Reel Facts & Opinions: The Year in Film 2015, Episode I

The good news about the first month of 2015 is that some Oscar-potential films from 2014 enter wide-release (INHERENT VICE, SELMA, A MOST VIOLENT YEAR, AMERICAN SNPIER, RED ARMY). The bad news is, after those late-comers it’s on to Movie Siberia; where low-expectation movies are banished far from the spotlight. Here are the notable releases for January:

It all gets deadly with…

THE WOMAN IN BLACK 2: ANGEL OF DEATH–Beware of horror films not good enough to be released in the Fall. This loose sequel to the 2012 semi-hit stars Jeremy Irvine and Helen McCrory (HARRY POTTER).

TAKEN 3 – Liam Neeson returns for another round of face-punching buffoonery. Directed by Oliver Megaton (TAKEN 2, TRANSPORTER 3).

PREDESTINATION–Ethan Hawke is a time-travelling agent tasked with preventing future killers from committing their crimes.

BLACKHAT – Once-heralded director Michael Mann (HEAT, THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS) directs this techno-thriller where a convict/hacker helps the government hunt down cyber-terrorists. Stars Chris Hemsworth (THOR), and Viola Davis.

SPARE PARTS – A true life story about four high school students who form a robotics club. Stars Marisa Tomei, George Lopez, and Jamie Lee Curtis.

LITTLE ACCIDENTS – The disappearance of a little boy in a small town effects four strangers in this psychological drama. Stars Elizabeth Banks, Josh Lucas, and Chloe Sevigny (ZODIAC).

SON OF A GUN – A prison-escape thriller. Stars Ewan McGregor and Brenton Thwaites (MALEFICENT).

STILL LIFE – Eddie Marsan (THE WORLD’S END, HANCOCK) stars as a eulogy writer who goes the extra mile to get a man’s life story right.

VERONIKA DECIDES TO DIE – This adaptation of the book by famed author Paulo Coelho was released overseas in 2009, but is just now coming to the U.S. Sarah Michelle Gellar stars as a woman who fails at a suicide attempt and awakens in a mental asylum. Co-stars Melissa Leo, Erika Christensen, and David Thewlis (HARRY POTTER).

MORTDECAI – Johnny Depp stars in this quirky comedy about a rogue art dealer. He is joined by Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor, Olivia Munn, Jeff Goldblum, and Paul Bettany.

CAKE – A grim look at suicide from the perspective of a chronic pain support group. Stars Anna Kendrick, Jennifer Aniston, and Sam Worthington (AVATAR).

STRANGE MAGIC – A CGI fairy-tale musical based on a story by George Lucas.

BLACK SEA – Jude Law is a rogue submarine captain who patches together a misfit crew to go after a sunken treasure. He is joined by Scoot McNairy (KILLING ME SOFTLY), and Ben Mendelsohn (THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES). Directed by Kevin Macdonald (THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND).

SONG ONE – Anne Hathaway stars in this romantic drama set in Brooklyn’s modern-folk scene.

THE LOFT – A psychological thriller in which five men share a loft where they secretly indulge in their fantasies. Stars James Marsden (X-MEN), and Karl Urban (STAR TREK).

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Next month, Episode II previews the month of February.