What January 2013 films are even half-worth seeing? I don’t believe that Ruben Fleischer‘s Gangster Squad (Warner Bros., 1.11) is going to be much. Taylor Hackford‘s Parker (Film Disrict, 1.25)…who am I kidding? For the most part Jason Statham seems opposed to starring in crafty, above-average films — his last decent effort was ’08’s The Bank Job. I’ve heard that Kim Jee-Woon‘s The Last Stand (Lionsgate, 1.18) is a real January release. Mark Wahlberg + January 18th = Allen Hughes‘ Broken City. We’ve all heard about Andres Muschietti‘s Mama (Universal, 1.18)…half decent, not too bad.

This is why the Sundance Film Festival (happening this year between 1.17 and 1.27) is so terrific. It saves you from the January blahs and provides a respite from the Oscar race (which, yes, is a lot more interesting this year).