The Film Fix: Reviews, Previews of January’s Top Films in Theaters, Streaming
By JONATHAN W. HICKMAN, Special to The Paper
Below are reviews and capsules of various films this month in theaters and/or streaming.
Review rating … A “Fix” is recommended with a rating between 6 and 10. A “No Fix” is not recommended with a rating between 1 to 5.
Theaters
A Complete Unknown (now playing) – Fix Rating 6/10 – By failing to demystify its mercurial superstar subject, Bob Dylan, “A Complete Unknown” is true to its title.
The movie chronicles the legendary folk musician’s arrival in New York City, his meteoric rise, and the dustup when he took the stage at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, his band armed with electric instruments.
Timothée Chalamet does a remarkable impression of Dylan, even singing and playing guitar. It’s more than just mimicry, but the likeness is so spot-on that it’s hard to see Chalamet’s performance as little more than a studied portrait instead of a living breathing characterization.
The main problem here is that the music constantly informs us of the emotions we are expected to feel. It’s a musical dilemma that prevents Mangold’s movie from standing apart emotionally from the rich, classic pathos evoked by Dylan’s tunes. Maybe the music is so powerful that crafting a story that compares is impossible.
Still, Edward Norton is great as folk icon Pete Seeger and an emotive Scoot McNairy fully embodies a disabled Woody Guthrie bedbound in a hospital. The tension here is that Dylan represents everything that Seeger and Guthrie have worked to achieve, but the brilliant youngster wants to shape his own identity.
The story of the tortured artist litters the cinematic landscape. Mangold’s 2005 Oscar-winning Johnny Cash biopic “Walk the Line” is a rare example of finding a story that works in tandem with the music. But in this Mangold effort, his subject comes off as a bit selfish, unlikeable, not entirely tortured by greatness or talent, but a guy whose persona is more important to him than anyone around him.
The Seed of the Sacred Fig (now playing) – Fix Rating 8/10 – The risky process of making “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” should be its own film.
“The Seed of the Sacred Fig” was shot secretly by Iranian writer/director Mohammad Rasoulof, who escaped persecution in his country. In Iran, he was arrested several times, resulting in criminal convictions for filming without a permit and crimes of propaganda and collusion against national security. He fled to Germany after being sentenced to prison time, crossing the border on foot.
The footage was amazingly smuggled out of Iran to Germany, where post-production was completed. Hence, this Iranian film becomes Germany’s selection as their Best International Feature Film submission for the 2025 Oscar.
“Sacred Fig” tells the story of a lawyer named Iman (Missagh Zareh), who is elevated to the position of investigating judge, requiring him to sign indictments without investigating. Some of the crimes carry death sentences. While this morally fraught promotion offers his family the opportunity to move into a bigger apartment, it also holds all sorts of other dangerous drawbacks, especially given the youth protests and general unrest in the country.
Iman’s eldest daughter, Rezvan (Mahsa Rostami), is in college, and one of her friends, Sadaf (Niousha Akhshi), is injured in a demonstration. While the girl’s devout mother, Najmeh (Soheila Golestani), offers the friend first aid, she makes her daughters agree not to share any of this with their father. And when Iman’s government-issued handgun comes up missing, he embarks on an investigation into his family that threatens to tear them apart.
The harrowing “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” is a fine film for the Iranian auteur, who is now free of the repressive Iranian regime to make films without artificial constraint.
Streaming Selects
NETFLIX
Back in Action (January 17) – Cameron Diaz returns with her first feature film since 2014’s “Annie.” And like that film, she’s working alongside Jamie Foxx. “Back in Action” follows a familiar “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” style playbook. Diaz and Foxx play former CIA spies who are called out of their suburban family bliss when their secret identities are compromised. Based on the trailers, this action comedy will include the requisite amount of car chases and fist fights as the couple finds their groove after languishing in middle-aged malaise. Seth Gordon directs this one (see 2017’s awful “Baywatch” and the funny “Horrible Bosses”).
