Quick Takes : The movies I saw in January 2026.

Although I was off-line throughout January enjoying the heat of an Aussie summer, still working my day job and doing some much needed jobs around the house, this didn't stop me from enjoying my weekly trip to my local movie theatre to catch a film of choice. Below are my quick takes of the latest films seen over this past month.

I saw the M Rated 'ANACONDA' on Tuesday 6th January, and this American action adventure comedy horror film is Co-Written and Directed by Tom Gormican and serves as a meta-reboot of the 1997 film of the same name. Tom Gormican's previous feature film making efforts are 'That Awkward Moment' in 2014 and 'The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent' in 2022. Here, wedding videographer Doug McCallister (Jack Black) and background actor Ronald 'Griff' Griffin Jnr. (Paul Rudd) who are both life long friends and who made their first short film together as young teenagers called the 'The Quatch', are now both experiencing a mid-life crisis. And so Griff hatches a plan to travel to the Amazon to film an amateur remake of their favourite horror film, 1997's 'Anaconda' which starred Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Jon Voight, Eric Stoltz and Owen Wilson. Their project unravels when a real giant anaconda snake emerges, turning the light-hearted shoot into a perilous fight to stay alive. Also starring Steve Zahn as cameraman Kenny Trent, Thandiwe Newton as Claire Simons a friend of Doug and Griff and the lead actress in the their film, Daniela Melchior as Ana Almeida a woman who gets caught up in the film shoot and who has ulterior motives, with Ice Cube and Jennifer Lopez making cameo appearances as themselves. 

The film was released Christmas week here in Australia and the US too, has so far grossed US$129M off the back of a US$45M production budget and has garnered mixed or average reviews . . . . . and I can see why. The film is full of plot holes, and despite their being some laugh out loud moments, and a couple of jump scares, this film is a mash-up of 'Tropic Thunder' and 'Jumanji', both of which were far superior. Sure Black and Rudd deliver on the humour and the emotion, the cast all look as through their having a good ol' time shooting this movie within a movie and there's plenty of nods to the Hollywood film making machine - both good, and not so. That said, I came away from the movie theatre with a sense that this film was a little better than I was expecting, and so 'The Anaconda', as it comes to be known in the final scene, merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps. 

I saw the M Rated 'SENTIMENTAL VALUE' on Tuesday 13th January, and this Norwegian drama film is Co-Written and Directed by Joachim Trier whose previous feature film output takes in his debut with 'Reprise' in 2006, which he would follow up with 'Oslo, 31 August' in 2011, 'Louder Than Bombs' in 2015, 'Thelma' in 2017 and 'The Worst Person in the World' in 2021. Sisters Nora Borg (Renate Reinsve) and Agnes Borg Pettersen (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) reunite with their estranged father, the charismatic Gustav Borg (Stellen Skarsgard), a once-renowned Director who made his last feature film fifteen years prior, but has since made a couple of documentaries. For what he hopes will be his comeback film, he offers his daughter and acclaimed stage actress Nora a role in his future film which is picked up by Netflix. When Nora turns it down, she soon discovers he has given her part to an eager young Hollywood star Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning). Suddenly, the two sisters must navigate their complicated relationship with their somewhat estranged father, and deal with an American star dropped right into the middle of their complex family dynamics. The film had its World Premiere showcasing at the main competition of this years Cannes Film Festival in late May where it received widespread critical acclaim, won the Grand Prix, and received a nineteen minute standing ovation. 

The film was released Christmas week here in Australia, and has so far grossed US$22M since its release, from a production budget of US$7.5M, has generated universal critical acclaim and has so far collected thirty-seven award wins and a further 235 nominations from around the awards and festival circuit, some of which are still pending a final outcome. Here Joachim Trier has delivered us a powerful story of family dynamics of an absent father, the fractured upbringing of his two daughters and the fallout thereof; of memories - both good, and not so; and of art (in this case film making) as a medium of healing, redemption and honesty. The performances of the four lead Actors are all on point, with each delivering grounded, believable and relatable turns at raw emotion, brutal honesty, cutting humour and an intensity that is all too lacking in many other mainstream movies today where car chases, explosions, gun play, and fist fights are de rigueur. I came away from this film feeling a little drained by the experience and the emotional heft that lingered after, but don't let that detract you from catching this masterful film that is worthy of all the accolades bestowed upon it. 'Sentimental Value' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps.

