The New Year is exciting for a lot of reasons. Resolutions. Football playoffs and bowl games. TV shows returning from hiatus. It's not as exciting at the movie theater though. There's not as many down periods in the calendar as there used to be. Valentine's Day has become a big release weekend in February. The Summer box office season has pushed its way into April. And the past two years have set records for the generally fallow August and September stretch. January is just about the last holdout. It's still pretty dull. It's for all those Christmas releases to milk long runs and Oscar hopefuls to expand to more cities. In terms of new movies, the studios don't try too hard. 2016 looks to be no different. It has the usual assortment of horror movie counter-programming, failed studio burn-offs, and undercooked comedies. There's always room for surprises, and hopefully this January has a few.
2015
2014
2013
1/8
The Forest
Working For It: Is this Natalie Dormer's first leading role? It's hard to believe it's taken her this long. She's great on
Game of Thrones and I've liked her since
The Tudors. A horror movie about the Japanese suicide forest is a little out of her known range, but that doesn't mean she can't do it.
Working Against It: First time feature director. Journeyman writers. The odds are strong that this will be up to Dormer to make or break. "Suicide forest" sounds like an interesting pitch, but nothing in the trailers has me hooked. This looks like
Mama level scares, which is fine.
Interest Level: Happy to wait
The Masked Saint
Working For It: This is based on a true story about a pastor, who used to be a wrestler, going back into the ring or maybe becoming a vigilante. I'm really not sure. It certainly sounds like
Nacho Libre. I don't know if that's the comparison they were going for.
Working Against It: The most recognizable actor in it is "Rowdy" Roddy Piper (RIP). The only credits I recognized for the director is
Trailer Park Boys. The screenwriter isn't at all established. I can't tell if this is a spiritual movie or if it is making fun of spirituality (Similar to how I can't tell if
The FP is taking itself seriously or not). There are simply too many wild cards here.
Interest Level: I won't see it, but I will inquire about it.
Anesthesia [Limited]
Working For It: This is one of those ensemble pieces where all the characters' lives intersect, hopefully culminating in some big revelation about life (Think
Grand Canyon). It's got a very large cast, with familiar names like Kristen Stewart, Glen Close, Michael Kenneth Williams, and Sam Waterson.
Working Against It: Honestly, I was exhausted by the self-importance of it in trailer form. An entire movie of that sounds unbearable. I'm only familiar with writer/director Tim Blake Nelson as an actor (
O Brother, Where Art Thou?), so he's earned no trust in his abilities from me either.
Interest Level: Withering
1/15
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
Working For It: This looks like the mission that's on trial in
The Rules of Engagement if it was directed by Michael Bay. I don't necessarily mean that as a bad thing. It's a military movie about US soldiers trying to rescue an ambassador during some sort of riot. John Krasinski leads a group of "familiar white guys from TV" All Stars like Pablo Schreiber, David Denman, and Toby Stephens as the troops. It's a Michael Bay movie, so I'm sure things explode. It could be fun.
Working Against It: Or it could take itself too seriously. It's hard to say. I don't know if this January release was an attempt to bury it (Michael Bay movies don't tend to show up in the Winter) or if it's an attempt to capitalize of the momentum of
American Sniper and
Lone Survivor.
Interest Level:So-so
Norm of the North
Working For It: An animated movie about a polar bear kickin' it in New York City. That's about all you need to know. It's got a likable voice cast including Heather Graham, Bill Nighy, and James Corden.
Working Against It: Rob Schneider is the voice of the eponymous Norm, which is a bit more divisive. I'm not sure how this isn't
Madagascar, but I'm told that it is. I'm also not sure who
Splash Entertainment is.
Interest Level: Avoiding
Ride Along 2
Working For It: Ride Along was enjoyable enough. This is the same thing but moved to Miami, which also makes it oddly similar to
22 Jump Street. Kevin Hart and Ice Cube are back, and they've rounded out the cast with Olivia Munn, Ken Jeong, T.I., Tyrese Gibson, and Benjamin Bratt.
Working Against It: I didn't dislike
Ride Along, but I was unimpressed by it. Nothing about this looks like it will improve on the formula. It's going to be a lot of Kevin Hart playing big, which appeals to some more than others.
Interest Level: Moderate
The Benefactor [Limited]
Working For It: Richard Gere becomes obsessed with newly-weds Dakota Fanning and Theo James due to his role in the death of Fanning's family...I think. It's a thriller, so it will all be about figuring out what Richard Gere's deal is.