APPLE TV+
Mythic Quest (January 29) – After a two-year hiatus, the fun series that chronicles the shenanigans behind a video game company returns, promising more goofy comedy combined with endearing characters. The show, co-created by “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” alums Charlie Day and Rob McElhenney, follows egotistical game creator Ian Grimm (McElhenney) as he attempts to assemble and hold together a talented team to bring his Mythic Quest games to customers. Of course, the personalities clash led by the ambitious genius Poppy Li (Charlotte Nicdao), who struggles to find what’s been referred to as a “work work” balance. This series is addictive light-weight entertainment that may have peaked with a few pandemic episodes that pushed it from situational comedy to something deeper and more meaningful.
MAX
The Pitt (January 9) – “ER” star Noah Wyle returns to the hospital (well, this time, he’s based in Pittsburgh instead of Chicago) with this familiar but possibly unique spin on the trauma healthcare narrative. The trailers tease 15 intense episodes taking place over one 15-hour work shift. Wyle plays Dr. Michael Robinavitch, who must cope with the emotions of his young staff while also dealing with his unresolved personal feelings on the anniversary of the COVID-related death of a valued colleague.
DISNEY+/HULU
Paradise (Hulu series premiere January 28) – Sterling K. Brown (see him in the wonderful “Biosphere” and others) is a secret service agent involved in an investigation surrounding a former president (played by “Sonic the Hedgehog’s” James Marsden). The cryptic trailers reveal that the president has been killed and that the tough agent may be drawn into a conspiracy. Yep, it looks like some “deep state” nonsense may be afoot in this handsome-looking show with a talented cast, including Julianne Nicholson.
Theatrical Teasers
Den of Thieves 2: Pantera (January 10) — Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson, Jr., return to the roles they inhabited in 2018’s unlikely hit “Den of Thieves.” The action gets bigger with this sequel to the Atlanta-based production with a story set in Los Angeles. This time, the production moves to Spain and Europe as Big Nick (Butler) continues pursuing high-end thieves but with slightly different motivations. The latest trailers artfully convey a more complex and jet-set heist with Butler and Jackson working together on a big job.
The Last Showgirl (January 10) — Pamela Anderson has gotten raved reviews for this small drama about a career Las Vegas showgirl faced with the close of her 30-year run. Gia Coppola (see 2020’s “Mainstream”) directs with Dave Bautista co-starring.
Wolf Man (January 17) — This Blumhouse horror entry hopes to continue the studio’s fantastic run of macabre, broadly popular chillers that account for a sizable chunk of the yearly theatrical box office. In “Wolf Man,” Christopher Abbott (see “Possessor”) and Julia Garner (who was a guilty pleasure in Netflix’s “Ozark”) play Blake and Charlotte, a couple holed up in a farmhouse after being attacked by a strange animal. Things go from bad to worse when Blake begins to transform into a dangerous creature.
September 5 (January 17) — Fix Rating 8/10 – One of 2024’s best films gets a wider release this month. “September 5” is about the events that unfolded during the 1972 Olympic games in Munich, Germany. When Israeli athletes are taken hostage by terrorists, an American sports broadcasting team must shift their coverage from the games to the terror as it occurs. This real- life story is a fascinating look at the inner workings of what has evolved into the 24-hour live news cycle.
Flight Risk (January 24) — Mel Gibson directs, and Mark Wahlberg stars in this contained thriller that takes place almost entirely in the cockpit of a small airplane. When an Air Marshal (Michelle Dockery) and her prisoner (Topher Grace) board a plane set to cross the Alaskan wilderness, the pilot (Wahlberg, sporting a middle-aged horseshoe haircut) begins to look suspicious. As a fight erupts, the Air Marshal is forced to subdue the pilot and land the plane despite having no flight training.
Presence (January 24) — This horror film from director Steven Soderbergh (see the “Oceans” franchise and many other fine films) was a big hit at last year’s Sundance Film Festival. The story involves a family who suspects they are not alone in their new home. The trailers look creepy and unsettling, with some viewers walking out of festival screenings claiming that the tension was too much. Lucy Liu and Julia Fox lead the cast.
Dog Man (January 31) — With an all-star voice cast including Pete Davidson and Ricky Gervais, this animated entry has a policeman and his loyal dog badly injured in an explosion. For some ridiculous reason, doctors sew the dog’s head on the policeman’s body, and Dog Man is born. Of course, this newly minted hero must do battle with and thwart the evil plans of a humanoid cat villain.
Jonathan W. Hickman is an entertainment attorney, filmmaker, college professor, and novelist. More about Jonathan can be found by visiting: filmproductionlaw.com.
