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Since Charles Dickens' first public reading of 'A Christmas Carol' in 1853, his novella about the redemption of the miser Ebenezer Scrooge has been dramatized on stage, records, radio, television, film and even opera. In movies, where a silent version first hit the screen in 1901, it has been told in nearly every format, from live-action to Muppetry to computer-animation, and its lamentable hero has been played by everyone from Lionel Barrymore to Bill Murray and Yosemite Sam.

The question, as 'Disney's A Christmas Carol' flies into theaters, is not whether you want to see it again; history tells us you do. But how badly do you want to see it in motion capture animation, the process that director Robert Zemeckis' used on his last two films, 'Beowulf' and 'The Polar Express?'

Matt Damon has never shied away from choosing politically themed movies, from 'Syriana' in 2005 to 'The Good Shepherd' in 2006 to the 2010 thriller 'Green Zone.' Already, 'Green Zone' is being attacked by some online commentators as a movie of American guilt, supposedly representative of Damon's left-leaning politics.

"[It] sounds like another boring anti-American diatribe," one user ranted recently on a Collider.com message board discussing the film's release. "When is Hollywood going to make a film that has at least a modicum of original material and perhaps something intelligent that requires just a minimum of thought?"

The new war comedy 'The Men Who Stare at Goats' has the sort of intellectually challenging title that can make theater-goers skip straight to Disney's 'A Christmas Carol' or something that goes down more smoothly ('The Fourth Kind,' anyone?).

But, au contraire, check out this list of good-to-great movies with titles that may have scared audiences away in their day.

If Oscar buzz were directly proportional to the length of a film's title, then the success of 'Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire' would be a foregone conclusion. Of course awards season predictions are never quite that simple, and it's a good thing, too. If the winners were that foreseeable, what would become of our office Oscar pools?

In fact, the film's onerous title is one of the few flaws many critics have found with 'Precious'. After wowing the festival circuit earlier this year -- receiving a standing ovation at Cannes and winning the Audience awards at both Sundance and Toronto, (the first film ever to win both) -- 'Precious' is garnering raves again as it opens this week in theaters nationwide.

"Remember, remember the 5th of November. The gunpowder, treason, and plot. I know of no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot." -- V in 'V for Vendetta'

Alas, we are here, Nov. 5, and it is indeed Guy Fawkes Day / Night -- a full-fledged holiday in the U.K. Fawkes is known to today's movies fans as the face of a shadowy revolutionary character (played by Hugo Weaving) from the 2006 film starring Natalie Portman. The mask is of a real person: a British revolutionary from early 1600's who fought with the Spanish.

Thanks to TV, the world won't really end in '2012.'

According to a report at EW.com, Roland Emmerich, the producer-writer-director of the apocalyptic film, which opens Nov. 13, is developing a TV series that picks up after the big screen story ends.

Steven Spielberg needed something big to make the public forget about the painful 'Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' and his regrettable announcement of 'Indiana Jones 5.'

Luckily for him, the Anti-Defamation League has honored him with their highest honor: America's Democratic Legacy Award. The director's distinguished film and social work certainly deserves it.

While Moviefone is proud of Spielberg, we can't help but wonder, if he represents Indiana Jones in today's world of tolerance, understanding and acceptance, which celebrities represent the bad guys? The following names certainly fit that bill due to their recent ethnic or racial slurs.

Just imagining the pairing of Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin as co-hosts of the Oscars gave me the first laugh from a show that's still four months away! Though it's partially an act of product placement -- Martin and Baldwin co-star with Meryl Streep in the upcoming comedy "It's Complicated" -- Oscar producers Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman are guilty of nothing more (or less) than perfect casting.

Hugh Jackman, last year's song-and-dance host, did the right thing in declining a sequel. He was a novelty act, and a pretty good one, but Martin and Baldwin will give us the tongue-in-cheek presence that has been the host's signature since Bob Hope handed off to Johnny Carson who handed off to Billy Crystal. There have been other hosts strewn between, including on two occasions Steve Martin, but Martin and Baldwin together -- sublime.

Who's Raquel Houghton? And more importantly, why is everyone and their dog Googling her today?

Well, depending on who you believe, Houghton is either the ex-girlfriend of comedian Dane Cook ... or his wife -- if sites that report the two got married in December 2008 are correct. We can state with certainty that Houghton was a contestant on the eight season of 'American Idol' earlier this year (she made it to Hollywood, but not the top 32), and she also fronts an L.A.-based band called the Valli Girls.

Why she's all the rage on Google Trends at the moment is a deeper mystery.

Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will host the 82nd Annual Academy Awards, Variety is reporting. Last year's host, Hugh Jackman, recently opted not to return.

This will be Martin's third time hosting the Oscars. He was last seen on the Kodak stage in 2003, which went on to become the lowest-rated Oscar telecast ever to that point (it was later "topped" by Jon Stewart in 2008). Baldwin has never hosted, although he did receive a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for the 2003 film 'The Cooler.'

Baldwin and Martin can also be seen in the upcoming Nancy Meyers comedy, 'It's Complicated,' due in theaters this December.