Must See January Movies

by Helen Earnshaw | 1 January 2016

Here we are at the very beginning of 2016 and it really looks set to be another very exciting twelve months if you are a film fan.

The Revenant

January is set to get the year off with a rather loud bang as there are a whole host of movies not to miss - and some of them could well be Oscar contenders when the nominations are announced later this month.

We take a look at some of the films we cannot wait to see and some of the movies that you cannot afford to miss over the next four weeks.

- The Danish Girl - released 1st January

When it comes to January movies, there are few that have been as talked about as The Danish Girl as it marks the return of Tom Hooper and has been surrounded in whispers for months and months.

Hooper is no stranger to Oscar hype with both Les Miserables and The King's Speech whipping up a storm in recent years... but it is the central performance from Eddie Redmayne that is causing the stir. We are big fans of Redmayne here are FemaleFirst and he is set to take on the central role of Lili Elbe, one of the first recipients of sex reassignment surgery.

The Danish Girl is the remarkable love story inspired by the lives of Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener (Redmayne and Vikander), and directed by Academy Award winner Tom Hooper. Lili and Gerda's marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili's ground-breaking journey as a transgender pioneer.

The movie sees Redmayne team up with Alicia Vikander for the first time and the duo is already picking up major award nominations as they have picked up Best Actor and Best Actress nods at the Golden Globes. Redmayne is also in the running for Best Actor at the SAGs, while Vikander was recognised in the Best Supporting Actress category.

This movie comes a year after Redmayne enjoyed Oscar, Golden Globe, SAG, and Bafta Award success for his performance in The Theory of Everything and he looks set to be in the Oscar mix for the second year running.

Redmayne and Vikander lead an all-star cast as Matthias Schoenaerts, Ben Whishaw, Amber Heard, and Sebastian Koch are also on board. This is one of the first must-see films of 2014 and I cannot wait to see Redmayne and Vikander in action.

- Joy - released 1st January

It is always exciting when a Jennifer Lawrence movie is on the horizon and she is back on the big screen this January with her latest film Joy, which sees her reunite with filmmaker David O. Russell.

Joy is their third collaboration together and comes after the huge success of Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle in recent years - that have brought them critical, box office, and awards success.

Joy is inspired by the life of Joy Mangano and sees Lawrence take on the title role. The Oscar winner is joined on the cast list by Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, Edgar Ramírez, Isabella Rossellini, and Virginia Madsen.

Joy is the wild story of a family across four generations centred on the girl who becomes the woman who founds a business dynasty and becomes a matriarch in her own right. Betrayal, treachery, the loss of innocence and the scars of love, pave the road in this intense emotional and human comedy about becoming a true boss of family and enterprise facing a world of unforgiving commerce. Allies become adversaries and adversaries become allies, both inside and outside the family, as Joy's inner life and fierce imagination carry her through the storm she faces.

This is the first film release of Lawrence since the end of The Hunger Game franchise and yet, this is another strong leading female role for her to get her teeth into. It looks like she is going to deliver another terrific central performance.

Joy picked up two Golden Globe nods when the nominations were announced last month; Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy and Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical for Lawrence.

- The Hateful Eight - released 8th January

It was back in 2013 that we last saw Quentin Tarantino in the director's chair with Django Unchained... and now he is set to return with new Western The Hateful Eight.

The Hateful Eight sees Tarantino back on writing duties as well as being in the director's chair and it is great to see this filmmaker back in action. After the script was leaked online last year, The Hateful Eight looked like it was a movie that we may never see - now there's only a week to go before it hits the big screen.

In The Hateful Eight, set six or eight or twelve years after the Civil War, a stagecoach hurtles through the wintry Wyoming landscape. The passengers, bounty hunter John Ruth (Russell) and his fugitive Daisy Domergue (Leigh), race towards the town of Red Rock where Ruth, known in these parts as 'The Hangman,' will bring Domergue to justice. Along the road, they encounter two strangers: Major Marquis Warren (Jackson), a black former union soldier turned infamous bounty hunter, and Chris Mannix (Goggins), a southern renegade who claims to be the town's new Sheriff.

