JANUARY FILMS WORTH SEEING

Kind of a slow month--somewhat expected with all the award shows coming up shortly. The Golden Globes will be broadcast January 16, while the Oscars will air February 27, so all we have to look forward to is Nicolas Cage being a nutcase, Ben Affleck and other white guys losing their jobs, and Jason Statham slaughtering the masses.

January 7th
Season of the Witch
I think it's safe that say that Nicolas Cage has cornered the market on over the top performances. But, producers keep calling so Cage keeps delivering the goods. So to speak. Cage, along with Ron Perlman (Hellboy) are knights returning from the Crusades who have to transport a supposed witch to a monastery so the monks can remove the non-existent evil.



See more after the break.


January 14th
Ong Bak 3
Probably the scariest, skinniest dude on the planet, Tony Jaa returns for the third installment of his muay-tai central martial arts flick. The first two were filled with crazy stunts! unbelievable action! death-defying moves! And other things that can only be described with exclamation points.

These films make me glad I'm not a stunt man, since many I'm sure were sent to the hospital. And if it's this hard to get health care in the United States, who knows what it's like in Thailand. Which is beautiful by the way. Land of a thousand smiles, which is a thousand percent true.



January 21st
Company Men
Ben Affleck is rightfully receiving some serious acclaim for his directorial and starring efforts in The Town. Here he plays Bobby Walker: a man recently fired from his corporate job. This will obviously hit home to many after the financial letdown of the U.S. markets left millions without work. To put food on the table, he starts some carpentry work with his wife's brother (Kevin Costner)

Lots of Oscars floating around here. Affleck (screenplay for Good Will Hunting), Tommy Lee Jones (supporting actor for The Fugitive), Kevin Costner (director for Dances with Wolves). It also has Rosemarie DeWitt, who on top of being good-looking, probably has the cutest name in showbiz. Just say it out loud; you'll want to pinch her cheeks.



January 28th
The Mechanic
I've talked a lot of this one in the last few days. If you crave bloodshed, swearing and (crossing my fingers) some female nudity, The Mechanic is your last stop. Jason Statham's Arthur Bishop is a 'mechanic'--a hit man who always works alone. But when his mentor (Donald Sutherland) is murdered, his son (Ben Foster) wants revenge.

This is a remake of the 1972 Charles Bronson film of the same name, and director Simon West's first picture since When a Stranger Calls (2006). Other than Camilla Belle, that film offered nothing. With the combined efforts of Statham, Foster and Christa Campbell, who got her start with Erotic Confessions: Volumes 1, 3, 6 and 11 (award winning!), the tides will hopefully turn.