Reel cool: January movie openings
Movies being released to start the New Year include “Bastards,” “Underworld: Blood Wars,” “Patriots Day,” and “Split.”
Underworld: Blood Wars
Every bloodline must end.
Action | Horror
Director: Anna Foerster
Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Theo James, Tobias Menzies
In theaters: Jan. 6
A vampiric Death Dealer comes face-to-face with a frightening new foe as she continues her battle against the werewolves of the Lycan clan.
Monster Trucks
Action | Adventure
Director: Chris Wedge
Starring: Lucas Till, Jane Levy, Rob Lowe
In theaters: Jan. 13
While a high school senior attempts to build a souped-up truck from junkyard scraps, an uncanny creature emerges from underground and finds a new home inside the kid’s hoopty.
Patriots Day
Drama | Thriller
Director: Peter Berg
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, J.K. Simmons, John Goodman
In theaters: Jan. 13
Based on actual events, a heroic cop works with the city’s police commissioner to capture the ruthless terrorists responsible for the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.
Live By Night
The American Dream has a price.
Crime | Drama
Director: Ben Affleck
Starring: Ben Affleck, Elle Fanning, Zoe Saldana
In theaters: Jan. 13
A Prohibition Era outlaw works his way into an organized crime family, then creates a powerful enemy when he steals the boss’s money - and his main squeeze.
The Bye, Bye Man
Don’t say it. Don’t think it.
Thriller | Horror
Director: Stacy Title
Starring: Douglas Smith, Carrie-Anne Moss, Lucien Laviscount
In theaters: Jan. 13
When three college students start living in an old off-campus house, they inadvertently emancipate a pestilential presence that preys on everyone who utters - or merely thinks - its name.
Sleepless
Don’t judge a cop by his cover.
Action | Thriller
Director: Baran bo Odar
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Gabrielle Union, T.I.
In theaters: Jan. 13
In this fast-paced thriller set in Sin City, an undercover cop must save his teenage son from the vicious kidnappers who abducted him in broad daylight.
xXx 3: The Return of Xander Cage
Action | Adventure
Director: D.J. Caruso
Starring: Vin Diesel, Deepika Padukone, Nina Dobrev
In theaters: Jan. 20
A fearless government agent long believed to be dead comes out of hiding after enemy forces gain access to the mother of all weapons.
The Founder
He took someone else’s idea and ate it up.
Biography | Drama
Director: John Lee Hancock
Starring: Michael Keaton, Laura Dern, Nick Offerman
In theaters: Jan. 20
An ambitious salesman meets a pair of brothers with a brilliant restaurant concept and, after helping them expand the McDonald’s brand, assumes control of the company from under their noses.
Split
Thriller | Horror
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Starring: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Haley Lu Richardson
In theaters: Jan. 20
A disturbed man with 23 distinct personalities kidnaps three young girls and prepares them to meet the one insidious identity he’s thus far kept hidden.
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter
Evil will end.
Action | Horror
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Ruby Rose
In theaters: Jan. 27
The ultimate installment of this post-apocalyptic franchise pits the protagonist and her fellow survivors against a relentless throng of zombies hell-bent on eradicating humanity.
Bastards
Are you our daddy?
Comedy
Director: Lawrence Sher
Starring: Owen Wilson, Ed Helms, J.K. Simmons
In theaters: Jan. 27
When a well-intentioned mother tells her adult sons that their father isn’t really dead - she simply doesn’t know who he is - the fraternal twins embark on a far-flung quest to discover their dad’s identity while learning all about their mom’s promiscuous past.
A Dog’s Purpose
Every dog happens for a reason.
Drama | Comedy
Director: Lasse Hallström
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Britt Robertson, Josh Gad
In theaters: Jan. 27
An inquisitive canine experiences an existential awakening after a series of reincarnations shows him what he truly means to his many masters.
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