Harry Potter boy Daniel Radcliffe will kick off the season by flashing his razor-sharp nipples in Equus, Peter Shaffer’s 1974 drama about a man and his psychiatrist (a relationship most New Yorkers can relate to). But Mr. Radcliffe has a special religious and, uh, sexual fascination with horses, which we definitely don’t want to relate to, actually. (Previews: Sept. 4, Broadhurst Theater)

Frank Langella stars as a guy who is sticking up for the ladies in a revival of Robert Bolt’s 1961 play A Man for All Seasons. Directed by Doug Hughes, Mr. Langella will play Sir Thomas More, the chancellor of England who clashed with King Henry VIII when the king wanted to divorce his barren wife for Anne Boleyn, the sister of his former mistress—portrayed by Scarlett Johansson in last year’s movie. (Previews: Sept. 12, Roundabout at the American Airlines Theatre)

Critics have been cawing for a new Broadway revival of The Seagull, Chekhov’s 1895 play that can be as dark and depressing as it is hilarious. Kristin Scott Thomas (The English Patient) got rave reviews for her role as aging stage diva Arkadina in the London production of the play. She’ll make her Broadway debut alongside smoldering hottie Peter Sarsgaard as her lover Trigorin. (Previews: Sept. 16, Walter Kerr Theater)

All My Sons, Arthur Miller’s 1947 play about a shady Second World War-era businessman, stars John Lithgow, Dianne Wiest, Patrick Wilson and (as everyone already knows) Katie Holmes. It’s directed by Simon McBurney, and in previews now at the Schoenfeld. Billy Elliot, the much anticipated musical adaptation of the film, about an adorable, aspiring boy ballet dancer, seems to be in good hands here on Broadway after a smashing London run; Elton John wrote the music while Stephen Daldry, the director behind the original Billy Elliot movie and The Hours, directs. (Previews: Oct. 1, Imperial Theatre)

Raúl Esparza, a guy long overdue for a Tony, will star alongside frenetic Jeremy Piven, of Entourage fame, and Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss, in a revival of David Mamet’s 1998 play Speed-the-Plow, which offers a never-out-of-style, scathing portrait of film industry swindlers who are willing to sell their souls for sex, fame and fortune. Ari Gold, we’re calling you! (Previews: Oct. 3, Barrymore Theater)

For more in the power-and-greed category, there’s Beau Willimon’s dark election comedy, Farragut North, starring Chris Noth, Tony winner John Gallagher Jr. and Juno’s best friend Olivia Thirlby. Mr. Gallagher plays a power-hungry press secretary who gives in to sleazy backroom politics. Ari Fleischer, it’s you this time! (Previews: Oct. 22, Atlantic Theater Company)

There’s also more Mamet this season, with a revival of his 1977 play American Buffalo. John Leguizamo will take on a role previously tackled by Robert Duvall and Al Pacino as one in a team of men who steal a coin collection from a wealthy man. Cedric the Entertainer and Haley Joel Osment are also on the (so bizarre it might work) cast lineup. (Previews: Oct. 31, Belasco Theatre)

And for a final revival … Pal Joey, the Rodgers and Hart musical originally written as a series of awkward letters published in The New Yorker in the late 1930s. Christian Hoff of Jersey Boys will play a lowlife Chicago nightclub entertainer who wants to own his own business; Stockard Channing will be a cougar he tries to seduce for money; and Goonies gal and two-time Tony winner Martha Plimpton will play Gladys Bumps, a chorus girl who tries to hold him back. We’re sad there’s no Peter Gallagher, who starred with Patti LuPone in ’95, but we’ll give Mr. Hoff a whirl. (Previews: Nov. 14, Studio 54)

greagan@observer.com

But there is comfort for the afflicted. The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s beloved outgoing director spends his last months at the helm presiding over a mighty tribute to none other than Himself: “The Philippe de Montebello Years: Curators Celebrate Three Decades of Acquisitions” (Oct. 24-Feb. 1). For an ordinary mortal, this would qualify as megalomania, but for the likes of Mr. Montebello, it’s a sign of downright modesty. The exhibition in his honor will display a mere 300 of the approximately 84,000 works acquired by the museum during his directorship, and will include public programs of the mellifluous Mr. de Montebello in conversation with art critic Robert Hughes (Oct. 28) and actress Isabella Rossellini (Dec. 9). In his 31-year tenure, Mr. de Montebello has overseen unprecedented refurbishing and expansion of the museum’s gallery spaces, and has managed the trick of deepening the museum’s historical collections while at the same time making the Met more popular and accessible than ever.

