What to Watch in January 2018

Paul Thomas Anderson is arguably the greatest American director of his generation, and few would dispute Daniel Day Lewis is the greatest actor of his. The sheer mastery of their last pairing, There Will Be Blood, would be reason enough to line up for this latest effort—purportedly Day-Lewis’ last performance. Anderson’s film about a fastidious couturier in 1950s London is a brilliant thriller with a twisted love story at its center. In the rush to close out 2017, you might have considered this an optional viewing pleasure, but our advice is: Don’t miss it! In theaters now; focusfeatures.com.

It wouldn’t be unreasonable to call Fatih Akin the Paul Thomas Anderson of Europe. The Turkish-German auteur has made his name with bracing, fearless films like Head On and The Edge of Heaven that explore the collision of European and Muslim cultures with clarity and compassion. His latest, short-listed for this year’s Best Foreign Film Oscar, tackles with his ever-keen eye the rise of nationalism in European countries. Diane Kruger stars as young German woman who pursues justice for the brutal murders of her son and Kurdish husband at the hands of two young Neo-Nazis. In theaters now; inthefadefilm.com.

While January is a typically a dumping ground for feature films—studios seem to save the worst for first—it can also be an experimental arena for oddball film ideas that maybe aren’t so odd after all. Say for example, Oscar-nominated actress Taraji P. Henson of Hidden Figures playing a Pam Grier-style hit woman.  But hey, if Charlize Theron can rock a blond bob in Atomic Blonde, then Henson should do some real damage with a silencer, stilettos, and some Hennessy. Besides, if you just made it through a whole season of earnest Oscar hopefuls, it’s definitely time to have some fun. In theaters January 12; proudmary-movie.com.

In a sign that diversity might finally be arriving in Hollywood, Master of None’s Lena Waithe made history last year as the first African American woman to win an Emmy for writing in a comedy series. Not surprisingly, she has been duly rewarded with this intriguing new series produced by Common with its pilot directed by Dope’s Rick Famuywia. Drawing on her own experiences growing up on the south side of Chicago—and actually shot and produced in Chicago—Waithe’s series presents inter-woven coming of age stories about various residents as they struggle to find their place in a tough but strong community.  Premieres January 7 on Showtime; sho.com.

When it comes to TV anthologies, these days Ryan Murphy can do no wrong. After the success of American Horror Story and The People vs. O.J. Simpson, the TV master follows up with his own re-creation of the tragic story behind fashion designer Gianni Versace’s murder on the steps of his Miami mansion by Andrew Cunanan. Glee’s Darren Criss stars as Cunanan with Carlos’ Edgar Ramirez as Versace in a mini-series that promises another of Murphy’s trademark skewering of modern America’s obsession with fame, along with a thought-provoking commentary on the LGBT experience. Premieres January 17 on FX; fxnetworks.com.

Leave it to Steven Soderbergh to turn every form of motion picture entertainment on its head. Following the success of his forays into TV with The Girlfriend Experience and The Knick, the tirelessly innovative auteur launched an app that allowed viewers to follow, in whatever order they wanted, the branching storylines of a murder mystery starring Sharon Stone and Garrett Hedlund. For those of us still chained to traditional linear storytelling, HBO is releasing the full “experience” as a six-hour film. But worry not, in Soderbergh’s hands even the most experimental project is sure to rely far more on great storytelling than on cheap gimmicks. Premieres January 22 on HBO; hbo.com.

With HBO’s documentary doyenne Sheila Nevins retiring, now would be a good time to catch the last few films shepherded to screen under her watch. One can think of no greater valedictory subject than the great David Bowie, an artist, musician, and genius in the true sense of the word. Director Francis Whately has made a career of profiling icons and wisely looks at Bowie through the lens of his last two albums, The Next Year and Black Star, touching on his battle with the liver cancer that took Bowie from the world far too early. Premieres January 7 on HBO; hbo.com.

Every year Southern California natives roused themselves insanely early from New Year’s Eve hangovers to catch KTLA 5’s broadcast of the Rose Parade. Was it the allure of the civic pageantry, the hand-crafted floats, the marching bands, or all those flowers? No. It was the gloriously droll commentary of local anchors Bob Eubanks and Stephanie Edwards. They retired in 2016 after more than thirty years of covering the event, but Will Ferrell and Molly Shannon will recreate the catty fireworks in character as “Cord Hosenbeck” and “Tish Cattigan” when Amazon live-streams the Rose Parade for the first time. Now all of America may need to stockpile Tylenol and coffee for New Year’s morning. Live streams January 1 on Amazon; amazon.com.

In the continuing arms race between Amazon and Netflix, the former has released its response to the latter’s wildly successful British sci-fi import Black Mirror. Considering the success of translating Dick’s work from page to screen, Amazon has pulled out all the stops. Each episode of the anthology adapts a different short story with an all-star cast that ranges from Bryan Cranston to Steve Buscemi to Janelle Monae. If the trailer’s visuals, themes, and sheer ambition are any indication, the series should live up to the likes of Blade Runner and Minority Report. Premieres January 12 on Amazon Prime; amazon.com.

Oscar-winning Alex Gibney has earned his reputation as one of the foremost investigative documentarians working today, with gripping exposes of malfeasance like Taxi to the Dark Side and Enron: The Smartest Guys In the Room. In fact, Gibney has pulled back the curtains on so much corruption that Netflix has decided to base an entire series on it. Given the world today, he should have no shortage of subject matter. The series will look at everything from VW’s corporate deceptions to Big Pharma and the real estate practices of Trump, Inc. Premieres January 26 on Netflix; netflix.com.