I was a naive young thing when I wrote my first starry-eyed movie preview back in the summer of 2005. It was a simpler time, and I believed that movies loved us as totally as we loved them. But now that I'm a jaded old crone, I understand that movies only want one thing from us, and that's sex. No, wait; it's money. Movies exist to separate you from your cash, while any satisfaction you might get as part of the relationship is strictly incidental.

And in the dead of winter, you have to wonder: is this movie so bad that it didn't deserve a better release date? Or is this movie so good that the distributor risked blizzard conditions in hopes that it wouldn't get lost in the glut of summer movies? So let's highlight some interesting films to watch for in the next couple months, but let's also try to identify the celluloid flotsam soon to clutter theaters. Remember, you've got to save your pennies for later stuff like the "Alien" prequel, the Batman finale, the other Snow White flick, and "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter." But first...

"Albert Nobbs" Glenn Close leads a stellar cast, including Mia Wasikowska, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and Janet McTeer, in this drama from Rodrigo Garc�a ("Mother and Child") about a 19th-century Irishwoman masquerading as a man to find employment as a butler. (1/27)

"Man On A Ledge" This heist thriller stars Sam Worthington ("Avatar") as an ex-con attracting attention with his apparent suicide attempt while simultaneously masterminding the theft of a diamond. With Jamie Bell, Elizabeth Banks, Anthony Mackie, and Ed Harris as The Villain. (1/27)

"One For The Money" Maybe Katherine Heigl thinks we won't recognize her with dark hair and pony up for another action rom-com, this one a Janet Evanovich adaptation that casts her as a bail bondswoman chasing down a square-jawed mouth breather from her past (Jason O'Mara). (1/27)

"W.E." Oh, Madonna. You're certainly taking a critical drubbing for your latest directorial effort, which juxtaposes the affair between a married woman and a Russian security guard against the inconvenient romance of King Edward VIII and American divorc�e Wallis Simpson. How about a lower-profile hobby, like scrapbooking? (2/3)

"The Innkeepers" Writer-director Ti West ("The House of the Devil") blends workplace comedy with horror flick, tagging along as two employees of Connecticut's supposedly haunted Yankee Pedlar Inn explore paranormal activities during the hotel's final days. (2/3 ltd.)

"Big Miracle" Listen; I love nature as much as the next guy, but just writing about this fact-based family film starring John Krasinski and Drew Barrymore as former flames on a campaign to save gray whales at the Arctic Circle is making my teeth hurt. (2/3)

"Safe House" Denzel Washington appears to be in sexy, swaggering bad-guy mode as Tobin Frost, a rogue CIA operative who becomes Ryan Reynolds' problem when even badder guys come gunning for them. With Sam Shepard, Vera Farmiga, and Brendan Gleeson. (2/10)

"The Vow" Take the lovable hunk from "Dear John" (Channing Tatum), add the tempestuous rich girl from "The Notebook" (Rachel McAdams), marry ‘em off, throw in a pinch of amnesia, and make him woo her all over again. Next, start crying. (2/10)

"Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace 3D" Really? You want to spend $13 to watch a film you've already seen? One that wasn't even originally filmed in 3D? Sucker. (2/10)

"A Separation" Filmmaker Asghar Farhadi received both Golden Globe and Independent Spirit nominations for Iran's Oscar submission, a domestic drama about the discord between a wife hoping to leave the country for a better life and a husband who wants to remain and care for his ailing dad. (2/17)

"This Means War" Movies, as you know, often call for a suspension of disbelief. But it's tough for me to buy the premise of McG's latest, in which the beautifully blue-eyed Chris Pine and the charismatic Tom Hardy play spies fighting over Reese Witherspoon. (2/17)

"Wanderlust" Underappreciated filmmaker David Wain follows up "Role Models" with this comedy about a downsized Manhattan couple (Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston) who wind up in a rural hippie commune. With Justin Theroux, Alan Alda, and Ray Liotta. (2/24)

"We Need To Talk About Kevin" Tilda Swinton stars in the new drama from acclaimed writer-director Lynne Ramsay as a mother coping with feelings of guilt and grief after her teenage son goes on a high-school killing spree. (2/24)

"John Carter" Oscar-winning director Andrew Stanton's ("Wall•E") first foray into live action is a sci-fi epic based on an Edgar Rice Burroughs serial about a Civil War veteran who gets involved with local politics after being transported to Mars. With Taylor Kitsch, Willem Dafoe, and Samantha Morton. (3/9)

"Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" Lasse Hallstr�m's treacly streak continues, following up 2010's "Dear John" with another feel-good literary adaptation, this one starring Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt as hirelings of a sheik hoping to bring fly-fishing to the desert. (3/9)

"Jeff, Who Lives At Home" Jason Segel plays the title character in the latest from Jay and Mark Duplass ("Cyrus") about a 30-year-old slacker who encounters his destiny when he finally leaves mom Susan Sarandon's basement to go buy wood glue. (3/9)

"21 Jump Street" Jonah Hill co-wrote the script for this tacky-looking 80's redo, in which he and Channing Tatum go undercover at a high school to bust a drug ring. Johnny Depp cameos, and Ice Cube yells. (3/16)

"Casa De Mi Padre" Will Ferrell speaks Spanish in this comedy as Armando Alvarez, who risks losing his father's ranch when he and his little brother (Diego Luna) take on a powerful drug lord (Gael Garc�a Bernal). Bonus: the mighty Nick Offerman and his mustache co-star! (3/16)

Oh, don't forget that release dates are subject to change!