It’s the start of a new year, which means much of the month’s attention will go to expanding December releases, including Nickel Boys, The Brutalist, The Room Next Door, Vermiglio, and a few films mentioned below that only got awards-qualifying runs in December. For new releases, though, January isn’t all cinematic doldrums if one digs deep enough, and we’ve collected the titles to have on your radar.
10. Eat the Night (Caroline Poggi, Jonathan Vinel; Jan. 10)
One of the most distinctly directed debut films of recent years was Caroline Poggi & Jonathan Vinel’s strange sci-fi wonder Jessica Forever. Six years later, the duo finally return with Eat the Night, a thriller that premiered in Directors’ Fortnight at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and will now arrive in the U.S. to kick off 2025. Alistair Ryder said in his BFI London review, “Jane Schoenbrun didn’t invent movies exploring teenage malaise and identity through the lens of pop culture, but in the opening moments of Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel’s Eat the Night, echoes of their two acclaimed features immediately rise to the surface. Much like the protagonist of We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, 17-year-old Apolline (Lila Gueneau) is entirely immersed in an online gaming community, her only contact with an emotionally distant father coming when he tries to dissuade her from spending so much time on it. And, in an unintentional similarity with I Saw the TV Glow––which premiered while this movie was in post-production––Apolline begins interrogating how the fantasy game Darknoon has shaped her identity as she discovers it will soon be terminated without warning.”
9. Grand Theft Hamlet (Sam Crane, Pinny Grylls; Jan. 17)
While I don’t even own a console that can play Grand Theft Auto VI, my curiosity’s piqued about what the next installment holds. As obsessives across the world await more details from the developers, a new, acclaimed piece of media set in the world of GTA Online is coming to theaters. Pinny Grylls and Sam Crane’s documentary Grand Theft Hamlet mounts an adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic text, and though we don’t expect something as moving as last year’s WoW-set Ibelin, we’re curious to see the continued expansion of possibilities for storytelling.
8. Every Little Thing (Sally Aitken; Jan. 10)
One of the most delicate, heartwarming films I saw at last year’s Sundance was Sally Aitken’s Every Little Thing, which follows the journey of a specialist hummingbird rehabilitator as she cares for her tiny winged patients in Los Angeles. Replete with stunningly photographed shots of the miniature birds in action, there may not be much in the way of surprises, but when a portrait is told so beautifully as this, it’s a wholly satisfying experience.
7. The Last Showgirl (Gia Coppola; Jan. 10)
Pamela Anderson receives the role of a lifetime in Gia Coppola’s engaging (if simplistic) character study The Last Showgirl, playing a glamorous showgirl who must plan for her future when her show abruptly closes after a 30-year run. Christopher Schobert said in his TIFF review, “’I’m older––I’m not old,’ says Shelley, the longest-term performer in a past-its-prime Las Vegas revue. She is played by Pamela Anderson, the international icon who has never, ever had a role like this. Shelley is 57 years old, living paycheck-to-paycheck, estranged from her daughter, and intensely vulnerable. Clearly we are far from the beaches of Baywatch and action spectacle that was Barb Wire. And Anderson is one of the chief reasons Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl is a noteworthy film. But this is not stunt casting. It’s a real-deal performance, and Shelley is one of the more memorable Vegas denizens in recent cinema.”
6. Den of Thieves 2: Pantera (Christian Gudegast; Jan. 10)
Some may call it January trash; Christian Petzold may call it his most-anticipated film of 2025. Although a certain Mel Gibson-directed feature may aim to take the crown, Christian Gudegast’s Den of Thieves 2: Pantera looks to hit the January sweet spot of nonsensical thrills (and then some). The 2018 original, while not offering much in the way of novelty, gave Gerard Butler the role he was born to play, with coherent, even thrilling action and a general sense of macho grime that didn’t suggest pure posturing. Thankfully, we’ve already heard this sequel delivers the goods once again.
