Friday Five: Movies We're Excited About In January
We’ve just wrapped up a big year at the box-office. Variety reports worldwide tickets sales topped $42.5 billion in 2019 which means people are still going out to theaters to see movies on the big screen in spite of all the streaming options these days.
If you look at the upcoming slate of movie releases it looks like 2020 is going to be another big year too — not just because of some of the highly anticipated sequels and remakes coming our way, but also because of the diversity of content heading to the big screens. January is traditionally a slow-month at the box-office but there are still films opening each week that look like they are worth checking out. In this week’s Friday Five I’ve rounded up some I think you should keep on your radar this month.
1. Underwater (January 10th)
I don’t care that this is another Alien knock-off, I’m excited to see Kristen Stewart get her Ripley ON and I’ve already heard great things about it from friends who have already seen it. Underwater follows a crew of underwater researchers who must scramble to safety after an earthquake devastates their subterranean laboratory. Directed by William Eubank, it stars Kristen Stewart, T.J. Miller, Vincent Cassel and John Gallagher Jr.
2. Doolittle (January 17th)
The fact that Doolittle is debuting in January makes me wonder if 20th Century Fox has a lot of confidence in the film. But I don’t care. A lot of younger film fans today may only know Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Ironman. But some of us remember him before his MCU days, and I for one am excited to see the two-time Oscar-nominated actor play Dr. Doolittle, in the reimagining of the classic literary tale. The film also stars Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen (The Queen), Oscar- winner Jim Broadbent and is directed by Academy Award winner Stephen Gaghan (Syriana, Traffic).
3. An American in Paris (January 19th & 22nd)
For the last few years Turner Classic Movies and Fathom Events have teamed up to bring classic films back to the big screen. This month you can catch one of the most iconic musicals from Hollywood’s Golden Age — An American in Paris. If you’ve never seen this movie before it stars Gene Kelly as ex-GI Jerry Mulligan, who stays in Paris after WWII to pursue life as an artist. He’s discovered by a wealthy patroness who is interested in more than his art. Things get complicated when he falls in love with a French shop girl played by Leslie Caron who just happens to be engaged to his best friend. Because, of COURSE.
An American in Paris won six Academy Awards®, including Best Picture. I’ve seen this movie many times over the years, but never on the big screen, so I’m really looking forward to this. Head over to Fathomevents.com to see if it’s playing at a theater near you.
4. Color Out of Space (January 24th)
Nicolas Cage in a trippy horror movie based on a classic H.P. Lovecraft short story?!? What else do you need to know. But for those of you who do want to know a little more here’s the official description:
After a meteorite lands in the front yard of their farm, Nathan Gardner (Nicolas Cage) and his family find themselves battling a mutant extraterrestrial organism as it infects their minds and bodies, transforming their quiet rural life into a living nightmare. Based on the classic H.P. Lovecraft short story, Color Out of Space is “gorgeous, vibrant and terrifying” (Jonathan Barkan, Dread Central).
Color Out of Space has already been getting a lot of buzz on the 2019 film festival circuit, and I am so ready to let Nic Cage help me kick off 2020. The film also stars Joely Richardson, Madeleine Arthur, Brendan Meyer, Julian Hilliard, Elliot Knight, Josh C. Waller, Q’orianka Kilcher and Tommy Chong and is directed by Richard Stanley.
5. The Rhythm Section (January 31st)
Pushed back substantially from its original 2019 release date, The Rhythm Section thriller stars Blake Lively as an assassin who’s “on a path of self-destruction after the death of her family in an airplane crash, a flight that she was meant to be on.” The supporting cast includes Sterling K. Brown and Jude Law; the director is Reed Morano, who won an Emmy for her work on The Handmaid’s Tale.
What movies are you excited about this month? Let me know in the comments below!