A few blocks south, two sure bets at the Whitney: “Alexander Calder: The Paris Years, 1926-1933” follows the early development of Calder’s beguiling wire sculptures and mobiles, culminating in The Circus, that old (and deserved) crowd-pleaser from the museum’s permanent collection (Oct. 16-Feb. 15). “William Eggleston: Democratic Camera, Photographs and Video, 1961-2008,” also at the Whitney, will be the most complete retrospective yet of the influential photographer’s work. It includes both his color and black-and-white photos, as well as Stranded in Canton, a little-shown video piece from the early ’70s (Nov. 7-Jan. 25). Photographer Catherine Opie, who has dedicated much of her work to documenting queer culture in searingly immediate portraits, scores a mid-career retrospective at the Guggenheim (Sept. 26-Jan 7). You can mellow out afterward at the Frick’s “Andrea Riccio: Renaissance Master of Bronze” (Oct. 15-Jan. 18), which showcases the 16th-century Italian sculptor’s exquisite bronze statuettes.

Joan Miró once declared that his goal was to “assassinate painting.” Pretty comprehensible as artist statements go, and the keynote to MoMA’s “Joan Miró: Painting and Anti-Painting 1927–1937” (Nov. 2–Jan.12). The show will feature 12 groups of canvases, each tracking the development of a particular motif or style, and each representing a different aspect of Miro’s aggressive attempts to get to the bottom of his art. And when you’re through with that, sharpen your elbows, because even MoMA has to pay the bills: “Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night” (Sept. 21-Jan. 5) will keep us fa-a-ar from 53rd Street on weekends this fall.

Austrian illustrator Alfred Kubin (1877-1959), on the other hand, drew refreshingly tourist-repellent dreamscapes, juxtaposing sex, horror and children’s toys, that were said to have inspired Franz Kafka and Thomas Mann. Kubin’s small, book-size drawings will be on display at the Neue Gallerie in “Alfred Kubin: Drawings, 1897-1909” (Sept. 25-Jan. 26). (And let’s face it, have you ever been disappointed by a show at the Neue Gallerie?) For dreamscapes of a more sublimated—yet no less jarring—sort, head downtown to the Bowery Gallery, where painter Marvin Gates’ truly extraordinary Et In Arcadia Ego (until Sept. 27) will confuse, then delight you, with scenes of street life in a city very like your own, except …

After the Gates show, place your eyes carefully back into their sockets, and catch the subway to Brooklyn. Flash the cover of n+1 art mag spin-off Paper Monument’s newly released second issue at other riders to see if anyone else besides you really gets it. (Know what I mean?)

ddacosta@observer.com

CBS isn’t the first network that comes to mind when we think of sitcoms. With their laugh tracks and old-school plotting, Two and a Half Men and Big Bang Theory feel about as fresh as The Dick Van Dyke Show. But How I Met Your Mother (Monday, 8:30 p.m.)—an ensemble comedy about a group of Manhattan friends and their relationship foibles—is a real gem, canned laughter and all. Here’s hoping CBS can duplicate that kind of comedic success with Worst Week (Monday, 9:30 p.m.). Based on a BBC comedy, Worst Week centers on newly engaged and soon-to-be dad Sam Briggs (Kyle Bornheimer), who constantly runs into problems when he’ s around his fiancée’s parents (Kurtwood Smith and Nancy Lenehan). Mr. Smith, who perfected the grumpy dad role on That 70s Show, should be able to grouchily charm audiences all over again. Or, us, at least!

Worst Week isn’t the only import this fall. NBC, having already had success with its remake of The Office, went to Australia for their next potential hit: Kath & Kim (Thursday, Oct. 9, 8:30 p.m.). The Americanized version stars Molly Shannon (Saturday Night Live) and Selma Blair (Hellboy 2: The Golden Army) as a mother and daughter who are forced to live together after the daughter breaks up with her husband. Fun fact about Ms. Blair and Ms. Shannon: despite playing mother and daughter on the show, they are actually only eight years apart. And honestly, you can kind of tell.

