USA Today has a great holiday movie preview story running today which lays out the best of the upcoming movie season in two categories: “Oscar-worthy flicks” and “Box-office biggies.”

Nicole Kidman’s “Australia,” Sean Penn’s “Milk,” Clint Eastwood’s “Gran Torino,” and Brad Pitt’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” head the list of Academy Award favorites.

Box-office biggies include the newest James Bond (“Quantum of Solace“), Adam Sandler’s “Bedtime Stories,” the next Madagascar (“Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa”), Jim Carrey’s “Yes Man,” and “The Spirit” starring Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, and Gabriel Macht.

Daniel Craig is the actor who may win two ways, if his second outing as James Bond goes well and if his “Defiance” can open on December 31 (the last day to qualify for Academy consideration).

It’s also a decent season for star actors. Meryl Streep is back, playing a nun who suspects a priest (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) of abuse in “Doubt.” Tom Cruise is back as a German army officer in “Valkyrie”). Keanu Reeves comes from outer space as Klaatu in “The Day the Earth Stood Still.” Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are together again in “Revolutionary Road” and Will Smith is an interesting kind of Good Samaritan in “Seven Pounds.”

Idol Chatter will take a look at those films that promise to be the most inspiring in a future post. For now, though, the USA Today article is one of the better guides for seasonal movie watching. The guide creates nice expectations that will hopefully be fulfilled at the box office and on Oscar night and, most importantly, that will connect with us.

What upcoming movies are you looking forward to the most?