Serenity

Director Steven Knight

Genre Drama | Thriller

Cast Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Diane Lane, Djimou Hounsou

Rating R

Release Date January 25th, 2019

“The mysterious past of a fishing boat captain comes back to haunt him, when his ex-wife tracks him down with a desperate plea for help, ensnaring his life in a new reality that may not be all that it seems.”

Written and directed by Steven Knight (Locke, Peaky Blinders), Serenity is a drama thriller about a fishing boat captain who is forced to abruptly face his mysterious past when his ex-wife tracks him down with a desperate please for help, turning his life upside down, Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Serenity:

• Diane Lane played Martha Kent in Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Anne Hathaway played Selina Kyle aka Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises (2012).

Glass

Director M. Night Shyamalan

Genre Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi

Cast Bruce Willis, James McAvoy, Samuel L. Jackson, Anya Taylor-Joy

Rating PG-13

Release Date January 18th, 2019

“Security guard David Dunn uses his supernatural abilities to track Kevin Wendell Crumb, a disturbed man who has 24 personalities.”

From writer and director M. Night Shyamalan, Glass is the highly anticipated continuation of the Unbreakable/Split films bringing all of the primary characters together. In this film security guard David Dunn uses his supernatural abilities to track down Kevin Wendell Crumb, a disturbed man with 24 different personalities. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Glass:

• Samuel L. Jackson has said of working with James McAvoy on Glass that "As good as I like to think I am or what I do and how I do it, watching somebody transform characters in front of your eyes and have an argument with four different people is pretty amazing."

• It took M. Night Shyamalan 20 years to make the trilogy, as the release date suggests (which is 2019). Unbreakable (2000) was being developed shortly after the success of The Sixth Sense (1999). Sixteen years later, Split (2016) came out and shortly after it, Glass (2019) was announced

The Punisher: Season 2

Genre Action | Adventure | Crime

Cast Jon Bernthal, Jason R. Moore, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ben Barnes

Rating TV-MA

Series Premiere January 18th, 2019 (Netflix)

“After the murder of his family, Marine veteran Frank Castle becomes the vigilante known as “The Punisher,” with only one goal in mind: to avenge them.”

Jon Bernthal is returning as The Punisher in season 2 of the hit Netflix series based on the Marvel character with a dark past. The series revolves around Frank Castle, who after saving a young girl from being murdered is forced to decide whether or not to embrace his life as The Punisher. Check out the official trailers for Season 2 below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, The Punisher:

• The Punisher made his first appearance in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man # 129 in February 1974. He was originally going to be a minor second string character due to his penchant for killing, but due to his popularity, he became a more prominent figure in the larger Marvel Universe.

The Kid Who Would Be King

Director Joe Cornish

Genre Adventure | Family | Fantasy

Cast Rebecca Ferguson, Louis Asbourne Serkis, Tom Taylor, Patrick Stewart

Rating PG

Release Date January 25th, 2019

“A band of kids embark on an epic quest to thwart a medieval menace.”

Written and directed by Joe Cornish (Attach the Block, Ant-Man), The Kid Who Would Be King tells the story of a group of kids that embark on an epic quest to overtake an evil menace. Check out the official trailers below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, The Kid Who Would Be King:

• Rebecca Ferguson said in an interview that she would film scenes for Mission Impossible Fallout during the week and film scenes for The Kid Who Would Be King during weekends.

• This will be Rebecca Ferguson's third collaboration with an X-Men actor, the first movie was The Snowman (2017) with Michael Fassbender and The Greatest Showman (2017) with Hugh Jackman.

King of Thieves

Director James Marsh

Genre Crime | Drama

Cast Charlie Cox, Michael Caine, Michael Gambon, Jim Broadbent

Rating R

Release Date January 25th, 2019 (Limited)

“A crew of retired crooks pulls off a major heist in London’s jewelry district, but what begins as a nostalgic last hurrah for the group quickly becomes a brutal nightmare when greed overtakes them.”

From director James Marsh (The King, The Theory of Everything), King of Thieves is a true-crime story of a crew of retired crooks pulls off a major heist in London's jewelry district, but what begins as a nostalgic last hurrah for the group quickly becomes a brutal nightmare when greed overtakes them. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Film Facts, King of Thieves:

• The events depicted in this film are based on a true story. During the Easter bank holiday period April 2015 a gang of middle aged and OAP veteran criminals really did break into The Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company in central London using the methods depicted in this film and stole somewhere between £14 million to £25 million worth of valuables from safety deposit boxes (the exact amount is unclear as customers with safety deposit boxes didn't necessarily want to report what their boxes contained). 