There’s also Life on Mars (ABC, Thursday, Oct. 9, 10 p.m.), a remake of the BBC show of the same name. The premise is intriguing enough—a New York City cop is hit by a car while chasing a bad guy and magically transported back to 1973—but it’s the cast that’s truly impressive: Harvey Keitel, Gretchen Mol, Lisa Bonet and Michael Imperioli. David E. Kelley was the original executive producer, but after some bad reactions to his pilot, he was replaced by the guys behind October Road (and this is not a good sign).

Tired of imports? We are! Try some House rip-offs instead. CBS is lucky to have two. On The Mentalist (CBS, Tuesday, 9 p.m.), British actor Simon Baker (The Guardian) plays a cranky American psychic who helps a forensics team solve crimes, all the while putting them down with snide comments. Meanwhile, on Eleventh Hour (CBS, Thursday, Oct. 9, 10 p.m.), British actor Rufus Sewell plays an American biophysicist who works with the government to investigate bizarre occurrences. Somewhere Hugh Laurie is scowling.

And then there’s Knight Rider (NBC, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 8 p.m.). Remember David Hasselhoff and KITT (voiced by William Daniels), and their weekly transportation-related adventures? The new version doesn’t look to be nearly as fun (but also, it’s not the ’80s), despite the presence of a souped-up, transforming car. Val Kilmer takes on the voice of KITT. And while we love Iceman, he’s got nothing on Benjamin Braddock’s dad.

editorial@observer.com

A small sampling: 

Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander In Chief, by James M. McPherson (The Penguin Press, Oct. 7).

Our Lincoln: New Perspectives on Lincoln and His World, by Eric Foner (Norton, Oct. 13).

Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer, by Fred Kaplan (Harper, Oct. 28).

Looking for Lincoln: The Making of an American Icon, by Philip B. Kunhardt III, Peter W. Kunhardt and Peter W. Kunhardt Jr. (Knopf, Nov. 18).

(Lincoln, you may have surmised, is the Kunhardt family business.)

And why not turn to a national hero in these parlous times? Berkshire Hathaway looks like a pillar of strength even as Wall Street wobbles—why not plunge into a 900-page biography of the pillar behind the pillar: Alice Schroeder’s The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life (Bantam, Sept. 29)? If you’re still hungry for more after that supersize serving of Omaha wisdom, try genial Michael Kinsley’s Creative Capitalism (Simon & Schuster, Dec. 2), which expands on Bill Gates’ ideas about how to make capitalism, well, less destructive. Itching to become a hero yourself? Malcolm Gladwell doesn’t do how-to (he’s a high-end journalist), but you might be able to pick up some tips from his next mega-best-seller, Outliers: The Story of Success (Little, Brown, Nov. 18).

Alternatively, you could search for a villain. If blame-the-media is on your list of favorite pastimes, you’ll want to pre-order The Man Who Owns the News: Inside the Secret World of Rupert Murdoch (Broadway, Dec. 2), by the loathsome critic/enabler Michael Wolff. And perhaps, as chaser, Ted Turner’s autobiography, Call Me Ted (Grand Central, Nov. 10).

Maybe Conrad (Joseph, not Black) had the right idea: “In the destructive element immerse!” Let’s embrace disaster and thereby master our fear, or at least quiet the shakes so they’re just jitters. Our guide will be Max Page, a professor of architecture and history, whose new book is The City’s End: Two Centuries of Fantasies, Fears, and Premonitions of New York’s Destruction (Yale, Sept. 28). Have you ever noticed how calamity always strikes at the southern tip of Manhattan?

IMMERSION IN LITERATURE—that’s my particular poison. Comfortably top of the pile is Toni Morrison’s A Mercy (Knopf, Nov. 11), which, experts agree, is her best novel since Beloved. Read that last clause again; if it doesn’t speed up your pulse, consult a physician.

Next up, John Updike’s sequel to The Witches of Eastwick … three decades later … The Widows of Eastwick (Knopf, Oct. 21). Any bets on whether the new novel makes it to the silver screen? Cher, Sarandon and Pfeiffer, reunited.

Anne Rice (we’ve moved on from literature) has written a memoir, her first. The title—Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession (Knopf, Oct. 7)—is enough to stifle my curiosity, but they say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

Some books cry out to be read in tandem: Laura Claridge’s Emily Post: Daughter of the Gilded Age, Mistress of American Manners (Random House, Oct. 14) is a book I intend to give my mother for Christmas. Susan Cheever’s Desire: Where Sex Meets Addiction (Simon & Schuster, Oct. 7), maybe not. But somebody, somewhere, wants both.

