You really cannot go wrong at the movies right now. The film awards season is in full swing launching with the Coachella Valley PSIFF January 3rd. The best of international, indy and hollywood movies are being given the spotlight. After an amazing December of film (view our top pics of Dec part 1 & part 2) our top pics for January include; a historical drama, two horror thrillers and one action adventure fantasy epic. “The Invisible Woman” is Ralph Fiennes directorial debut and has the high production values we expect from a filmmaker of Fiennes calibre. Fiennes also stars as Charles Dickens in this drama. Felicity Jones as Nelly Ternan, Dicken’s secret lover, and Kirstin Scott Thomas are both nominated for BAFTA’s. “The Legend of Hercules” is the epic based on the Greek myths. “Open Grave” and “The Amityville Horror: The lost Tapes” are a double delight for horror movie fans.

The Invisible Woman

Fri Jan 10th
Genre: Drama
Director: Ralph Fiennes
Studio: Mongrel Media
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Felicity Jones, Kristin Scott Thomas, Tom Hollander, Joanna Scanlan, Perdita Weeks, Amanda Hale, Tom Burke, John Kavanagh, Michael Marcus

Synopsis: Nelly (Felicity Jones) a happily married mother and school teacher. Yet, she is haunted by the past. At 18, she met Charles Dickens (Ralph Fiennes), then 45 and at the height of his career. Nelly was a budding actress who had appeared in a play he adapted and the two embarked on a relationship. As Nelly becomes the focus of Dickens’ passion and his muse, for both of them secrecy is the price, and for Nelly a life of “invisibility”. This movie held its World Premiere in Toronto at TIFF13. Based on Claire Tomalin’s nonfiction book The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens
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Open Grave

Fri Jan 3rd
Genre: Horror
Director: Gonzalo López-Gallego
Studio: Tribeca Film
Starring: Sharlto Copley, Thomas Kretschmann, Josie Ho, Joseph Morgan, Erin Richards, Max Wrottesley

Synopsis: A man (Sharlto Copley), (District 9, Elysium) wakes up in a pit of dead bodies with no memory of who he is or how he got there. Fleeing the scene, he breaks into a nearby house and is met at gunpoint by a group of terrified strangers, all suffering from memory loss. Suspicion gives way to violence as the group starts to piece together clues about their identities, but when they uncover a threat that’s more vicious — and hungry — than each other, they are forced to figure out what brought them all together — before it’s too late.

The Amityville Horror: The Lost Tapes

Fri Jan 3rd
Genre: Horror
Director: Casey La Scala, Daniel Farrands
Studio: Entertainment One
Starring: N/A

Synopsis: “The Amityville Horror: The Lost Tapes” showcases the events after the time of the original The Amityville Horror book and movie through found footage dating back to 1976. An ambitious female television news intern on the verge of breaking the most famous haunted house case in the world leads a team of journalists, clergymen and paranormal researchers into an investigation of the bizarre events that will come to be known as The Amityville Horror … but in the process she unwittingly opens a door to the other side that she may never be able to close.

The Legend of Hercules

Fri Jan 10
Genre: Action
Director: Renny Harlin
Studio: Millenium Films
Starring: Kellan Lutz, Scott Adkins, Liam McIntyre, Liam Garrigan, Johnathon Schaech, Roxanne McKee, Gaia Weiss, Rade Serbedzija

Synopsis: In this epic story the legend of Hercules (Kellan Lutz) stars as a mythical Greek hero, the son of Zeus, a half-god, half man blessed with extraordinary strength. Betrayed by his stepfather, the King, and exiled and sold into slavery because of his forbidden love, Hercules must use his formidable powers to fight his way back to his rightful kingdom. Through harrowing battles and gladiator-arena death matches, hercules embarks on a legendary odyssey to overthrow the king and restore peace to the land.

Christophe Chanel