They're back! "They" being the little people who have pretty much shanghaied the past couple of holiday-movie seasons.

No, not just elves . . . though this month has already had its share of them. Hobbits, actually. The stars of director Peter Jackson's ambitious, three-part, live-action adaptation of author J.R.R. Tolkein's "Lord of the Rings" epic trilogy.

The third and final film, "The Return of the King," is expected to be the movie to beat this holiday season. Not that there won't be challengers competing for that box-office crown.

On the way are:

ACTION: Tom Cruise is "The Last Samurai," Ben Affleck and director John Woo team for "Paycheck" and Paul Walker hopes to repeat his "The Fast and the Furious" success with "Timeline."

COMEDIES: Jack Nicholson plays an aging lothario in "Something's Gotta Give;" Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear are conjoined twins in "Stuck on You" and Billy Bob Thornton stars as a particularly "Bad Santa."

FEMALE EMPOWERMENT: Julia Roberts leads a feminist "Dead Poet's Society" with "Mona Lisa Smile."

FAMILY FARE: "Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat" stars Mike Myers as the title character, and Eddie Murphy becomes the unlucky owner of "The Haunted Mansion," another live-action feature based on a popular Disneyland attraction.

HORROR: The spooky "Gothika" stars Halle Berry.

OSCAR CONTENDERS: Weightier efforts include the ensemble dramas "House of Sand and Fog," with Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly; "Cold Mountain," starring Nicole Kidman, Renee Zellweger and Jude Law; and "21 Grams" with Sean Penn, Naomi Watts and Benicio Del Toro.

Another possible Academy Award contender is Tim Burton's "Big Fish," starring Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney and Jessica Lange, which will open in New York and Los Angeles in December but won't come here until January. That film — and others — will be covered in our January preview of early 2004 films.

For a complete holiday-movie list: Coming soon to a theater near you . . . .

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E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com