It Must Be January

There's a way to tell that the first month of the year has arrived, and it's not the shiny new calendar on the fridge. No, the biggest clue to the cinematic new year is anything but gleaming -- it's an influx of trash.

January is a very bittersweet month. The Oscars are coming, the "Best of's" are everywhere, but the bottom-of-the-barrel, obligatory garbage of the new film year is also coming in -- a painful reminder that the period of prestige pics is winding to its end.

Here's a sampling of the new critics screenings I've been offered, which firmly reinstates my point (In all honesty, I feel giddy and priveleged whenever I receive notifications of any screenings but, this lineup, truth be told, is pretty atrocious):

- "Hotel for Dogs" (well, it does have Lisa Kudrow...)
- "Bride Wars" (possibly fun, probably crap. Will this hurt Annie's Oscar chances, a la Eddie Murphy/"Norbit?")
- "New in Town" (Because "Cruel and Unusual Punishment" was taken)
- "Push" (too easy)
- "Friday the 13th" (just in case you needed another reminder of Hollywood's lack of originality)
- "Inkheart" (another studio fantasy concotion, another family-themed Brendan Fraser vehicle, another odd placement of Helen Mirren -- another year at the movies)
- "The Unborn" (too easy)
- "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" (Why? is all I've got)
- "Chandni Chowk to China" (The sole intriguing one in the bunch. But that title!)