Preparing to unwrap what the holiday screen holds

You could talk about: Jason Lee getting paid. Surely this former skateboarding champion’s gig on “My Name Is Earl” is bringing in the big bucks, so why is he starring as Dave alongside three computer-animated rodents in this winter’s “Alvin and the Chipmunks”? We don’t think he looks anything like the Dave from our favorite Saturday morning cartoon. (Weirdly, we were Simon fans.) Now, Stephen Colbert, that would be a good choice. (Dec. 14)

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You might talk about: The dearth of fun movies. Our pooch died recently and all we want in the world is to disappear into a dark movie theater and escape with the help of comedy. But what could we see? “The Comebacks”? No, thank you. “Fred Claus”? Eh. Do we really have to wait until “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” -- the fake music biopic co-written by Judd Apatow? And even that’s not a sure thing. (Dec. 21)

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You will inevitably talk about: “Charlie Wilson’s War.” Tom Hanks with a Southern accent! Julia Roberts back from baby leave with a Southern accent! Mike Nichols behind the camera (maybe with a Southern accent)! And Aaron Sorkin wrote the script! We think the trailer looks good, but our friends in the film business aren’t super-psyched for this one. Doesn’t matter. You’ll talk about it anyway. (Christmas Day)

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We’ll secretly be talking about: “National Treasure: Book of Secrets.” The first “National Treasure” movie wasn’t a great film -- the stuff with the super-hot historian who falls in love with Nic Cage’s character was especially absurd -- but it was, surprisingly, a ton of fun. And so we’re going to admit to being more excited for the second installment of this franchise than just about anything else this season. (Dec. 21)

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We’re willing to talk about: “Enchanted.” For months now, a discerning friend has been looking forward to this movie about characters from a fairy-tale world showing up in New York City. We don’t always agree with her but we always respect her opinion, so maybe this film will truly be funny and charming. Maybe! (Nov. 21)

-- Deborah Netburn