IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Escape the cold weather in the multiplex

From ‘Dreamgirls’ to ‘Eragon,’ winter films will warm your holiday season. By Paige Newman
/ Source: msnbc.com

Baby, it’s cold outside, which means it’s the perfect time to duck into your favorite movie theater and settle in for two hours of quality entertainment. Luckily, the months of November and December are much safer bets than, say, January for doing just that. Good luck finding a quality film in February. The studios also want to get that Oscar bait out there before the end of the year so it qualifies for the Academy Awards, which means we have Oscar favorites like “Dreamgirls” and “The Good German,” plus great performances, such as Judi Dench in “Notes on a Scandal,” Peter O’Toole in “Venus” and Will Smith in “The Pursuit of Happyness.”But it’s not all about Oscars, there are also some great winter stocking stuffers here. Imaginative new films like “Eragon,” “Pan’s Labyrinth” and “Perfume – the Story of a Murder” are just dying to fill that “Lord of the Rings” fantasy-film gap. So even if the title seems unfamiliar, give some of these lesser lights a chance, you’ll never know what you’ll find when the lights go down.

Daniel Craig takes over the role of the legendary British secret agent, James Bond, in the highly anticipated 007 adventure thriller. \"Casino Royale\" will be the 21st James Bond film.
Daniel Craig takes over the role of the legendary British secret agent, James Bond, in the highly anticipated 007 adventure thriller. \"Casino Royale\" will be the 21st James Bond film.
(L-R) Luis Guzman, Ana Claudia Talancón, Catalina Sandino Moreno and Wilmer Valderrama in FAST FOOD NATION
(L-R) Luis Guzman, Ana Claudia Talancón, Catalina Sandino Moreno and Wilmer Valderrama in FAST FOOD NATION
Unknown
3 Needles (2006) - A drama that visits rural China, a plantation in South Africa, and Montreal's porn industry, to tell three separate yet universal stories, rooted to struggles with the HIV pandemic. In China, Ping is a pregnant young woman running a black market blood collection scam that creates a mini epidemic in a rural village. In Montreal, Denys is a porn actor hiding his positive HIV status in order to continue working and supporting his mother--who herself goes to extreme lengths to provide for the family's future. And, in Africa, Sister Clara is a young novice nun, driven to convert the rapidly dying Africans to Catholicism before it's too late; she makes a desperate bargain with a corrupt plantation owner to help prevent the spread of HIV in the region, bringing two nuns, who are of her same order, to accompany her on the journey.
3 Needles (2006) - A drama that visits rural China, a plantation in South Africa, and Montreal's porn industry, to tell three separate yet universal stories, rooted to struggles with the HIV pandemic. In China, Ping is a pregnant young woman running a black market blood collection scam that creates a mini epidemic in a rural village. In Montreal, Denys is a porn actor hiding his positive HIV status in order to continue working and supporting his mother--who herself goes to extreme lengths to provide for the family's future. And, in Africa, Sister Clara is a young novice nun, driven to convert the rapidly dying Africans to Catholicism before it's too late; she makes a desperate bargain with a corrupt plantation owner to help prevent the spread of HIV in the region, bringing two nuns, who are of her same order, to accompany her on the journey.
MILLER
**FILE** Actress Sienna Millerposes in this 2005 file photo in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, FILE)Chris Pizzello / AP