Movies at the cinema in January 2019
Goodbye, 2018 and hello 2019! Let us usher in the new year with a bunch of great films to look forward to, from comedies to thrillers, action blockbusters and even a remastered release of one of Steven Spielberg’s classics.
As we inch closer to the Golden Globes and the Oscars, expect more serious films such as The Mule and A Private War to hit the silver screen. As for us, we can’t for James McAvoy to return as The Beast in Glass! Which movie will be your first in 2019?
Release date: January 10, 2019
Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Leah Remini, Vanessa Hudgens, Treat Williams, Milo Ventimiglia
Genre: Comedy
A second chance at life. Photo credit: IMDB
Second Act is a comedy in the vein of Working Girl and Maid In Manhattan. Jennifer Lopez stars as Maya, a 40-year-old working-class store assistant manager wrangling with middle-age frustrations. She gets a second chance at a corporate career, but only after embellishing her resume to land her dream job. When she is tasked to handle a major business deal, she gets the chance to prove to Madison Avenue that street smarts are as valuable as book smarts.
Release date: January 3, 2019
Cast: Mark Lee, Dennis Chew, Marcus Chin, Chen Biyu
Genre: Comedy
Make It Big Big is the first local comedy of 2019. Photo credit: Golden Village Pictures
After enjoying success with The Breakfast Quartet《玉建煌崇》radio talk show on MediaCorp LOVE 97.2FM and “The Love 97.2 Breakfast Quartet” TV series 《玉建煌崇电视版》, the popular quartet is back with their own movie. Make It Big Big is a reality comedy which tells the story of the four radio-presenters and how these celebrities deal with living in the public eye, meeting the daily expectations of their fans and their personal issues. Featuring star-studded cameos by A-listers like Zoe Tay, Christopher Lee, Fann Wong, Chew Chor Meng, Jack Neo, Henry Thia and Hong Kong’s Chapman To.
Release date: January 3, 2019
Cast: Kim Hye-soo, Yoo Ah-in, Huh Joon-ho, Jo Woo-jin, Vincent Cassel
Genre: Drama
Yoo Ah-In holding a meeting in Default. Photo credit: Golden Village Pictures
Based on real-life events, Default depicts the behind-the-scenes story of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) negotiations that took place during the financial crisis in 1997. Directed by Choi Kook-hee and stars Kim Hye-soo, Yoo Ah-in and Jo Woo-jin, the movie features the different stories of the people who made different choices in the wake of the worst economic crisis that swept Korea that year.
K.G.F: Kolar Gold Fields – Chapter 1 (Hindi)
Release date: January 3, 2019
Cast: Yash, Srinidhi Shetty, Ananth Nag, Ramya Krishnan, Achyuth Kumar, Nassar
Genre: Drama/Action
Yash in the rain. Photo credit: IMDB
K.G.F: Kolar Gold Fields – Chapter 1 is a period movie from the celebrated director Prasanth Neel (of Ugramm fame), set in the Kolar Gold Fields in the late 70’s. The Cold War between U.S.A and Russia has torn the world apart and nearly led to a Third World War. Prices of most commodities have gone up, most especially the price of gold. The film centres around Raja Krishnappa Bairya “Rocky”, who is born into poverty and on a quest for power and wealth. He will do anything to achieve his goal – but will he kill? K.G.F: Kolar Gold Fields – Chapter 1 is the first instalment in a two-part series.
Release date: January 10, 2019
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Bradley Cooper, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Pena, Dianne Wiest, Andy Garcia
Genre: Drama/Mystery
Clint Eastwood wrote, directed and acted in this movie. Photo credit: IMDB
The Mule is a crime film loosely based on the true crime story of an octogenarian and award-winning horticulturalist who was secretly the Sinaloa Cartel’s most prolific drug runner. Clint Eastwood, who also produced and directed the film, stars as the lead character, Earl Stone.
Stone is a man in his eighties who is broke, alone and facing foreclosure of his business when he is offered a job that simply requires him to drive. Unbeknownst to him, his new gig involves being a drug courier for a Mexican cartel. He becomes a Robin Hood of sorts with his ill-gotten gains but a mysterious new drug mule is keeping tabs on Earl. While his money problems become a thing of the past, Earl’s past mistakes start to weigh heavily on him, and it’s uncertain if he’ll have time to right the wrongs before law enforcement, or the cartel’s enforcers, catch up with him.
