After a hopefully relaxed new year and holiday period, hopefully you've had a chance to catch up on your streaming habits, because January 2024 sees us start another year of great content.
Streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have been working overtime to help you start 2024 with a your new favourite movie. Here are the 5 biggest releases this January across both platforms.
1. Foe
A unique sci-fi helmed by a pair of powerhouse from Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal. The two play a young couple disillusioned with their marriage and stuck in a rut. When a mysterious stranger (Aaron Pierre) comes to recruit Junior for a two year interstellar job - that he can't refuse - things start to get interesting. Now living with a replica of her husband, life for Hen suddenly looks very different.
Foe is a peculiar one. Only released in late 2023, it is now streaming on Prime Video as an Amazon original. Despite the two leads and a director responsible for the excellent Lion, it failed to strike a chord with critics. Audiences have loved it more however and the track record of the talent involved mean it's worth a chance.
2. Dune
With the second instalment set to release later this year, it's great timing for Netflix to add the first of Denis Villeneuve's Dune movies. This is about as sci-fi as sci-fi gets and it's all the better for it.
Life on the planet Arraksis may be harsh, but it's also beautiful. This is a visual feast for the eyes with an equally stunning cast including Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Austin Butler, Oscar Isaac, Javier Bardem and Rebecca Ferguson.
At two hours and 35 minutes it's a long one, but with the March release pf the sequel getting ever closer, it's a great time for a refresher or a first dive into the world of Dune.
3. Locke
Locke is a superbly simple movie that is fresh to Amazon Prime Video. From the creator of Peaky Blinders comes a whole movie of Tom Hardy driving and making phone calls. He plays Ivan Locke, a construction worker who's infidelity slowly causes his life to fall apart.
Driving from Birmingham to London he has to manage calls from his bosses, wife, children and the soon to be mother of his new child as he faces up to what he's done. Hardy is superb in this unique one-location film that seems almost like a play at times. With 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, you can't go wrong.
4. Good Grief
A new Netflix original film from Dan Levy (star of Schitt's Creek) Good Grief is a tender comedy drama debut from the actor/director.
As the name suggests, this is a film about loss. Levy plays Marc a man who seemingly has it all, a rewarding career as an illustrator, a lush house and a loving husband Oliver (who also looks like Luke Evans). When tragedy strikes however, Marc leans on his two best friends (Ruth Negga and Himesh Patel) to see him through the hardship. Over the course of his mourning however, Marc learns that his husband wasn't always honest with him. Wendy Ide gave it four stars in The Guardian, which is high praise.
5. The Favourite
Saving the best till last, The Favourite is coming to Netflix on the 23rd of January. Directed by visionary filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos, this is a superb dark comedy with Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz and Olivia Colman.
Colman plays a Queen Anne plagued by gout and gradual losing her marbles, Weisz her most trusted advisor and Stone a serving girl that the queen takes a fancy to and elevates above her station. From there we're given a delicous power struggle between the two as they attempt to manipulate the queen to their wills. It's dark, horrible and utterly amazing.
