While Winter Quarter may be defined by tough course loads and even harsher weather, this upcoming quarter will see an exciting collection of cinema to keep students out of the cold. In the world of cinema, the months of January through March are usually ones where poorly-made cash grabs go to die. However, this year looks to impress with a release schedule rife with potential. From twisty horror films to stylish action adventures, students will have little trouble finding films to help them take some time off from both their work and the snow.
Coming this week is the highly anticipated horror film “Split,” (Jan. 20) written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan (“The Sixth Sense”). While Shyamalan has become a bit of a Hollywood laughing-stock after a string of laughable misfires, his comeback seems to be in order with this well-received tale of a man with multiple personality disorder (James McAvoy, “Wanted”) who traps three girls in a bunker for some terrible unknown purpose. Expect not only a trademark Shyamalan mixture of disturbing twists and turns, but also dynamite performances from McAvoy and Anya Taylor-Joy (“Morgan”), who gave one of the best performances of 2016 with her role in last year’s “The Witch.”
In February, a slew of weirder blockbusters seek to heat up the screen. First up is “The Lego Batman Movie,” (Feb. 10) whose impressive creative team and voice cast look to capitalize on the success of “The Lego Movie” while serving up some satire of the world’s most beloved superhero. The same release day also sees the return of Keanu Reeves’s (“The Matrix”) surprisingly popular hitman John Wick, as he looks to kick more ass and take more names in “John Wick: Chapter 2” (Feb. 10). The following week sees big budget films even more on the stranger side, as Matt Damon (“The Martian”) battles monsters on the Great Wall of China in “The Great Wall” (Feb. 17) and stylish director Gore Verbinski (“Pirates of the Caribbean”) takes a crack at the horror genre with the wonderfully strange looking “A Cure for Wellness,” (Feb. 17) the story of a young executive sent to retrieve his boss from a demented “treatment center” in the Alps.
Finally, March looks to bring in some of the highest grossing films of the year with a packed schedule of franchise films. Starting the month off is “Logan,” (March 3) Hugh Jackman’s (“X-Men”) final film starring as much-beloved mutant Wolverine. After “Deadpool’s” R-rated success last year, Jackman and company look to amp things up in this final installment, taking a more violent approach and digging at the gritty soul of the popular “X-Men” character. The same day sees the release of “T2 Trainspotting,” a sequel to the cult film “Trainspotting,” which follows the follies of a misfit band of heroin addicts led by Ewan McGregor (“Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith”). The two following weeks see the reboots of classic film characters, as King Kong returns to wreak havoc in “Kong: Skull Island” (March 10) and Belle and the Beast dance once again in the live-action remake of “Beauty and the Beast” (March 17).
Heading into interterm and the beginnings of Spring Quarter, the penultimate week of March sees even more reboots, as both the Power Rangers and King Arthur make stylish returns in “Power Rangers” (March 24) and “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” (March 24), respectively. Finally, the month closes out with a live-action adaptation of legendary anime “Ghost in the Shell” (March 31), a film heavily anticipated but mired in controversy over the whitewashing of the lead role, with Scarlett Johansson (“The Avengers”) taking on the lead role of Major, a character traditionally seen as Japanese.
Regardless of what sorts of films one is into, the films of this year’s winter season are sure to entice students to take a well-deserved break and take a trip to the movies.
