Here we are at the start of an exciting new movie year, and we have a fantastic range of movies that are set to hit the big screen this January - seriously, if you are a major film fan you are going to be living in the cinema over the next few weeks.
Birdman
There are a wide range of films that are on the horizon from drama, to sci-fi and animation to war movies, and not to forget all of the potential Oscar contenders that will be coming our way. We take a look at the January movies that you really cannot afford to miss.
- Birdman - released 1st January
2015 got underway today and Birdman is already one of the most talked about movies of the year after playing extensively on the festival circuit at the end of 2014, where it was met with universal acclaim. Now UK audiences are getting their chance to see what all of the fuss is about.
Birdman marks the return of Alejandro González Iñárritu to the director's chair for his first feature film since Biutiful in 2011; he has also brought us the likes of Babel, 21 Grams, and Amores Perros during his directing career.
And Birdman has one of the first great ensemble casts as Michael Keaton, Emma Stone, Edward Norton, Amy Ryan, Naomi Watts, Andrea Riseborough and Zach Galifianakis are all on board - it really is one hell of an impressive line up.
The movie follows a washed-up actor who once played an iconic superhero must overcome his ego and family trouble as he mounts a Broadway play in a bid to reclaim his past glory. Birdman and the film's actors have already picked up Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards and it is currently the favourite to scoop the Best Picture Oscar - it really is going to be a very exciting awards season.
- The Theory of Everything - released 1st January
Over the next few weeks we are going to see a whole host of biopic movies hit the big screen, and The Theory of Everything is one that you really cannot afford to miss, as it boasts two outstanding central performances from Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones - two British actor who are already flying the flag from Britain on the awards circuit.
The movie has only hit the big screen today, but both Redmayne and Jones have already picked up a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nomination for Best Actor and Best Actress in what is a very exciting start to 2015 for both actors - they are both set to see their stars rocket after the release of this movie.
Directed by James Marsh, The Theory of Everything chronicles the relationship between Stephen Hawking and his first wife Jane, after they meet during their time at university. The movie is based on the memoir by Jane Hawking and has been adapted into a screenplay by Antony McCarten.
Redmayne and Jones lead an all-star cast as Tom Prior, Harry Lloyd, David Thewlis, and Emily Watson will also star. The Theory of everything will be the first time that Redmayne and Jones have shared the screen together and it looks set to be a very exciting partnership.
- Foxcatcher - released 9th January
Foxcatcher is another of the biopic pictures to watch out for this month as this movie marks the return of filmmaker Bennett Miller to the director's chair. Miller is no stranger to this genre of film with Capote and Moneyball already under his belt, but Foxcatcher is already being called the best movie of his career to date.
Based on shocking true events, Foxcatcher is a psychological thriller, which tells the fascinating story of Olympic gold medal-winning brothers Mark and Dave Schultz and their tragic relationship with a multi-millionaire benefactor, John du Pont.
Foxcatcher is another movie that is surrounded in Oscar whispers - and has been since it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last year - Steve Carell has already picked up a Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe nomination for his central performance as John du Pont and is likely to receive his first Oscar nomination for his work. The Best Actors Oscar category is really going to be an exciting and unpredictable one this year.
Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo will take on the roles of Mark and David Schultz, while Sienna Miller, Vanessa Redgrave, and Anthony Michael Hall make up a very talented cast list. Miller is one of the most exciting directors around and I am really looking forward to seeing what he delivers with Foxcatcher, as it is a movie that I have been looking forward to for quite some time.
- American Sniper - released 16th January
There are a trio of biopic movies that I am looking forward to this January and American Sniper is the third and final of these movies as Bradley Cooper returns to the big screen. American Sniper looks back on the military career of Navy S.E.A.L. Chris Kyle, and will see Cooper take on the role of Kyle.
American Sniper marks the return of Clint Eastwood to the director's chair for the first time since Jersey Boys and it will also be the first time that the Oscar winning filmmaker has teamed up with double Oscar nominee Cooper.
Eastwood is no stranger to this war genre of film, having delivered Flags of our Fathers and Letter from Iwo Jima during his career, and I am really looking forward to seeing him deliver this biopic, which is based on one of America's most famous military men.
Cooper will lead a terrific cast, as Sienna Miller, Luke Grimes, Brian Hallisay, and Kyle Gallner are some of the names on board. Cooper really has seen his star rocket in recent years and it is great to see him with another role that he can truly get his teeth into.
- Ex Machina - released 23rd January
There are some great science fiction movies on the horizon over the next twelve months, and Ex Machina is one of the first movies in this genre that is whipping up a bit of a storm. The movie is the directorial debut of Alex Garland; he has also penned the screenplay. Garland is no stranger to screenwriting have written the script for Dredd, Sunshine, and 28 Days Later.
It is going to be a great year for both Oscar Isaac and Domhnall Gleeson with roles in Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens and Ex-Machina is the first film that we are going to see them in together. They are two of the most exciting actors around and it is going to be great to see them share the screen. The cast list is completed by Alicia Vikander, who is another actor whose star is well and truly on the rise.
Ex Machina is set to follow a young programmer who is selected to participate in a breakthrough experiment in artificial intelligence by evaluating the human qualities of a breathtaking female A.I.
Garland has penned some really great screenplays in recent years - Dredd and Sunshine are two of my particular favourites - and it is going to be interesting to see how he well he makes the transition into the director's char. The early chatter about Ex Machina really does seem promising and it is one of the January movies that I really cannot wait to see.
- The Gambler - released 23rd January
We haven't seen Mark Wahlberg on the big screen since the billion-dollar success of Transformers: Age of Extinction but he is set to return with his new crime/drama The Gambler. The movie also sees Rupert Wyatt back in the director's chair.
We haven't seen Wyatt at the helm of a feature film since he enjoyed huge success with Rise of the Planet of the Apes back in the summer of 2011, and The Gambler will mark the fourth feature film of his directing career to date.
The movie follows Jim Bennett, an English professor and a high-stakes gambler, who bets it all when he borrows from a gangster and offers his own life as collateral. Always one-step ahead, Bennett pits his creditor against the operator of a gambling ring and leaves his dysfunctional relationship with his wealthy mother in his wake.
Wahlberg will take on the role of Bennett in the film, and is joined on the cast list by Jessica Lange, Brie Larson, John Goodman, Michael Kenneth Williams, and Sonya Walger.
- Big Hero 6 - released 30th January
It is always exciting when a Disney movie is on the horizon, and Big Hero 6 is set to be one not to miss when it hits the big screen at the end of the month and is the first film since the massive success of Frozen.
Big Hero 6 sees Don Hall and Chris Williams team up in the director's chair for the first time - however, they are both no stranger to the animation genre. Hall made his directorial debut with Winnie the Pooh, while Williams made his feature directorial debut with Bolt. Big Hero 6 will be the second feature film for both.
Big Hero 6 is based on the Marvel comic of the same name and sees Ryan Potter and Scott Adsit voice the central characters of Hiro and Baymax. T.J. Miller, Jamie Chung, Damon Wayans Jr, Genesis Rodriguez, James Cromwell, Alan Tudyk, and Maya Rudolph make up a great voice cast list.
Big Hero 6 features brilliant robotics prodigy Hiro Hamada, who finds himself in the grips of a criminal plot that threatens to destroy the fast-paced, high-tech city of San Fransokyo. With the help of his closest companion-a robot named Baymax-Hiro joins forces with a reluctant team of first-time crime fighters on a mission to save their city.
Other January movies not to miss include Into The Woods, Wild, Inherent Vice, Testament of Youth, A Most Violent Year, and Son of A Gun.