Winter traditionally is awards season, when studios unwrap their shiniest baubles, the prestige films intended to catch the eyes of grownups and Oscar voters. This year, the final quarter offers a jumble sale. There are star vehicles and musicals, movies for teens and toddlers, adventures set in Victorian England and on alien worlds. Here are a dozen titles (opening dates subject to change) that I'm intrigued to see:

PRECIOUS

This story of kindness and self-acceptance set against a background of hardship and cruelty has been the toast of film festivals from Sundance to Toronto. Harlem teen Claireece Precious Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) is HIV-positive, failing academically, morbidly obese and pregnant with her second child. Her mother (standup comedian Mo'Nique in an acclaimed dramatic turn) is a volcano of emotional and physical abuse. A team of supportive adults (including teacher Paula Patton and a social worker played by de-glammed Mariah Carey) show Precious that the instinct to overcome your circumstances is stronger than the urge to surrender. (Opens Friday)

NEW MOON

Puberty hits the "Twilight" teens in a big way as Taylor Lautner grows a beastly crop of chest hair. Chapter Two of the supernatural soap opera features more lycanthropy and less Robert Pattinson. In the absence of his vampire character, an angsty attraction develops between wolf-boy Lautner and mortal Kristen Stewart. Fans bayed at the moon when Chris Weitz ("The Golden Compass") replaced franchise originator Catherine Hardwicke in the director's chair. (Friday)

THE MESSENGER

Star-in-the-making Ben Foster and old hand Woody Harrelson play Army officers assigned to the casualty notification service, informing fallen soldiers' next of kin. Harrelson's funny-scary captain and Foster's combat-scarred sergeant operate from a brisk, professional script, but every assignment puts them in a combat zone of volatile emotions, from screams of grief to violent rage. The servicemen's relationship is tested when Foster feels emotionally drawn to new widow Samantha Morton. (Friday)

THE ROAD

A serious take on Cormac McCarthy's casket-black post-apocalyptic novel. In a world where civilization is a legend and nature itself is dying, a father and son travel toward the sea. Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee are riveting as survivors who battle starvation and cannibalistic marauders while trying to keep alight the fire of faith and humanity. Australian director John Hillcoat conjures a grimly convincing world of dead skies, derelict highways and drizzling ash. (Nov. 25)

FANTASTIC MR. FOX

A stop-motion animated version of Roald Dahl's fable from ever-quirky director Wes Anderson. The story line injects Anderson's signature wacky-family themes into Dahl's story about a bushy-tailed charmer whose Robin Hood capers draw the ire of three nasty farmers. George Clooney plays the cunning hero, with Meryl Streep as his mate, Bill Murray as his badger lawyer (!) and Anderson regulars Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman and Adrien Brody. Someone should manufacture replicas of the film's furry critters. In their natty homespun suits, they look like vintage toys pleading to be played with. (Nov. 25)

UP IN THE AIR

George Clooney stars as a professional hatchet man who travels from city to city, ushering axed executives out to the street. As he closes in on his 10 millionth frequent-flier mile, the solitary road warrior begins to wonder where he really belongs. The script, precisely packed as a carry-on valise, is knowing, irreverent comedy and a critique of a culture that values therapy-speak drivel over genuine compassion. Clooney shines as a man trapped in the postmodern purgatory of airport life. Vera Farmiga as an alluring fellow traveler and Anna Kendrick as a cutthroat young corporate cadet are outstanding. There is real chemistry among them. Jason Reitman ("Thank You for Smoking," "Juno") wrote the script and directs. (Dec. 4)

THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG

Out of the Louisiana bayous hops a frog who shows his true colors when a beautiful girl (Tony winner and "Dreamgirls" star Anika Noni Rose) gives him a kiss. Disney returns to warm, traditional ink-and-paint animation for this interspecies musical romance. Randy Newman, that master of funky Americana, wrote the jazzy score; Crescent City horn star Terence Blanchard is the musical voice of Louis, a trumpet-playing alligator. Ron Clements and John Musker (the creative team behind "The Little Mermaid" and "Aladdin") directed. (Dec. 11)

THE LOVELY BONES

Peter Jackson's latest is a triptych of fantasy, crime thriller and family drama. Saoirse Ronan ("Atonement") plays a murdered girl who watches from the afterlife as her family comes to terms with her death and her killer prepares to strike again. Rachel Weisz and Mark Wahlberg are her grieving parents, Susan Sarandon her grandmother and Stanley Tucci a neighbor. The visuals of life in the hereafter look ravishing; the challenge will come in telling the story so the multiple plot strands enhance one another rather than trip up viewers. (Dec. 11)

AVATAR

James Cameron hangs up his scuba tanks and gets back to epic filmmaking with this sci-fi remake of "Dances With Wolves." Sam Worthington plays a space soldier who infiltrates an indigenous race while inhabiting an alien body. For years Cameron has been promising to melt our eyeballs with the film's revolutionary 3D animation effects, and the early trailers didn't seem to live up to his ballyhoo. But so far no one has made money by betting against him. Zoe Saldana plays a lithe alien huntress and Sigourney Weaver co-stars as a hard-nosed military scientist. (Dec. 18)

THE YOUNG VICTORIA

Forget the Queen's later, John Goodman years. Did you know Victoria was crowned at 18? Emily Blunt plays the headstrong young monarch, infatuated with her young cousin Prince Albert (Rupert Friend) and tentatively taking the reins of power. Screenwriter Julian Fellowes has a keen eye for the foibles of British aristocracy; he won an Oscar for "Gosford Park." Martin Scorsese produced the film, whose theme of ill-fated marriage and grief echoes his wrenching "The Age of Innocence." (Dec. 18)

NINE

Daniel Day-Lewis and ... Kate Hudson? This musical, inspired by the Fellini film "8 1/2," follows a film director trying to find balance between his professional and personal lives. Which means that he's creatively stymied and overwhelmed by the demands of the women in his life, who include wife (Marion Cotillard), actresses, mistresses and even his dead mother. Judi Dench, Sophia Loren, Nicole Kidman and Penélope Cruz round out the cast. Directed by Rob Marshall ("Chicago"). (Dec. 25)

SHERLOCK HOLMES

Conan Doyle's master detective gets a big-time reboot in this big-budget action-mystery-comedy. Robert Downey Jr. brings his "Iron Man" wit and bravado to the Victorian supersleuth, remaking him as a rumpled bohemian as skilled at fisticuffs as he is at deduction. The trailers suggest that he's skilled at stripping away his adversary's defenses in the boudoir, too. Rachel McAdams plays his feisty love interest, and Jude Law is gruff, loyal Watson, who bickers with Holmes like a long-suffering spouse. The explosion-riddled previews suggest the tale is a Victorian James Bond blockbuster, with Holmes battling a nobleman who leads a Satanist cult. Action maestro Guy Ritchie ("Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels") directs. (Dec. 25)

Colin Covert • 612-673-7186