Seasons Best The ThirdAge Holiday Movie Guide

Everyones heard of the Duke of Windsor and his abdication of the British throne in 1936, but this film is about his painfully shy brother Bertie, who became king after the Duke stepped down. Ruling as George VI, Bertie (Colin Firth) was afflicted by a stutter that made public speaking almost impossible. The movie chronicles his struggle to overcome his problem in the years following the abdication and during World War II, when the British people needed to hear the strong voice of their king. Helena Bonham Carter plays his wife, Queen Elizabeth, who later became known as the Queen Mother.

In this economy, anything can happen: youre driving a Porsche one day and youre out of work the next. Executive Bobby Walker (Ben Affleck) finds that out the hard way. Bobbys coworkers, played by Tommy Lee Jones and Chris Cooper, are downsized along with him, and the three men have to find a way to make a new life for themselves and their families. This rather melancholy comedy/drama also stars Kevin Costner as the blue-collar guy whos managed to keep himself employed.

Mark Wahlberg, who stars in The Fighter, seems to be spending most of his career playing rough-edged guys from Massachusetts. In this installment, he plays real-life boxer Mickey Ward, who rose from the streets of Lowell in the 1990s to win two world titles through an incredible ability to withstand body blows and to land a left hook when it counted most. Christian Bale plays his drug-addicted brother and Amy Adams (Julie and Julia) is his loyal girlfriend. Rocky fans, this ones for you.

Johnny Depp plays against type in this thriller, portraying a schlubby guy whos seduced into Angelina Jolies thrillingly erotic world. But as strange men kick in his hotel door and international agents shoot up his boat from an overhead bridge on a Venetian canal, Frank comes to realize that things are not quite as they seem. Jolie, playing the international woman of mystery to the hilt, says to Frank, Im sorry I got you into all this. Shes got a gift for understatement.

A former athlete, Lisa Jorgenson (Reese Witherspoon) cant decide between her current baseball-player boyfriend, played by Owen Wilson, and a potential new love interest (Paul Rudd). But one things for sure in this triangle comedy: Rudds life is a mess. Hes broke, unemployed and being investigated by the feds because of his crooked father (Jack Nicholson). Meanwhile, a puzzled Wilson asks a teammate how he knows hes in love. Simple, the teammate answers: I put a condom on when Im with other girls. Well, no one ever said love was easy.

Ryan Gosling as an amiably sinister husband? Oh, yeah, we can believe that. Gosling and Kirsten Dunst star in a thriller based on the real-life story of Robert Durst and his wife, Kathleen. In 1982, Kathleen disappeared, and though police suspected Durst, a Manhattan real-estate magnate, they couldnt prove anything. Frank Langella stars as Goslings menacing father. Dont expect a lot of uplift from this one.

The world of Becca and Howie Corbett (Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart) is shattered by the death of their young son in an auto accident. Although their middle-class suburban friends try to comfort and support them, Becca and Howie are shut into individual, painful prisons. Howie wants other women, and Becca becomes bizarrely preoccupied with the teenage driver who killed her son. The movies tagline promises that love will get you through, but for the Corbetts thats an uncertain promise.

Its been ten years (can you believe it?) since the Fockers franchise began with Meet the Parents (followed by Meet the Fockers in 2004). And Jack Byrnes (Robert DeNiro) is finally warming up to his hapless son-in-law, Gaylord Greg Focker (Ben Stiller). But then were back to square one as the former secret agent starts suspecting that Greg is involved in illegal activities. Things come to a head at the little Focker twins birthday party, and though we cant reveal the ending, we can safely say that the door has been left open for Volume Four of the Focker saga.

Gwyneth Paltrow, the archetypal preppy blonde, might seem like the last actress who could portray an on-the-ropes country singer. But Paltrow hands in a totally believable performance as a woman on the comeback trail from rehab. She even sings, and her performance of Country Strong brought down the house at the recent Country Music Awards. Tim McGraw, himself a country star in real life, is Gwynnies conflicted husband/manager. Bonus: Gossip Girls Leighton Meester, playing a prom queen, gets her comeuppance.

The acerbic Coen brothers (Fargo, No Country for Old Men) directed this remake of the 1969 John Wayne movie. Jeff Bridges stars as the broken-down, drunk, one-eyed marshal, Rooster Cogburn. Hailee Steinfeld is 14-year-old Mattie Ross, who begs Rooster to help her find Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin), the man who killed her father. Joining in the search is Matt Damon as a Texas Ranger whos also after Chaney. While on the journey, each of the three undergoes an ordeal that proves just how much grit they have.