MOVIES

Hollywood breaks out the holiday heavyweights

Daniel Day-Lewis portrays Abraham Lincoln in "Lincoln," a role and film that the star says intimidated him.

Brush off your Cabbage Patch Kids, get out your Bangles album, and squeeze some air into your Reebok Pumps. The ’80s are back — at least when it comes to this year’s holiday movie releases.

Just look at the lineup of films scheduled for movie theaters between now and Christmas: There is a remake of the 1984 classic Red Dawn, and the already open Wreck-It Ralph, which deals with characters from popular arcade games from three decades ago. James Bond — who spied his way through five movies in the ’80s — returned to the big screen Friday, plus there’s a film version of Les Misérables, a musical that debuted on Broadway in 1987. Even Barbra Streisand, who starred in the ’80s films Nuts and Yentl, is back with Guilt Trip.

For those of you who are less nostalgic, there’s also the finale of the Twilight film saga and the beginning of the new Hobbit franchise.

Here’s a look at some of the films scheduled to open this holiday season:

Friday

● The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2

Stars: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner

Director: Bill Condon

Plot: New mom Bella becomes the key player in a vampire battle royale.

What to expect: Fans will flock to see the final film.

● Lincoln

Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Director: Steven Spielberg

Plot: Abraham Lincoln pushes to get support to emancipate slaves.

What to expect: This is not the typical Spielberg film and may disappoint those looking for big special effects and stunts.

Nov. 21

● Red Dawn

Stars: Josh Peck, Josh Hutcherson, Chris Hemsworth

Director: Dan Bradley

Plot: Teens fight to save their town from an invasion of North Korean soldiers.

What to expect: Has a lot to live up to because the original 1984 movie is a cult classic.

● Life of Pi

Stars: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan

Director: Ang Lee

Plot: An Indian boy is adrift at sea with a Bengal tiger.

What to expect: Will be a visual feast.

● Rise of The Guardians

Stars: Chris Pine, Hugh Jackman, Jude Law, Alec Baldwin

Director: Peter Ramsey

Plot: Immortal Guardians team up to protect children.

What to expect: Familiar characters will entertain young and old.

Nov. 30

● Killing Them Softly

Stars: Brad Pitt, Ray Liotta, James Gandolfini, Richard Jenkins

Director: Andrew Dominik

Plot: An enforcer must track down three crooks who robbed the Mob.

What to expect: Box office totals will be driven by Pitt’s appeal.

Dec. 7

● Playing for Keeps

Stars: Dennis Quaid, Jessica Biel, Uma Therman, Gerard Butler

Director: Gabriele Muccino

Plot: A man’s attempt to reconnect with his son gets sidetracked by a coaching job.

What to expect: Will fill the void of romantic comedies.

Dec. 14

● The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Stars: Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett, Elijah Wood, Martin Freeman

Director: Peter Jackson

Plot: Bilbo Baggins joins a quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor.

What to expect: It will be a monumental launch for this film franchise.

Dec. 19

● Zero Dark Thirty

Stars: Joel Edgerton, Kyle Chandler, Chris Pratt, Harold Perrineau

Director: Kathryn Bigelow

Plot: Navy SEAL Team 6 searches for Osama Bin Laden.

What to expect: Could be the surprise hit of the holiday season.

Dec. 21

● This is 40

Stars: Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, John Lithgow, Megan Fox

Director: Judd Apatow

Plot: A look at the lives of Pete and Debbie a few years after Knocked Up.

What to expect: Hard to say since Apatow’s humor is hit and miss.

● Jack Reacher

Stars: Tom Cruise, Robert Duvall, Rosamund Pike

Director: Christopher McQuarrie

Plot: A detective looks into the sniper shooting of five people.

What to expect: Tom Cruise is a safe bet when he’s not in a musical.

Dec. 25

● Les Misérables

Stars: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried

Director: Tom Hooper

Plot: Ex-prisoner Jean Valjean’s life changes when he agrees to care for a factory worker’s young daughter.

What to expect: The popularity of the stage production will make this a box office hit.

● Django Unchained

Stars: Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Plot: A slave works with a German bounty hunter to track killers.

What to expect: It’s a Tarantino film, so expect this pre-Civil War film to be action-packed and bloody.

● Parental Guidance

Stars: Billy Crystal, Bette Midler, Tom Everett Scott, Marisa Tomei Director: Andy Fickman Plot: A grandfather’s parenting skills are tested.

What to expect: Crystal and Midler should produce plenty of laughs.

● Guilt Trip

Stars: Seth Rogen, Barbra Streisand, Yvonne Strahovski Director: Anne Fletcher Plot: An inventor and his mother go on a road trip.

What to expect: It all depends on how much chemistry Rogen and Streisand have.