“It’s easy to kill a movie – just move it to January”. This is what the infinitely wise Dr. Evil preached in his visit to SNL a few weeks ago, and judging from our line-up, he may not be entirely wrong. January is pretty much the time where we all know which Awards darlings have made the cut, and which have been long discarded, and the studios act accordingly.
So whether you choose to checkout that indie movie you’ve heard so much about, or the latest big studio release, don’t forget to click on the movie title below to view the trailer. We want to make sure you know what you are getting into before you head to the theatre.
– Lottie Abrahams
January 23 (Sundance FF)
Black Sea
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Stars: Jude Law, Scoot McNairy, Karl Davies, Konstantin Khabensky
Synopsis: Jude Law stars as Captain Robinson, a recently-fired submarine operator. That is, until he gets wind that one of Hitlers U-Boats lies at the bottom of the Black Sea filled with gold. Under the financing of a wealthy Russian (of course), Robinson takes a team down into the dark depths as each one begins to realise that with less men, there is more gold to take home for each man who remains.
Two Cents: One can never tell with Jude Law, but this film looks rather good.
The Boy Next Door
Director: Rob Cohen
Stars: Jennifer Lopez, Ryan Guzman, Kristin Chenoweth
Synopsis: When a woman seduces one of her son’s much younger friends, she is riddled with guilt over her marriage and her reputation. What she doesn’t count on, however, is how he will respond once she ends their affair.
Key Notes: I never liked JLo as an actress, and now that she is taking on a sexy pseudo-dramatic role I have a feeling that I’m going to like her even less.
Mortdecai
Director: David Koepp
Stars: Johnny Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor, Olivia Munn
Synopsis: Johnny Depp plays Charles Mortdecai, a flamboyantly British art dealer with a ridiculous moustache and complimentary shenanigans who attempts to retrieve a stolen painting, linked to a bank account of Nazi gold.
Key Notes: Johnny Depp has officially signed his own professional death warrant.
Strange Magic
Director: Gary Rydstrom
Stars: Evan Rachel Wood, Elijah Kelley, Kristin Chenoweth
Synopsis: An animated film where the two sides of the natural kingdom must fight it out to find out who is ruler of both.
Key Notes: Written by George Lucas, I’m pretty sure this could be a real well-developed and complex story – despite the obvious tomfoolery in the trailer.
The Loft (Limited)
Director: Erik Van Looy
Stars: Wentworth Miller, James Marsden, Karl Urban, Eric Stonestreet
Synopsis: Five married men buy a loft together where they can take their mistresses without records. However, when a dead women is found in the bed of the loft, the friends must confront the idea that one of them killed her, all the while stopping the authorities and their wives from finding out. Pursued and taunted by a mystery figure, the thriller is told completely through flashback.
Key Notes: Misguided I may be, but I might just pay to see this movie.
Mommy (Limited)
Director: Xavier Dolan
Stars: Anne Dorval, Suzanne Clément, Antoine-Olivier Pilon
Synopsis: A widowed women is struggling to raise her increasingly violent son, and after losing her job, seeks the help of the mysterious neighbour Kyla.
Key Notes: I have just a feeling that the trailer does not do the film justice – see it.
R100 (Limited)
Director: Hitoshi Matsumoto
Stars: Mao Daichi, Lindsay Kay Hayward
Synopsis: A man who, in all other respects, in entirely normal decides to join a mysterious club to which he has been invited. The club opens up an entire world of possibilities and pleasure, but their one rule – no cancellation under any circumstances – tests him beyond his limits.
Two Cents: It’s original log line has me stymied.
Red Army (Limited)
Director: Gabe Polsky
Stars: Scotty Bowman, Vyachelsav Fetisov, Anatoli Karpov
Synopsis: A documentary feature about the USSR and the rise of the best hockey team in the world. The film tells the story of the Red Army Hockey Team and the ruthless rule they were subjected to as tools of propaganda, and how the sport mirrored huge cultural and political change.
Two Cents: This is widely considered to be the best documentary feature of the year, so it is well worth a watch.
Song One (Limited)
Director: Kate Barker-Froyland
Stars: Anne Hathaway, Mary Steenburgen, Johnny Flynn
Synopsis: Anne Hathaway plays Franny, who is forced to return home after her brother Henry is hit by a car. Hoping to bring him out of his coma, she reads his journal and records sounds of places he visited, and i doing so meets her brother’s favourite singer. The two begin a romantic relationship.
Two Cents: It has a coma, a British musician, and Anne Hathaway – what more could you want from a pseudo-sentimental Rom-com?
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