Serious fare, family fun, Philly flicks

It's the end of the world as we know it (The Road, 2012), our wives and/or children are being killed (The Boys Are Back, Law Abiding Citizen, The Lovely Bones), vampires and woolly beasts are on the prowl (Twilight, Where the Wild Things Are), a 1930s aviatrix and a 1960s Japanimation icon are flying high (Amelia, Astro Boy), and the monosyllabic movie musical is back (Fame, Nine, Dare)!

And in a trend we might not see again for a while, if the Pennsylvania filmmaking tax incentive program bites the dust, a handful of the season's top titles hail from Philadelphia and the region. Among 'em: Law Abiding Citizen, The Lovely Bones, and The Road (shot in western Pennsylvania, edited in Philly).

Fall traditionally marks the release of awards-contending adult fare, and this year there are candidates from the Coen Brothers (A Serious Man) and Philadelphia's own Lee Daniels (Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire). But there's a goodly number of family- friendly pics coming this way, too.

Watch for Wes Anderson's stop-motion animation adaptation of Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr. Fox, along with the alien invasion 'toon Planet 51, Disney's A Christmas Carol starring Jim Carrey as nearly everyone, and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel. (Ouch!)

- Steven Rea
Inquirer movie critic