'28 YEARS LATER : THE BONE TEMPLE' - Rated MA15+ is a post-apocalyptic horror film which I saw on Tuesday 20th January. This time around this instalment is Directed by Nia DaCosta whose previous feature film output take in her 2018 debut with 'Little Woods' and which she would follow up with 'Candyman' in 2021, 'The Marvels' in 2023 and 'Hedda' in 2025. This instalment was filmed back-to-back with its predecessor '28 Years Later' which was released mid-year last year, and serves as the fourth offering overall in the '28 Days Later' film franchise. Danny Boyle served as Director on the original movie '28 Days Later' in 2003, gave way to Juan Carlos Fresnadillo for '28 Weeks Later' in 2007 and was back again for '28 Years Later' in 2025, and is slated to return to the Director's chair for the fifth instalment with a title and release date yet to be announced. Alex Garland wrote the script for the first, third, fourth and the upcoming fifth film in the series. This film was released in the UK, here in Australia and the USA on the 13th, 15th and 16th January respectively, has so far grossed US$47M from a production budget of US$63M and has garnered generally positive critical reviews. 

Continuing on from where '28 Years Later' left off, Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) makes a discovery that could change the world as they know it, as he befriends and begins treating the Alpha leader of the infected Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry). Meanwhile, young Spike's (Alfie Williams) encounter with Sir 'Lord' Jimmy Crystal (Jack O'Connell) becomes a living nightmare from which he can't escape, as Jimmy regularly speaks with 'Old Nick' (Satan) and claims to be his son. In the world of The Bone Temple, the infected are no longer the only threat to survival, the inhumanity of the survivors can be stranger and more terrifying, as Jimmy's seven 'fingers' mete out their own particular bloody forms of violence all in the name of 'charity'. This film of course won't be for everyone, but for lovers of the genre and this franchise it is a real and rare standout at the midway point of a rebooted trilogy. Nia DaCosta has piled on the graphic violence and the blood letting right from the get go, and she doesn't let up until the end, adding in a few jump scares and a couple of genuinely frightening moments along the way. Cleverly though she has stayed away from endless scenes of marauding zombies, and has narrowed the story down to the relationships between Jimmy and Spike, and Kelson and Samson, with the four only coming together in the penultimate scene, from which only two survive. The final scene sets up the third offering in this franchise with a cameo appearance by Cillian Murphy. 'Howzat?' '28 Years Later : The Bone Temple' warrants four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

I saw the M Rated sports comedy drama film 'MARTY SUPREME' on Tuesday 27th January in a packed theatre at my local Multiplex, and this film is Co-Written, Co-Produced, Directed and Co-Edited by Josh Safdie and is his first solo Directing effort since 2008's 'The Pleasure of Being Robbed'. In the intervening years Josh, together with his younger brother Benny, under the banner of The Safdie Brothers have Co-Directed 'Daddy Longlegs' in 2009, 'Heaven Knows What' in 2014, 'Good Time' in 2017 and 'Uncut Gems' in 2019. This film is based loosely on Marty Reisman's 1974 memoir, 'The Money Player: The Confessions of America's Greatest Table Tennis Champion and Hustler'. The film Premiered at the New York Film Festival on 6th October last year followed by a US release on Christmas Day where it received widespread critical acclaim, and has so far grossed US$113M from a production budget of US$65M.

Set in 1952 New York City, twenty-three year old Marty Mauser (Timothee Chalamet) bestows every ounce of his being into almost everything he does, unfortunately for everyone else he takes full advantage of them wherever and whenever he can. One of these is his married childhood friend Rachel Mizler (Odessa A'zion) with whom he has an on again off again affair, the ramifications of which barely registers with him. He may well be the best table tennis player in the world in his own mind, but so far has failed to make a single dollar from his beloved sport, due to the lack of support and the perception of table tennis as a mere game of ping pong. To demonstrate on the world stage that he is the best, he has to attend the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, which he can't afford, but also he must win it. Among those who help him along the way are 1930's retired movie star Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow) and her influential businessman husband Milton Rockwell (Kevin O'Leary), a taxi driver and Marty's friend Wally (Tyler Okonma) and Dion Galanis (Luke Manley) another friend of Marty's. However, for every step forward that Marty's takes in getting closer to his dream, he seems to take two steps backwards as we explore various hardships, incidents, accidents, and near misses along the way. Also starring Fran Drescher, Sandra Bernhard and Abel Ferrara. I have to say that Marty Mauser is a real dick, someone who will lie, cheat, cajole and do whatever is necessary to get ahead, but he is played with such conviction, authenticity and believability that Chalamet's portrayal of him is worthy of the award nods bestowed upon him. Josh Safdie has delivered us a film of high production values, and a gripping story told with such frenetic energy that it will maintain your interest for the full 150 minute runtime. Having said that I'm not really sure what the point of this movie is, other than to demonstrate mans flaws and the lengths some people will go to in the pursuit of fame and fortune, only to have their dream wither and die on the vine. 'Marty Supreme' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-