The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 37

G01 MOVIES Second chapter Zellweger brings WHERE TO GO! Lights, action There are a lot of ways to ring in the holiday season I at I i 1 I THE PANTAGRAPH Your weekly guide to things to do, whether staying in or going out. THURSDAY, November 25, 2004 edge of reason in connal frn ciirnneo -V A hit film. Ny and one of the very best is here. The annual East Peoria Festival of Lights Parade starts at 6 p.m. Saturday, followed by the Page E3 us Festival of Lights that opens Sunday and runs through New Year's Eve.

Festival hours are 5-10 p.m. Holiday happenings almost too numerous to list but here goes daily. Call (309) 747-0302. Deck the halls And, here's another one: Christmas at Clover Lawn recreates a Dickens-era holiday celebration at the historic David Davis Mansion in Bloomington. Enjoy festive trees, music, refreshments and mansion tours from 9 a.m.

to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday also until Dec. 31. Call (309) 828-1084. NEW AT THE MOVIES By Dan Craft i dcraftpantagraph.com Ready or not Us the season.

In fact, it's been that way for several weeks now. But, trust us, things really begin in earnest this weekend Thanksgiving weekend, in case you didn't notice the bountiful feast sitting over on the dining4 room table today. So, there's no turning back or even stopping dead in your tracks. Forward momentum rules the roost from here on out. Tb help you hang on for dear life, we've come up with an advance arts and entertainment planner for the next four weeks' of seasonal events in Pantagraphland.

lb keep things navigable, we've grouped everything by subject matter, from Christmas movies to. festivals of trees to Nutcrackers. Hot this weekend's activities, check the calendar listings beginning on E4: the following preview covers everything between Dec. 1 and 31. Alexander For years, Oliver Stone has wanted to make a film about the famed Macedonian king, and after fighting his own battles, the director has delivered the finished product.

Colin Farrell plays Alexander, who by the age of 25 had conquered most of the known world. He's helped by Val Kilmer as his father and, in an odd bit of casting, Angelina Jolie as his mom. See GO! Movies, E3, for more 1 WHAT'S TO DO! The gang's all here "Seinfeld" wasn't an instant hit when it premiered in 1989 -and neither have been any of the sitcoms the show's co-stars have headlined since the show went off the air in 1998. But we digress. At 9 p.m.

Thursday on NBC, the 1 S' whole gang is back for "The Seinfeld Story" with clips and cast interviews. Scarpetta on the case This is weird with all the news about flu vaccine shortages: The killer in Patricia Comwell's latest blockbuster thriller "Trace" appears to BE the flu or so famed ex-medical examiner Kay Scarpetta suspects. Back on the job, she sets out to prove a young girl was not a flu victim but was murdered. NEW ON VIDEO New Christmas movies Blade: Trinity (Dec. 8), the third adventure for the trendy vampire hunter (Wesley Snipes) sees him framed as a serial killer by the vampire under-' world.

Kris Kristofferson and Jessica Biel co-star. Ocean's Twel ve (Dec. 10), sequel to "Ocean's Eleven," with Steven Soderbergh again directing George Clooney Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Don Cheadle, Andy Garcia and the rest of the gang. This time, the dapper dozen is planning concurrent heists in Rome, Paris and Amsterdam. Beyond the Sea (Dec.

10), in which Kevin Spacey directs and stars in the biography of singer Bobby Darin, co-starring Kate Bosworth, John Goodman and Bob Hoskins. The Aviator (Dec. 17), with Martin Scorsese directing Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes in a biography of the eccentric tycoon's life and times. Co-starring Kate Beckinsale, Jude Law, Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin, Alan Alda, Willem Dafoe and Ian Holm. Lemony Snlcket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (Dec.

17), film version of the children's series by Snicket (real name Daniel Handler) and detailing the whimsical adventures of three young orphans and their nemesis, Count Olaf (Jim Carrey) -r- as narrated by Snicket (Jude Law) himself. Meryl Streep plays Aunt Josephine. Spanqlish (Dec. 17), writer-di-. rector James L.

