Films Yule Love ‘The Aviator’ among the best picks for holiday viewing

So, it’s almost Christmas. Two days to go and you’re doing fine. You’re doing great. The tree is trimmed, the gifts were wrapped weeks ago, the house is clean, everyone is so pleasant lately, and stress is at a minimum.

It’s as if you’re on vacation, for God’s sake. This is Camp Cupcake, baby.

Preparations for the holiday have gone so well, it’s even occurred to you that maybe we should have more holidays. Big holidays. Wouldn’t that be great?

OK, so that’s a fantasy. Let’s deal with reality. At your local theater and video stores are a wealth of obtainable fantasies – all of which hail from Hollywood.

In the past week, several new movies have hit theaters, including yesterday’s release of “Meet the Fockers,” the sequel to “Meet the Parents,” which this time out includes co-starring turns from Barbra Streisand as a probing couples therapist and Dustin Hoffman as, shall we say, her overly affectionate husband. Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Blythe Danner and Teri Polo reprise their roles, which is a good thing since there wouldn’t be a movie without them in it.

As written and directed by Jay Roach, “Meet the Fockers” brings together the Fockers and the Byrneses before the families are united by marriage. The results? Predictably disastrous – and occasionally very funny.

A disaster of a different sort is “The Flight of the Phoenix,” which crashed into theaters last weekend, leaving little bits of itself all over the screen.

A remake of the 1965 classic starring Jimmy Stewart and Richard Attenborough, the film finds Dennis Quaid and Giovanni Ribisi stranded in a Mongolian desert with a group of other stereotypes after their plane suddenly crashes. From the wreckage, they must build a new plane. But will they be able to do so in spite of the relentless sandstorms and the lack of water plaguing them? The giveaway title reveals the answer – and this slight movie, from director John Moore, joins the cast in dehydrating onscreen.

“Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events” is in theaters, with Jim Carrey over-the-moon as Count Olaf, an evil lout fighting for guardianship of the orphaned Baudelaire children, who inherited a fortune Olaf wants.

Meryl Streep co-stars as Aunt Josephine, a paranoid wreck who seems to fear everything, even real estate agents, but especially avocados (“The pits can become lodged in your throats!”). Streep is tightly wound and fun, the best reason to see the movie, which turns out to be grandly produced, but not on par with the “Harry Potter” franchise it would like to emulate.

On Christmas Day, movie buffs will get the best gift of the year in the best movie of the year – Martin Scorsese’s “The Aviator.”

The film explores the highs and lows of the tumultuous life of reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes. It’s a smashing, powerful period piece that stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Hughes, Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn, Alan Alda as the crooked Maine senator Owen Brewster, and Kate Beckinsale as Ava Gardner. A full review will appear in tomorrow’s column, but suffice it to say that the movie is so well done, Academy Award nominations will abound.

Also opening Christmas Day is “Fat Albert,” which must come as something of a relief to Santa as he won’t be the only fat guy making a much-ballyhooed appearance on Saturday. The film is a live-action version of the popular animated series from the ’70s, with its creator, Bill Cosby, appearing in cameo. Joining it in theaters is “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou,” a quirky dramedy from Wes Anderson that features a fine cast in Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett and Anjelica Huston.

In it, Murray is Steve Zissou, a famous underwater documentary filmmaker whose friend is eaten by a mysterious shark Zissou is determined to slay. The movie’s subplot involves Zissou reconnecting with his long lost son, played by Wilson. It entertains best when Murray is snapped to life with jokes that seem fresh and off the cuff. Unfortunately, those are in short supply.

In limited release are a number of Golden Globe nominees, including “Kinsey,” which opens on Saturday with “Zissou” at Waterville’s Railroad Square Cinema; and “Sideways,” which continues its run at the Square.

Elsewhere in the state, the excellent biography of Ray Charles, “Ray,” can be found at select theaters, as can Mike Nichols’ “Closer.” Those visiting family or friends in larger cities over the holidays should seek out Mike Leigh’s “Vera Drake,” Jean Pierre Jeunet’s “A Very Long Engagement,” Clint Eastwood’s boxing movie, “Million Dollar Baby,” and the harrowing “Hotel Rwanda,” which stars Don Cheadle as the real-life Hutu hotel manager who saved hundreds of Tutsis from mass genocide by harboring them in his hotel. You can’t go wrong with any of them.

Fans of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s long-running Broadway show “The Phantom of the Opera” will find Joel Schumacher’s decadent, unabashedly theatrical rendition of the musical appropriately appointed with crescendo and camp. Filled with more smoke and candelabras than a Cher video circa 1987, the film opened yesterday in limited release and will open nationwide on Jan. 21.

In it, the sets are heroically lavish, but the performances are a wee bit uneven. Minnie Driver, for instance, throws herself to the wolves – or in this case, to the critics – with the sort of raw, jumpy performance that suggests counseling is in her future. On the plus side, Gerard Butler’s Phantom looks good behind the mask and 18-year-old Emmy Rossum (“The Day After Tomorrow,” “Mystic River”) as Christine has the sort of presence that makes the show’s famed chandelier almost disappear. She’s good here, someone to look for in the future – hopefully in a movie that’s better than this.

For those who would rather stay home, just out on DVD is the long-awaited collector’s edition of “Gone with the Wind,” which has undergone an extensive digital restoration that has significantly improved upon the original print.

The four-disc set includes more documentaries than Scarlett had suitors: “The Making of a Legend: Gone With The Wind,” which David O. Selznick’s sons made in 1989; “Restoring a Legend,” which shows how the film was restored; and the best of the lot, “Melanie Remembers: Olivia de Havilland Recalls Gone with the Wind.” De Havilland is the only surviving member of the principal cast. Documentaries about Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh also are included.

Just as grand in scope are the DVD releases of two popular sci-fi releases: George Lucas’ “Star Wars Trilogy,” a four-disc set that includes the original three movies in the series, as well as several documentaries. If you have the energy, it proves an entertaining way to kill a dozen or so hours, as does the 10-disc set of “The Matrix” series, which is just out from Warner Home Video. It’s a bit much, these 10 discs, but they contain entertaining elements, such as “The Animatrix” series and a cheap bust of Neo, that are worth seeing.

For traditional holiday fare, one of the best films going is “A Christmas Story,” the enormously entertaining movie about young Ralphie’s hopes for a Red Ryder BB gun and, the mishaps that follow him during the holiday season. Now available on a special 2-disc anniversary set, it’s a bit expensive at $25 – but it’s nevertheless worth every cent.

Christopher Smith is the Bangor Daily News film critic. His reviews appear Mondays and Fridays in Style, 5:30 p.m. Thursdays on WLBZ 2 Bangor and WCSH 6 Portland, and are archived at RottenTomatoes.com. He may be reached at BDNFilm1@aol.com.