Ever notice how August and September produce a lackluster group of movies?  These films spend a nanosecond in the theaters before they show up on DVD or on cable.

Then the holidays hit and there are so many fabulous movies to see, you are torn between finishing Christmas shopping and just settling into the nearby multi-plex with a large tub of popcorn and a large Coke.

This year, however, the film industry has outdone itself. After 2007’s depressing line-up of movies (There Will Be Blood, No Country for Old Men), this season is filled with stories that inspire, uplift, and just plain entertain.

Hollywood’s timing, of course, is all about the awards. A film that wins Golden Globes, SAG (Screen Actors Guild) awards, and the biggie, Oscars, stands to substantially increase its box office in the U.S., to say nothing of what will happen when the film is released internationally.

So here are some of the films to see, whether you make it to the theater, or wait until they show up on DVDs or cable.

Slum Dog Millionaire

True brilliance was responsible for taking a quiz show like “Who Wants to Be  a Millionaire,” focusing on the Indian version, and building an absorbing tale of growing up in the slums, surviving horrific events, and finding true love. Jamal, played by Dev Patel, seems an unlikely contestant to take home the big prize. How could he possibly answer such difficult questions? The movie shifts back and forth to show how Jamal came by his knowledge while avoiding torture and death at the hands of those who seek to exploit the less fortunate. When the quiz’s shows MC suspects Jamal is cheating (and resents the spotlight shifting to the unassuming young man) he has the police arrest Jamal and torture him to admit he is being fed the answers. In the end, Jamal wins what he has sought all along, the love of his life, Latika.

Gran Torino

Clint Eastwood just keeps getting better and better. In Gran Torino, Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, who has his racist attitudes turned upside down when an Asian family moves in next door. Still recovering from the loss of his wife, Kowalski’s gruff demeanor and Neanderthal values keep everyone at a distance including his two sons, their wives, and children, and the parish priest, who is intent on keeping a promise made to Kowalski’s wife to make sure her husband goes to confession. At first disdainful of his neighbors, Kowalski soon understands the obstacles facing immigrants, particularly young people who must be strong to withstand the gangs that prey on the unprotected. Kowalski, in true Dirty Harry mode, soon becomes the protector, watching over the neighbor’s children with the same care he lavishes on his 1972 Ford Gran Torino.

Doubt

With a stellar cast (Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Viola Davis) John Patrick Shanley has taken his award-winning stage play and opened it up for the film. The year is 1964 and abuse of youngsters by Catholic priests has not yet come to light. The movie asks but never answers the question of whether Hoffman’s Father Brendan Flynn took liberties with a young boy or whether he was merely doing what a good priest and teacher should do, encourage and fight for the underdog. (The boy in question is the only African-American student in the school and has been subjected to teasing by his classmates). Sister James (Adams) first brings the matter to the attention of Streep’s Sister Aloysius Beauvier, who will stop at nothing to bring the priest down. Watching these mega-talented actors go at each other in a climatic scene is worth the price of admission.

Revolutionary Road

Leonardo Di Caprio and Kate Winslet are united in their first film since Titanic. But this is a love story gone wrong. When they first meet, April and Frank Wheeler are full of hope and promise. After they move to the Connecticut suburbs, however, the dream begins to turn into a nightmare for April, who feels claustrophobic after her acting career comes to an end. Frank, working in a dead end job in the city, signs on to April’s plan to move to Paris and restart their lives. He isn’t as disenchanted as she is, however, and when he receives a promotion at work, and April announces she is pregnant with their third child, he convinces her to stay put. Some of the scenes are hard to watch, particularly when these two gifted actors go at each other making viewers feel like voyeurs, watching a marriage disintegrate.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Watching this movie (and at three hours, you will be watching it for a long tiem) brought back memories of the classic film, Charly, starring Cliff Robertson as a mentally deficient man who undergoes an experiment and, for a short time, is a genius. His romance with Claire Bloom is short-lived, as he soon reverts to his former self. They are like ships passing in the night, never able to be together. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett share a similar fate in Benjamin Button. She is getting older, he is getting younger. They have a few years together before the inevitable happens. (For a lighter take on this theme, rent the movie, Big, with Tom Hanks).

Changeling

In 1920 Los Angeles, Angelina Jolie plays a mother whose nightmare goes from bad to worst. First her son disappears and then the police present her with a boy who claims to be her son, but is lying. The Los Angeles police, corrupt to the core, try to force Jolie’s character to accept the substitute to close the case and make the department look good. When she protests, she winds up in a psychiatric ward where (surprise!) many of the other women there have also run up against the police. John Malkovich plays a radio reverend who, determined to expose police corruption, takes on Jolie’s case. Based on a true story, the Wineville Chicken murders, the film keeps piling on the suspense and leaves many unanswered questions.