5 New Movies to Look Forward to In January 2019

New Year. New Movies.

January has never been a good month for new movies. It’s almost as if the month serves as a dumping ground for studios to release movies they know are going be God-awful. This January doesn’t look to be much different from all the others and that makes it especially hard to choose five new movies for us to look forward too. I’ll admit that there are a few movies that might look good on paper, but the fact that they’re hitting theaters this month has made me mighty suspicious of the quality of film we can look forward to. Because of that, I feel that these five movies should come with an asterisk. Sure, these might be the five new movies to look forward to this month, but that’s like putting together a list of the five punches to the face I’m looking forward. Truth be told, there’s really only one movie I’m actually looking forward to this month, but I’ll get to that.

Escape Room– January 4th

Hitting theaters the first Friday of the year is a film from a director who is all too familiar with releasing terrible new movies in January. Adam Robitel was responsible for last year’s groan fest, Insidious: The Last Key. This time around he’s making a movie about how scary Escape Rooms can be thanks to a script from the writer of Season of the Witch. The elements behind the camera don’t sound that promising. Even the cast doesn’t look that promising (save for Tyler Labine who you might remember from Tucker and Dale vs Evil), especially since Robitel has graciously given himself a part in the film. Honestly, I’m just hoping that this movie will manage to cross that fabled line where it’s so bad it’s good.

The Upside– January 11th

Bryan Cranston and Kevin Hart are coming together to remake one of the best French films of the past decade, The Intouchables. While I wasn’t a huge fan of Hart’s last film, Night School, the comedian has done some great work in the past. In this new film, he plays a street-smart ex-con who lands a job assisting a quadriplegic billionaire. This is one of the few films this month that actually sounds good on paper. However, I’m sure it’s going to be one of those cliche driven films where Hart helps Cranston learn to live again and Cranston shows Hart that the world can be a forgiving place. Back when this film had a end of 2018 release date, I was actually looking forward to it. The change in release date has made me rethink that though…

Replicas– January 11th

Keanu Reeves is a national treasure and because of that, I will never turn down a chance to see one of his movies no matter what month they might be released in. Replicas pair him with the directors of Traitor, a spy film from a decade ago that was actually pretty damn good. Toos in the fact that the script is from the same writer as last years Peppermint and I actually have a pretty good feeling about this new film. Of course, he’s hardly playing John Wick in it, but that doesn’t mean that Replicas won’t get a chance to be a taut sci-fi thriller. After all, by now we’ve all learned what happens to those who mess with Reeves in movies. Either way, I’m such a big fan of his that I’m willing to subject myself to even the worst of movies to show my support.

Glass– January 18th

Finally a movie I’m legitimately excited for! Glass is the third entry in the unexpected trilogy from M. Night Shyamalan. After seeing Split in 2016, I’ve been waiting with bated breath. The film will feature the epic confrontation between Bruce Willis and James McAvoy (who has gotten jacked for his performance) who play individuals with incredible abilities. Behind it all though is Samuel L. Jackson reprising his role as Elijah Price from Unbreakable. While Split and Unbreakable centered on Willis and McAvoy, this film appears to be focused on Jackson who will get his time to shine as the series true villain. Honestly, this is a film that barely missed appearing on my list of anticipated films for 2019, so you know I’m already excited to see it.

Serenity– January 25th

Serenity was a movie that was banished from a fall release in 2018 to January. At a glance, it looks like it’s going to be a pretty intense thriller starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, and Jason Clarke. The trailer makes it seem as though a man (McConaughey) is approached by his ex-wife (Hathaway) to kill her abusive husband (Clarke). However, I doubt that the film is as simple as it might seem. After all, director Steven Knight has proven that he’s pretty effective when it comes to slow burns that never turn out the way you expect them too. While I’m a bit apprehensive about the film being pushed back to July, I’m cautiously optimistic that it will be the most surprising film of the month.

Those are the five new movies set for release in January that I’m willing to be the slightest bit excited for. It might be slim pickings for the first month of the year, but as always, I’m interested to hear your thoughts. So, if there’s a flick you’re looking forward to in January, leave a comment below. As always, be sure to check back before hitting theaters, because I’ll have fresh reviews to let you know what movies are truly worth the price of admission.