A slate of new movies to heat up winter screens
If January ushers in a New Year, at the movies it’s still the awards season with the Golden Globes and Critics Choice honors being telecast as a run-up to the Oscar nominations on Jan.23 and then the really big show March 10.
Of course winter’s slate stands out as entertainment and not awards bait. Among the notable entries:
“Night Swim” (Jan. 5)
Supernatural horror gets a workout as Wyatt Russell (“Monarch: Legacy of Monsters”) discovers there’s something there, in the backyard swimming pool! Writer-director Bryce McGuire, who now expands his 5-minute short, includes “Creature from the Black Lagoon” among his inspirations.
“The Book of Clarence” (Jan. 12)
An epic biblical comedy/drama with a formidable cast, LaKeith Stanfield stars as Clarence, who in 29 AD is a hustler who plans to get out of debt by insisting he’s a new God-sent Messiah. With Anna Diop, Omar Sy and Teyana Taylor.
“Argylle” (Feb. 2)
Writer-director Matthew Vaughn (“Kingsman: The Secret Service”) is back in his funhouse with a comedic spoof on secret agents and riffs on “Romancing the Stone.” The ensemble boasts Sam Rockwell, Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, Dua Lipa and John Cena.
“Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us” (Feb. 9)
Truly a phenomenal, grassroots bestseller that turned Hoover into one of publishing’s biggest names, the film version of her 2016 breakthrough stars Blake Lively as the abused housewife.
“Ordinary Angels” (Feb. 23)
Faith and everyday miracles set the tone for this family drama, inspired by real events, with two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank and mighty Reacher himself, Alan Ritchson.
“Dune: Part Two” (March 1)
Writer-director Denis Villeneuve concludes his epic, reverentially faithful adaptation of Frank Herbert’s ‘60s novel, with Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya and Rebecca Ferguson returning besides newly cast Florence Pugh (“Oppenheimer”), Christopher Walken and Austin Butler (“Elvis”).
“Arthur The King” (March 22)
We’re not talking about British royalty here but a wounded stray dog named Arthur, who bonds in the Dominican Republic’s jungles with Mark Wahlberg’s endurance racer in a fact-based adaptation of the bestselling book “Arthur – The Dog Who Crossed the Jungle to Find a Home.”
“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” (March 29)
The fifth film in the franchise, co-written by Jason Reitman, stars Finn Wolfhard, McKenna Grace and Paul Rudd alongside original cast members Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson and Dan Aykroyd.
“Mickey 17” (March 29)
Bong Joon-Ho, the South Korean filmmaker whose “Parasite” remains the only Best Picture Oscar winner not in English, is back — in English this time — with serious sci-fi, an adaptation of Edward Ashton’s novel about disposable employees who “die” only to be regenerated with memories intact. The impressive cast: Robert Pattinson (“The Batman”), Steven Yeun (Best Actor Oscar nominee, “Minari”), Naomi Ackie (“Whitney Houston”), Toni Collette and Mark Ruffalo (“Poor Things”).
Dates subject to change
Hilary Swank stars in “Ordinary Angels. ( Photo: Allen Fraser)