It had us at “He loves her for her brains.” But knowing 50/50 director Jonathan Levine gives 100 percent in a staggering spin on Romeo and Juliet, starring Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer, only makes us hungrier. The guts of the story belong to the star-crossed lovers — he, an introspective hipster zombie; she, the daughter of a cold-blooded killer — but our heart belongs to the bits of Bon Iver, The National, and M83.
It’s like: 28 Days Later meets Pretty in Pink.
Take: Your valentine.
Premiered: February 1
Find showtimes at fandango.com. For more movies, check out January’s must-sees, our GoWatchIt channels, or Roundup.
Friends, Romans, countrywomen, lend us your ears: The Taviani brothers’ Berlinale 2012 Golden Bear winner, a melange of doc and drama/color and black-and-white, puts on a show even you, Brutus, will enjoy. Convicts of Italian Rebibbia Prison (in for murder, drugs, Mafia shenanigans) spend six months rehearsing Julius Caesar before leaving the high-security wing for the stage.
It’s like: Italy’s answer to the Sundance-loved Shakespeare Behind Bars.
Take: Your understudy.
Premiered: February 6 in NYC (find it near you)
Find showtimes at fandango.com. For more movies, check out January’s must-sees, our GoWatchIt channels, or Roundup.
If you haven’t seen Somersault, do. Then hunt down Aussie director Cate Shortland’s coming-of-age follow-up about a teen leading her siblings over the river and through divided Germany during the dying days of WWII. It’s dark subject matter, but the screen lights up with cinematographer Adam Arkapaw’s (Animal Kingdom) landscape shots. And that eerie anxious score belongs to Max Richter.
It’s like: Come and See meets Wuthering Heights.
Take: Grandma.
Premieres: Today
Find showtimes at fandango.com. For more movies, check out January’s must-sees, our GoWatchIt channels, or Roundup.
Magic man Channing Tatum and Rooney Mara star in Steven Soderbergh’s heavily researched (like Contagion), noir-style thriller swirled by love and other drugs. Mara is Emily, a suicidal New Yorker who makes hospital gowns look like RTW; Tatum is Martin, the white-collar criminal she lives for. Note: This makes three in the Tatum/Soderbergh combo — habit forming we’re not averse to.
It’s like: “Body Heat set in the world of psychopharmacology.” — screenwriter Scott Z. Burns
Take: Two friends and call us in the morning.
Premieres: Today
Find showtimes at fandango.com. For more movies, check out January’s must-sees, our GoWatchIt channels, or Roundup.
Gather round for story time, courtesy of Julia Dyer. Her sophomore feature (which premiered at Tribeca FF) set in the ’70s stars Molly Parker and John Hawkes as parents who hide from each other and seek affection from others. It’s a familiar dynamic. This time, however, the drama unfolds through the eyes and short stories of their children.
It’s like: The Ice Storm written by Flannery O’Connor.
Take: A playdate.
Premieres: Today
Find showtimes at fandango.com. For more movies, check out January’s must-sees, our GoWatchIt channels, or Roundup.
Say yes to the festival-circuit underdog about an ad selling freedom. It wasn’t a military coup or foreign invasion that rid 1988 Chile of its dictator; it was rainbows, wild horses, and some mimes — a.k.a. the No campaign. Just know the intentionally wretched film quality may make your eyes bleed, but once you focus, you’ll find a charming, sophisticated story waiting to win Chile its first Oscar.
It’s like: Post Mortem meets Wag the Dog.
Take: Registered voters.
Premieres: February 15
Find showtimes at fandango.com. For more movies, check out January’s must-sees, our GoWatchIt channels, or Roundup.
Get in tune with Dave Grohl’s documentary about music’s metamorphosis, written by the rock star behind The Cove and Chasing Ice. The medley of interviews and old footage sounds off with Stevie Nicks, Tom Petty, and John Fogerty, to name a few. Grohl, Slipknot’s Corey Taylor, and Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic (among others) rocked Sundance with “Ain’t That a Shame”; miss it and you may be singing a similar tune.
It’s like: A music lover’s dream.
Take: An interlude from the grind.
Premiered: At Sundance, on demand now
Find showtimes at fandango.com. For more movies, check out January’s must-sees, our GoWatchIt channels, or Roundup.
Sundance kid Mark Webber delights with cinema verite starring his real-life bitty, Isaac. Webber plays a version of himself (a struggling, single actor with baby always on board), along with Amanda Seyfried, Jason Ritter, and Michael Cera who make cameos. An ode to single parenthood, it’s very indie, very raw, and very touching, but you must love kids.
It’s like: Daddy Longlegs meets Starlet.
Take: The babysitter.
Premieres: Next month, but you can watch it now on demand.
Find showtimes at fandango.com. For more movies, check out January’s must-sees, our GoWatchIt channels, or Roundup.
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