Welcome to the first Coming Soon post of 2016!
January is jam-packed with astonishingly good films as awards season steps up a gear. Nominations have already been released for the Golden Globes, and as the BAFTAs and Academy Awards follow suit in the next few weeks cinemas are filled with award-worthy films. It's my favourite time of the movie calendar, so I fully expect to be spending the next four weeks practically camped out in my local cinema!
Kicking off the year is Tom Hooper's beautiful - if not a little bland - tale of transgender Danish artist Lili Elbe (Eddie Redmayne), The Danish Girl. While Redmayne may be the protagonist it's clearly Alicia Vikander's film as Lili's wife, Gerda Wegener: she effortlessly steals every scene she's in, which is no mean feat when competing with Redmayne's measured and delicate performance. Also opening this weekend is the latest collaboration between director David O'Russell and Jennifer Lawrence: Joy, the true story of the woman who invented the Miracle Mop. Reviews have been mixed so far, but it definitely looks well worth a watch.
Other must-watch films released this month are The Hateful Eight, Tarantino's Western; Creed, the sequel to the Rocky films that has Sylvester Stallone circling Supporting Actor nominations; and The Revenant, celebrated director Alejandro G. Iñárritu's extraordinary 1820s quest that will undoubtedly secure Leonardo Di Caprio an elusive Oscar, and wonderful cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki a third consecutive Oscar for a film that solely uses natural light - a genius and undoubtedly stunning effect. Then there's financial crisis comedy The Big Short; Cannes darling The Assassin; and the film that finally won Michael Caine a European Film Award, Youth.
Finally, January sees Room hitting cinemas. I saw it at an Odeon preview screening before Christmas and would have made it my film of 2015 had it not officially been released the following year. It is outstanding. It affected me much more than I anticipated it would, and genuinely had to pull my car over on the way home as I couldn't stop crying. As someone who struggles to show emotion in films, my heaving sobs really took me by surprise! Furthermore, hotly tipped to win all Best Picture awards is Spotlight. The trailer gives me goosebumps so I have high hopes for this film adaptation of the Boston Globe's true investigation into sexual abuse within the Catholic Church in Boston.
January is jam-packed with astonishingly good films as awards season steps up a gear. Nominations have already been released for the Golden Globes, and as the BAFTAs and Academy Awards follow suit in the next few weeks cinemas are filled with award-worthy films. It's my favourite time of the movie calendar, so I fully expect to be spending the next four weeks practically camped out in my local cinema!
Kicking off the year is Tom Hooper's beautiful - if not a little bland - tale of transgender Danish artist Lili Elbe (Eddie Redmayne), The Danish Girl. While Redmayne may be the protagonist it's clearly Alicia Vikander's film as Lili's wife, Gerda Wegener: she effortlessly steals every scene she's in, which is no mean feat when competing with Redmayne's measured and delicate performance. Also opening this weekend is the latest collaboration between director David O'Russell and Jennifer Lawrence: Joy, the true story of the woman who invented the Miracle Mop. Reviews have been mixed so far, but it definitely looks well worth a watch.
Other must-watch films released this month are The Hateful Eight, Tarantino's Western; Creed, the sequel to the Rocky films that has Sylvester Stallone circling Supporting Actor nominations; and The Revenant, celebrated director Alejandro G. Iñárritu's extraordinary 1820s quest that will undoubtedly secure Leonardo Di Caprio an elusive Oscar, and wonderful cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki a third consecutive Oscar for a film that solely uses natural light - a genius and undoubtedly stunning effect. Then there's financial crisis comedy The Big Short; Cannes darling The Assassin; and the film that finally won Michael Caine a European Film Award, Youth.
Finally, January sees Room hitting cinemas. I saw it at an Odeon preview screening before Christmas and would have made it my film of 2015 had it not officially been released the following year. It is outstanding. It affected me much more than I anticipated it would, and genuinely had to pull my car over on the way home as I couldn't stop crying. As someone who struggles to show emotion in films, my heaving sobs really took me by surprise! Furthermore, hotly tipped to win all Best Picture awards is Spotlight. The trailer gives me goosebumps so I have high hopes for this film adaptation of the Boston Globe's true investigation into sexual abuse within the Catholic Church in Boston.
All films below are released in cinemas in January in the U.K.: some may have already opened abroad so if you're outside the U.K. then do check your local cinemas for film times and release dates.
THE DANISH GIRL
Friday 1st January 2016
"A fictitious love story inspired by the lives of Danish artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener. Lili and Gerda's marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili's groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer."
JOY
Friday 1st January 2016
"Joy is the story of the title character, who rose to become founder and matriarch of a powerful family business dynasty."
SLEEPING WITH OTHER PEOPLE
Friday 1st January 2016
"A good-natured womanizer and a serial cheater form a platonic relationship that helps reform them in ways, while a mutual attraction sets in."
THE HATEFUL EIGHT
Friday 8th January 2016
"In the dead of a Wyoming winter, a bounty hunter and his prisoner find shelter in a cabin currently inhabited by a collection of nefarious characters."
