Due to the recession, studios are now more conservative than ever when it comes to picking and choosing projects. As a result, there will be about 40 percent fewer films released this fall compared to the same season last year, according to Entertainment Weekly. Luckily, this Thanksgiving weekend’s selection of movies is as fruitful as ever, with a litany of high-profile releases that give audiences a jump on this year’s upcoming Oscar campaign. Headlined by the likes of George Clooney, Nicolas Cage and Viggo Mortensen, here are four solid bets to catch over the break.

‘Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans’ When Abel Ferrara heard that his controversial masterpiece, ‘Bad Lieutenant’ (1992) – the first film ever to be rated NC-17 mainly for drug content – was being remade, he famously remarked, ‘As far as remakes go … I wish these people die in Hell. I hope they’re all in the same streetcar, and it blows up.’ Legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog’s most mainstream American film to date, ‘Bad Lieutenant: Port Call of New Orleans,’ finds Nicolas Cage inheriting Harvey Keitel’s role as a policeman undone by the allure of hard drugs and even harder living. Reviews have been terrific, and the film should further the theory that Cage is truly a great actor (see ‘Raising Arizona,’ ‘Leaving Las Vegas,’ ‘Adaptation’), though he certainly is not the best at choosing projects. Herzog claims that the film is not a remake, that he didn’t like the title from the onset, and that he had never even heard of Ferrara before comparisons inevitably arose. The resemblance between the two films is undeniable, however, and should ‘Port Call of New Orleans’ rival Ferrara’s 1992 cult classic in quality and visceral punch, one would be ill-served to miss it.

‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’This stop-motion animated adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s book features Academy Award winners George Clooney and Meryl Streep as Mr. and Mrs. Fox, with Anderson regulars Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray and Owen Wilson lending their voices as well. ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ is the year’s second best-reviewed animated feature, trailing only Disney-Pixar’s ‘Up,’ and is set to expand nationwide on Nov. 25, just in time for some quality family viewing over the Thanksgiving holiday. This was a tremendously risky move for a filmmaker whose last few pictures were lukewarmly received, but it looks to pay off in spades.

‘Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire’Hype surrounding director Lee Daniels’ sophomore feature began all the way back in January at the Sundance Film Festival, where the film won both the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize for best drama. The disturbing story of Claireece ‘Precious’ Jones (Gabourey Sidibe), an obese, illiterate teenager with seemingly no way out of her New York City housing project, has drawn raves from critics across the board and has become something of a phenomenon since it opened on just a few screens earlier this month. Indeed, ‘Precious’ has shattered box-office records, grossing $1.8 million from a mere 18 screens its opening weekend, the largest-ever take for a film playing in less than 100 theaters. As Precious’ monstrous, abusive mother, Sidibe’s co-star Mo’Nique ? perhaps most famous for her role on the UPN comedy ‘The Parkers’ and roles in legendarily awful films such as ‘Half Past Dead’ (2002), ‘Soul Plane’ (2004) and ‘Phat Girlz’ (2005) ? is considered a frontrunner for the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. The picture, which was produced by media titans Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey, may well be this year’s ‘Slumdog Millionaire.’

‘The Road’ The last time a Cormac McCarthy novel was adapted for the screen, it won an Academy Award for Best Picture (‘No Country for Old Men,’ 2007). Director John Hillcoat has a tough act to follow in the Coens’ universally acclaimed thriller, and for a while the project appeared to be doomed as the studio continually pushed the release date further and further back: It was originally slated for release in November 2008. The novel, ranked by Entertainment Weekly as the best book of the last 25 years, tells of a post-apocalyptic world in which the few people who survived an unnamed cataclysm struggle to stay alive, battling starvation, hordes of cannibals and a harsh landscape. As the father shepherding his son through the uninhabitable terrain, Viggo Mortensen attempts to again prove why he is considered to be among the finest dramatic actors, having drawn tremendous acclaim for his turns in ‘A History of Violence’ (2005) and ‘Eastern Promises’ (2007), with assistance from Academy Award winners Charlize Theron and Robert Duvall. Don’t expect it to replicate the success of ‘No Country for Old Men,’ but still count on being shaken to your core by McCarthy’s dark, brooding vision.

smlittma@syr.edu