WHICH LEAVES THREE books I have no idea how to categorize, except to say that I’m eager to read them all.

Russell Shorto, who in 2004 wrote a wonderful history of Dutch Manhattan, has reemerged with Descartes’ Bones: A Skeletal History of the Conflict Between Faith and Reason (Doubleday, Oct. 14), in which he traces the posthumous career of Descartes’ skull and the rest of his remains (they got separated—don’t ask).

At long last, George Plimpton is getting golden-rule payback. (In case you’ve forgotten: Do unto others …) Yes, it’s an oral biography, compiled by Nelson W. Aldrich Jr., and it has a very George title: George, Being George: George Plimpton’s Life as Told, Admired, Deplored and Envied by 200 Friends, Relatives, Lovers, Acquaintances, Rivals—and a Few Unappreciative Observers (Random House, Oct. 21).

A touch of fantasy to round off the list: In The Magician’s Book: A Skeptic’s Adventures in Narnia (Little, Brown, Dec. 3), Laura Miller, one of our finest literary critics, goes back and explores C. S. Lewis’ Narnia, the enchanted world of her childhood—and she does this knowing what we know.

Adam Begley edits the Observer Review of Books. He can be reached at books@observer.com.

LPR is about mixing—classical and pop, visual art and music. Don’t be surprised to hear the Stooges and Built to Spill between sets of minimalist piano and an electronic reinterpretation of the Rite of Spring. Get the full effect when LPR presents its first gallery show, of works by Chuck Close and Devorah Sperver inspired by the music of Philip Glass (Sept. 24-Dec. 8).

The Wordless Music series, whose simple but brilliant formula of pairing classical and pop acts on the same bill has led to consistently sold-out shows, has found a part-time home at LPR, where it will host the Bang on a Can All-Stars’ premiere of Terry Riley’s Autodreamographical Tales. Mr. Riley combines recordings of his spoken dream-narratives with a variety of recorded sounds (Nov. 8).

Bang on a Can’s record label, Cantaloupe Music, will release a series of downloadable EPs of Michael Gordon’s Popopera, written for Holland’s Emio Greco dance company, who perform with electric guitars. Mr. Gordon, the co-founder of Bang on a Can, whose composing credits include a collaboration with Julius Knipl cartoonist Ben Katchor, wrote the multi-guitar piece specially for Emio Greco, who, charmingly enough, don’t actually know how to play.

Since 2007, new-music quartet ETHEL, who really can play, have been road-tripping across the country, immersing themselves in regional American music. BAM’s Next Wave Festival hosts their homecoming for a five-night stand of ETHEL’s Truckstop: The Beginning. The quartet will be joined by a conjunto accordian player, a Native American flutist from New Mexico, a Hawaiian slack-key guitarist and a bluegrass banjo player to perform compositions influenced by the vernacular musical styles they encountered along the way (Oct. 14-18).

Uptown, catch another genius of eclecticism at Carnegie Hall: the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, joined by soprano Dawn Upshaw, will stage a concert performance of Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar (Fountain of Tears), a Flamenco-inflected one-act opera based on the story of the death of poet Federico Garcia Lorca, who was executed by Fascist soldiers during the Spanish Civil War in 1936 (Dec. 7). Stick around for the following week’s celebration at Carnegie of the 100th birthday of composer Elliott Carter. Daniel Barenboim will join the James Levine-led Boston Symphony Orchestra to premier Mr. Carter’s Interventions. (Dec. 11) Even further uptown, Columbia’s Miller Theater will feature the work of another eminence of modern composing, 92-year-old Milton Babbitt. The Zukofsky Quartet will play his complete string quartets (Nov. 5).

And let’s not forget classical classical: Pull up a very comfortable chair for the beginning of Austrian pianist Till Fellner’s trek through all 32 of Beethoven’s piano sonatas in a cycle of performances scheduled over the next three years, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Dec. 5, March 6, May 8).

