January is good movie month — really

Yes, I know I have the nasty habit of making sarcastic comments — or ones that are just plain flippant — but believe me, I'm being completely sincere here: This January is a good time to be a movie fan.

And no, I'm not just saying that because the Sundance Film Festival and all the other non-affiliated festivals and events that come with it are just around the corner. Though, obviously, I'm excited about all of them, too.

But this is a good time to catch up on some of the previous year's better — and sometimes bigger-and-better — movies that are out there. For example, it should be now considerably easier to snag a ticket to "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" the day-of-show.

Also, some late movie arrivals, such as Tim Burton's "Big Fish," are finding their way into local theaters after already opening in bigger cities. (Which the studios do to qualify their films for awards consideration.)

If that wasn't enough, it's also a good time to catch trailers for spring and summer releases. In addition to those for the (to-me, especially) highly anticipated comic-book-related movies "Spider-Man 2" and "Hellboy," the trailer for the Coen brothers' remake of "The Ladykillers" is amusing, and the teaser for "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" is just plain neato.

(All of them can be found on the Yahoo! Movies Web site, movies.yahoo.com.)

It's also a good time to catch up on the DVD releases for such summer blockbusters as "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," "X2" and, oh yeah, a little something called "Finding Nemo," which just happened to be the biggest release of 2003.

(And for you Ring-heads out there, yes, I am aware that "The Return of the King" is already coming close to passing "Finding Nemo" in ticket sales. But that film was released in mid-December, so the money that will put it over the top was earned in 2004. Technically, the box-office crown still goes to "Finding Nemo.")

For those looking for more eclectic movie fare, the Broadway Centre, Madstone Theaters and Tower Theatre continue to show such independent film hits as "The Station Agent," "The Secret Lives of Dentists," "21 Grams" and "Lost in Translation."

There are also special film programs targeted for families, such as the mother-and-children-specific screenings at the Jordan Commons Megaplex and some of the Cinemark and Westates theaters.