Hyde Park on Hudson (Dec. 7): Bill Murray is President...

Hyde Park on Hudson (Dec. 7): Bill Murray is President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Laura Linney plays his "intimate," Daisy, in this period comedy-drama. Directed by Roger Michell ("Notting Hill"). Credit: Nicola Dove

This holiday season is filled with gifts from an eager-to-please movie industry. The question is, will any of them be a shiny new bicycle, or are they all mere stocking stuffers?

This time last year, moviegoers were already itching to unwrap big presents like the Tom Cruise action flick "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol," the American version of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" and the French novelty "The Artist." This year, however, there are only a few obvious show stealers. One is certainly Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," and another is the star-studded musical "Les Misérables." But how much excitement is there for Cruise's "Jack Reacher," Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" and Ang Lee's spiritual parable "Life of Pi"?

We won't know for some time whether any of those movies proves to be a hit. Meantime, there's some buzz around "Hitchcock," starring Anthony Hopkins as the Master of Suspense, and Judd Apatow's "This Is 40," a spinoff of "Knocked Up." And don't forget "Zero Dark Thirty," a drama about the manhunt for Osama bin Laden from the makers of the Oscar-winning war film "The Hurt Locker."

Here's a sneak peek at the movies under the tree this holiday season.

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