PARTISAN
Friday 8th January 2016
"Alexander, a boy who has been raised in a sequestered commune, finds that his increasing unwillingness to fall in line puts him on a collision course with Gregori, the society's charismatic and domineering leader."
A WAR
Friday 8th January 2016
"Company commander Claus M. Pedersen (Pilou Asbæk) and his men are stationed in an Afghan province. Meanwhile back in Denmark Claus' wife Maria (Tuva Novotny) is trying to hold everyday life together with a husband at war and three children missing their father. During a routine mission, the soldiers are caught in heavy crossfire and in order to save his men, Claus makes a decision that has grave consequences for him - and his family back home."
CREED
Friday 15th January 2016
"The former World Heavyweight Champion Rocky Balboa serves as a trainer and mentor to Adonis Johnson, the son of his late friend and former rival Apollo Creed."
DRAGON BLADE
Friday 15th January 2016
"When corrupt Roman leader Tiberius arrives with a giant army to claim the Silk Road, Huo An teams up his army with an elite Legion of defected Roman soldiers led by General Lucius to protect his country and his new friends."
IP MAN 3
Friday 15th January 2016
"When a band of brutal gangsters led by a crooked property developer make a play to take over the city, Master Ip is forced to take a stand."
THE REVENANT
Friday 15th January 2016
"A frontiersman named Hugh Glass on an fur trade expedition in the 1820s is on a quest for survival after being brutally mauled by a bear."
Friday 15th January 2016
"After five-year-old Jack and his mother escape from the enclosed surroundings that Jack has known his entire life, the boy makes a thrilling discovery."
THE 5TH WAVE
Friday 22nd January 2016
"Four waves of increasingly deadly alien attacks have left most of Earth decimated. Cassie is on the run, desperately trying to save her younger brother."
THE ASSASSIN
Friday 22nd January 2016
"An assassin accepts a dangerous mission to kill a political leader in seventh-century China."
THE BIG SHORT
Friday 22nd January 2016
"Four outsiders in the world of high-finance who predicted the credit and housing bubble collapse of the mid-2000s decide to take on the big banks for their lack of foresight and greed."
THE LAST DIAMOND
Friday 22nd January 2016
"Simon has just been released from prison and are on parole. His friend, Albert, lures him back to his old ways for one more hit. To steal the priceless diamond Florentin. Simon's plan to steal the diamond goes sour. Others are also after the diamond, such as gangsters and ruthless killers."
LOST IN KARASTAN
Friday 22nd January 2016
"A filmmaker from England is hired to direct an epic production in the Caucasus region of Europe."
OUR BRAND IS CRISIS
Friday 22nd January 2016
"A battle-hardened American political consultant is sent to help re-elect a controversial president in Bolivia, where she must compete with a long-term rival working for another candidate."
RIDE ALONG 2
Friday 22nd January 2016
"As his wedding day approaches, Ben heads to Miami with his soon-to-be brother-in-law James to bring down a drug dealer who's supplying the dealers of Atlanta with product."
13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI
Friday 29th January 2016
"An American Ambassador is killed during an attack at a U.S. compound in Libya as a security team struggles to make sense out of the chaos."
THE 33
Friday 29th January 2016
"Based on the real-life event, when a gold and copper mine collapses, it traps 33 miners underground for 69 days."
BACKTRACK
Friday 29th January 2016
"Psychologist Peter Bower's life is thrown into turmoil when he discovers that the patients he has been seeing are ghosts. Risking his own sanity, Peter delves into his past to uncover a terrifying secret which only he can put right. Backtrack is a spine-chilling story from the acclaimed writer-director, Michael Petroni."
CAPTURE THE FLAG
Friday 29th January 2016
"A young surfer rallies his friends to stop a billionaire from rewriting history as a way to horde Helium 3, the clean energy of the future."
DIRTY GRANDPA
Friday 29th January 2016
"Right before his wedding, an uptight guy is tricked into driving his grandfather, a perverted former Army general, to Florida for spring break."
SPOTLIGHT
Friday 29th January 2016
"The true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core."
YOUTH
Friday 29th January 2016
"A retired orchestra conductor is on holiday with his daughter and his film director best friend in the Alps when he receives an invitation from Queen Elizabeth II to perform for Prince Philip's birthday."
So many amazing films this month! I cannot wait to see The Revenant, The Big Short, Spotlight and Youth. Plus, if I can pull myself together then I might see Room again - I think it needs a second viewing but I'm not sure if I'm emotionally stable enough to handle it!
What are you looking forward to this month? Do let me know in the comments below!
I love The Danish Girl! I was shocked people thought it was too glossy and bland, I thought it was a beautiful film showing all the struggles. Eddie Redmayne did a perfect portrayal!
ReplyDeleteI really want to see Room, it looks so gripping and emotional - I must try and see that soon! xx
Hi Imogene,
DeleteI really enjoyed The Danish Girl. It didn't blow me away as I thought it would, but Redmayne's performance was so beautifully measured, and Alicia Vikander lit up the screen!
I really hope you managed to catch Room. It's such a brilliant film: I keep telling everyone I know to watch it! xx