Release date: January 10, 2019
Cast: Felicity Jones, Armie Hammer, Justin Theroux, Kathy Bates, Sam Waterston
Genre: Drama
Stand up for your rights. Photo credit: IMDB
The film tells an inspiring and spirited true story that follows a young lawyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Felicity Jones) in the 1970’s as she teams with her husband Marty (Armie Hammer) to bring a groundbreaking case before the U.S. Court of Appeals, overturning a century of gender discrimination. This biographical legal drama depicts the struggles the Ginsburgs had to overcome in order to push for equal rights.
Release Date: January 10, 2019
Cast: Taylor Russell, Logan Miller, Deborah Ann Woll, Jay Ellis, Tyler Labine
Genre: Thriller
Play or die. Photo credit: IMDB
Escape Room is a psychological thriller where six strangers are forced to work together to complete a series of immersive games in order to survive and escape a strange house. However, the rooms contain deadly traps and circumstances beyond their control. These six must use their wits to find the clues or die. Directed by Adam Robitel, the movie stars Taylor Russell, Logan Miller, Deborah Ann Woll, Jay Ellis, Tyler Labine, Nik Dodani and Yorick van Wageningen.
Release date: January 17, 2019
Cast: Bruce Willis, James McAvoy, Samuel L. Jackson, Anya Taylor-Joy, Spencer Treat Clark
Genre: Thriller
It’s time to find out the truth. Photo credit: IMDB
Fans of M. Night Shyamalan will be anticipating the third and the last of the auteur’s trilogy, Glass. The upcoming thriller film is a sequel to Shyamalan’s previous hits Unbreakable (2000) and Split (2006) where he brings together the narratives of both originals into one explosive, all-new comic-book thriller. Following the conclusion of Split, Glass finds Dunn (Bruce Willis) pursuing Crumb’s superhuman figure of The Beast (James McAvoy) in a series of escalating encounters, while Price (Samuel L. Jackson) emerges as an orchestrator who holds secrets critical to both men.
Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Spencer Treat Clark, and Charlayne Woodard will be reprising their Unbreakable roles, while James McAvoy and Anya Taylor-Joy will be returning as their Split characters, with Sarah Paulson and Adam David Thompson joining the cast.
Release date: January 17, 2019
Cast: Kevin Hart, Bryan Cranston, Nicole Kidman, Julianna Margulies
Genre: Comedy
Friendship. Photo credit: IMDB
The Upside is a remake of the hit 2011 french film, The Intouchables. Directed by Neil Burger, the heartfelt comedy stars Kevin Hart as a recently paroled ex-convict who strikes up an unusual and unlikely friendship with a paralysed billionaire played by Bryan Cranston, who hires him as his personal carer. Inspired by a true story, the movie also stars Nicole Kidman and Julianna Margulies. It premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival.
Release Date: January 17, 2019
Cast: Doh Kyung-Soo, Jared Grimes, Park Hye-Su, Oh Jung-Se, Kim Min-Ho
Genre: Drama
Get those tap shoes ready. Photo credit: IMDB
Korean musical drama film, Swing Kids is based on the Korean musical Rho Ki-soo, which stars Doh Kyung-soo (EXO), Park Hye-su, Jared Grimes, Oh Jung-se and Kim Min-ho. Set during the Korean war at the Geoje prison camp, the story follows Ki-soo (Doh), a young and rebellious North Korean soldier who is recruited for a show by an African-American soldier who was once a big-time Broadway dancer. Ki-soo falls in love with tap dance and joins a dance team called “Swing Kids”. Despite their innocuous ambitions, their dream to dance in prison camp is in jeopardy.
Schindler’s List 25th Anniversary
Release date: January 17, 2019
Cast: Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, Caroline Goodall
Genre: Drama
One of the greatest movies not to be missed. Photo credit: IMDB
This is a digitally remastered version of Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece, to commemorate its 25th anniversary release. Just so you know, the film won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Based on an incredible true story, Schindler’s List is about how enigmatic businessman Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) saved the lives of more than 1,100 Polish Jews during the Holocaust.
