Pick of the Litter – January 2020

BLOCKBUSTER OF THE MONTH

Dolittle

(Universal) Robert Downey Jr., Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen, Jim Broadbent. From the beloved series of children’s books comes this new re-imagining. Most remember the bloated musical version starring Rex Harrison if they remember it at all, but this one stars Iron Man himself as the vet who can talk to the animals, and generally prefers animals to people. January 17

OTHER WIDE RELEASES TO WATCH FOR

Grudge, January 3
1917, January 10
The Informer, January 10
Just Mercy, January 10
Underwater, January 10
Bad Boys 4 Life, January 17
The Gentlemen, January 24
The Turning, January 24
Gretel and Hansel, January 31
The Rhythm Section, January 31

INDEPENDENT PICKS

Three Christs

(IFC) Richard Gere, Peter Dinklage, Bradley Whitford, Walton Goggins. The story of the groundbreaking psychological study by Dr. Alan Stone of three paranoid schizophrenics at the Ypsilanti State Hospital in 1959. All three of them believed they were Jesus Christ. January 3

Les misérables

(Amazon) Damien Bonnard, Alexis Manenti, Djebril Zonga, Issa Penca. A cop from the provinces moves to Paris and becomes entwined in a disturbing world of crime and brutality. The film was recently nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film award at the upcoming Golden Globes. January 10

Troop Zero

(Amazon) Mckenna Grace, Viola Davis, Alison Janney, Jim Gaffigan. A little girl in rural Georgia in 1977 dreams of outer space. When a chance to be part of NASA’s golden record to be sent out on Voyager for Birdie Scouts at the upcoming jamboree materializes, she founds a troop of fellow misfits hoping to achieve her dream but ends up finding something more lasting. January 17

Color Out of Space

(RLJE) Nicolas Cage, Joely Richardson, Tommy Chong, Madeleine Arthur. A meteorite lands near a small town and brings with it devastating horror. From the mind of author H.P Lovecraft and the legendary B-movie director Richard Stanley. January 24

Beanpole

(Kino-Lorber) Viktoria Miroshnichenko, Vasilisa Perelygina, Andrey Bykov, Igor Shirokov  Two young women, living in the tattered majesty of post-World War II Leningrad, desperately search for hope and meaning among the ruins. This is Russia’s official submission to this year’s Foreign Language Oscar category. January 29

Incitement

(Greenwich) Yehuda Nahari, Amitai Yaish, Anat Ravnitski, Yoav Levi The story of the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, as told through the eyes of the assassin. This was the most recent winner of the Israeli Academy Awards Best Picture and is also Israel’s official submission to the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar this year. January 31