Even without a holiday-themed movie opening this Thanksgiving (like 2008’s hit Four Christmases), the six movies arriving in Detroit theaters for the long weekend actually have a very timely common theme: family. From slapstick comedy and witty animation to phantasmagoric action and incisive drama, these very different families deal with the clash of expectation and obligation.

The idiosyncratic Wes Anderson has always made films that emphasized place as much as people (Rushmore, The Life Aquatic), so it’s no surprise that he translates his peculiar aesthetic so well to animation, creating a beautifully off-kilter world for the Fantastic Mr. Fox, a stop-motion adaptation of Roald Dahl’s children’s book.

Mr. Fox (voice of George Clooney) gave up stealing chickens to become a responsible father, but can’t resist the allure of one last big heist. This yearning to relive youthful pursuits coincides with the adolescent turmoil felt by his son Ash (Jason Schwartzman), who’s jealous of his too-perfect silver fox cousin. Those internal battles are put aside as nattily dressed forest creatures do battle with vengeful farmers instead of their own natures, and Mr. Fox pulls out all the stops to save his endangered skulk.

The only problem with Anderson’s clever and inventive tale is that (like Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are) it will probably be enjoyed more by adults in tune with its wry sensibility than kids who wonder why these beasts spend more time bantering than acting like animals.

Old Dogs doesn’t have much bite since Disney recycled a well-worn plotline: the instant daddy, ala Three Men and a Baby, only more decrepit. Director Walt Becker (Wild Hogs) keeps joking that gung-ho sports marketers Charlie Reed (John Travolta) and Dan Rayburn (Robin Williams) are mistaken for grandparents whenever they’re out with Dan’s 7-year-old fraternal twins (and Charlie thought his partner's drunken quickie marriage was only good for a humorous anecdote).

In this kind of over-the-top, broad comedy, there’s very little resembling a normal response to a situation, and the arrival of these unexpected dependents prompts the lifelong best friends into extreme acts of public humiliation, as if a series of grand gestures can replace actual commitment.

There’s an unintended poignancy to Old Dogs, seeing the surviving Travolta family (wife Kelly Preston and daughter Ella Bleu) and an appearance from the late Bernie Mac, but nothing onscreen is as touching. Laughing at their aging selves is one thing, but these comedic canines need fresh material to do their best tricks.

35 Shots of Rum, which closes the current Detroit Film Theatre season at the Detroit Institute of Arts, is as subtle as Old Dogs is overblown, a respite from the chaos of the holiday weekend. French director Claire Denis seems to effortlessly capture people as their lives quietly shift gears, providing a lovely glimpse of immigrant life in the Paris suburbs with this story of a closely-knit father and daughter.

Subway conductor Lionel (Alex Descas) and university student Joséphine (Mati Diop) have a comfortable routine in their orderly high-rise apartment. But their home feels larger than that: the building also houses Lionel’s former girlfriend, Gabrielle (Nicole Dogué), who still considers herself part of the family, and the brooding, peripatetic Noé (Grégoire Collin), who wants to put down roots with the hesitant Jo.

Driven along by Tindersticks’ tinkling, light-hearted score, Denis (Chocolat, Beau Travail) lets optimism be her guide, seeing that characters who have been on track too long are allowed to meander just long enough to find a new path.

But if loud, grisly, and ultraviolent is what’s desired (and logic is optional), there’s Ninja Assassin, a bloody, high-gloss B-movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously, except when delivering a steady stream of flashy, splashy fight sequences. The family here is a surrogate one: orphans become the “children” of Lord Ozunu (Sho Kosugi), a master sadist who turns his progeny into super killing machines with abilities that incorporate the supernatural.

Even with its hints of self-referential humor and visual flair – every fight scene is distinct, and one ninja battle occurs during busy Berlin traffic – there’s little to indicate The Matrix team, including V for Vendetta director James McTeigue, is behind Ninja Assassin. With the exception of its charismatic star, the stoic and sinewy Rain (the Korean singer popped in the misbegotten Speed Racer), there’s little to make this grinding grindhouse movie memorable.

Featuring gore galore and regular dismemberment (the first five minutes feature carnage at hyper-speed), this bit of Thanksgiving counter-programming is not recommended viewing directly after a big meal.

The violence in this adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer Prize-winning post-apocalyptic odyssey, The Road, is bound to be spiritual as well as physical, particularly in the hands of director John Hillcoat (who made the unforgiving Australian western The Proposition). Viggo Mortensen, an actor who can embody contradictory qualities (like an action hero with a thousand yard stare) portrays a father determined to get his young son to safety, despite the feral bands of fellow survivors they encounter on that journey.

Tragedy stemming from imagined disasters is popular movie fodder (like the recent 2012), but real-life wars, and the stories of those who fight, don’t have the same drawing power. Reluctant audiences are missing remarkable films like The Messenger, where intense emotions like grief, regret, anger and defiance are expressed alongside camaraderie, yearning, compassion and humor.

Israeli-born screenwriter Oren Moverman’s directorial debut employs a naturalistic style reminiscent of Hal Ashby (Coming Home), and puts the actors front and center. Staff Sergeant Will Montgomery (Ben Foster), recovering from wounds suffered in Iraq, is assigned to the Army’s Casualty Notification Service under by-the-book Captain Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson). The set-up seems cut and dried, but The Messenger is fluid in its storytelling and characterizations, with Foster and Harrelson fully inhabiting these soldiers, expressing bravado and vulnerability.

In this beautifully nuanced, low-key film about catharsis, Will visits next of kin to deliver the news no one wants to hear, and finds the willingness to envision his own future while laying the past to rest.

© 2009, Serena Donadoni. All rights reserved.