Schindler arrives in Krakow in 1939, ready to make his fortune from World War II, which has just started. After joining the Nazi party primarily for political expediency, he staffs his factory with Jewish workers for similarly pragmatic reasons. When the SS begins exterminating Jews in the Krakow ghetto, Schindler arranges to have his workers protected to keep his factory in operation, but soon realizes that in so doing, he is also saving innocent lives.
Release date: January 17, 2019
Cast: Xiao Yang, Duan Juan, Xiao Shen Yang, Yu Yunpeng, Wang Xiaoli, Yi Yunhe
Genre: Comedy/Fantasy
It’s time to save the world. Photo credit: IMDB
In Airpocalypse, Ma Le (Yang Xiao) is a psychologist who is known as the ‘Master of Suicide Intervention’. He makes money from suicide prevention and his happiness always stems from others’ misfortune. The God of Longevity has come to save the world but his power is absorbed by Ma Le, so he engages Ma Le’s help for his plan. They find four Gods: Thunder, Lightning, Wind and Rain, and start an adventure of saving the world…
Release date: January 24, 2019
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Vera Farmiga, J.K. Simmons
Genre: Action/Adventure
Getting out. Photo credit: IMDB
The Front Runner is a biographical comedy-drama about American Senator Gary Hart. Based on the 2014 book All The Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid by Matt Bai, the film stars Hugh Jackman as Hart, Vera Farming as Lee Hart, J.K. Simmons as Bill Dixon and Mark O’Brien as Billy Shore.
The movie chronicles the rise and fall of Gary Hart, a Democratic presidential candidate who was caught up in a scandalous love affair in 1988. When media reports of his extramarital affair surfaced, it led to his subsequent fall from grace and was forced to drop out of the campaign.
Release date: January 24, 2019
Cast: Rosamund Pike, Jamie Dornan, Stanley Tucci, Tom Hollander
Genre: Drama
Rosamund Pike as Marie Colvin. Photo credit: IMDB
In biological drama film A Private War, Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) steps into the shoes of Marie Colvin, one of the most celebrated war correspondents of our time. She is a journalist who is an utterly fearless and rebellious spirit, giving voice to the voiceless at the frontline of conflicts across the globe. This film is based on a Vanity Fair magazine article written by investigative journalist Marie Brenner and published in 2012. A Private War has received rave reviews when it premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, and Pike has earned a Best Actress nomination at the upcoming 76th Golden Globe Awards.
Release Date: January 24, 2019
Cast: James Supapunpinyo, Cherprang Areekul
Genre: Fantasy/Thriller
Only 100 days. Photo credit: IMDB
Based on Japanese novel Colourful by Eto Mori, Homestay is a Thai drama thriller fantasy. It tells the story of a spirit who was told by a Guardian that he has a second shot at life by possessing the body of Min, a teenager who recently committed suicide. But the boon comes with a price. He has only 100 days to find out the truth behind Min’s death, or he shall not reincarnate and his soul will be gone forever. He has to do whatever it takes to find the answer to the Guardian’s question before his time in the “homestay” runs out.
Everybody Knows (Spanish)
Release date: January 24, 2019
Cast: Penélope Cruz Javier Bardem
Genre: Drama
Save the family. Photo credit: IMDB
This Spanish psychological thriller film stars Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem, and was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. It follows Carolina (Cruz) on her travels from Argentina to her small hometown in Spain with her Argentinian husband and children for her sister’s wedding. Amid the joyful reunion and festivities, her eldest daughter is abducted, discharging a slew of family and community tensions, and unexpected events that bring secrets into the open.
How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
Release date: January 31, 2019
Cast: Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Cate Blanchett, Kit Harrington, Craig Ferguson, F. Murray Abraham
Genre: Animation
Love at first sight. Awwww. Photo Credit: IMDB
The third and final instalment of the How To Train Your Dragon trilogy will finally hit the big screen in 2019! As Hiccup fulfills his dream of creating a peaceful dragon utopia, Toothless’ discovery of an untamed, elusive mate draws the Night Fury away. When danger mounts at home and Hiccup’s reign as village chief is tested, both dragon and rider are forced to leave the only home they know to save their kind. As they travel to a hidden world thought to only exist in myth, Hiccup and Toothless will have to stand by each other to the very end to protect everything they love in order to take down a dangerous enemy.
Sources: IMDB, Golden Village Pictures
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