Close

Director Vicky Jewson

Genre Action | Thriller

Cast Noomi Rapace, Indira Varma, Sophie Nélisse, Eoin Macken

Rating Unrated

Release Date  January 18th, 2019 (Netflix)

“A bodyguard and counter-terrorism expert Sam takes a job protecting Zoe a rich young heiress. Neither party is keen on the arrangement until a violent kidnap forces them to go on the run.”

From director Vicky Jewson, Close is a action thriller that tells the story if a bodyguard and counter-terrorism expert that takes a job protecting a rich young heiress. Neither party is keen on the arrangement until a violent kidnap forces them to go on the run. Check out the official trailer below!!

The Standoff at Sparrow Creek

Director Henry Dunham

Genre Drama

Cast James Badge Dale, Patrick Fischler, Brian Geraghty, Chris Mulkey

Rating Unrated

Release Date January 18th, 2019 (Limited & On-Demand)

“A former cop-turned-militia man investigates a shooting at a police funeral.”

Written and directed by Henry Dunham, The Standoff at Sparrow Creek is an edgy drama that tells the story of a former cop-turned-militia man investigates a shooting at a police funeral. Check out the official trailer below!!

I Am the Night

Genre Drama | Mystery

Cast Chris Pine, India Eisley, Jefferson Mays, Dylan Smith

Rating Unrated

Series Premiere January 28th, 2019 (TNT)

“Fauna Hodel, who was given away by her teenage birth mother, begins to investigate the secrets to her past, following a sinister trail that swirls ever closer to an infamous Hollywood gynecologist connected to the legendary Black Dahlia murder.”

Based on actual events, I Am the Night tells the story of a young woman given away by her teenage birth mother, who begins to investigate the secrets to her past, following a sinister trail that swirls ever closer to an infamous Hollywood gynecologist connected to the legendary Black Dahlia murder. Check out the official trailers below!!

Ted Takes Limited Series Facts, I Am the Night:

• The life story of Fauna Hodel (1951-2017) previously inspired the unreleased feature film Pretty Hattie's Baby (1991).

• Chris Pine and Patty Jenkins also worked together on Wonder Woman (2017): Jenkins was the director and Pine played Steve Trevor.

Star Trek: Discovery - Season 2

Genre Action | Adventure | Drama

Cast Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Mary Wiseman

Rating TV-14

Series Premiere January 17th, 2019 (CBS All Access)

“Ten years before Kirk, Spock and the Enterprise, the USS Discovery discovers new worlds and lifeforms as one Starfleet officer learns to understand all things alien.”

The 2nd season of CBS’s Star Trek: Discovery premieres on Thursday, January 17th. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Star Trek: Discovery:

• This series takes place in the prime universe, not the alternate universe, also known as the "Kelvin Timeline".

• Star Trek: Discovery is the first Star Trek television series not made in either Hollywood or in the United States. The show is filmed at Pinewood Toronto Studios in Canada.

Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes

Director Joe Berlinger

Genre Documentary

Cast Ted Bundy (archive footage)

Rating Unrated

Release Date January 24th, 2019 (Netflix)

“A look inside the mind of serial killer Ted Bundy featuring interviews with him on death row.”

From director Joe Berlinger, Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes  is a docuseries that takes a look inside the mind of serial killer Ted Bundy featuring interviews with him on death row. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Series Facts, Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes:

• Released exactly 30 years after the execution of Ted Bundy.

Polar

Director Jonas Åkerlund

Genre Action | Crime

Cast Mads Mikkelsen, Vanessa Hudgens, Katheryn Winnick, Fei Ren

Rating Unrated

Release Date January 25th, 2019 (Netflix)

“The world’s top assassin, Duncan Vizla, is settling into retirement when his former employer marks him as a liability to the firm. Against his will, he finds himself back in the game going head to head with an army of younger killers.”

From Swedish director Jonas Åkerlund, Polar tells the story of the world's top assassin, Duncan Vizla, who is settling into retirement when his former employer marks him as a liability to the firm. Against his will, he finds himself back in the game going head to head with an army of younger killers. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Polar:

• Polar is an adaptation of the action noir comics series of the same name.

