Win free movie tickets Editor's note: Comment on today's "Cinema Chat" for a chance to win free movie tickets to the Michigan Theater. Some time between now and 6 a.m. Wednesday, leave a comment on this column, written by the Michigan Theater's Russ Collins. Offer your opinion on a recent movie you've seen, or on anything Russ mentions. We'll randomly select a winner and notify that person via the email address they signed up with. They will get two passes to a movie of their choice.

It’s the holiday season Escape to the movies. Let’s face it, in real life holidays are rarely as warm and wonderful as your memory and imagination conjure. That seems especially true when the economy is whacked out. To retreat from the press of reality into a pleasant holiday haven, head to the movies. There, you can experience yuletide fantasies that will bring smiles, warmth and a retreat from the escalating cold and increasing darkness of winter (and the bum economy) — at least for a couple hours!

This week’s free holiday film at the Michigan Theater is a clever comedy starring Jimmy Stewart, “The Shop Around the Corner.” Directed by Ernst Lubitsch, it was remade in 1998 by Tom Hanks and called “You’ve Got Mail.” In 1940, when the original “The Shop Around the Corner” first played at the Michigan Theater, the featured vaudeville act playing live on stage before the screening was The Duke Ellington Orchestra! Unfortunately, the Duke and his band will not be playing this time around, but it is free and open to everyone. “Take the A Train” (or your car) to see this holiday classic on Sunday at 4 p.m.

Other classic holiday films coming to the Michigan: Sing-Along “White Christmas,” on Saturday, December 12 at 1:30 p.m. This special screening includes a Santa hat filled with surprises and lyrics for the classic Irving Berlin tunes projected on the big screen with the movie. Special admission price applies.

The Kiwanis Christmas Sing on Sunday, December 13 at 1:30 features Ariel & Zoey, Santa and Lucy Ann Lance as the host. The sing will be followed by “It’s A Wonderful Life” at 4 p.m., and it is all free.

A free screening of “Miracle on 34th Street” concludes the Michigan’s holiday series on Sunday, December 20 at 4 p.m.

Opening at the Michigan “The Messenger” is a powerful film featuring outstanding acting performances by Woody Harrelson, Ben Foster and Samantha Morton. The Oscar buzz has already started for this film and the three featured actors. A U.S. Army officer (Foster) who has just returned home from Iraq finds out his girlfriend (Morton) is marrying another man, and worse yet, he has been assigned to the Army’s Casualty Notification service. Partnered with fellow officer and recovering (or not) alcoholic (Harrelson) they carry the bad news to the loved ones of fallen soldiers. Playing exclusively at the Michigan. Opening at area multiplexes: “Brothers,” directed by Jim Sheridan, is also about a returning military man. Natalie Portman plays the wife of a soldier, thought killed in Afghanistan (Tobey Maguire). The soldier’s ex-con brother (Jake Gyllenhaal) steps in to become the man of the house. When Maguire’s character returns alive but clearly damaged, everyone involved is pushed to their emotional limits.

“Armored” is a bank robbery thriller, directed by Nimród Antal ("Vacancy"), which is built in the Quentin Tarantino mold of the perfect crime that goes horribly wrong. It stars Columbus Short, Matt Dillon and Laurence Fishburne.

“Everybody's Fine” stars Robert De Niro, Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell in a domestic comedy about a widower (De Niro) who takes an impromptu road trip in order to reconnect with his grown children, only to discover that his family members are living far from perfect lives. In this remake of a well-received Italian film, Mr. De Niro’s character is less cranky than his other domestic comedy roles (“The Last Kiss”).

Parody film “Transylmania” follows a group of college kids who travel to Transylvania for a semester at Razvan University, which isn't as picturesque or safe as it appeared on its brochure. Imagine vampires with a “National Lampoon” sensibility. Other special screenings (all at the Michigan Theater): The University of Michigan Center for Korean Studies presents “Welcome to Dongmakgol,” on Saturday, December 5 at 2 p.m. Admission is free. Set during the Korean War, combatants find themselves in a naively idealistic village that is so secluded its residents are unaware of the outside world, including the war.

“The Yes Men Fix the World” is a guerrilla comedy documentary that was a hit at Sundance. The troublemaking “Yes Men” expose companies profiting from Hurricane Katrina, the faces behind the environmental disaster in Bhopal and other shocking events. "Comedic vigilante justice… Media-savvy pie-to-the-face," says USA Today. Playing December 6-8.

“Big Fan” plays December 8-10. Created by Robert Siegel, former editor of The Onion, a parking attendant and New York Giants fanatic must reexamine his life after he is beaten up by his favorite player. LA Times critic Kenneth Turan called it “exceptional.”

“The Horse Boy” is a moving documentary playing December 9-10, about a Texas family who take their autistic son to Mongolia in the hopes that a combination of traditional shamanic healing and horseback riding will benefit him. “A lyrical, heartbreaking, and deeply stirring meditation on the mystery of autism,” says Entertainment Weekly. See you at the movies!

Russ Collins is executive director of the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor. Tune in to the audio version of “Cinema Chat” on WEMU radio (89.1-FM) each Thursday at 7:40 AM and 5:40 PM, or listen to it online at WEMU's web site.