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In this week's Culture Gabfest, our critics discuss whether you should see the Avatar, women in (and absent from) the world of film, and the year in video games.

Here are links to some of the articles and other items mentioned in the show:

Avatar's official site.
James Cameron's IMDB page.
The Matrix's Wikipedia page.
Director Michael Bay's Web site.
Trailers for James Cameron's 1989 film The Abyss.
New York Times critic Manohla Dargis' foul-mouthed interview with Jezebel on women in film.
The trailer for Kathryn Bigelow's film The Hurt Locker.
The Web site for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
Sony PlayStation3 video games Flowerand Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.
Puzzle teaser games Desktop Tower Defenderand Blueberry Garden.
The official site for Max Payne.
Trailer for the new Batman: Arkham Asylum.

The Culture Gabfest weekly endorsements:

Julia's pick: Cate Blanchett in A Streetcar Named Desire.
Chris's pick: Director Jason Reitman's latest film, Up In the Air.
Stephen's pick: Low's Christmas Albumand Slate's Timothy Noah's coverage of the health care debate.
Dana's pick: The new film Crazy Heart.