Finally, keep your ears open to the continuing wave of discussion about the future of classical music generated by Alex Ross’ The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century, set for an October paperback release. Joe Queenan, for example, makes a passionately honest plea in The Guardian (www.guardian.co.uk) for modern composers to stop writing music that audiences find … difficult: “It is not the composers’ fault that they wrote uncompromising music that was a direct response to the violence and stupidity of the twentieth century,” Mr. Queenan writes. “[A]nd it’s not my fault that I would rather listen to Bach.” Harrumph!

ddacosta@observer.com

Indeed, the fall is packed with A-list indie releases—Mercury Rev on Sept. 29; Lambchop, Deerhoof and Of Montreal on Oct. 7; and Bloc Party on Oct. 28, to name a few. Even Portland’s lovable and literary Decemberists are getting in on the action with a new three-volume singles series, the first installment of which is set for an Oct. 14 release and features an ode to outed C.I.A. agent Valerie Plame. (Catch them perform the track live on Late Night With Conan O’Brien the night before the election.)

But the cool kids have iPhones, not compact discs, on their holiday wish lists. So it’s gonna take more than a few Pitchfork-approved buzz bands to boost sales. Luckily for record labels, a handful of classic artists are back with new albums. Metallica’s first studio album in five years, Death Magnet (released on Sept. 12), entered the Billboard charts at No. 1 last week. Hard rock fans will also be thrilled to hear AC/DC’s first album in eight years, Black Ice, when it’s released on Oct. 20. Oasis releases its latest, Dig Out Your Soul, on Oct. 6, although you may have already heard some of the tracks—after canceling their Sept. 12 show at Terminal 5, the Brit pop icons taught 30 M.T.A.-approved street musicians how to play a handful of the album’s tunes for public consumption. And what would a dreary autumn be without the melancholic melodies of the Cure? Their new album, the cryptically named 4:13 Dream, comes out on Oct. 14.

Next, a few flying under the radar: The enigmatic Canadian hard-core quintet Fucked Up (perhaps the first band whose name The New York Times would not so much as allude to in a concert review) has been exciting punk rock fans old and new. Now signed to Matador Records, they’ll release their second full length on Oct. 7, and hit the road with Vivian Girls, an all-female garage trio from Brooklyn who’ve been stirring up quite the hype storm, and whose self-titled debut full-length comes out the same day. Also, Mount Eerie, the current solo project of K Records fixture Phil Elvrum (formerly known as the Microphones), releases Lost Wisdom on Oct. 7; the Dears, an orchestral pop troupe from Canada that we haven’t heard too much about since Morrissey was pumping them a few years back, release Missiles on Oct. 21; and also that day, Gang Gang Dance, whose members are perhaps New York’s hippest new avant-gardists, release Saint Dymphna.

Not surprisingly, most of the blockbuster releases are slated for later in the season, just in time for the holiday shopping rush. It starts on Nov. 7 with the release of Folie a Deux, the new album by mall-punk darlings Fall Out Boy, and continues with the Killers’ latest, Day & Age, due on Nov. 25. Beyoncé’s yet-to-be-named third solo album hits stores on Nov. 18 (keep in mind her first two solo efforts both opened at No. 1 on the U.S. pop charts), and the hip-hop world is anticipating new releases by Eminem and Dr. Dre by year’s end. (Eminem hasn’t put out a new album since 2004, and Dr. Dre, who is working on the new Eminem disc, recently said that his long-awaited third solo album, Detox, will probably be his last.) But there’s no doubt that the most talked-about release of the fall will be—Britney Spears! The sometimes dysfunctional pop star’s new album, Circus, hits stores on Dec. 2, which is also Ms. Spears’ 27th birthday. Will she keep her hair intact until then? Stay tuned …

jpompeo@observer.com

Up first for the movie-heavy weekend of October 3 is Rachel Getting Married. Jonathan Demme directs, and Anne Hathaway (who must be officially declared as the go-to female of the moment) stars in this drama about a troubled young woman going home for her sister’s wedding. Hooray for familial neurosis! Also up is the very heavy-looking (and scary) Blindness, directed by Fernando Meirelles (The Constant Gardener) with the lovely Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo. We were told on good authority it’s like “Children of zombie men plus some sort of Wendy O. Williams prison rape movie, but you know: good!” O.K.! This very same weekend also brings Bill Maher and Larry Charles daring to take on the very icky, sticky topic of religion with Religulous; Greg Kinnear as the man who invented the windshield wiper in Flash of Genius; Michael Cera doing something twee and charming in Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist; and the long-awaited film adaptation of Toby Young’s How to Lose Friends and Alienate People. This one we’re a little worried about, but with Jeff Bridges and Simon Pegg, we’re willing to give it a whirl.

