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Australia – Opens November 26th

This November, Aussie Baz Luhrmann breaks a seven-year absence from the silver screen with Australia, a period film that reteams the writer-director with Nicole Kidman, who nabbed the lead role of Satine in Luhrmann's last project, 2001's Moulin Rouge! This time, Kidman plays Lady Sarah Ashley, an English aristocrat who falls in love with an Australian drover (Hugh Jackman). The man is charged in helping the woman move the cattle she has been left to take care of across the property.

The trailer cleverly hints at the film's back story, but doesn't give too much away in that regard. Instead, it relies more so on romanticized imagery between Australia's attractive leads. And Why not? It's Kidman and Jackman.

For those not in the know, the pair must move the cattle to save themselves from the threat of a nearby town, Darwin, being bombed. It's World War II, and the bombing of Darwin, which took place on Feb. 19, 1942, was the largest attack ever enacted by a foreign country against Australia.

Grade: B
Also expected to be released on this date: Four Christmases, Transporter 3, Fanboys, Milk

Paul Blart: Mall Cop – Opens January 16, 2009

There's nothing better than a fat man on a Segway. Just ask plus-sized Kevin James, who is seen riding on one throughout most of the trailer to Paul Blart: Mall Cop, a silly comedy slated to premiere in theaters early next year. In what looks like a quasi take-off of Home Alone (sans Macaulay Culkin, of course), Paul must assemble everything he's been trained to do - which he admits is "nothing" - to take down a random hostage situation in his mall.

The trailer has a couple of comedy gems, including Paul's pie commentary at the dinner table, his "high roller" situation with a senior citizen and staving off one of the bad guys while riding his Segway. Other gags - Paul's failure to break through glass and use of a Hello Kitty band-aid - fall a bit flat. But James is a funny guy, so I'm expecting this one to turn out just fine. Also, props to James for bringing to the screen one area of "law enforcement" we rarely see in theaters.

Grade: B
Also expected to be released on this date: Notorious; I Love You, Man; Hotel for Dogs; My Bloody Valentine

The Uninvited – Opens January 30, 2009

Early next year, Elizabeth Banks plans to shake away her good girl image built up by her mostly romantic comedy resume by taking on a more chilling role. No, I'm not talking about the 34-year-old's star turn as Laura Bush later this month in Oliver Stone's George W. Bush biopic, but rather as Rachael in The Uninvited, DreamWorks' horror film based on the 2003 Korean movie, A Tale of Two Sisters.

Here, Banks plays the new squeeze to David Strathairn's character, who recently lost his former wife to a freak fire accident. Except Rachael doesn't turn out to be everything she seems. Or so says the ghost of the former wife (Lex Burnham), who warns her two girls of Rachael's murderous intentions. Anna and Alex (played by Emily Browning and Arielle Kebbel) then take it upon themselves to convince their father that he mistakenly chose a very deceptive girlfriend.

Because The Uninvited fits neatly within the horror genre, I automatically am a little put off. But then again, this one doesn't seem to be that bad at all, considering some recent horrid titles - The Haunting of Molly Hartley, Splinter - that I've come across in writing this column. Though it at times verges on the fantastic (remember, there are ghosts in this one), I'm willing to bet it's as decent as the trailer makes it appear to be.

Grade: B-
Also expected to be released on this date: Chilled in Miami

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