika Noni Rose
Release Date: Dec. 15
The Story: Look out Miss Ross! A trio of female singers are propelled to Supremes-like fame and success when svelte Deena (Knowles) is positioned as lead singer over heavier Effie (American Idol’s Hudson).
Why We Want to See It: And I am telling you... it’s taken 25 years to get a film made of the Tony Award-winning sensation and with divas, backstage drama and elaborate production numbers of famous showtunes, the gay appeal is, ahem, off-the charts.

Eragon
Director: Stefen Fangmeier
Starring: Djimon Hounsou, Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, Edward Speleers
Release Date: Dec. 15
The Story: A strapping young man (newcomer Speleers) learns he is the last of the dragon riders in this adaptation of Christopher Paolini’s best-selling fantasy book.
Why We Want to See It: Because gays are typically known for their predilections for sci-fi/fantasy epics—not to mention men in their medieval getups. Seriously, was there ever a sexier time for fashion than the one given to men traipsing around in peasant shirts and tights?

Backstage
Director: Emmanuelle Bercot
Starring: Isild Le Besco, Emmanuelle Seigner
Release Date: Dec. 15
The Story: An obsessive fan (Le Besco) develops an unhealthy fixation on her Debbie Harry-like idol (Seigner) in this study of emotional dependency and celebrity culture with “lesbianic” overtones.
Why We Want to See It: The movie promises to be a more intense take on All About Eve, and—as serious Madonna junkies—we can relate to Le Besco’s overwhelming love of an aging pop diva.

The Painted Veil
Director: John Curran
Starring: Toby Jones, Edward Norton, Diana Rigg, Liev Schreiber, Naomi Watts
Release Date: Dec. 20
The Story: A doctor (Norton) and his unfaithful wife (Watts) discover new meaning in their relationship after relocating to a remote Chinese village plagued by the cholera epidemic. Based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham.
Why We Want to See It: Besides the script by openly gay screenwriter/author Ron Nyswaner (Philadelphia), we’re interested in seeing the onscreen chemistry between Watts and her real-life squeeze Schrieber. Oh, and Edward Norton in period clothing again.

The Good Shepherd
Director: Robert De Niro
Starring: Matt Damon, Robert De Niro, Angelina Jolie, Joe Pesci
Release Date: Dec. 22
The Story: A former Yalie (Damon) and his wife (Jolie) adjust to life in the CIA in the organization’s tumultuous early years.
Why We Want to See It: After all these family films and Oscar contenders, a good action flick with pretty people blowing things up will do us good.

Curse of the Golden Flower
Director: Zhang Yimou
Starring: Jen Chin, Chow Yun Fat, Chou Jay, Gong Li, ,
Release Date: Dec. 22
The Story: Intrigue, romance, revenge and high-flying martial arts stunts dominate this stunning entry from Zhang Yimou (Hero, House of Flying Daggers) about monarchs in 10th-century China.
Why We Want to See It: Yimou is one of the most visually opulent directors in all of filmdom, and he never fails to incite a passionate response from his audience. The trailers for this one are absolutely gorgeous.

We Are Marshall
Director: McG
Starring: Matthew Fox, Matthew McConaughey, Ian McShane
Release Date: Dec. 22
The Story: McConaughey and Fox star as the coaches burdened with rebuilding the Marshall University football team after the 1970 plane crash that killed many of the program’s key players.
Why We Want to See It: We’re suckers for inspirational “can-do” stories, and something about McConaughey, Fox and the promise of a locker room shower scene has us very inspired.

Notes on a Scandal
Director: Richard Eyre
Starring: Alice Bird, Cate Blanchett, Judi Dench, Bill Nighy
Release Date: Dec. 25
The Story: After having an affair with a 15-year-old student, a teacher played by Blanchett is blackmailed by colleague Dench.
Why We Want to See It: Heavy lesbian undertones with Dame Judi going Fatal Attraction on Blanchett.

Miss Potter
Director: Chris Noonan
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Emily Watson, Renée Zellweger
Release Date: Dec. 29
The Story: Zellweger channels yet another prominent personality from English literature for this tale of Peter Rabbit creator Beatrix Potter’s search for love and happiness.
Why We Want to See It: While McGregor will probably keep his kit on in this one, the last time Zellweger agreed to play an Englishwoman, we got the wonderful Bridget Jones’ Diary. (The first one, not that crappy sequel.)

Factory Girl
Director: George Hickenlooper
Starring: Hayden Christensen, Jimmy Fallon, Sienna Miller, Guy Pearce, Mena Suvari
Release Date: Dec. 29
The Story: The life and times of troubled ‘60s “It” girl Edie Sedgwick (Miller), who became the muse of Andy Warhol (Pearce).
Why We Want to See It: Warhol’s halcyon days provide endless fascination. Christensen plays a thinly-veiled character based on Bob Dylan and the meaty title role could finally make tabloid fixture Miller a star.

Unconscious
Director: Joaquín Oristrell
Starring: Juanjo Puigcorbé, Mercedes Sampietro, Luis Tosar, Leonor Watling
Release Date: Jan. 2007
The Story: A pregnant wife (Watling) and her secretly amorous brother-in-law (Tosar) embark on a wild and farcical adventure to track down the woman’s MIA husband in this sophisticated adult comedy examining sexual taboos in 1913 Barcelona.
Why We Want to See It: Based on that scenario, this one sounds like a hoot. It doesn’t hurt that the press release says that “every imaginable taboo” is covered. We are so there.

Soap
Director: Pernille Fischer Christensen
Starring: David Dencik, Trine Dryholm
Release Date: Jan. 2007
The Story: A woman (Dryholm) and a transsexual named Veronica (Dencik) find themselves embroiled in their own personal “soap opera” that mirrors the daytime stories that Veronica idolizes.
Why We Want to See It: Not just another wacky dramedy involving a transsexual, this one ups the ante by including an interesting twist in the form of a romance between the two leads.

Puccini for Beginners
Director: Maria Maggenti
Starring: Justin Kirk, Gretchen Mol, Julianne Nicholson, Elizabeth Reaser
Release Date: Jan. 15
The Story: A recently single New York writer (Reaser) suddenly finds herself dating both a man (Angels in America’s Kirk) and a woman (Mol) in this screwball romantic comedy from The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love director Maggenti.
Why We Want to See It: Besides the charming Kirk, Maggenti has proven herself more than competent when it comes to gay-themed rom-coms.