Tim here. For such a slow, snowbound month, January sure is busy: talking about Sundance, talking about the Oscars, talking about the political ramifications of not recognizing Selma vs. the blockbuster box office of American Sniper. And with all that talk about films that have been and films that will be, it's a bit too easy to lose track of the actual films that are actually sitting right there waiting to be watched.
So I'd like to ask you to take this moment with me, just before we enter the second month of 2015, to reflect on the movie year that has been. All 28 days of it. Sure, January is a dumping ground, but that doesn't mean that there can's be secret gems hiding in the junk, and before it's too late, I'd like to call your attention to some of these midwinter presents that, if we go by the snoozy box office for all films that don't involve shooting Iraqis, you probably haven't seen yet.
Paddington and more January diamonds in the rough below the jump
Paddington
The U.S. ad campaign made this look like a shrill nightmare of lowest common denominator jokes, but it includes virtually all of the film's weakest moments, and none of its best. The actual experience of viewing Paddington – which has been quite a critical and commercial success in its native Great Britain, where it opened during the more appropriate Christmas season – reveals a sweet-natured family fable with a deliciously bone-dry sense of humor to help the sentiment go down. And it's a surprisingly rich showcase for Gary Williamson's colorful production, with its picture book attitude towards populating an impossible charming middle-class home.
Meanwhile, the Film Experience's sizable population of actressexual readers will undoubtedly be pleased to find out, as I was, that we finally have a children's movie featuring Nicole Kidman as the icy, platinum-blonde villain that makes great use of her brittleness and her top-notch comic timing. The Golden Compass can finally be forgiven.
Blackhat
It's apparently been so long (almost five years!) since the last Michael Mann film, that people have forgotten what Michael Mann films are. No, the plot does not hang together. No, Chris Hemsworth does not convince as a brilliant hacker. He does, however, convince as Chris Hemsworth in various states of shirtlessness, which is more of what the film demans, anyway. Like most Mann films, it's less about narrative propulsion and more about the emotional state of being involved in that narrative. Like most Mann films, that psychological state is depicted as a function of gleaming surfaces and artificial lights, with the hum of urban nights spaces dominating the whole (there's no other working director who makes such a point of foregrounding his use of digital cameras, and it has paid of terrifically for Mann on four movies now). The human element is a bit thin – even the great Viola Davis doesn't get to do much besides deliver a few amusing badass lines – but the visuals and the unrelenting pace are in perfect form. Trying to write this off as another hacky January thriller misses the boat entirely. (For the record, Michael didn't like it, so consider this an unofficial second opinion)
The Boy Next Door
Speaking of hacky January thrillers! Honestly, you get exactly what you're promised with this one: Jennifer Lopez looking aghast as she's menaced by a sexy 19-year-old boy played by a 26-year-old who looks 30. Ludicrous double entendres fill the air. Sex is had, and director Rob Cohen does not stint and try to make it tame, PG-13 sex: it is tacky, '90s erotic thriller sex, and it's as hilarious as it is sleazy.
The good news, then, is that everybody involved in making the film clearly knew what they were doing, and instead of being a hokey, corny embarrassment, The Boy Next Door turns out to be a hokey, corny delight, with J. Lo in particular giving an iconically overripe performance for the ages that's all shocked reactions and breathless line deliveries. It's a self-knowingly trashy, bad film, one that takes an abrupt swerve into slasher movie territory for its last act, after it has exhausted every possible contrivance to keep its ridiculous plotline purring along. To hell with Oscar nominees and social importance: it's been months since I had so much fun in a movie theater as I did with this one, and I want all of you to go see it.
Strange Magic
This long-gestating George Lucas passion project about fairies from the Uncanny Valley...
Okay, I got carried away. This one is actually terrible. Don't see it.
How have you spent your cinematic January? Tell us in comments!