Ah, the holidays -- a good time for eggnog, Christmas caroling and winter blockbusters. If you haven't heard already, Hollywood has wrapped up a few large presents for moviegoers to be delivered in the next three weeks.

Among the items that will be placed under the tree: a few high-profile sequels, several Oscar contenders and naturally, feel-good holiday features.

So kick back, pour yourself some eggnog and preview my personal choices for the best in holiday movie going.

'Ocean's Twelve'

They said it couldn't be done, and it was. Then, they said it couldn't be done again. And, well, you get the idea.

Not only has director Steven Soderbergh rounded up all the big names from 2001's hit caper Ocean's Eleven -- Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Andy Garcia -- for Danny Ocean and company's second go-round, but he's actually added another big name to the mix -- Catherine Zeta-Jones.

The result is yet another hugely anticipated sequel in a season that seems full of them. For this installment, Ocean, played by Clooney, takes his band of rich brothers overseas in an effort to pull off another series of seemingly impossible heists. The catch this time is that rather than staying in one location, a la Las Vegas in the predecessor, the gang will be infiltrating Rome, Amsterdam and Paris.

If the movie is even half the fun as the trailer is, Pitt and Clooney should count on plenty of extra spending money for the holidays, because audiences are going to dig this one.

-- by Tim Wright

'Meet the Fockers'

Yet another sequel, and yet another film that I've been dying for ever since I saw 2000's Meet the Parents, one of the funniest films I've seen this decade.

In that film, Ben Stiller played Greg Focker -- probably one of the most embarrassing names of the decade -- as a man who simply couldn't do anything right during a weekend visit to his girlfriend's home.

Not that it was all his fault, as the man he was trying to impress was none other than ex-CIA agent Jack Byrnes, played with humorous intensity by the great Robert De Niro.

This time, it's Jack who plays the outsider as he and his family travel to Detroit in an effort to meet Greg's wacky parents, Bernie (Dustin Hoffman) and Roz (Barbara Streisand). And by wacky, I mean wacky. All hell breaks lose as the two vastly different families struggle to come to grips with each other.

Bringing back great comedic director Jay Roach was a key for this movie to succeed. After four years in development, it seems that Stiller and company may have yet another winner on their hands.

-- by Tim Wright

'Spanglish'

Well, it's not a sequel, but it is the first James L. Brooks movie since 1997's popular As Good As It Gets, and it does star popular actor Adam Sandler.

In a rare departure from his regular sophomoric movie routine, Sandler takes on a more human role as five-star restaurant chef/family man John Clasky.

As is the case in all of Brooks' movies, emotion is at the core of the story about an affluent couple -- John and wife Deborah (Téa Leoni) -- taking in a non-English speaking housekeeper (Paz Vega) and her daughter.

As mother and daughter struggle to learn a new language and culture, the Claskys struggle to maintain their family.

Word has it that Sandler's performance may be career-defining and that Brooks could once again find himself nominated for an Academy Award.

Previews for the movie have depicted something that other films coming out seem to lack: heart.

-- by Tim Wright

'The Aviator'

Okay, I admit the first trailer for The Aviator made it look about as edgy as a Disney movie directed by Norman Rockwell, but keep in mind there was probably an economic motivation for this. After all, the Scorsese flick comes out on Christmas Day. They have to try to appeal to the family-friendly crowd.

Anyway, the early reviews I've read on this one point toward it being a vintage Scorsese master stroke with an alluring visual style. The cast alone would be reason enough to see the movie even if it wasn't directed by one of America's greatest living directors.

Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Howard Hughes, which is great because DiCaprio's always at his best when he's playing somebody a bit on the kooky side. Cate Blanchett is getting early Oscar buzz for her portrayal of Katherine Hepburn; Alec Baldwin plays the antagonist, which shouldn't be too much of a stretch; add Kate Beckinsale, Ian Holm, Gwen Stefani, Jude Law, John C. Reilly, and Rufus Wainwright and you're guaranteed to be entertained.

-- by Nicholas Norcia

'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou'

There aren't many writer-directors hotter than Wes Anderson (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums) right now and his strange, idiosyncratic optimism is ideal for the holiday season.

During his Golden Globes speech last year, Bill Murray jokingly referred to Aquatic as a drastically over-budgeted, behind schedule "death ship"; and I have to admit it's morbidly fun to imagine Wes, armed with the biggest budget of his young career, letting his eccentricity steer out of control to its logically unintelligible extreme.

Of course I'm still hoping it all comes together. The comic heights that can potentially be reached by letting Murray and Owen Wilson riff off of each other is beyond comprehension, and I hear Wes gets a hilarious performance from the typically creepy Willem Dafoe as well. But, whether or not it lives up to its predecessors, I would still expect Aquatic to be an entertaining film to watch. Besides, for the underwater scenes, the film boasts the animation skills of Henry Selick, the unsung genius behind The Nightmare Before Christmas so, if you go, adequately prepare for some visual wowness.

-- by Nicholas Norcia