Film Friday:5 movies you need to watch in January 2024

Get ready for twists, thrills, and chills with our Film Friday picks for January. From neo-noir mysteries (“Merry Christmas”) to interstellar drama (“I.S.S.”) and bone-chilling scares (“Night Swim”), we’ve got something for everyone. So grab your popcorn, snuggle up, and let the cinematic adventure begin!

Merry Christmas

A stylish neo-noir with captivating performances and a labyrinthine plot, “Merry Christmas” keeps you guessing until the very end. Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi deliver stunning performances as strangers whose Christmas Eve encounter takes a dark turn. Director Sriram Raghavan expertly weaves suspense and thrills, with Hitchcockian influences and a retro vibe. The film’s non-linear narrative may leave some viewers confused, but the payoff is a mind-bending twist that will have you rethinking everything you thought you knew. If you’re looking for a unique and unforgettable cinematic experience, “Merry Christmas” is a must-watch.

Fool Me Once

Fool Me Once is a mystery thriller series based on Harlan Coben novel that follows Maya Stern as she grapples with the brutal murder of her husband Joe and the unsettling feeling that he might still be alive after she sees him on a nanny cam video feed . The series takes viewers on a suspenseful journey as Maya teams up with Detective Sami Kierce to uncover the truth about Joe and his death while also dealing with her own grief and the secrets that Joe kept from her . With its fast pace and plenty of twists and turns , Fool Me Once is a binge worthy series that will keep you guessing until the very end .

The Beekeeper

Jason Statham delivers his signature grit in “The Beekeeper,” a vengeance thriller buzzing with brutal action and unexpected depth. Don’t be fooled by the honeyed title – Statham stings as Adam, a beekeeper unleashing fury on the tech scammers who swindled his landlady. The fight choreography is deliciously brutal, and the stakes climb from personal to national as Adam uncovers a hornet’s nest of corruption. While the plot gets a little sticky at times, the sheer joy of watching Statham dole out honeycomb-coated justice makes “The Beekeeper” a satisfyingly sweet and savage treat.

I.S.S

“I.S.S.” soars with a timely premise and claustrophobic tension. Six astronauts, stranded aboard the station as war erupts on Earth, grapple with allegiances and survival in a thrilling zero-gravity dance. Ariana DeBose shines as a rookie caught in the crossfire, while director Cowperthwaite masterfully utilizes the confined space to build suspense. Though the “Overview Effect” visuals feel familiar, the human drama keeps you tethered, leaving you questioning the cost of conflict and the fragile bonds of international cooperation. Prepare for a space odyssey that’s both exhilarating and unnervingly close to home.

Night Swim

 January has become fertile ground for horror films in particular, with the recent success of Scream and M3GAN, the latter of which was produced by James Wan’s Atomic Monster and Jason Blum’s Blumhouse. Wan and Blum team up again for Night Swim, which has a pretty simple premise: A family moves into a new home and discovers something evil lurks in their backyard pool. It remains to be see how one can squeeze an entire hour and a half out of that, but at the very least, the film boasts recently Oscar-nominated Kerry Condon and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters star Wyatt Russell among its leads, and people are clearly excited to discover what exactly is going splash in the night here.