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Taking in a movie on Christmas Day is as much a holiday tradition as leaving milk and cookies out for Santa. Once again, moviegoers will have to decide whether they want to laugh, cry, cringe or actually think about what they're watching.

Some of this year's offerings are potential Oscar nominees and prompt nearly all the aforementioned reactions. Although unavailable for preview, Night at the Museum will open Friday, and if you're really in a dark mood, catch the horror film Black Christmas, opening Christmas Day. Several films already in theaters merit your attention, as well. If you're looking for an exceptional drama, check out The Queen, The Departed or Babel. Want satire for Christmas? See Borat or For Your Consideration. Otherwise, read on.

Dreamgirls
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Beyonc� Knowles, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Hudson and Anika Noni Rose
Rated: PG-13
Web site: Dreamgirlsmovie.com

Adapting Broadway shows to the screen can be tricky. Often, the energy and excitement of the stage show gets lost onscreen. Some filmmakers get it right and open up the material so it doesn't feel stage-bound. Bill Condon, who wrote the exceptional screenplay for the big-screen Chicago, finds further success as the director and co-writer of Dreamgirls.

Presumedly based on the rise-and-fall story of The Supremes, Dreamgirls captures the thrill of the Motown era of the 1960s, when female singing groups filled the record label's coffers. The film centers on a Diana Ross-like character named Deena Jones, who leaves her group, The Dreamettes, to pursue a solo career. Beyonc� Knowles, who left her Destiny's Child partners in the dust when her own celebrity skyrocketed, is appropriately cast as Jones. The aspiring superstar Jones has a big booster in slick manager Curtis Taylor Jr. (Jamie Foxx), who becomes a music mogul along the lines of Berry Gordy Jr., the legendary founder of Motown.

Although the hard-working Knowles and the surprisingly subdued Foxx work well with the material, they aren't the best things about this movie. Eddie Murphy steals the show as a classic soul singer modeled on James Brown who doesn't want to smooth out his edges to appeal to the masses. After years of starring in pathetic comedies, Murphy makes a strong comeback with this role.

Former American Idol contestant Jennifer Hudson, meanwhile, is astounding as Effie Melody White, a chunky singer in the girl group. The dazzling White originally is the group's lead vocalist but gets fired by Taylor because she dominates the trio. Only when The Dreamettes' music becomes insipidly mediocre does the group begin to garner white listeners -- who, according to the film, prefer bland music -- and enjoy mainstream success.

In the film's first act, Hudson belts out a showstopping rendition of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" that will curl your hair. Not all the music works this well, especially the four new songs not featured in the original musical.

The acting is Dreamgirls' real draw. Murphy and Hudson in particular should reap great rewards for powering this movie to amazing heights.

The movie will open Monday.

Charlotte's Web
Starring: Dakota Fanning and the voices of Julia Roberts, Steve Buscemi, John Cleese, Oprah Winfrey and Cedric the Entertainer
Rated: G
Web site: Charlotteswebmovie.com

Even though Babe remains the penultimate talking-pig movie, the new Charlotte's Web is a well-rendered adaptation of E.B. White's classic children's book. The story is so beautiful that no movie can ruin its inherent value, not even this sluggish adaptation.

As she does in nearly every movie in which she appears, Dakota Fanning enlivens Charlotte's Web. She is the Shirley Temple of our time. But this clearly is a contemporary movie, with a few action sequences involving a couple of comical crows chasing a dynamic rat named Templeton, voiced with greasy charm by Steve Buscemi. The adorable runt pig Wilbur, cutely voiced by Dominic Scott Kay, spurs those inevitable "ahs," and Charlotte (a sweet-sounding Julia Roberts) makes a warm and wise spider, though the rendering of her tiny face is rather strange.

Filmed in Australia, Charlotte's Web radiates a comforting glow. But with the exception of Fanning, the animals not surprisingly outshine the humans.

The movie is currently showing in theaters.

Eragon
Starring: Ed Speleers, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Guillory, Robert Carlyle and Djimon Hounsou
Rated: PG
Web site: Eragonmovie.com

The dragon tale Eragon is no Lord of the Rings, though it borrows heavily from that series. Culled from the first book in the "Inheritance" trilogy by Christopher Paolini, who wrote the first two books as a teen and is now 22, the film boasts a childlike sense of imagination and thus will likely be enjoyed by children. Adults, however, may find themselves straining to digest this flight of fantasy.

Newcomer Ed Speleers () looks wide-eyed and innocent portraying the title character, who finds an egg and becomes the companion of the feisty female dragon by the name of Saphira that hatches from it. Assisting Eragon, the worldly Brom (Jeremy Irons) imparts critical dragon-riding tips.

Dragon and owner soon find themselves fighting battles with evil King Galbatorix (John Malkovich) and his bunch of cretinous villains. Although the story calls for spectacular special effects, the movie lacks awe-inspiring visuals, and Saphira looks too rubbery to suspend disbelief.

The movie is currently showing in theaters.

Rocky Balboa
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Geraldine Hughes, Burt Young, Milo Ventimiglia and Antonio Tarver
Rated: PG
Web site: Rocky.com

Yo, Stallone: Did you really need to make a sixth Rocky? While the latest chapter in the story of the Italian Stallion markets in nostalgia -- and occasionally even spurs chills with the heralding trumpets of its famous soundtrack -- it is little more than a vanity project for its geezer star.

