Peter Travers' Fall Movie Preview: "Avatar," "New Moon," "Where the Wild Things Are," "Nine and more

Of the 100-plus movies between now and New Year's Eve, a few blockbusters will defy the limping economy and spew profits — hello, Avatar, 3-D spawn of James Cameron, and New Moon, werewolf spawn of vampiric Twilight. But what counts — OK, money always counts — is which of these contenders will play down and dirty in the Oscar Olympics. This year, the Academy has decided to double the Best Picture nominees from five to 10. And since the first eight months of 2009 have produced, what, two sure contenders (The Hurt Locker and Up), the field is wide open. Paramount suits, rich from two summer shitstorms (Transformers 2 and G.I. Joe), decided to push Martin Scorsese's thrilling Shutter Island into 2010, claiming they lack the funds to launch this triumph for Scorsese and star Leonardo DiCaprio. WTF and what a loss. Here is a selective list of fall movies I've seen whole or in part or just have a vibe about that are ripe to sprint past the Hollywood swill and into the winner's circle.

Plus: After Travers' Oscar picks, keep reading for his favorite Under the Radar films and his bets for box office winners.

Video: Peter Travers rounds up even more of fall's best and worst flicks