Fyre

Director Chris Smith

Genre Documentary

Cast Billy McFarland, Jason Bell

Rating TV-MA

Release Date January 18th, 2019 (Netflix)

“An exclusive behind the scenes look at the infamous unraveling of the Fyre music festival.”

Organized by Fyre Media founder Billy McFarland and rapper Ja Rule as a luxury music festival to promote the Fyre music booking app, Fyre Festival was promoted on Instagram by "social media influencers" including socialite and model Kendall Jenner, model Bella Hadid, model and actress Emily Ratajkowski, and other media personalities, many of whom did not initially disclose they had been paid to do so. During the Fyre Festival's inaugural weekend, the event experienced problems related to security, food, accommodations and artist relations - and that was just the tip of the iceberg. Check out the trailer for the Netflix documentary below!!

2019 Golden Globe Winners

See the full list of 2019 Golden Globe WINNERS below:

Best Motion Picture – Drama
“Black Panther”
“BlacKkKlansman”
“Bohemian Rhapsody” (WINNER)
“If Beale Street Could Talk”
“A Star Is Born”

Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
Bradley Cooper (“A Star Is Born”)
Willem Dafoe (“At Eternity’s Gate”)
Lucas Hedges (“Boy Erased”)
Rami Malek (“Bohemian Rhapsody”) (WINNER)
John David Washington (“BlacKkKlansman”)

Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
Glenn Close (“The Wife”) (WINNER)
Lady Gaga (“A Star Is Born”)
Nicole Kidman (“Destroyer”)
Melissa McCarthy (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”)
Rosamund Pike (“A Private War”)

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
“Crazy Rich Asians”
“The Favourite”
“Green Book” (WINNER)
“Mary Poppins Returns”
“Vice”

Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Emily Blunt (“Mary Poppins Returns”)
Olivia Colman (“The Favourite”) (WINNER)
Elsie Fisher (“Eighth Grade”)
Charlize Theron (“Tully”)
Constance Wu (“Crazy Rich Asians”)

Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
“The Alienist” (TNT)
“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” (FX) (WINNER)
“Escape at Dannemora” (Showtime)
“Sharp Objects” (HBO)
“A Very English Scandal” (Amazon)

Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy
“Barry” (HBO)
“The Good Place” (NBC)
“Kidding” (Showtime)
“The Kominsky Method” (Netflix) (WINNER)
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy
Kristen Bell (“The Good Place”)
Candice Bergen (“Murphy Brown”)
Alison Brie (“Glow”)
Rachel Brosnahan (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”) (WINNER)
Debra Messing (“Will & Grace”)

Best Director – Motion Picture
Bradley Cooper (“A Star Is Born”)
Alfonso Cuaron (“Roma”) (WINNER)
Peter Farrelly (“Green Book”)
Spike Lee (“BlacKkKlansman”)
Adam McKay (“Vice”)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Antonio Banderas (“Genius: Picasso”)
Daniel Bruhl (“The Alienist”)
Darren Criss (“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”) (WINNER)
Benedict Cumberbatch (“Patrick Melrose”)
Hugh Grant (“A Very English Scandal”)

Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language
“Capernaum”
“Girl”
“Never Look Away”
“Roma” (WINNER)
“Shoplifters”

Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Christian Bale (“Vice”) (WINNER)
Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Mary Poppins Returns”)
Viggo Mortensen (“Green Book”)
Robert Redford (“The Old Man & the Gun”)
John C. Reilly (“Stan & Ollie”)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Alex Borstein (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)
Patricia Clarkson (“Sharp Objects”) (WINNER)
Penelope Cruz (“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”)
Thandie Newton (“Westworld”)
Yvonne Strahovski (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
Alfonso Cuaron (“Roma”)
Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara (“The Favourite”)
Barry Jenkins (“If Beale Street Could Talk”)
Adam McKay (“Vice”)
Peter Farrelly, Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie (“Green Book”) (WINNER)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture
Mahershala Ali (“Green Book”) (WINNER)
Timothee Chalamet (“Beautiful Boy”)
Adam Driver (“BlacKkKlansman”)
Richard E. Grant (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”)
Sam Rockwell (“Vice”)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama
Caitriona Balfe (“Outlander”)
Elisabeth Moss (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
Sandra Oh (“Killing Eve”) (WINNER)
Julia Roberts (“Homecoming”)
Keri Russell (“The Americans”)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture
Amy Adams (“Vice”)
Claire Foy (“First Man”)
Regina King (“If Beale Street Could Talk”) (WINNER)
Emma Stone (“The Favourite”)
Rachel Weisz (“The Favourite”)