Working Against It: I really should've come out of seeing that trailer more intrigued. When my first thought is "who cares?" that's a bad sign. I'm happy letting this one slip past me for now.
Interest Level: Nah
1/22
The 5th Wave
Working For It: It's not fair. I want out of these young adult dystopias but they keep casting them to keep my attention. First
Divergent gets Shailene Woodley and now
The 5th Wave has Chloe Grace Moretz. This one is about aliens that are destroying the Earth through several waves of attacks. It looks like plenty of money went into making it look good.
Working Against It: I really am getting tired of this subgenre. If I see this, it's a testament to how much of a draw Chloe is for me. I don't know if she'll be enough.
Interest Level:Frustrated and intrigued
The Boy
Working For It: Similar to Natalie Dormer in
The Forest, I don't know if I've seen Lauren Cohan in a lead role before, but I'm interested in seeing how she does. This isn't a big leap from
The Walking Dead. It's a horror movie about a doll with
Gremlin-like rules that is a living boy when no one is looking. It looks like it's full of jump scares and maybe an interesting mythology.
Working Against It: I much prefer horror movies that linger with me rather than ones that scare me in the moment. This looks more like the latter than the former.
Interest Level: Prove me wrong
Dirty Grandpa
Working For It: Recently widowed grandfather (Robert De Niro) tricks his grandson (Zach Efron) into a weekend of debauchery in Florida during spring break. I'm more excited by the supporting cast that includes Aubrey Plaza, Adam Pally, Julianne Hough, and more familiar names in small parts than you can shake a stick at.
Working Against It: Everything about this worries me. First time writer (although his next credit is
Bad Santa 2, so this looks like it's his wheelhouse). The director is primarily known for Sacha Baron Cohen shows/movies (and
I Give it a Year which I didn't hate). Most of all though, what is this movie doing being released in January? Even
Sex Drive got an October release. De Niro and Efron are too big of names to go here unless the studio knows it's a problem.
Interest Level:Highest in a weak month
Mojave [Limited]
Working For It: In this movie, Oscar Isaac stalks Garrett Hedlund after they meet in the desert. Mark Wahlberg, Walton Goggins, and Matt (Badger from
Breaking Bad) are in there too, but the trailer isn't all that concerned with them. Writer/Director William Monahan has some good screenplay credits to his name (
The Departed,
Kingdom of Heaven).
Working Against It: I'm not sure what Monahan looks like as a director. And, this has the look of one of those movies where a supporting performance (Isaac) renders the lead performance (Hedlund) distracting.
Interest Level:Low but curious
1/29
Fifty Shades of Black
Working For It: Statistically, it's gotta be better than
Fifty Shades of Grey. Right?
Working Against It: This takes one of my least favorite movies of 2015, spoofs it in the style of one of my least favorite franchises of all time (
Scary Movie), and removes the nudity and soundtrack that made the movie appealing in the first place.
Interest Level: Good god, no!
The Finest Hours
Working For It: Think "1952
The Perfect Storm". Chris Pine, Eric Bana, Ben Foster, Casey Affleck, and a bunch of other square jaw sailors are involved in a daring Coast Guard rescue. Holliday Grainger uses gumption to make sure her man comes back home.
Working Against It: This is a strange time for Disney to be releasing this movie. It looks like a winter dump like Chris Pine's Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit two years ago. Then again, this may just be the odd man out positioning around Disney's Star Wars behemoth. I don't know, but the movie doesn't look all that bad.
Interest Level:Could be higher
Jane Got a Gun
Working For It: Natalie Portman vs. Ewan McGreggor in an old west shootout. C'mon. And it's from the director of
Warrior! Oh my, this just got real.
Working Against It: I'll admit, the trailer didn't suck me in as well as I'd hope. Then again, neither did
Warrior's and I loved that movie.
Interest Level: Very suspicious
Kung Fu Panda 3
Working For It: Is it fair to say this is Dreamworks' most high profile cast? Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogen, and Dustin Hoffman to name a few. This is a malleable franchise that can keep going as long as Dreakworks wants.
Working Against It: Oof, how the mighty have fallen. Seemingly out of nowhere,
Kung Fu Panda 2 stumbled out the gate and failed to come anywhere close to
matching the first movie in the box office. I'm still not sure how that happened, but that's how #3 ends up in January, hoping for
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water money.
Interest Level:Greatly diminished
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