Brooks' first film since "As Good As It Gets," a culture-clash comedy about a Mexican woman (Paz Vega) who moves in with a wealthy L. A. family (Adam Sandler, Tea Leoni, Cloris Leachman) her precocious 12-year-old daughter in tow. Flight of the Phoenix (Dec. 22), a remake of Robert Aldrich's 1966 survival drama, with Dennis Quaid now in command of the plane that crashes in the Mongolian desert.

Tyrese Gibson, Giovanni Ribisi and Miranda Otto are among the passengers. Meet the Fockers (Dec. 22), the sequel to "Meet the Parents," returning Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Blythe Danner and Teri Polo to their original roles, with Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman the newcomers, as Stiller's parents. An Unfinished Life (Dec. 24), director Lasse House Above: Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Howard Hughes in Martin Scorsese's "The Aviator." Below: Kenan Thompson brings "Fat Albert" to life.

fffljfi i i3 C3: tUi It if si by V. Julia Roberts as two couples whose private lives intersect, resulting in some messy Fat Albert (Dec. 25), a live-ac- tion edition of Bill Cosby's classic animated series, starring Kenan Thompson in the title role. The Life Aquatic with Steven Zissoii (Dec. 25), Wes Anderson's latest, starring Bill Murray as an eccentric oceanographer in a search of the enigmatic shark who ate his partner.

Cate Blanchett, Owen Wilson, Anjelica Huston, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldbum and Noah Taylor co-star. In Good Company (Dec. 29), with Dennis Quaid, again, this time as a middle-aged executive who is demoted and finds a man half his age (Topher Grace) as his new boss. Scarlett Johansson, Selma Blair and Marge Hel-genberger co-star. 1 1 4 TP 1 1 ftrti -4--- 1 iTfJlMTitTjijliil 1 man, Damien Lewis and Josh Lucas co-star.

Closer (Dec. 25), with Mike Nichols directing Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Clive Owen and Hallstrom's latest, starring Jennifer Lopez as an abused mother who moves in with her estranged father-in-law (Robert Redford). Morgan Free- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Gee, do you think about a zillion people will be watching the latest Harry adventure after they scarf down their turkey dinners Thanksgiving night? In this somewhat darker treatment of the franchise, Harry and his buds, Ron and Hermione, battle various evils, including Sirius, the titular prisoner who is thought to be out get Harry and good. Other new releases "Terminal," "Sleepover" i -j t- -M Savonna Grant, 8, dressed as an angel, marched in the Blooming-ton -Normal Jaycees Christmas Parade in 2002'. Grant was part of the group.

Bloomington. Falrbury Christmas Parade, at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 4 in downtown Fairbury. Mlnier Christmas Parade and Stroll, with the parade at 2 p.m.

Dec. 4 in downtown Minier. Minonk Christmas Parade of Lights, with illuminated floats and fireworks, at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 4 in downtown Minonk.

Springfield Christmas Parade, at 10 a.m. Dec. 4 in downtown Springfield. Holidays Heyworth-Style Parade, 2 p.m. 12, downtown Heyworth.

Holiday parades Clinton Christmas Parade, Dec. 1 in downtown Clinton. Lincoln Christmas Parade, at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 2 in downtown Lincoln.

Dwlght Christmas Parade, at 6 p.m. Dec. 3 in downtown Dwight. Pontlac Light It Up Parade, with illuminated floats, at 5:30 p.m. Dec.

3 in downtown Ponti-ac. Bloomington-Normal Jaycees Christmas Parade, at 10 a.m. Dec. 4, from Kingsley Junior High School in Normal to downtown 1 Pantacjraph file photoSTEPHANIE OBERLANDER GO! EATS On a roll Starbucks brings its winning streak to the Twin Cities E2 GO! CALENDAR Ye olde music show ISU's Madrigal dinner shows venerable medieval fun E4 CONTACT US Dan Craft, entertainment editor (309) 829-9000, ext. 259 e-mail: dcraftpantagraph.com I Historic open houses Page E7 I Musical sounds of the season Page E10 I Lights shine on festivals PageE6 Area theater marks holiday Page E7 I Classic films for.Christmas Page E10.