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| photo courtesy of vulture.com |
Let’s be real. It’s cold outside. What
else are you gonna do? #gethyped
MOLLY’S GAME
(wide release Jan 5th)
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| photo courtesy of irishfilmcritic.com |
Famed screenwriter Aaron Sorkin makes
his directorial debut with Molly’s Game,
an adaptation of the real-life story of Molly Bloom. Bloom, who ran a secret,
lavish, and highly elite poker ring for A-list personalities, finds her games
and her reputation under fire when the FBI conducts an investigation into the
situation. The movie sees Bloom attempting to clear her name and, obviously,
avoid getting thrown into prison. Drama ensues.
The main reason Molly’s Game is getting so much attention has to do with the amount
of talent attached to the project. Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba’s are both accomplished
actors, but the sight to see will really be Sorkin’s direction. Sorkin, whose
screenplays on the big screen (The Social
Network) and for TV (The West Wing)
have been widely influential, has flirted with directing on several occasions,
so it’ll be interesting to watch him finally take the helm.
Watch the trailer here.
THE POST
(wide release Jan 12th)
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| photo courtesy of susangranger.com |
Like Molly’s Game, The Post technically
came out last year, but it’s just now working its way down to us commoners. The
movie tells the story of the journalists who published the controversial
Pentagon Papers (top-secret documents about the United States’ dealings during
the Vietnam War) in the 1970s. The publication pit news sources against the
government in an unprecedented confrontation.
Apart from its interesting dramatic
premise and promising early reviews, The
Post sports an impressive list of industry heavy-hitters. The two lead
roles, the publisher and editor of The Washington Post, are played by Meryl
Streep and Tom Hanks, respectively. You might have heard of them. Steven
Spielberg directs and produces the film for good measure.
Watch the trailer here.
PROUD MARY
(Jan 12th)
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| photo courtesy of liveforfilm.com |
I’m cautiously hopeful about Proud Mary, a new action-thriller from
Screen Gems. Hopeful because, on one hand, the idea of Taraji P. Henson
starring in the lead role of a sleek action film about an elite assassin sounds
like a great idea. Cautious because the movie’s trailer looks pretty
underwhelming—apart from the obligatory use of the song “Proud Mary” as covered
by Tina Turner.
When the movie begins, Mary (Henson) is
an accomplished, professional assassin. But after one contract takes an
unexpected turn, Mary finds herself dealing with the consequences—namely, a
young boy (Jahi Di’Allo Winston) left in the lurch. Billy Brown and Danny
Glover co-star.
Watch the trailer here.
PADDINGTON 2
(Jan 12th)
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| photo courtesy of radiotimes.com |
Paddington 2 brings Paddington Bear back to
the big-screen for another round of misadventures. 2014’s Paddington was released to widespread critical acclaim and
commercial success (on a low budget), so this is one children’s movie sequel
worth paying attention to. Paddington 2
sees its titular character caught up in a huge misunderstanding after the gift he
planned to purchase for his Aunt Lucy—an elaborate pop-up book—was stolen by a
mysterious thief. It’s up to Paddington and his friends to set the record
straight and recover the gift.
I think the selling points here are
fairly straightforward. Paddington is a loveable teddy bear come to life, and
as such he makes a great candidate for funny, heartwarming kid’s stories.
Together with a strong cast of human actors (Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins,
Brendan Gleeson, Peter Capaldi, Hugh Grant), an adorable CGI bear knows no
bounds.
Watch the trailer here.
THE COMMUTER
(Jan 12th)
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| photo courtesy of digitalspy.com |
Liam Neeson looks to continue his
low-budget action film streak with The
Commuter. Neeson plays Michael McCauley, an average joe whose commute is
interrupted by a secretive stranger (scream-queen and professional creeper Vera
Farmiga). The stranger offers him $100,000 in exchange for completing a
seemingly simple quest… but McCauley soon realizes that his assignment will be
anything but easy.
The Commuter probably won’t be Oscar-caliber
entertainment, but I think it’s not unreasonable to expect a good dose of the
high-stakes, fast-paced Neeson brand of action that’s emerged as a staple since
Taken blew up way back in 2008. If
nothing else, it’ll be worth watching to see Neeson and Farmiga, both of whom
are captivating actors, interact onscreen.
Watch the trailer here.
AMERICAN FOLK
(wide release Jan 26th)
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| photo courtesy of teaser-trailer.com |
For an indie change of pace, look out
for American Folk, directed by David
Heinz (involved in big-deal productions like X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The
Jungle Book, and the recent Planet of
the Apes movies) and starring Joe Purdy and Amber Rubarth. They play two
folk singers who, despite having never met before, embark on a cross-country
road-trip to New York in the aftermath of 9/11. Expect a pleasant pump of the brakes and some nice insights about music and togetherness when American Folk hits theaters.
Watch the trailer here.
HONORABLE MENTION:
MAZE RUNNER: THE DEATH CURE
(Jan 26th)
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| photo courtesy of collider.com |
The Maze Runner trilogy will come to a
conclusion this month with the release of The
Death Cure. This time, Thomas and his escaped allies will have to break
into one of the most complicated mazes they’ve yet faced, the “Last City,” to
steal the cure for a deadly disease. Along the way, Thomas will be forced to
make choices that shake him to his core.
Unfortunately for The Death Cure, the dystopian YA adaptation trend that was surefire
box office dynamite five or so years ago has largely died out, with even the major
Divergent series fizzling out to a
disappointing, premature end. The Death
Cure is, as far as I can tell, the genre’s last gasp—at least for the foreseeable
future. We’ll have to wait to see if The
Death Cure has something special up its sleeve to send the series out with
a bang… but I wouldn’t get my hopes up.
Watch the trailer here.
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