Some Recurring Themes in the Year in Movies

Delivering bad news on major current events issues:
Up in the Air (unemployment)
The Messenger (Iraq)

A selfish man unable/uninterested to make (mostly filial) connections:
Up in the Air
Funny People

Non-human species who live in a tree and are attacked by villainous humans:
Avatar
Fantastic Mr. Fox

Leaving home, embarking on odyssey, and then returning:
Up
Where the Wild Things Are

Others?