October 10 brings another teaming of Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe, this time with Leonardo DiCaprio (on loan from Scorsese) in the mix with Body of Lies (even without seeing it, we think they could have come up with a better title). Mr. DiCaprio plays a C.I.A. operative who no doubt dramatically clashes with Mr. Crowe. We’re not going to lie … we’re psyched to see these two onscreen together! Also opening, fresh from the New York Film Festival, is Happy-Go-Lucky, written and directed by Mike Leigh, about a 30-year-old elementary school teacher in North London. (Light fare, of course!) The next weekend brings Oliver Stone’s much-buzzed over W., opening on the 17^th. Josh Brolin stars as President Bush, Elizabeth Banks as Laura and—in a very complimentary piece of casting—Thandie Newton as Condoleezza Rice. Barry Levinson’s What Just Happened? also opens, starring Robert De Niro as a fading producer, and with lots of celebrity supporting roles including Bruce Willis, and Sean Penn as himself. Expect Hollywood insider jokes. The weekend of the 24^th carries with it some serious heavy hitters. There’s another New York Film Festival pick, the Clint Eastwood-directed Changeling, starring Angelina Jolie as a mother whose son was kidnapped and who’s convinced the boy returned to her is not her child. Then, the zany writer Charlie Kaufman has his directorial debut, with the hard-to-say Synecdoche, New York. This is a long and rather confusing movie, but filled with a ridiculously talented cast including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Emily Watson, Hope Davis, Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams and Diane Wiest. (It’s Ladyfest ’08!) If anyone understands the ending, please let us know! Meanwhile, Edward Norton and Colin Farrell costar in Pride and Glory, a gritty cop drama that has been kicking around for a while and is finally hitting screens.

Hey, give thanks for November! The kiddies will have something to see when Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa is released on the 7^th. Don’t those animals miss the comforts of the zoo, already? And then hold on to your hats, ’cause James Bond, courtesy of the blue-eyed Daniel Craig, is back in Quantum of Solace, the 22^nd Bond movie. So far, all we’ve heard about this one is Jack White’s theme song. The same weekend brings about the adaptation of The Road, starring everyone’s favorite movie star Viggo Mortensen. Directed by John Hillcoat (and adapted from the Cormac McCarthy novel), this is about a father and son trekking along through a totally, completely burned out United States. (Seriously, this should be way freakier than I Am Legend!) Sigh. It also stars Guy Pearce, Charlize Theron and Robert Duvall. Major Oscar-baiting comes with The Soloist, from director Joe Wright (Atonement) about a schizophrenic homeless musician (Jamie Foxx) who encounters a journalist (Robert Downey Jr.) who tries to help him get back on his feet and—uh-oh—“make his dreams come true.” Just how many movies can Robert Downey Jr. be in, we ask you? With Harry Potter getting pushed to next year, our money is on the other runaway teen fiction success story, Twilight, by Stephanie Myer, which rounds out the weekend. Kristin Stewart (who looks a lot like Meg Ryan sometimes, and who we think will be a major star) plays Bella, a young girl who falls in love with a very handsome vampire (Robert Pattinson, otherwise known as Cedric from Harry Potter). Sure, this might be ground covered before, but you know what? Still interesting!

We come to the big Thanksgiving holiday weekend (otherwise known as escape from your family for two hours) with plenty of choices. There’s Australia, from director Baz Luhrmann—who we haven’t heard from since 2001’s Moulin Rouge—reunited with Nicole Kidman, who plays an English aristocrat who inherits a Northern Australia ranch right before WWII and is forced to team up with the handsome help (Hugh Jackman) to drive 2,000 cattle to safety. Expect bombing and romance and big beautiful epic-ness aplenty. In one of the more unlikely romantic comedy pairings, there’s Four Christmases with Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon, playing a couple who try to visit all their respective divorced parents in one day. Think that one might ring familiar?

But for us at least, it’s all about Milk. Director Gus Van Sant’s trailer has already won our hearts—Sean Penn portrays gay San Francisco hero Harvey Milk, and it co-stars James Franco, Josh Brolin, Diego Luna and Emile Hirsch, all of whom have interesting ’70s hair on their heads or faces. Man, this one looks good!

We don’t have time or space to even think about December (Revolutionary Road! Frost/Nixon! The Wrestler! Doubt!) yet. Yet! But we can say there’ll be plenty to look forward to in winter besides presents.

svilkomerson@observer.com