Films To See In 2011: January

The year is coming to a close, which means that we're now headed into the cold season. It's always a bit depressing to go from the rich and enjoyable films of Oscar season to the barren and irritating first few months of the year. There's a fair bit of doubt amidst us concerning exactly how 2011 will do in comparison to 2010. I haven't a doubt that the film industry will do well financially, with an extremely fertile slate of Summer films on the way. It's impossible to tell what will be the critically successful films of the year, especially this far before the festival circuit. That will take a fair bit of patience.

As for the start of the year, it's obviously going to be a long haul. It always is. January is the hardest in terms of new releases, which is why I rely mostly on the wide expansions of the late 2010 flicks that I didn't see before the year was over like Another Year and Blue Valentine. There is the obvious crap that lies in the marketplace, and for once I am going to indulge in that crap. I'll be skipping the obvious failures like Season of the Witch and From Prada to Nada. However, at the time being, it looks like I'll be settling in to see No Strings Attached when it is released. Keep hitting up the poll in the sidebar before it's too late. There are only two new releases that I can actively recommend for you to see. Take a look after the jump!

2. "The Way Back"

Directed by Peter Weir

I'm still not at all certain if this film is eligible for the Academy Award for Best Picture this year, but even if it is, there's not a chance in hell that it will make it in now. That's not to say that I don't look forward to seeing it, or that I expect it to be a failure in the least. I don't really have anything to judge my expectations for the film by, seeing as I've never seen a film by director Peter Weir before. Closest I ever got was with Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, but I ultimately didn't see the value in it. The trailer feels pretty coarse, and I don't expect the writing to excel too much. Still, it ranks higher than most of the other prospects of this January, and sometimes operating outside the usual system of awards prospects works out better for a film. You never know.

1. "The Green Hornet"

Directed by Michel Gondry

I'm not sure if I should be sad that this is probably the best film of the month, because I honestly don't know what to expect. On the one hand, everything I've seen from the film looks really funny. Then again, Seth Rogen is the main character and he's acting kind of stupid. I'm not sure if that's what they're going for or not, and I haven't a clue what Christoph Waltz's job in the grand scheme of the film is going to be. All the same, Michel Gondry has done some fantastic directorial work in the past, and I trust he will do so again. We'll have to wait and see how it all pans out, but it could be something really cool and funny. Not powerful on the same level of films like Spiderman or The Dark Knight, but not altogether bad.