Best Original Song – Motion Picture
“All the Stars” (“Black Panther”)
“Girl in the Movies” (“Dumplin’”)
“Requiem For a Private War” (“A Private War”)
“Revelation’ (“Boy Erased”)
“Shallow” (“A Star Is Born”) (WINNER)

Best Original Score – Motion Picture
Marco Beltrami (“A Quiet Place”)
Alexandre Desplat (“Isle of Dogs”)
Ludwig Göransson (“Black Panther”)
Justin Hurwitz (“First Man”) (WINNER)
Marc Shaiman (“Mary Poppins Returns”)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Amy Adams (“Sharp Objects”)
Patricia Arquette (“Escape at Dannemora”) (WINNER)
Connie Britton (“Dirty John”)
Laura Dern (“The Tale”)
Regina King (“Seven Seconds”)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Alan Arkin (“The Kominsky Method”)
Kieran Culkin (“Succession”)
Edgar Ramirez (“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”)
Ben Whishaw (“A Very English Scandal”) (WINNER)
Henry Winkler (“Barry”)

Best Television Series – Drama
“The Americans” (WINNER)
“Bodyguard”
“Homecoming”
“Killing Eve”
“Pose”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama
Jason Bateman (“Ozark”)
Stephan James (“Homecoming”)
Richard Madden (“Bodyguard”) (WINNER)
Billy Porter (“Pose”)
Matthew Rhys (“The Americans”)

Best Motion Picture – Animated
“Incredibles 2”
“Isle of Dogs”
“Mirai”
“Ralph Breaks the Internet”
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” (WINNER)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy
Sacha Baron Cohen (“Who Is America?”)
Jim Carrey (“Kidding”)
Michael Douglas (“The Kominsky Method”) (WINNER)
Donald Glover (“Atlanta”)
Bill Hader (“Barry”)

Scorecard by movie studio and network:

Motion Picture Distributor
Universal Pictures: 4
Annapurna Pictures: 2
Twentieth Century Fox: 2
Fox Searchlight Pictures: 1
Sony Pictures Classics: 1
Sony Pictures Releasing: 1
Warner Bros. Pictures: 1

Television Network
FX Networks: 3
Netflix: 3
Amazon Prime Video: 2
BBC America: 1
HBO: 1
Showtime: 1

Motion Picture
Green Book: 3
Bohemian Rhapsody: 2
Roma: 2
The Favourite: 1
First Man: 1
If Beale Street Could Talk: 1
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse: 1
A Star Is Born: 1
Vice: 1
The Wife: 1

Television Series or Program
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story: 2
The Kominsky Method: 2
The Americans: 1
Bodyguard: 1
Escape at Dannemora: 1
Killing Eve: 1
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: 1
Sharp Objects: 1
A Very English Scandal: 1

The Upside

Director Neil Berger

Genre Comedy | Drama

Cast Kevin Hart, Bryan Cranston, Nicole Kidman, Julianna Margulies

Rating PG-13

Release Date  January 11th, 2019

“A comedic look at the relationship between a wealthy paraplegic and an unemployed man with a criminal record who’s hired to help him.”

From director Neil Berger (The Illusionist, Limitless, Divergent), The Upside is a comedic look at the true story of the relationship between a wealthy paraplegic and an unemployed ex-con who is hired to help him. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, The Upside:

• A remake of the French film 'Intouchables' which was marketed as 'Untouchable' around the world. This was the most successful French film in history in both Germany and The Netherlands.

• Chris Tucker, Jamie Foxx, Chris Rock, and Idris Elba were all considered for the role played by Kevin Hart.

A Dog's Way Home

Director Charles Martin Smith

Genre Adventure | Family

Cast Bryce Dallas Howard, Ashley Judd, Edward James Olmos, Alexandra Shipp

Rating Unrated

Release Date January 11th, 2019

“A dog embarks on a 400-mile journey home after it’s separated from its owner, Lucas, who is an aspiring medical student.”

From director Charles Martin Smith (Air Bud, Dolphin Tale), A Dog’s Way Home is the story of a dog that embarks on a 400-mile journey home after she is separated from her owner. The film is a based on the novel by author W. Bruce Cameron, the author of the #1 New York Times and USA Today best-selling novel turned film A Dog’s Purpose. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, A Dog’s Way Home:

• William Bruce Cameron is an American author, columnist, and humorist. Cameron is most famous for his novel A Dog's Purpose, which spent 19 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and is the first book in a two book series that concludes with A Dog's Journey.

