A Reel Preview: The Year in Film 2013- Episode I

In this first Episode of previewing The Year in Film 2013, Reel Speak looks at the remainder of January and all of February.

 

The first two months of the year can easily be considered Movie Siberia; films that are not nearly good enough for Oscar Season (September thru December), and below the standards for the Summer Movie Season (May thru July), usually get banished to this desolate part of the world where they are seldom seen or heard from. However, every once in a while a few sparks of life can emerge from the barren wasteland; these are the films which have a little potential to rise above their exile.

January

THE LAST STAND – Arnold Schwarzenegger is back in his first leading role since 2003 as a small town sheriff who wages war against a drug kingpin (Peter Stormare). Packed full of violence and cliché characters, Johnny Knoxville and Forest Whitaker also star.

MAMA – This Guillermo del Toro produced (but not directed) horror flick embraces the notion that nothing works better in delivering scares than a creepy little kid. Jessica Chastain (ZERO DARK THIRTY) stars.

BROKEN CITY – In this drama directed by Allen Hughes (THE BOOK OF ELI), Mark Wahlberg is an ex-cop turned private eye who is hired to spy on the cheating wife of the Mayor (Catherine Zeta-Jones and Russell Crowe).

February

JOHN DIES AT THE END – This little indie flick, which involves two knuckleheads who are tasked with saving the world, has been gaining its own cult following at film festivals in the past year. Rob Mayes, Chase Williamson, and Paul Giamatti star in this Don Coscarelli (BUBBA HO-TEP) directed film.

BULLET TO THE HEAD – This film is a near carbon-copy of THE LAST STAND, right down to its leading man. Sylvester Stallone is a hit-man who teams up with a cop to wage war against the killers of their respective partners. Based on a graphic novel, BULLET TO THE HEAD is directed by Walter Hill (48 HRS., STREETS OF FIRE).

SIDE EFFECTS – In what may be the final film by Steven Soderbergh (OCEAN’S ELEVEN, TRAFFIC)…Rooney Mara (DRAGON TATTOO, THE SOCIAL NETWORK) suffers unexplained (ahem) side effects from her prescribed medications. Jude Law, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Channing Tatum star in this psycho-sexual thriller.

A GLIMPSE INSIDE THE MIND OF CHARLES SWAN III – Take a look at the unique trailer (HERE) for this little flick written and directed by Roman Coppola, who has recently been Oscar nominated for the MOONRISE KINGDOM screenplay. This comedy promises a love story mixed with fantasy and stars Charlie Sheen, Jason Schwartzman, Patricia Arquette, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Bill Murray.

A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD – This needless fifth entry into the once-proud DIE HARD franchise has recently been announced to have an R-rating; a relief for fans who were disappointed in the watered-down fourth DIE HARD film in 2007. The bad news is it is directed by John Moore (MAX PAYNE, THE OMEN remake), but the good news is Bruce Willis gets to act like a real John McClane again.

Next month: Episode II looks at March and April.