Top films for January
We’ve somehow arrived at January 2022! So with that in mind, here’s a rundown of the films I’m most excited about this coming month. Release dates are changing a lot at the moment, but these were correct at the time of publication.
Licorice Pizza
Paul Thomas Anderson‘s latest movie has finally been released on our shores! Set in the San Fernando Valley in 1973, this coming-of-age comedy tells the story of 15-year-old child actor and businessman Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman) and 25-year-old photographer’s assistant Alana Kane (Alana Haim). She rebuffs his advances due to the age difference, but they become close friends and business partners. I really liked this one, but I wasn’t as enamoured with it as everyone else. Read my review here. In cinemas now.
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
Benedict Cumberbatch is remarkable as the eccentric painter Louis Wain, who was famous for painting cats, in this delightful biographical drama, which also stars Claire Foy, Andrea Riseborough and Toby Jones. A must-see for cat lovers – there are so many felines and they sometimes get subtitles! Read my review here. In cinemas now.
The 355
Jessica Chastain kicks ass in this new spy action movie. She plays a CIA agent who teams up with agents from around the world – Diane Kruger, Penelope Cruz, Lupita Nyong’o and Fan Bingbing – to recover a top-secret weapon. This sounds like my cup of tea and I’m so here for it. In cinemas 7th January.
Scream (2022)
I love the Scream franchise so I can’t wait for the next instalment (although I hate that the original title is being re-used). Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), Dewey Riley (David Arquette) and Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) return to help out a new bunch of teenagers who are being targeted by the Ghostface killer. In cinemas 14th January.
Nightmare Alley
Guillermo del Toro‘s neo-noir psychological thriller is seriously star-studded! Bradley Cooper plays an ambitious and manipulative carnival worker who teams up with a female psychiatrist (Cate Blanchett) who is more dangerous than he is. The supporting cast includes the likes of Toni Collette, Rooney Mara, Richard Jenkins and Willem Dafoe. I’m not sure if this will be for me but I’m certainly intrigued by it! In cinemas 21st January.
Mass
I have heard so many incredible things about Mass and I can’t wait to see the acting tour de force this is supposed to be. The parents of a school shooting victim and the parents of the perpetrator meet up six years after the tragedy to discuss it. It sounds pretty sombre but I’m still keen to see it! On Sky Cinema from 20th January.
Parallel Mothers
Pedro Almodovar‘s latest collaboration with Penelope Cruz received raves at Venice so I have to see it. The Spanish drama follows two single mothers who meet in a hospital room where they are about to give birth and form a strong bond despite their different perspectives on impending motherhood. In cinemas 28th January.
Best of the rest
While I’m not too excited about these, you may well be – Belfast, Sing 2, Cyrano, The Tragedy of Macbeth and Boiling Point are also coming out this month.