After an ESPN fantasy computer program pits Rocky against a current boxing champ -- the ridiculously named Mason "The Line" Dixon, played by real boxer Antonio Tarver -- Rocky decides it's time for a comeback. Besides, following the death of wife Adrian, he's doing little more than moping around Philadelphia and dealing with bratty, 20-something Rocky Jr. (Milo Ventimiglia). The younger Balboa is humiliated by his father, but who can blame him?

In keeping with the film's hackneyed approach, Rocky discovers a chaste love interest in a warmly appealing woman named Marie (Geraldine Hughes). And of course, the old and irritating brother-in-law Paulie (Burt Young) returns. Rocky fans may enjoy revisiting these characters, but they shouldn't expect big things from this needless trip down memory lane.

The movie will open today (Wednesday).

The Good Shepherd
Starring: Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Robert De Niro, Alec Baldwin, William Hurt, Billy Crudup, John Turturro and Joe Pesci
Rated: R
Web site: Thegoodshepherdmovie.com

This drama claims to tell "the untold story of the birth of the CIA." After tolerating almost three miserable hours of this painfully boring movie, I have to say, as far as I'm concerned, the story remains untold. Considering it was directed by Robert De Niro and executive-produced by Francis Ford Coppola, The Good Shepherd is a major disappointment that prompts more questions than it answers.

Matt Damon delivers a zombielike performance as CIA operative Edward Wilson. When his mismatched wife, played by an overtly emotional Angelina Jolie, remarks, "I live with a ghost," she's not exaggerating. Damon's acting is so bland that Wilson barely registers. Watching Jolie and Damon act together is like watching a cougar with a turtle. I'd rather clean out my underwear drawer than sit through this movie again.

The movie will open Friday.

The Good German
Starring: George Clooney, Cate Blanchett and Tobey Maguire
Rated: R
Web site: Thegoodgerman.com

Directed by Steven Soderbergh in the fashion of 1940s wartime movies, particularly Casablanca, The Good German is a black-and-white exercise in style. Set in Berlin in 1945 as the Potsdam Peace Conference convenes, the film presents George Clooney as an American war correspondent who gets caught up in a mystery involving his aloof girlfriend (Cate Blanchett) and bratty driver (Tobey Maguire).

The superb Blanchett can add class to any movie, but she can't save this lackluster effort. Soderbergh tries too hard to re-create the sharply contrasting, raking light of the era, and as a result, the film is cloaked in an unpleasant, tangible darkness. The Good German is a decent effort, but it's more a novelty than a serious movie.

The movie will open Friday at Palace 20 in Boca Raton and Aventura 24.

The History Boys
Starring: Samuel Anderson, James Corden, Stephen Campbell Moore, Clive Merrison and Richard Griffiths
Rated: R
Web site: Foxsearchlight.com/thehistoryboys

Adapting his own work to the screen, playwright Alan Bennett makes a case for the superiority of the English wit -- and certainly the English educational system -- in this story of a handful of prep-school students who are preparing for the rigorous entrance exams to Oxford and Cambridge universities. Directed by Nicholas Hytner (The Madness of King George), The History Boys delves boldly into the topics of pederast teachers, favoritism in schools and competition among youth.

Although the movie starts slowly and by its nature is often confined to the classroom, the impressive cast keeps things lively. The boys who distinguish themselves include Dominic Cooper as the Lothario of the group and Samuel Barnett as a sensitive gay student. As for the faculty, Frances de la Tour portrays a sardonic history instructor ("History is women following behind with the bucket"), Richard Griffiths plays a pathetic but beloved general-studies teacher and Stephen Campbell Moore is an opportunistic young educator brought in to boost the students' scores.

The movie will open Friday.

Children of Men
Starring: Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine and Chiwetel Ejiofor
Rated: R
Web site: Childrenofmen.net

Adapted from a P.D. James novel, this science-fiction work tells what could have been an interesting, postmodern Nativity story. Its premise is fascinating: The year is 2027, and women have become infertile in a mad world ruled by violence. When one woman (Clare-Hope Ashitey) finds out she's pregnant, warring forces battle over her impending child. Clive Owen plays the film's reluctant hero, whose ex-wife (Julianne Moore) is the leader of an important, covert organization.

Writer-director Alfonso Cuar�n (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) seems hopelessly lost in this vague material. Although he visually captures the story's dystopian future, he ends the movie abruptly, as if he didn't know how to finish it. Children of Men is a missed opportunity.

Originally scheduled for Monday, the movie's opening has been pushed back to Jan. 5.

We Are Marshall
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Fox, Anthony Mackie, David Strathairn and Ian McShane
Rated: PG
Web site: Wearemarshall-themovie.com

Never trust a director with a gimmicky name, especially if that name is McG. Best known for the glib Charlie's Angels movies, McG is way out of his element with the commonplace docudrama We Are Marshall. Based on the true story of a 1970 plane crash that killed the entire Marshall University football team and the dire effect it had on a small West Virginia town, the film covers familiar territory.

Matthew McConaughey is likable in romantic comedies, but he's not a strong enough actor to hold the center of this drama as the school's new head coach. Matthew Fox, of TV's Lost, fares better as a troubled assistant coach who was on a recruiting trip and skipped the team's fateful flight. David Strathairn portrays the college's suffering and confused president with dignity. But in the end, McG doesn't convey the story's natural empathy as strongly as he should and relies far too heavily on football-movie clich�s.

The movie will open Friday.