Jam's Film Wrapped: January 🎞️⭐
Written by Jamilla Philson
January proved to be a harrowing month, hence my unusually low watch history. This is unusual for a film nerd like me, but I digress. It’s quality over quantity, right? That is what I prioritized this month: films I’ve put off for a while or have heard a lot of buzz about on Substack. Although I watched seven films, I was still able to get out and support my local movie theater with a couple of new releases that I was deeply amused by and frankly shocked by as well. Here are my January monthly watches:
Image Courtesy of Tangerine / IMDB
1. Tangerine (2015)
Medium: Max My Rating: ★★★½ Trigger Warning: Drugs
I started the month off strong with this beauty of a film. After being disappointed by Anora, I decided to explore other Sean Baker films with similar themes. The film follows a transgender sex worker, Sin-Dee Rella, on Christmas Eve as she embarks on a journey with her best friend to find their pimp (and boyfriend) after he cheated on her with a cisgender woman. The whole film is shot on an iPhone 5s and even ten years later the shots look so vibrant and incredible. I love this film because I feel like it shows creatives that you do not need elaborate or expensive camera equipment to capture a beautiful narrative. The rawness of the iPhone quality creates a hyperrealistic story, as if you were watching a YouTube video or a documentary. While I do have some qualms about the writing, I loved this film way more than Anora. It feels true to Baker’s roots and the plot just did a lot more for me.
Image Courtesy of Speak No Evil / IMDB
2. Speak No Evil (2024)
Medium: Peacock My Rating: ★★½
It was not my turn to pick the movie on this movie night... nonetheless, it was still a somewhat bearable experience. It follows an American couple and their young daughter vacationing in Italy who meet a young British family, both of which are currently living in the UK. After their trip, the British family extends an invitation for the protagonists to visit them in their remote farmhouse in Devon, England. After the Americans stay for the weekend, they soon realize this trip was not what they expected at all. This was a fun watch but I wasn’t expecting much from it. It stars James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Scoot McNairy, and Aisling Franciosi. It was one of the many Get Out simulacra that we have seen pushed by the horror genre since 2017, except this was a white couple escaping from...another white couple. James McAvoy was probably the most notable element of this movie. He did what he does best, playing the most absolute maniacal psychopath imaginable.
Image Courtesy of Kinds of Kindness / IMDB
3. Kinds of Kindness (2024)
Medium: Hulu My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ Trigger Warning: SA, Harm to Dogs/Animals
Kinds of Kindness was the most surprising film I watched this month, as in normally I would not jump to say I loved a 3-hour anthological triptych fabel involving sex cults, cannibalism, and a twin reanimator. The phrase weird doesn’t even scratch the surface with this film. I was a die hard fan of Poor Things (2024) and was aware of the sick and strange worlds that Yorgos Lanthimos created, but this film was on another plane of weirdness I’ve never seen him touch yet. If you’re going to watch this movie I suggest you prepare yourself, there was a lot of dark/violent/explicit imagery and behavior that left my mouth agape and led to me closing my eyes often. Horror is my favorite genre, but still, this goes beyond that. I adored this film because in every story it demonstrates the extreme lengths people will go to feel wanted, loved, and even accepted. All of the scenarios are a“ kind” of kindness, a willingness to be accepted and loved but at a most insane and otherworldly cost. I don’t think it is meant to be taken too literally; it’s outrageous, but that is the point. Besides this, the cast was absolutely stacked: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Joe Alwyn, Mamoudou Athie, and Hunter Schafer.
Image Courtesy of Babygirl / IMDB
4. Babygirl (2024)
Medium: In Theaters My Rating: ★ ★ ★
I just recently saw Babygirl in theaters with my friend. We do something we call a“ Double Feature” where we go to the movie theater but make a whole day out of it and see multiple movies. We were a tad bit late to the film, but my reception of it was not impacted by that. It stars Nicole Kidman as a CEO who puts everything on the line to have a kinky affair with an intern at her company, played by Harris Dickinson. Despite my whole theater being full of old people talking at full volume trying to figure out what was going on, I felt like Babygirl was tamer than I had anticipated. Lustful, yet awkward, and missing something. I wanted to see this as scandalous and horny as the public perception portrayed, yet it felt overall lacking in something I cannot put my finger on. Still really enjoyed this viewing though.
Image Courtesy of One of Them Days / IMDB
5. One of Them Days (2025)
Medium: In Theaters My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Part 2 of our“ Double Feature” included probably one of my favorite films I saw this month. One of Them Days stars SZA and Keke Palmer as bestie roommates who go to crazy lengths to make up their rent money by the end of the day before they are evicted. This was pure gold. What a palette cleanser after rigidly watching (giggly) Babygirl. It is also produced by Issa Rae. This was silly, stupid, outlandish, but beautiful as well. There are themes of gentrification, gang violence, and discrimination in workplaces. It is goofy on the surface, yet still honest and deep. I loved seeing a comedy fronted by two black women (which I do not think I’ve ever seen before off the top of my head). There are some insane guest appearances as well from Katt Williams to Janelle James. Overall, a fantastic movie to premiere in January especially after the insane start of the year we have been having.
Image Courtesy of A.I. Artificial Intelligence / IMDB
6. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Medium: Pluto TV My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
I was on my 3-hour movie grind this month and I do not know why. I hate long movies. The perfect movie length, to me, is 1hr and 30 min. This took a while to get through but I am so glad I did. This has been sitting in my Letterboxd“ High Priority” list for a couple of years and I decided it was finally time to tackle it. This film is directed by Steven Spielberg and begins in the 22nd century where rising sea levels and climate change have altered the state of the world causing decline in the human race. The development of A.I. robots or“ Mecha” have greatly advanced, fulfilling various roles humans once had. In New Jersey where our story takes place, Monica and Henry Swinton’s son contracts a rare sickness. As a gift to Monica, Henry brings her a new“ Mecha” invention, a robot child with the ability to love his parents. This film goes through so many twists and turns and has a cast list far beyond my conception. It felt stupid and kitschy in the beginning, but then became a journey of love, friendship, and wanting to be accepted. I deadass cried at the end of this movie and was in so much pain. I didn’t know it was going to hit me like this. I think I really loved this film because it doesn’t feel so far off from our distant future, which was interesting yet frightening.
Image Courtesy of One Hour Photo / IMDB
7. One Hour Photo (2002)
Medium: Hulu My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ½ Trigger Warning: mentions of child abuse
After gracing the Substack of the amazing Mina Le, as well as coming up in one of my most adored Youtuber’s 2024 favorites picks, me and my boyfriend decided it was time to watch this film. It follows a photo technician named Syd, played by Robin Williams, who lives a sad and lonesome life. Because of this he has a deeply unhealthy one-sided relationship with the Yorkins, a family he has been developing photos for for 7 years. One day, his obsession crosses the line as he acts on his impulses and physically involves himself with the Yorkins. I loved the elements of this film. The shots were beautifully nostalgic. I’ve never seen Robin Williams play a character this deranged and he did an immaculate job as always. It’s thrilling with not too much gore or horror elements. One Hour Photo made me feel so conflicted because Williams plays him so well that you don’t really know if you hate or empathize with his character. I also loved the ending and how suspenseful it is. It took me a while to comprehend what I had just witnessed, but the ending is up to your interpretation, which I found pretty cool as well.
