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After years of writing feverishly, Charles Dickens desperately needed a break from his demanding schedule and money to finance a year abroad.

England's best-known author hoped "A Christmas Carol," a tale about ghosts haunting the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, would be his ticket to a yearlong Italian vacation for him, his wife, five children and servants.

It's almost axiomatic to say that Pixar movies are just as enjoyable for adults as they are for kids.

"Luna Park" will haunt you.

A graphic novel by best-selling author Kevin Baker ("Dreamland") and artist Daniel Zezelj ("Loveless"), "Luna Park" (Vertigo, $24.99) begins as a noir crime thriller but expands into historical fiction and dreamlike scenarios, stretching through centuries of Russian and New York history.

"PHRAZES FOR THE YOUNG," Julian Casablancas (Cult Records/RCA)

When The Strokes emerged earlier this decade some talked as though the New York City garage band would save rock music -- a ridiculous notion since rock wasn't dying and even if it were, one band certainly wouldn't save it.

Robert Zemeckis may just be the father of the performance-capture, 3-D mania sweeping through Hollywood.

His "Polar Express" inspired DreamWorks animation chief Jeffrey Katzenberg to declare, "It was the most exciting experience I'd had in a movie theater."

A guide to movies from a family perspective:

"A Christmas Carol"

-- Rated: PG.

-- Suitable for: Children 6 or 7 and up, keeping younger in mind. It will help if they're familiar with the story and know it will end happily.

Bertrand Russell is an unexpected comic book hero, but then, "Logicomix" is full of surprises.

In the world of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," this is the mother of all crossovers.

A three-part story will intertwine all three "CSI" shows -- the original "CSI" set in Las Vegas, "CSI: Miami" and "CSI: NY." The crossover begins with the "Miami" episode (airing 10 p.m. Monday, CBS).

Deborah Heiligman knew it would make a great book: the idea that Charles Darwin's religious wife Emma was terrified that her beloved husband would go to hell for his theory of evolution.

"That's funny." (Man at prairie crossing)

"What?" (Roger Thornhill, played by Cary Grant)

"That plane's dustin' crops where there ain't no crops." (Man)