The new year brings new hope- hope for better jobs, better workouts, and better relationships. Not so in Hollywood. With awards-season submission deadlines now in the past, major studios traditionally treat January as a dumping ground for their weirdest and most troublesome films, hoping a surprise hit materializes from thin air. That said, there are a few signs of life hidden in this mostly-barren ground. Check out the highlights below:
The Grudge- 1/3
What it is: A reboot of a remake of the classic Japanese horror film Ju-on, a ghost story that explored the inescapability of regret and the evils of the past.
Why should you see it: Director Nicolas Pesce, whose previously films The Eyes of My Mother and Piercing were fondly received, pledged to turn the franchise in a new, darker, and more creative direction.
Three Christs- 1/10
What it is: Based on a real experiment, Three Christs follows psychiatrist Alan Stone, who studied the interactions between three schizophrenic men who claimed to be Jesus. Richard Gere stars as Stone, and Walton Goggins, Bradley Whitford, and Peter Dinklage play the Christs.
Why should you see it: Three Christs offers an opportunity for its all-star cast to explore mental illness and the nature of identity. However, the film premiered at the 2017 (!!!) Toronto Film Festival. Such a delayed release is concerning.
Underwater- 1/10
What it is: After an earthquake destroys their laboratory, a group of scientists must flee from a menagerie of deep-sea beasties and return to the surface.
Why should you see it: Underwater features a bizarre cast, one including Kristen Stewart, French arthouse darling Vincent Cassel, and disgraced comedian T.J. Miller.
Les Misérables- 1/10
What it is: Unrelated to the Andrew Lloyd Weber musical, Les Misérables follows a trio of French police officers who spark a riot in Paris’s economically depressed and politically oppressed suburbs.
Why should you see it: Paris’s outer banlieues offer visionary filmmakers an opportunity to explore France’s history of disenfranchising and exploiting cultural and religious minorities. Les Misérables’ marketing campaign frames first-time director Ladj Ly as such a visionary.
Bad Boys for Life- 1/17
What it is: A threequel to the widely tolerated Will Smith and Martin Lawrence action franchise. Belgian up-and-comers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah replace Michael Bay as co-directors.
Why should you see it: Michael Bay’s affinity for unnecessary explosions and racially insensitive screenplays has become a meme, but the man knows how to shoot an action sequence. Whether El Arbi and Fallah can replicate his unique visual style remains to be seen.
Dolittle- 1/17
What it is: Robert Downey, Jr. plays the kindly veterinarian as he engages in low-stakes hijinks with his animal pals. I am, of course, kidding. This being a Disney blockbuster, Dr. Dolittle must save the world.
Why should you see it: Because the Dark Lord Mickey, whom we fear and love in equal measure, demands it. Or maybe you have kids or whatever.
The Gentlemen- 1/24
What it is: After directing a string of mostly-decent but always-slick Hollywood hits, director Guy Richie returns to his roots in his first proper gangster flick since 2008’s RocknRolla.
Why should you see it: Back in the late ‘90s, Richie might have been rightfully dismissed as a pale, English imitation of Quentin Tarantino. However, he has over the years established a visual language as colorful and frenetic as his dialogue.
Color Out of Space- 1/24
What it is: An adaptation of an HP Lovecraft short story. Nicolas Cage stars as a struggling artist whose fortunes are turned around when a mysterious purple meteorite crashes onto his property.
Why should you see it: Nicolas Cage has gone from Hollywood A-Lister to unhinged B-movie star. However, after 2018’s weird-and-wonderful Mandy and now Color Out of Space, he may have progressed to a new stage of his career: low-budget/high-concept Scream King.
The Assistant- 1/31
What it is: An idealistic young college grad lands a job with a high-powered film producer, but soon finds herself steeped in a culture of systematic abuse.
Why should you see it: Writer/Director Kitty Green earned praise for her stomach-churning depiction of the ways powerful abusers secure silence and complicity from their well-meaning subordinates.
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