Movies Not to Miss: January 2020
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With the Oscars looming and the Golden Globes happening this month, we have already seen some of the contenders in 2019, but there are still a few on the fringe that are finally making their way to our cinemas.
However, if stuffy award-winning movies aren't why you go to the cinema, January may be a little slow but does have some offerings to draw you in with some action and explosions (some more deadly than others).
So start your year of movies with a bang or catching up with some of last year's finest, or whatever way you like with these movies not to miss for January 2020!
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Korean movies are starting the year with a bang. We have already seen Korean disaster movies imagining zombies, diseases and gas attacks, and the next disaster this time would be from a volcanic eruption. When a volcano on the Baekdu Moutain on the border of North Korea and China erupts, a volcano expert races against time to save the entire Korean peninsula before it wipes out the population. While the CG-effects of Korean disaster movies may not match up with the total destruction seen from their Hollywood counterparts, but the Korean disaster movies always has a greater emphasis on family and some melodrama to make them feel more real.
General Release Date: 2 January
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It's been a while since we had a one-take movie, so it is always exciting to see another ambitious filmmaker daring to make an attempt. Carving his name of one-take history this time is director Sam Mendes and taking an even more daunting challenge of setting it in World War I, which could increase the harrowing effects of trench warfare. Lensed by the revered Roger Deakins, while starring some Britain's finest with Mark Strong, Richard Madden, Colin Firth and Benedict Cumberbatch, who will be seeing two brothers off to race through enemy lines, "1917" will be the technical feat to beat, with nominations for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Score for the Globes.
General Release Date: 9 January
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Now that Robert Downey Jr. is done with Marvel duties, it's time to see if he can be known without the iron mask. Based on the character in the children's stories of Hugh Lofting, the animal speaker Dr. Dolittle has secluded himself in his manor after losing his wife. When Queen Victoria is taken ill, the doctor is sent off to an island to find a cure. Downey isn't necessarily out of his league to carry a potential franchise (since he did well as Sherlock Holmes), but it certainly helps to have a cast of animals voiced by Emma Thompson, Rami Malek, John Cena, Kumail Najani, Octavia Spencer, Tom Holland, Ralph Fiennes, Selena Gomez, and Marion Cotillard.
General Release Date: 16 January
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If you are looking for more of a standard Hollywood flare and flair, then 2020 returns with another long sleeping franchise. Since 2003's "Bad Boys II", Will Smith and Martin Lawrence reunite and return as their iconic buddy cop partners that were in some of the definitive titles that defined the Bayhem. Although Michael Bay is not returning to set off his brand of explosion, it is still produced by Jerry Bruckheimer who will be able to bankroll the scale.
General Release Date: 23 January
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As more and more movies would likely set to explore the frightening great unknown of space, another unknown closer to us is our underwater world. Responsible for some of the more unique low budget sci-fi thrillers of the past decade, William Burbank is back with another directorial since his "The Signal" in 2014. Now working off a script written by Brian Duffield and Adam Cozad, and with a more prolific cast, Kristen Stewart leads Vincent Cassel, Jessica Henwick, John Gallagher Jr. and T.J Miller as a group scientists trying to escape from their underwater lab. This is for one who enjoys their slow burn thrillers to be beautifully shot yet be uncomfortable and suffocating.
General Release Date: 30 January
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Starting us off with releases for the Oscar season is this trifecta of acting powerhouses in the form of Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie and Charlize Theron. Based on the accounts of women who exposed the sexual harassment of Fox News CEO and founder Roger Ailes, this is a scathing takedown of another institution that has been caught by the #MeToo movement. Powered by Oscar nominees and winners, this is one to see for the performance, with stakes in the Golden Globes race that could run into the Oscar race.
General Release Date: 30 January
