2015 Preview: January

Hey folks, well here we are in 2015 so you know what that means? That’s right, we got a whole new year of movies to look forward to and like I’ve done the past two years, it’s time to look at the year month by month to see just what’s coming out this year. So welcome to the first entry of Rhode Island Movie’s Corner year-long preview of the films set to come out in 2015 and today we’ll be looking at the January lineup. Now obviously because this is January, which is commonly the ‘dumping ground’ for the industry given the usual quality of films that come out every year at this time, I’m betting that no one’s really expecting much from this month. But who knows? So with that said, let’s delve into the films of January 2015.

JANUARY 2- The year opens up, as has been the case with many previous years, with a horror film.

*In February 2012, famed horror film studio Hammer Films released ‘The Woman in Black’, based on the book of the same name by Susan Hill and starring Daniel Radcliffe in his first major post-‘Harry Potter’ role. It was both a critical and commercial success so it gets in a sequel in ‘The Woman in Black: Angel of Death’, under a new director and co-written by Hill. This film centers on a group of schoolchildren and their teacher who travel to an old estate when they are forced to evacuate London during the Blitz of World War II, where they end up awakening a dark force. The cast features Jeremy Irvine (‘War Horse’) and Helen McCrory.

JANUARY 9- Another sole new release this week, while ‘Inherent Vice’ and ‘Selma’ hit theaters nationwide.

*The third installment of its series, ‘Taken 3’ sees Liam Neeson reprise his role as ex-government operative Bryan Mills, who in this film is forced to go on the run when he’s framed for the murder of his wife Lenny (Famke Janssen) as he looks to take down the killers before they get his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace).

JANUARY 16- While Clint Eastwood’s ‘American Sniper’ expands nationwide, three new films hit theaters this weekend.

*Director Michael Mann’s (‘Heat’, ‘Collateral’) newest film, ‘Blackhat’, stars Chris Hemsworth as an ex-con who is brought in by the authorities to deal with a cyber-criminal. The film also stars Viola Davis.

*Based on the best-selling book series of the same name by Michael Bond and produced by David Heyman, producer of the ‘Harry Potter’ series, ‘Paddington’ centers on the titular Paddington Bear, a talking bear who is taken in by a kind English family when he travels from Peru to London. Ben Whishaw voices Paddington (originally Colin Firth was hired for the role until he dropped out) and the film’s cast also includes Nicole Kidman, Jim Broadbent, and Peter Capaldi.

*Kevin Hart stars in ‘The Wedding Ringer’, in which he plays the owner of a wedding company providing best man services who helps out a new groom (Josh Gad) try to impress his fiancé’s (Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting) in-laws.

JANUARY 23­- A pattern for the rest of the month, another trio of films hit theaters. I’ll also be listing a notable limited release.

*Jennifer Lopez produces and stars in ‘The Boy Next Door’, in which she plays a recently divorced high school teacher who is pursued by an obsessive neighbor (Ryan Guzman) after they end up having a one-night stand.

*Based on the book series of the same name, ‘Mortdecai’ is directed by David Koepp and stars Johnny Depp as the titular Mortdecai, a rogue art dealer who travels the world in a race against time in order to recover a stolen painting that may have the code to a secret bank account. The film also stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor, and Olivia Munn, among others.

*Written and produced by George Lucas (and yes, it’s one of the only recent Lucasfilm releases not to be associated with Star Wars or Indiana Jones), ‘Strange Magic’ is inspired by Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. The film’s voice cast includes Alan Cumming, Evan Rachel Wood, Kristin Chenoweth, and Maya Rudolph.

*The noteworthy limited release is ‘Black Sea’, directed by Kevin Macdonald (‘The Last King of Scotland’) and starring Jude Law as a submarine captain who takes on a job investigating a sunken submarine reportedly full of gold.  

JANUARY 30­- And finally one more trio of films to end out the month.

*Kevin Costner stars in ‘Black or White’ as a widower who ends up in a custody battle when his granddaughter’s grandmother (played by Octavia Spencer) demands that she be placed in the care of her father, who Costner’s character blames for being responsible for the death of his real daughter.

*A long delayed thriller that was originally filmed in 2011, ‘The Loft’ centers on a group of five married men (played by Karl Urban, James Marsden, Wentworth Miller, Eric Stonestreet, and Matthias Schoenaerts) who try to figure out who among them may have killed a woman in the loft that they all share ownership of (where they meet up with their own mistresses).

*Finally, there’s the Michael Bay produced found footage film, ‘Project Almanac’. If you recall, I had listed this film in my February 2014 preview post as it was originally supposed to be released on February 28^th of last year. However, it ended up getting pushed back to this week for as-of-yet undisclosed reasons. The film centers on a group of teens who find plans to build a time machine, which they use to correct many of the mistakes they’ve made in their past although they soon realize that this will lead to dire consequences.

And those are the films set to come out this January. Check back next month for Part 2 of this 12-part preview in which we’ll be looking at the films of February.