The 2013 Winter Movie Season Preview

Ok, boys and girls. The Holiday Season is over… and the Spring Season, full of mini Blockbusters, is still months away.

Between now and then lies Hollywood’s dumping ground. The Hollywood fields lie fallow in the winter, bearing little quality product. It’s the two months of the year we need to “Get through”. While January typically offers some limited releases from the prior year going wide, there’s typically little else to get excited over.

Will this year be different? Are there any movies to get excited about these next two months? Let’s take a look at the release slate and see what we’ve got!

Real Steel

There’s a lot to like in “Rock ’em Sock ’em Robots Real Steel”, there really is. There’s some great CGI, they’re definitely pulling the best pages out of the inspirational/sports movie playbook to crib off of, and there’s enough uniqueness provided via the high concept of fighting robots to add some flair and some excitement along the way.

Unfortunately, you have to dig through a mound of clichés, and you absolutely can’t hold it up under any sort of scrutiny or it will collapse in front of you like a house of cards. The minute you ask something like say… “Wait, how does this kid know so much about robotics,” or “Hang on a second, I thought this guy was broke, how is he filling that huge trailer with gas every ten minutes”… you’re completely toast.

Still, if you’re looking for some lighthearted fun, and you don’t turn an overly critical eye to it, “Real Steel” is a fun time at the movies.