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With the holidays, competition amps up for the Oscar field and audience attention
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Tragic, yes, but some sagas must come to an end, such as "Twilight." Other chapters in a legend promise a follow-up even before the end credits roll, as in the very good new James Bond film, "Skyfall." And the rest? The rest is silence, for now, because the public hasn't voted at the box office just yet on "Django Unchained," for instance. Here's a 10-pack of movies to get you started this holiday season, which coincides nicely with end-of-year awards consideration season, which coincides nicely with an uptick in quality and the sudden arrival of Oscar-possible films not necessarily made and marketed exclusively for those not eligible for a driver's license. (Opening dates are subject to change.) -- "Skyfall" (Nov. 9): The new Bond thriller proves Sam Mendes can direct action. Daniel Craig has already shown what he can do; now, in his third 007 installment, he finds himself in a cat-and-mouse with a slippery mastermind played by Javier Bardem. So much better than the last Bond, "Quantum of Solace." -- "Lincoln" (Nov. 9): Director Steven Spielberg's unexpected and moving portrait reveals a president (Daniel Day-Lewis) in the midst of a crucial few weeks near the end of the Civil War, when the abolition of slavery wasn't considered good politics. The script by Tony Kushner (based in part on Doris Kearns Goodwin's "Team of Rivals") may not be the stuff of rousing blockbusterdom. But it's one of Spielberg's best and truest portraits in heroism. -- "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2" (Nov. 16): Bringing up baby: Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson experience the joys of parenthood, while Taylor Lautner experiences the latest test of his acting abilities in director Bill Condon's finale. As in "final." -- "Red Dawn" (Nov. 21): The invading Russians of the Reagan-era fantasy have been turned into North Koreans, requiring a little gentle diplomacy from Josh Peck, Josh Hutcherson and Chris Hemsworth. They'll keep us safe until the next invasion. -- "Life of Pi" (Nov. 21): Director Ang Lee has brought us Jane Austen, "Brokeback Mountain" and a '70s key party in "The Ice Storm." Now he takes on the novel about the Indian boy at sea with a Bengal tiger. Some stories are geographically rangy; others, like this one, bank on compression and ticklish situations. -- "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" (Dec. 14): Peter Jackson, who did all right with the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, continues his J.R.R. Tolkien adventure with the tale of Bilbo Baggins and the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor. The cast includes Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett and Elijah Wood. -- "Zero Dark Thirty" (Dec. 19): Director Kathryn Bigelow's follow-up to her Oscar-winning "Hurt Locker" charts the real-life Navy SEAL mission to get Osama Bin Laden. Maybe this film, starring Joel Edgerton, Kyle Chandler and Chris Pratt, will attract the wide audience that eluded "The Hurt Locker" but shouldn't have. -- "This is 40" (Dec. 21): A kinda sorta sequel to "Knocked Up," director Judd Apatow's comedy reorients his relationship compass to focus on the characters, now older and wiser, played by Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann. -- "Les Miserables" (Dec. 25): A full generation after its London, Broadway and global triumph, the musical about a loaf of bread, a jug of human kindness and a whole lotta squalor has been movie-musicalized, starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway and Amanda Seyfried. Tom Hooper, Oscar winner for "The King's Speech," directs. -- "Django Unchained" (Dec. 25): You can deal with the injustice of slavery the legislative, painstaking way, a la "Lincoln," or you can turn Quentin Tarantino loose on a flamboyant revenge fantasy starring Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson and Christoph Waltz. 
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Today is Friday, May 24, the 144th day of 2013. There are 221 days left in the year.
1863 -- 150 years ago: A military escort will be at the square at 9 a.m. tomorrow forthe funeral of Lieut. Joseph Eaton. The county judge is absent in Chicago, which willaccount for his not being in the procession.
1888 -- 125 years ago: Rock Island's City Council last night appropriated $95,000 forexpenses for the 1888 and 1889 fiscal year.
1913 -- 100 years ago: Mrs. F.W. Reimers last night was re-elected president of the RockIsland Musical Club at a meeting in the New Harper Hotel.
1938 -- 75 years ago: Seven members of Boy Scout Troop 21 got their Eagle badges lastnight. They were Ralph Hurt, Robert Nelson, Howard Schersten, Cecil Nelson, RobertFryxell, Clarence Stone and Rollin Hurt.
1963 -- 50 years ago: Mayor Morris Muhleman has resorted to a form letter in an effort toanswer objections to the wheel tax increase. "It was my hope that I could, in some way,restore the faith of the citizens in our city. In order to do this I knew I must face the factthat I would become very unpopular."All they are trying to do is protect the citizensproperty and build their town.
1988 -- 25 years ago: RICCA, the Rock Island County Council on Addictions, inconjunction with the Quad City Downs, will hold its annual "Night at the Races" June 2.The benefit "Night at the Races" will raise funds locally to assist in maintaining the twohalfway houses, New Hope Lodge (for women) and Beacon House (for men).
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