January in Film

So here we are in the new year. 2013 has a tough act to follow after the great year 2012 was, but there are a lot of films on the schedule this year with potential. As the year starts, I have to say this January continues the trend of recent years and has more intriguing fare than we usually see in the first month of the year. Here's to another year of cinema and here are my thoughts of all of the notable January releases.

Films I want to see:
6.Parker (1/25)-Jason Statham in his familiar wheelhouse is a guarantee I will see it. This film should also benefit from the presence of Michael Chiklis as the villain and talented veteran director Taylor Hackford.

5.Movie 43 (1/25)-Pretty funny looking anthology film with an all-star cast including Hugh Jackman, Gerard Butler, Emma Stone, Terrence Howard, Halle Berry, Kate Winslet, Richard Gere, and many more A-list stars. Seeing this many name actors in the same film and the series of short films concept is definitely appealing to me. Hopefully it's as funny as the red band trailer makes it out to be.

4.Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (1/25)-This looked just alright to me until I saw the red band trailer. Now it looks like a fun, gory B-movie to me. It should also be interesting to see a serious actor like Jeremy Renner play off-type in a corny horror-comedy like this. I'm expecting this to be a load of dumb fun making it perfect fare for January.

3.Broken City (1/18)-The trailer is good, but I'm expecting the movie to be better than it looks because of the talent involved. Mark Wahlberg and Russell Crowe are two of the best actors in the business right now and I loved director Allen Hughes's last movie The Book of Eli. It look like intriguing gritty thriller not unlike Wahlberg's Contraband, which was released last January.

2.The Last Stand (1/18)-Ahnold is back! Arnold Schwarzenegger's return to the big screen has been a long time coming and The Last Stand looks like a glorious return for the action legend. It looks to be loaded with explosions, big guns, corny dialogue, and B-movie greatness or in other words, It's got all the makings of a Schwarzengger classic. The fact that acclaimed Korean director Kim Ji-Woon is behind the camera makes it all the better.

1.Gangster Squad (1/11)-I've been waiting for this one ever since it got delayed from it's September release in the aftermath of the tragic Aurora movie theater shooting (The climax of the film involved gangsters shooting up a movie theater. The studio decided to cut the scene and re-shoot a different ending, causing the delay.) I absolutely love gangster movies and this look like it's going to be a great one. The cast is loaded with talent including Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin, Nick Noltie, Emma Stone, Sean Penn (I can't stand him, but he is a gifted actor), Michael Pena, and Anthony Mackie. Based on the premise, how good it looks, and the cast, This is one of my most anticipated movies of the year and I hope it lives up to my expectations.

Films I'm unsure about:
Texas Chainsaw 3D (1/4)-I have a soft spot for slasher movies and the trailer is actually pretty decent for this. The problem is that I despised the 2003 remake and even though this film has nothing to do with it, I'm a bit wary of how it will be. I will check it out on DVD though and maybe it will surprise me.

Film I have zero interest in seeing:
A Haunted House (1/11)-What the hell happened to Marlon Wayans? The first two Scary Movie films were really funny, but ever since he really lost his niche at spoof films. This movie looks pretty damn unfunny and even though I do like Cedric the Entertainer, I won't be seeing this one.

Mama (1/18)-Good cast, but Guliermo Del Toro-produced horror always underwhelms and the concept is dumb.