Films we’re Hungry for this January

It’s a new year, which means a new roster of films to get excited about. Luckily, January is always a good time for films — and thank God considering that the minus temperatures we’ve been facing are great for watching movies, but crap for pretty much everything else. January’s offerings, as you’ll see, are quite varied, and range from the sexy to the serious. HUNGER cover star Guy Pearce makes an appearance, Nicole Kidman gets kinky with a twenty-something year old and Lily-Rose Depp gets groomed by a vampire. It’s all going on — so take a peak at the films we’re Hungry for this January. 

Babygirl

Surely we have to kick things off with Babygirl. It came out last week and no one has shut up about it since. The plot is centred around Romy (Nicole Kidman), a CEO and mother, and Samuel (Harris Dickinson), a much younger intern with a bit too much confidence. After Samuel (quite inappropriately) tells Romy he thinks she likes being told what to do, the pair essentially start a sub-dom relationship behind her family’s back. Some people have found it a bit icky, while others see it as sexy and progressive. We’ll let you make your own mind up.

Nosferatu

Another one lauded for its sexiness-value more than anything, Nosferatu came out on New Year’s Day and is bringing back the vampire hype in a way unseen since Twilight. Now, given the fact it’s a remake and almost entirely based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the plot is hardly revolutionary. That said, Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, Aaron Tyalor-Johnson and Emma Corrin make for a decidedly aesthetically-pleasing cast and there’s something very watchable about a several-thousand-year-old vampire stealing a charming young gentleman’s maiden. It’s kind of like cottagecore gone really wrong. 

A Complete Unknown

Next, we have A Complete Unknown, which, if you live under a rock, is Bob Dylan’s biopic starring Timothée Chalamet. Obviously the IRL singer has had a long career, but the film takes place right at the start of things when Dylan arrived in New York to pursue his dream in the ’60s. It looks at the singer-songwriter’s relationships from the era, his restlessness with the folk movement, as well as all the controversies surrounding his early career (excluding Dylan’s alleged amphetamine habit). The film also has some interesting lore — apparently Dylan requested for the name of his ex (played by Elle Fanning) to be changed, meanwhile Timothée refused to have visitors on set so he could stay in character. No on-set rendezvous with Kylie Jenner then. 

The Brutalist

Towards the end of the month, Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist is finally going to drop. It’s been on our radar for a while — namely since HUNGER digital editor Amber Rawlings interviewed Guy Pearce, who plays the wealthy industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren. The story itself follows architect László Toth (Adrien Brody) and his wife Erzsébet (Felicity Jones) as they arrive in the US after fleeing post-war Europe. It’s an inspiring tale set in the naissance of modern America, which treats the American Dream in conjunction with the harsher realities of immigration. It’s also really long – three and a half hours to be precise – but, with seven Golden Globe nominations (and two wins for best picture and actor), it’s definitely worth the watch.

We Live in Time

Next, we have We Live in Time. It tells the story of Almut (Florence Pugh) and Tobias (Andrew Garfield), who begin their journey when the former hits the latter with her car. Between a cancer diagnosis, pregnancy and professional challenges, the pair learn to focus on the moment they’re in, rather than getting lost in the future. It might feel a little cheesy, but it’s a good one to put things in perspective. So, if you fancy a cry, We Live in Time is probably a good option.

A Real Pain

Last up, we have A Real Pain, which follows cousins David and Benji as they tour Poland to honour their grandmother. The plot dives into familial conflict, as well as family history, all linked together by the theme of pain. And, if you think that Benji looks like Macaulay Culkin (and aren’t a Succession fan already, which is what the actor is best known for), that’s because Kieran Culkin is the Home Alone star’s little brother. His counterpart, David, on the other hand, is played by the more well-known David Kaplan. It’s a great Sunday afternoon film and Lord knows we need those more than ever during January’s eternal bleakness.