@ Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State Street, (312) 846-2800: First A Girl – 1935 British film directed by Victor Saville based on the 1933 German film Viktor und Viktoria (later remade by Blake Edwards in 1982 as Victor/Victoria). – Dec. 28 & 29

@ Navy Pier IMAX Theatre, (312) 595-5MAX (5629) : Santa vs. the Snowman 3D — LGBT moms, dads, aunts, uncles and others looking for a holiday movie experience that can be enjoyed by viewers young and old, need look no further than the clever and colorful Santa Vs. The Snowman. (B) – Through Jan. 4; Young Black Stallion – Dec. 25-Mar. 18 In theaters: Cheaper By The Dozen (20th Century Fox) — There are at least a dozen reasons not to see this unnecessary update of the classic 1950 Walter Lang comedy about Tom Baker (Steve Martin), a football coach, and his wife Kate (Bonnie Hunt), a writer, and their sizable brood. Here are just a few: 1. Too many sight gags, not enough script. 2. Hilary Duff and Piper Perabo (although Duff is the only actress dreadful enough to make Perabo tolerable). 3. Tom Welling doesn’t spend enough time shirtless. 4. Tom Welling doesn’t spend enough time in the locker room. 5. Steve Martin. 6. Ashton Kutcher. 7. Sassy children and their kooky schemes. 8. The cinematic question: Aren’t big families fun? The real answer: not this one. (D)

Cold Mountain (Miramax) — It wouldn’t be the winter holiday movie season without a Titanic-sized historical epic and Academy Award-winner Anthony Minghella attempts to fill the bill with Cold Mountain, his adaptation of Charles Frazier’s National Book Award winning novel. Set just prior to and during the Civil War, the Cold Mountain of the title is the North Carolina town where woodworker Inman (Jude Law) plies his trade. While helping to build a new church, he meets and falls for Ada (Nicole Kidman), the educated and sophisticated daughter of the widowed Reverend (Donald Sutherland). The heated, but chaste, courtship is brief, as Inman heads off to war. Moving back and forth in time, the screenplay balances the tragedies and casualties of war through Inman’s eyes as he deserts the army after being wounded, the multitude of losses suffered by those who stayed behind from Ada’s perspective as she loses her grip following the death of her father and loss of communication with Inman, and the incomplete story of the separated lovers. The other people who become involved in Inman and Ada’s lives, including Ruby (Renee Zellweger), a vagabond sent Ada’s way to assist her; Sally (Kathy Baker), a longtime Cold Mountain resident who also comes to Ada’s aid; and Veasey (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a fallen man of the cloth who accompanies Inman on part of his journey, are equally compelling characters and add warmth to Cold Mountain. (B+)

The Company (Sony Pictures Classics) — Joining the distinguished ranks of movies in which dance is a primary focus, Robert Altman’s latest is a semi-documentary shining a spotlight on the Joffrey Ballet. Working loosely with a script by Barbara Turner (Pollack), like The Joffrey itself, The Company is not so much about individuals as it is about the whole (hence the title). Dancer Ry (Neve Campbell, who has a background in dance) attends rehearsals, works nights as a cocktail waitress, tries to keep the peace between her divorced and remarried parents, takes on a lover, chef Josh (James Franco), and makes enough of an impression on the eccentric, outspoken, flamboyant, visionary artistic director Alberto Antonelli, a.k.a. Mr. A. (Malcolm McDowell) to be given a lead role. The dances are dazzling and spectacular, and have the potential to sway even those who had never considered attending the ballet to become subscribers. For a movie about a dance company, however, I was a little surprised at the way the gay presence was brushed aside, although there is a powerful and touching scene in which Mr. A speaks of the devastating losses that the world of dance has suffered as a result of AIDS. (B)

House of Sand and Fog (DreamWorks) — Like father, like son, writer Andre Dubus III has a way of illuminating the intricacies of family and relationships in the way his father, the late Andre Dubus (In The Bedroom) did and his novel House of Sand and Fog makes its equally captivating, if devastating, transfer to the big screen. Kathy (Jennifer Connelly), whose husband left her four months earlier, is a house cleaner living in the San Francisco house that was left to her by her father. She is evicted when the county charges her with non-payment of back business taxes, which she does not, in fact, owe. Massoud Behrani (Ben Kingsley), a former colonel in the Iranian military, is attempting to restore the nest egg he spent on his daughter’s wedding by working in a gas station and as part of a road construction crew, so he may purchase a home for his wife Nadi (Shohreh Aghdashloo) and his son Esmail (Jonathan Ahdout). Massoud purchases Kathy’s home, which has a view of the water, for a little more than $40,000, and after some minor renovations, puts it on the market for nearly five times that. Meanwhile, Kathy has hired a an attorney, Connie (Frances Fisher), through legal aid, started a relationship with married deputy sheriff Lester (Ron Eldard), and abandoned her sobriety. Cultures and personalities clash resulting in a tragic showdown that will likely leave many viewers shaken. Director Vadim Perelman’s debut is one of the most unforgettable movies of the year, made even more so by Kingsley’s magnificent performance. (A-)

In My Skin (Wellspring) — Marina de Van, who co-wrote some of gay French director Francois Ozon’s most popular movies (8 Women and Under The Sand), wrote, directed and stars in this deeply disturbing and troubling film. Esther (de Van) is a professional woman with a career as a writer. While wandering around in the dark outside of a party, she falls, slicing open her leg, missing injury to her joints and ligaments by an inch. Esther becomes obsessed with her wound, increasing the size, scope and seriousness of the gash. Soon, Esther has a ‘mindless urge’ to cut herself more and begins to experience fantasies in which limbs become detached. The intensity and graphic nature of the film had me watching more than few scenes from between my fingers. (B-)

Paycheck (Paramount) — Action director John Woo’s slightly better than average movie adaptation of the late science-fiction writer Philip K. Dick’s story is about Michael Jennings (Ben Affleck), a highly regarded computer engineer who sacrifices a few months of his memory to work on top-secret projects and reap the financial benefits. When he is offered a job by high-tech businessman Jimmy Rethrick (Aaron Eckhart), to work on the biggest and longest (three years) project of his career, he accepts, knowing there is a big paycheck. But the machine he is involved in creating can see into the future and things don’t look too bright. Paul Giamatti (memory eraser Shorty) and Uma Thurman (biologist Rachel) add a little sparkle to this otherwise by-the-book sci-fi thriller. (C+)

Peter Pan (Universal) — Not content with slamming the Cat In The Hat’s tail in the door, Universal turns its attention to Peter Pan, another classic of children’s lit, and comes close to demolishing it, too. Runaway siblings Wendy (Rachel Hurd-Wood), John (Harry Newell) and Michael (Freddie Popplewell) spite their stuffy banker father Mr. Darling (Jason Isaacs) by running away to Never Never Land with eternal boy Peter Pan (Jeremy Sumpter) and Tink (Swimming Pool’s Ludivine Sagnier). Once there, they meet the Lost Boy and the marauding pirates, led by Captain Hook (Isaacs, again), where Hook continues to seek revenge on Peter for the loss of his hand. The ‘no place like home’ message is nearly buried under silly special effects and Sumpter’s Peter Pan is so grating that I found myself rooting for Hook. Fifty years after the Disney cartoon, and this is the best they can do? (D+)