CLAIRE DANES

The roles keep getting bigger but this 28-year-old New Yorker still hasn't broken through to the really big star level that seemed to be beckoning after Romeo and Juliet in 1996. That said, she has still been doing pretty well for herself with a busy movie schedule. She got her first break on TV in the cult fave, My So- Called Life, and earned a Golden Globe in the process. On the big screen she has held her own with Leonardo DiCaprio, Liam Neeson, Matt Damon and The Terminator. Next up is a mystery/thriller, The Flock, with Richard Gere.

Selected filmography

*Stardust (2007)

*Evening (2007)

*The Family Stone (2005)

*Shopgirl (2005)

*Stage Beauty (2004)

*Terminator 3 (2003)

*It's All About Love (2003)

*The Hours (2002)

*Igby Goes Down (2002)

*Brokedown Palace (1999)

*The Mod Squad (1999)

*Les Miserables (1998)

*Polish Wedding (1998)

*The Rainmaker (1997)

*U Turn (1997)

*Romeo And Juliet (1996)

*To Gillian On Her 37th Birthday (1996)

*I Love You, I Love You Not (1996)

*Home For The Holidays (1995)

*How To Make An American Quilt (1995)

*Little Women (1994)

Stardust

RATED: PG

A fantasy romance film that features a movie-stealing turn by Robert De Niro as a cross-dressing pirate whose ship flies (we told you it was a fantasy). Claire Danes stars as a star (of the twinkle, twinkle little-variety) who falls to earth. An erstwhile young suitor (Charlie Cox) decides to retrieve said star for his lady love (Sienna Miller) but a wicked witch (Michelle Pfeiffer) is also on the hunt. Peter O'Toole costars.

Halloween

RATED: 18A

Just in time for Christmas comes director Rob Zombie's sequel to John Carpenter's original. It picks up with a 27-year-old Michael Myers escaping from the institution he has called home for 17 years and heading back to Haddonfield, where he wants to find his baby sister, Laurie. That can't be good for anybody.

Underdog

RATED: G

Something to help you keep the kids happy over the holiday. A lab accident turns a beagle (world's best dog) into a super hound. Jason Lee provides the voice of Underdog while Peter Dinklage, James Belushi and Patrick Warburton add the human touch to this family film.

The Simpsons Movie

RATED: PG

Homer Simpson himself couldn't believe people would want to pay money to see his famous family in a theatre when they were free every Sunday night, but the public proved him wrong again (d'oh). The feature-length Simpsons episode was a box-office hit with its story of Homer's polluting of Springfield and much funnier than a lot of the recent TV episodes.