The holiday season truly is the "most wonderful time of the year" for movie buffs. It's a time when family fare ('Fred Claus,' 'Enchanted'), big event movies ('I Am Legend,' 'Sweeney Todd') and Oscar hopefuls ('Atonement,' 'Charlie Wilson's War') flood theaters, giving us the gift of choice. Make yours with our guide to the 23 must-see holiday movies of '07.

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'Fred Claus'

Release Date: Nov. 9
Vince Vaughn is big bro to Santa Claus (Paul Giamatti); when Fred shows up at Santa's Workshop, it's a sure bet North Pole protocol is gonna be breached. It's this year's 'Elf' -- silly for the kids, hilarious for the grown-ups. In other words: It's money, baby.

'No Country for Old Men'

Release Date: Nov. 9
The Coen brothers cram a whole lot of blood, thrills and Oscar-worthy performances (from Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem) into this ultra-bleak, super-violent and darkly funny flick. It's the Coens' best work in a decade and easily one of the year's finest films.

'Lions for Lambs'

Release Date: Nov. 9
Forget anecdotal message movies, this one cuts right to the chase as Robert Redford, Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise debate the War on Terror. Will audiences engage? That's TBD, but one thing's for sure: Politics would be more entertaining if our reps had acting chops like these.

'Beowulf'

Release Date: Nov. 16
Reading the Norse epic in school could be a pleasure or a pain, depending on whom you ask, but who doesn't like flying limbs and a near-nekkid Angelina Jolie? The '300' crowd should be most intrigued as Robert Zemeckis uses 'Polar Express'-like animation to stylize the action.

'Enchanted'

Release Date: Nov. 21
We're head over heels for the true-love-conquers-all fairy tale starring a beguiling Amy Adams and McDreamy, err ... Patrick Dempsey, as the meant-to-be lovers. James Marsden is a riot as a Prince Charming who's not the smartest stallion in the barn.

'The Savages'

Release Date: Nov. 28
Dear Oscar Gods: PLEASE let this be the year Laura Linney finally wins an Oscar. As a neurotic writer whose dad is dying, she's hilarious, sharp and terrific. So just give it to her! (Philip Seymour Hoffman, as her brother, is great, too; but he's already got an Oscar.)

'The Diving Bell and the Butterfly'

Release Date: Nov. 30
The memoir of a man debilitated by stroke seemed unfilmable; but director Julian Schnabel's gorgeous 'Diving Bell' is refreshingly candid, filled with humor, wit, and yes, heartbreak. Seldom has a movie about paralysis been so liberating.

'Juno'

Release Date: Dec. 5
Teen pregnancy has never been funnier than it is in the new dramedy from director Jason Reitman ('Thank You for Smoking') and writer Diablo Cody (former stripper). As eponymous pregnant teen Juno, Ellen Page is an acid-tongued force to be reckoned with AND an Oscar dark horse.

'The Golden Compass'

Release Date: Dec. 7
Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman bring star power to the first adaptation of the hit fantasy book series. Dakota Blue Richards brings the new, as the girl who holds the key to the world's future. If the film brings half the wonder of the novels, this'll be a vision.

'Atonement'

Release Date: Dec. 7
Despite the title, director Joe Wright won't have to do penance for this adaptation of Ian McEwan's WWII-set drama. Rife with themes of love, loss and redemption -- and Keira Knightley looking stunning as ever -- it's just as gorgeously devastating here as it was on the page.

'Grace Is Gone'

Release Date: Dec. 7
John Cusack left Sundance audiences in tears as a Midwestern retail manager who can't bring himself to tell his young daughters their mother has just been killed in Iraq. The actor gets assists by two terrific child actors, neither of whom, shockingly, are named Fanning.

'I Am Legend'

Release Date: Dec. 14
With Will Smith as the lone human survivor after a virus decimates mankind, this flick is like a post-apocalyptic 'Cast Away' -- except Smith's loyal sidekick is a dog and not a volleyball, and it's hordes of angry mutants and not starvation that threaten to kill him. Sounds 'Legend'-ary.

'The Kite Runner'

Release Date: Dec. 14
Chances are you or the person sitting directly next to you has recently read Khaled Hosseini's best-selling novel about the ill-fated friendship between two Afghani boys. 'Finding Neverland' director Marc Forster tells one more personal story before the blockbuster-sized 'Bond 22.'

'Youth Without Youth'

Release Date: Dec. 14
Francis Ford Coppola's first film in a decade stars Tim Roth as a scholar who's hit by lightning and becomes younger, wiser and a fugitive. Color us confused AND intrigued. Either way, the chance to see the Godfather back in action is an offer we can't refuse.

'National Treasure: Book of Secrets'

Release Date: Dec. 21
Again blending historical fact and fiction for your viewing pleasure, the sequel to the '04 hit finds Ben Gates (Nic Cage) kidnapping the president, solving Abraham Lincoln's murder and convincing Helen Mirren (his mama) to jump off waterfalls. We'll pay to see that.

'Sweeney Todd'

Release Date: Dec. 21
Who better to attend the (musical) tale of Sweeney Todd -- the demon barber of Fleet Street -- than the awesomely twisted duo of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp? We can't wait to see Depp sing, swing his razor, kill people and bake them into meat pies. In a word: Yum.

'Charlie Wilson's War'

Release Date: Dec. 25
Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts star in, Mike Nichols directs and Aaron Sorkin writes this intriguing real-life tale of a congressman who helped halt the spread of Communism (and inadvertently incited Islamic extremism) in the '80s. Gee, wonder if it'll get any Oscar nods.

'The Bucket List'

Release Date: Dec. 25
Rob Reiner's been in a bit of a slump lately ('Alex & Emma,' 'Rumor Has It'), but this time he's got two aces in the hole: Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, as road-tripping cancer patients. If this dream team can't score a hit, we'll pawn our copy of 'Spinal Tap.'

'The Great Debaters'

Release Date: Dec. 25
Think 'Glory Road' and 'Remember the Titans' gone academic. Denzel Washington directs and stars in this real-life story of an African-American debate team in 1930s East Texas. Chances are you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll carefully ponder both sides of the issue.

'Persepolis'

Release Date: Dec. 25
This animated film loses nothing in bringing Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel about growing up in Iran to the big screen. Poignant and funny, it's a beautifully told story about a young girl determined to live and love no matter how atrocious the circumstances.

'There Will Be Blood'

Release Date: Dec. 26
After only four movies, Paul Thomas Anderson's proven that he's one of the most exciting directors of our time. His first film since 2002 -- an adaptation of Upton Sinclair's novel 'Oil!' starring Daniel Day-Lewis -- has our blood racing like black gold in a Texas boomtown.

'Cassandra's Dream'

Release Date: Dec. 28
Even if this weren't Woody Allen's return to 'Match Point'-like suspense, the prospect of catching Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell as brothers just looking to get ahead and Tom Wilkinson as their amoral uncle would be too delicious to pass up. So don't.

'The Orphanage'

Release Date: Dec. 28
Guillermo del Toro's stamp of approval (he's a producer) piqued our interest in this Spanish thriller. And after seeing the taut gothic gem, let's just say that del Toro doesn't disappoint. Spain is impressed too -- it's their entry for Oscar's best foreign film.

'Bolt' of Lightning

See Miley Cyrus, John Travolta, Mr. T and the rest of the voices of 'Bolt' at the Disney red carpet premiere.
See 'Bolt' pics

Plus, check these out:

Holiday Movies 2007: 23 Flicks You Can't Miss

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