5. From Ground Zero (Jan. 3)
Among vital dispatches from the frontlines of Palestinian struggle for livelihood, one that will soon reach the wider audience it deserves is From Ground Zero, Palestine’s Official Submission for the 2025 Academy Awards. Premiering at TIFF, the film is a collection of stories from 22 Palestinian filmmakers living through the war, led by Rashid Masharawi. As films like No Other Land still struggle to find distribution, it’s commendable that MPI Media Group‘s Watermelon Pictures will be giving this a proper release. Alistair Ryder said in his review, “In such sense it’s a Five Obstructions-level triumph, a gallery of creatives using the minimal equipment at their disposal to widen global perspectives on life in Palestine.”
4. I’m Still Here (Walter Salles; Jan. 17)
This fall, Walter Salles finally returned with his first feature in 12 twelve years, the moving political / family drama I’m Still Here, led by a powerhouse performance from Fernanda Torres alongside Selton Mello and Fernanda Montenegro. It’s now getting a proper January release following an awards-qualifying run. Savina Petkova said in her review, “Torres is stellar, even with such a hermetic character. Eunice is stoic, almost saintly in her devotion to family, the expressions of which never manage to elevate I’m Still Here from visual flatness, its surprisingly deep commitment to conventional shot continuity, and an overblown duration of 135 minutes. Suffering cannot be measured, neither familial nor national, but on this occasion Salles has somehow failed to find the right cinematic framework for this biopic storytelling. The film feels uncalibrated, but not in the free-flowing, depth-exploring, liberated kind of way.”
3. Pepe (Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias; Jan. 10 on MUBI)
Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias’ 2017 fiction debut Cocote was the dazzling, textured arrival of a new voice; the director doesn’t disappoint with his invigoratingly peculiar follow-up. Pepe, which premiered at Berlinale and comes to MUBI at the start of the new year, takes us inside the mind of one of Pablo Escobar’s dying hippos. Anything close to The Lion King or Dr. Dolittle, this is not, thankfully, as the director uses his ambitious conceit to explore global political strife, ecological dangers, and animal cruelty. In what would make for a great double feature with another Berlinale highlight that gave sentience to the unexpected, Mati Diop’s Dahomey, Pepe is a formally radical odyssey that’s hard to shake.
2. Presence (Steven Soderbergh; Jan. 24)
For a prolific artist, a surge of creativity can often be synonymous with a dip in quality. Though not if you are Steven Soderbergh. He’s only continued to reinvent himself and forge ahead with new technology, subjects, and structural gambles. His latest film, Presence, is a haunting ghost tale wrapped in a nuanced family drama, and one of his most formally ambitious attempts yet. What if the camera, operated by Peter Andrews (aka Soderbergh), was the ghost? And every single shot in the film was a single take from this perspective? And, to further add to the self-imposed constraints, the ghost never leaves the house? From the very first shot, as we see the presence rapidly move through every room in the yet-to-be-sold empty house, laying the foundation for the horrors to take place, one senses Soderbergh is having a total blast with this concept. Reuniting after Kimi, David Koepp’s rollercoaster of a script is also one that doesn’t forget to flesh out its characters, making for a funny, disturbing, and nimble genre exercise that further proves Soderbergh is one of the most inventive directors to play the game. Continue reading my full review from last year’s Sundance.
1. Hard Truths (Mike Leigh; Jan. 10)
As a Peterloo appreciator, Mike Leigh never left, but it’s certainly nice to have him return to his smaller-scale character study roots with Hard Truths. Unequivocally giving the performance of the year, Marianne Jean-Baptiste’s weathered, worn, troubled Pansy is against the world––this includes her husband, son, friends, and any acquaintance or stranger that gets in her path. Rather than sanding-down the edges of her personality to potentially win audience sympathies, Leigh goes the opposite route, in turn making an even more cathartic portrait of festering anger containing at least a sliver of feeling every human has, particularly relatable when it comes to the seemingly unsolvable frustrations of our present-day world. Following a one-week awards run last month, it’ll now get a proper roll-out starting next week.
More Films to See
- Oceans Are the Real Continents (Jan. 10)
- DIG! XX (Jan. 17)
- Eternal You (Jan. 24)
- Flight Risk (Jan. 24)
- Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story (Jan. 24)
- Marcello Mio (Jan. 31)
- Companion (Jan. 31)
- Love Me (Jan. 31)