The All-That-Jazz Spectacular

• Chicago. Stage director Rob Marshall's adaptation of the Bob Fosse musical is riding the coattails of last year's Oscar sleeper Moulin Rouge! A flash-'n'-trash feel-good romp, Miramax's Chicago will get some mileage from the Golden Globes but may lack the class to score with Academy voters (remember Evita?). Plus: Renée Zellweger's heartless wench, Roxie Hart, will easily nail a Best Actress spot -- Zellweger is adored by her fellow actors. And ubiquitous supporting man John C. Reilly (The Good Girl, Gangs of New York) may be this year's Jim Broadbent. Minus: Chicago could peak early and allow a later entry with momentum to forge ahead.

• Catch Me If You Can. Steven Spielberg's breezy sixties caper gives moviegoers the seductive Leo they crave, while Tom Hanks chews the scenery as the dogged FBI man chasing down DiCaprio's check-kiting rascal-on-the-lam. Plus: Oscar-savvy DreamWorks is pushing the movie, which could beat out Twentieth Century Fox's (and Spielberg's) visually stunning but lightweight Minority Report. Minus: Does it have enough heft to rise to an Academy level?