@ The Movies: Holiday Movie Preview

With a Santa-themed movie kicking off November at the movies, it's clear that Ho-Ho-Hollywood isn't wasting any time trying to get people in the seats to inspire the spirit of the season.

Here's a look at what's in store @ The Movies this month:

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Family
Tim Allen is back and bigger than ever, quite literally, as Jolly Old St. Nick in "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause" on Nov. 3.

For those who need a refresher, Santa used to be known as a divorced suburban dad, Scott Calvin, who was mystically recruited to take Santa's reigns at the North Pole. Now, 12 years after the first comedy smash, there's a new guy in town, Jack Frost (Martin Short), who wants to relieve Santa of his holiday duties.

"Deck the Halls" (Nov. 22) may hit close to home for some people, but not because of sentimentality. Danny DeVito and Matthew Broderick star as neighborhood rivals who are at odds because one has lit their house so bright that it can be seen from outer space. Kristen Chenoweth and Kristin Davis co-star.

Animation
Two animated family comedies are also coming to theaters in November. Following last year's success of "Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit," Aardman Animation has molded another clay creation.

Featuring the voices of Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis, "Flushed Away" (Nov. 3) follows the exploits of an uptown rat who is flushed down the toilet to the London sewers and is forced to learn a new way of life.

"Happy Feet," on the other hand (or is it the other foot?) takes place in Antarctica, where penguins sing heart songs in order to find a mate. The problem is, the penguin Mumbles (voiced by Elijah Wood) can't sing a note to save his life, but can tap dance like there's no tomorrow. The voice cast includes Robin Williams, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman and Brittany Murphy.

Action
Enough of the hype, already: Fans critical of the blond Bond Daniel Craig will finally get to see if the British actor is locked, loaded and ready for the shoes of 007 in a serious update of the Bond spoof "Casino Royale" (Nov. 17). Judi Dench is back as M, Eva Green is one of the new Bond Girls and Mads Mikklesen plays James Bond's new nemesis.

Denzel Washington is in another cop thriller, but "Déjà Vu" (Nov. 22) has a twist: Washington's ATF agent is forced to travel back in time to prevent the murder of a woman. Val Kilmer and Jim Caviezel co-star.

Comedy
Already raising the ire of his "countrymen" with a trip to the White House, Sacha Baron Cohen's culturally insensitive Kazakhstanian reporter seeks to marry Pamela Anderson in "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" (Nov. 3). The film is a pseudo-documentary based on Cohen's hilarious character from the "Da Ali G Show."

Funnyman Will Ferrell is going by the book, quite literally, for his performance in "Stranger than Fiction" (Nov. 10). Ferrell stars as an auditor for the IRS who suddenly hears narration in his head, only to learn he's the subject of an author's (Emma Thompson) book. The worst part is, she wants to kill off his character.

Having already skewered the worlds of community theater, dog shows and folk music, Christopher Guest and his troupe of comedic improvisers this time take movies and the Oscar voting process to task in "For Your Consideration" (Nov. 17) Featuring such Guest stalwarts as Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Fred Willard, Jennifer Coolidge, Harry Shearer, Michael McKean and Parker Posey, the film follows the Oscar "buzz" surrounding a small, independent film.

Drama
One film that will seriously be vying for awards consideration is "The Fountain" (Nov. 22), a Fountain of Youth tale that spans over 1,000 years. The films follows three parallel storylines, where a man (Hugh Jackman) eternally struggles to save his love (Rachel Weisz) and at the same time come to terms with life, love, death and rebirth. Ellen Burstyn co-stars.