True Detective: Season 3

Genre Crime | Drama | Mystery

Cast Mahershala Ali, Carmen Ejogo, Stephen Dorff 

Rating TV-MA

Series Premiere Sunday January 13th, 2019 (HBO)

“Seasonal anthology series in which police investigations unearth the personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within and outside the law.”

As with seasons 1 and 2, the third season of HBO's True Detective is brought to us courtesy of creator and showrunner Nic Pizzolato - and once again we are introduced to a brand new story, new mystery, and new characters. A welcomed addition to the series, and taking on the lead role is Oscar-winning Moonlight actor Mahershala Ali. Ali leads this Arkansas-set tale, which plays out in three separate time periods as a state police detective digs deeper into the heart of a disturbing and violent crime. I absolutely LOVED the first season of this show (I just re-watched it recently) and although the second season was a letdown due to very high expectations, I have high expectations yet again for the new season especially after seeing the new trailer. Check it out the official trailers!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, HBO's True Detective:

• To prepare for filming the first season, Matthew McConaughey created a four hundred fifty-page analysis, the "Four Stages of Rustin Cohle", to study his character's evolution over the course of the story.

• It is one of the highest rated television shows of all time, and one of the few shows that generated more than ten million viewers, despite it not being for family audiences.

Replicas

Director Jeffrey Nachmanoff

Genre Crime | Mystery | Sci-Fi

Cast Keanu Reeves, Alice Eve, Thomas Middleditch, Emily Alyn Lind

Rating PG-13

Release Date January 11th, 2019

“A scientist becomes obsessed with bringing back his family members who died in a traffic accident.”

From director Jeffrey Nachmanoff (Traitor), Replicas is a sci-fi thriller about a scientist who becomes obsessed with bringing his family back after they are tragically lost in a car accident. The cast includes Keanu Reeves, Alice Eve, Thomas Middleditch, and Emily Alyn Lind. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Replicas:

• The story and screenplay for Replicas was developed at Keanu Reeves and Stephen Hamel's production company Company Films. Hamel writes the majority of all the stories produced there.

• The film premiered September 2017 at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The Bouncer

Director Julien Leclercq

Genre Action | Drama | Thriller

Cast Jean-Claude Van Damme, Sami Bouajila, Sveva Alviti, Sam Louwyck

Rating R

Release Date  January 11th, 2018 (Limited & On-Demand)

“A nightclub bouncer in his fifties who’s taken punches, literally and figuratively, struggles to raise his 8-year-old daughter.”

From director Julien Leclercq, The Bouncer is a crime drama about a bouncer struggling to raise his 8-year old daughter and loses custody after a violent altercation which leads him down a dark path. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, The Bouncer:

• Actor Jean-Claude Van Damme’s fight scenes are so intense that he won't film them in the U.S. for fear of being sued. In 1989, he was sued for willfully gouging the eye of an extra in a sword fight while filming Cyborg.

State Like Sleep

Director Meredith Danluck

Genre Drama

Cast Katherine Waterston, Michael Shannon, Michiel Huisman, Luke Evans

Rating Unrated

Release Date January 4th, 2019

“A woman grapples with the consequences of her celebrity husband’s double life after he commits suicide.”

Written and directed by Meredith Danluck, her feature film debut, State Like Sleep is a drama telling the story of a woman who is struggling to deal with the consequences of her celebrity husband's double life after he commits suicide. Check out the official trailer below!!

If Beale Street Could Talk

Director Barry Jenkins

Genre Crime | Drama | Romance

Cast KiKi Layne, Stephan James, Regina King, Colman Domingo

Rating R

Release Date December 25th, 2018

“A woman in Harlem desperately scrambles to prove her fiancé innocent of a crime while carrying their first child.”

From director Barry Jenkins, the Academy Award winning director of Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk is a romantic drama that tells the story of a woman in Harlem desperately scrambling to prove her fiancé innocent of a crime while carrying their first child. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Film Facts, If Beale Street Could Talk:

• Based on the novel by James Baldwin. The first trailer was released on August 2, 2018, which would have been the 94th birthday of the late author.

• The film premiered at TIFF (Toronto international Film Festival) in Canada in September 2018.