The films of November and December

Don’t think I forgot about you, November and December. Just because you don’t have two Oscar-bait movies starring Ryan Gosling like September and October doesn’t mean I’m not excited for all the pedigree films you have to offer.

November 9
“J. Edgar”
Leo working with Clint in the political biopic of J. Edgar Hoover is enough of a sale for me, but “J. Edgar” is also penned by the Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black (“Milk”) and co-stars Armie Hammer, the break-out star from “The Social Network” who was so memorable as both of the Winklevoss twins.

November 23
“Hugo”
Wait, Martin Scorsese is doing a kids’ movie? It doesn’t quite fit for the greatest living director, but I don’t really mind. This could be the movie that saves 3-D, for better or worse.

“A Dangerous Method”
There might be a small group of people who wish David Cronenberg would go back to making horror movies, but his increasingly off-type movies, such as “A History of Violence” and “Eastern Promises,” make me ecstatic for his most off-type film yet. Michael Fassbender and Viggo Mortensen, possibly two of the best actors working today, square off in a psychological thriller as Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud, respectively.

“My Week with Marilyn”
Michelle Williams is such a gifted actress, and the Academy is buzzing about her impeccable transformation into Marilyn Monroe by former TV movie director Simon Curtis. Williams looks effervescent as Monroe, which distracts a lot of people from the fact that it also features Emma Watson, Kenneth Branagh, Dominic Cooper and Judi Dench.
 
“The Artist”
Sorry, the film nerd inside me is about to faint. French director Michel Hazanavicius is making the silent film “The Artist,” which takes pages from the plot of “Singin’ in the Rain” and promises to be an artistic critical darling.

December 9
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
This Cold War spy thriller is the English debut of Tomas Alfredson, the director of the Swedish vampire smash hit “Let the Right One In.” The film looks absolutely chilling and bleak despite a booming British cast that includes Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, John Hurt, Tom Hardy and Mark Strong.

December 16
“Young Adult”
I kind of love Jason Reitman, and I kind of love Diablo Cody and “Juno.” I also kind of love Charlize Theron and Patton Oswalt, so I’m already hugging myself because of “Young Adult,” a comedy about an immature prom-queen-turned-struggling-adult.

“The Iron Lady”
Meryl Streep is Margaret Thatcher. Streep is setting herself up for her kagillionth Oscar nod (actually, it would be 17). The film is, however, directed by Phyllida Lloyd of the wretched “Mamma Mia.” Here’s to hoping we don’t find out what it’s like to see Margaret Thatcher dancing in water fins.

“Carnage”
Anyone interested in theater and Broadway should be buzzing about this film. Roman Polanski is directing “Carnage,” a film based on the multiple-Tony-winning play “God of Carnage,” and his cast is impressive. John C. Reilly, Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz team up in the shouting-match dramedy.

December 21
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
Combine the look and pacing of last year’s best movie, “The Social Network,” with the intensity of last year’s best foreign film, “The Girl with the Dragon Tatto,” add a Trent Reznor score and you have my most anticipated movie of 2011. Promised to be the feel-bad movie of Christmas, David Fincher’s direction of Rooney Mara, Daniel Craig, Stellan Skarsgård, Christopher Plummer and Robin Wright can’t fail.

December 25
“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”
Based on a novel by “Everything is Illuminated” author Jonathan Safran Foer, a boy genius searches for the lock opened by a key left by his father, who died on 9/11. The family is made up of “Teen Jeopardy” champ Thomas Horn, Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock. It’s written by Eric Roth of “Benjamin Button” and “Forrest Gump” and directed by Stephen Daldry of “The Reader” and “The Hours.” Is this movie, just bursting with crowd-pleasing schlock, not the king of Oscar bait?

“War Horse”
After a year of polarizing, serious and even depressing films, the world needs a “real” movie by the world’s biggest director tackling a sprawling war epic. Spielberg’s “War Horse” is “Saving Private Ryan” on Broadway, and it’s going to be huge.

Movies that do not exist in my mind, despite what some may say:
“Jack and Jill” — 11/11
“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1” — 11/18
“Happy Feet Two” — 11/18
“The Muppets” — 11/26
“New Year’s Eve” — 12/9
“Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” — 12/16
“Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip-Wrecked” — 12/16
“A Very Harold and Kumar 3-D Christmas” — 11/4