Hear that? It’s 2023 calling your name. We kick off the new year with an eclectic assortment of titles featuring jump scares, tears, laughs, and fears. A robotic doll gets a mind of her own inM3GAN, a horror film about friendship and what happens when smart technology gets a little too self-aware.Tom HanksandAnna Kendrickare stirring up some Oscar buzz for their performances inA Man Called OttoandAlice, Darling.PEN15starAnna Konkleis ready to make you uncomfortable inThe Drop, a comedy about a woman who drops her friend’s baby at a wedding.Jason StathamandAubrey Plazaare wielding guns and slinging quips inOperation Fortune: Ruse de guerre, the latest adventure fromGuy Ritchie. Plus, more movies featuringJonah Hill,Eddie Murphy,Jennifer Lopez,Nicolas Cage, andChristian Bale.
Grab your popcorn and put fresh batteries in your remote! Let’s take a closer look at what movies will be hitting the big and small screens in January.
Release Date: January 6 in Theaters
Dolls are creepy. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.Get OutstarAllison Williamsreturns to the horror realm with the freaky filmM3GAN. Produced byAnnabelleandMalignantproducerJames Wan, the sci-fi thriller follows roboticist Gemma’s (Allison Williams) attempt to bring comfort to her recently orphaned niece Cady (Violet McGraw) by gifting her a self-aware, human-like doll known as M3GAN. The toy and Cady hit it off, though things take a dark turn once M3GAN becomes increasingly possessive of Cady.
The Pale Blue Eye
Release Date: January 6 on Netflix
We knowEdgar Allan Poethe author, but what about the West Point cadet? Based on the historical novel byLouis Bayardand written and directed for the screen byScott Cooper, the gloomy 1800s-era mysteryThe Pale Blue Eyefollows Augustus Landor (Christian Bale), a long-time, jaded detective trying to solve a series of murders of cadets at West Point, New York’s United States Military Academy. Augustus is determined, though can’t get very far given the cadets’ code of silence. He manages to earn the trust of the most observant and astute cadet at West Point: a young Poe (Henry Melling). The film also starsGillian Anderson,Robert Duvall,Lucy Boynton, andFred Hechinger.
Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre
Release Date: January 12 in Theaters
Do you have good fortune? After somerelease date reshuffling, Guy Ritchie’s latest posh action adventure is here and ready for a good time.Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerrestars Jason Statham as Orson Fortune, a private contractor who is tasked with preventing specific weapons from hitting the open market. The buyer? A wealthy arms dealer named Greg Simmonds (Hugh Grant) who cannot be caught with “conventional allure.” The plan? Recruit Greg’s favorite movie star Danny Francesco (Josh Hartnett) to help on the mission and distract Greg from Fortune doing his Fortune thing. Fortune wouldn’t be where he is, of course, without help from his lovable team of misfits Sarah (Aubrey Plaza), Nathan (Cary Elwes), and JJ (Bugzy Malone).
Release Date: January 13 on Hulu
Well, this is awkward. Have you ever done something that just cannot be undone? Anna Konkle is the queen of cringe as Lex inThe Drop, a comedy about a woman who drops her friend’s baby at a wedding. It’s fine, it’s fine. The baby isfine. But Mani (Jermaine Fowler) and Lex’s marriage isnot. How is this event supposed to be even remotely normal now? Someonedroppedababy! Director and writerSarah Adina Smithand her co-writerJoshua Leonardhave concocted a comedy that will make you realize, “It’s not the baby…it’s how you handle it!” The ensemble includesJillian Bell,Robin Thede,Aparna Nancherla, andUtkarsh Ambudkar.
A Man Called Otto
Release Date: January 13 in Theaters
Meet Otto. He is what you call “bitter.” Nothing has been the same since his wife passed away. More specifically, nothing can make him happy, and he does not feel as though he has a reason to live. His new, vibrant, zest-for-life neighbor Marisol (Mariana Treviño) and her husband and two little girls, however, see Otto (played masterfully by Tom Hanks) as a challenge. A nut they are determined to crack. Otto, though, doesn’t want to be cracked. At least, not atfirst. It’s only a matter of time before the irritable old man next door is (reluctantly) charmed by this loving curveball life threw his way.A Man Called Ottois directed byStranger Than FictionandWorld War ZdirectorMarc Forsterand is based onFredrik Backman’s novelA Man Called Ove. A Swedish version of the film was released in 2015 and starsRolf Lassgård.
This is your captain speaking.300andGreenlandstarGerard Butlertakes flight as commercial pilot Brodie Torrance inPlane, an action thriller directed byJean-François Richetand written byCharles CummingandJ.P. Davis. Panic mounts once Brodie must make an emergency landing on Jolo Islands, a dangerous, war plagued spot in the Philippines. Brodie has no choice but to trust Louis Gaspare (Mike Colter), a convicted fugitive passenger on the flight. Can they save the day?
House Party
It’s not a party. It’s an investment. In this remake ofReginald Hudlin’s 1990s cult-classicHouse Party,AtlantawritersStephen GloverandJamal Oloriput best friends Kid and Play (Jacob LatimoreandTosin Cole) in a once-in-a-lifetime situation. The two friends need money desperately and are running out of options, so when they get the chance to cleanLeBron James’ mansion while he is on a meditation retreat, they make the most of it. Rather than clean the house and collect the check, they throw an epic house party and charge all the guests a special fee. What could possibly go wrong? The film is produced by LeBron’s production company, SpringHill Company.
The Old Way
Revenge is coming in the shape of Nicolas Cage. The Academy Award winner heads west and slings guns inThe Old Way, a western directed byBrett Donowhoand written byCarl W. Lucas. The period piece tells the story of Colton Briggs (Cage), a former gunslinger extraordinaire who has settled down in recent years to become a family man. His past comes back to bite him when James (Noah Le Gros), the son of someone he killed, avenges his father’s death by killing Colton’s wife. Now, the reformed cowboy is ready to get justice for his family, and is bringing his little daughter Brooke (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) along with him.
Saint Omer
Alice Diop, the impressive French documentarian known forWeandLa mort de Danton, makes her narrative debut with the tense courtroom dramaSaint Omer. The French submission for the Academy Awards, which is loosely based on a real 2013 trial, followsKayije Kagame’s Rama, a novelist sitting in on the trial of Laurence Coly (Guslagie Malanda), a woman accused of leaving her 15-month-old daughter on the beach to be dragged away by the tide. Rama was hoping to use the trial for research for her modern adaptation ofMedea, but ends up reflecting on her own life and pregnancy the more she learns about Laurence’s own traumatic experiences. The film won the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival and the award for Best Debut Feature for Diop.
Skinamarink
What is going on in this house?Skinamarink, written and directed by Canadian filmmakerKyle Edward Ball, is not your average horror film. The experimental and minimalist project, which Ball shot in his childhood home in Edmonton, Canada on a largely crowd-funded budget, tells the story of two young boys who wake up during the night to discover that their father is gone as well as all of the windows and doors in the house. But where is that voice coming from? The film had its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival and is set for a Shudder release later this year.