Losing their lead on the blizzard, Ruth, Domergue, Warren and Mannix seek refuge at Minnie's Haberdashery, a stagecoach stopover on a mountain pass. When they arrive at Minnie's, they are greeted not by the proprietor but by four unfamiliar faces. Bob (Bichir), who's taking care of Minnie's while she's visiting her mother, is holed up with Oswaldo Mobray (Roth), the hangman of Red Rock, cow-puncher Joe Gage (Madsen), and Confederate General Sanford Smithers (Dern). As the storm overtakes the mountainside stopover, our eight travellers come to learn they may not make it to Red Rock after all...

Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Channing Tatum, Walton Goggins, Bruce Dern, and Demian Bichir are just some of the other names on board; together, they make one of the best ensemble casts of early 2016 and I cannot wait to see everyone in action.

Tarantino is one of the most exciting filmmakers around and The Hateful Eight promises to be a film not to miss this January.

- The Revenant - released 15th January

Alejandro González Iñárritu is another director who seems to whip up a storm with every film project that he does and he is back this month with his new film The Revenant.

The Revenant comes a year after Birdman was a massive critical success and it looks like that success is going to continue as this movie is already winning over critics and is in the awards mix. It looks set to be in the mix when the Oscar nominations are revealed... can Iñárritu scoop Best Picture two years on the trot?

Set in 1823, The Revenant follows American wilderness, explorer and fur trapper Hugh Glass who seeks revenge on his hunting team after being mauled by a bear and left for dead. Leonardo DiCaprio takes on the central role of Glass and the movie is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Punke.

DiCaprio has been in the Oscar mix many times during his career but has failed to win. However, there is just a feeling that 2016 could finally be his year. He is already nominated for Best Actor at the Golden Globes and SAGs and he will be in the Oscar mix.

However, it is not all about DiCaprio as The Revenant sees him reunite with Inception co-star Tom Hardy. Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter, and Paul Anderson complete and exciting and very talented cast list.

The Revenant is one of the January movies that I am looking forward to the most and could well be the film to beat when the 2016 Oscars roll around. It would be great to see Leo FINALLY get his hands on a Best Actor Academy Award.

- The Big Short - released 22nd January

There are a whole host of January movies that are whipping up the critics into a frenzy and The Big Short is one of them.

The Big Short has already picked up four Golden Globe nominations - including Best Motion Picture - and two SAG nominations and will see Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell, and Brad Pitt join forces.

I am excited to see these four terrific actors all join forces for the first time and they will be joined on the cast list by Melissa Leo, Rafe Spall, Jeremy Strong, and Marisa Tomei. The Big Short also sees Adam McKay back in the director's chair.

McKay has brought us films such as Step Brothers and The Other Guys and this is his first feature since Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. McKay has also teamed up with Charles Randolph to pen the screenplay, which is based on the book by Michael Lewis.

The Big Short follows 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.

There are a whole host of movies that will be boasting impressive ensemble casts in the early part of the year and The Big Short is one of them. This is a movie that is already in the awards mix and could pick up some Oscar nominations in the coming weeks.

- Spotlight - released 29th January

Another movie that is surrounded in Oscar chatter is Spotlight, which sees Tom McCarthy back in the director's chair for the first time since The Cobbler last year. As well as being in the director's chair, McCarthy has teamed up with Josh Singer to pen the screenplay.

Spotlight is based on the true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered a massive child molestation scandal in the local Catholic Archdiocese and the lengths that were taken to cover it up.

Another stunning cast has been assembled for the film as Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, and Stanley Tucci are just some of the magnificent names on board - I really cannot wait to see them all in action together.

Spotlight is already one of the most acclaimed films of the year and is another movie that you cannot afford to miss this January.

This is another film that I expect to see in the Oscar mix as it picked up Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best Director, and Best Screenplay nominations at the Golden Globes. The movie was also recognised at the SAGs picking up nominations for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture and Best Supporting Actress for McAdams.