January is often considered a dead month for entertainment. Few major movies come out, if any, to the point where the month is often called “Dumpuary” because studios literally dump their least exciting projects during these otherwise dull and unimportant 30 days. Chances are, you won’t find much entertainment at the movie theater, although streaming might actually offer some interesting movies this January.
What better time to check out some underrated movie gems than now, especially since no other major movie will be competing for your attention? From rom-coms produced during Hollywood’s Golden Age to blood-soaked action fests, these streaming gems are begging for you to watch them. They might be well hidden, but they are certainly worthy of your time, especially in a month where truly not much else is happening.
I Capture the Castle (2003)
I Capture the Castle has everything one could ask for in a romantic period drama. Two sisters searching for love? Check. Lush production values? Check. Cold and rainy English countryside scenery? Check. A tale of woe, love, and longing set amidst the struggles of genteel poverty in the 1930s? Check!
A brilliant cast, led by the unjustly underappreciated Romola Garai and a baby-faced Rose Byrne — and including an against-type Henry Thomas and the ever-scene-stealing Billy Nighy — brings this lovely tale to life with all the dry wit and charm that only the English can muster.
I Capture the Castle is devastatingly sweet, witty, and utterly irresistible, a classic period drama that will have everyone wiggling their feet in excitement. And yes, that is a very young Henry Cavill as Garai’s love interest.
I Capture the Castle is available to stream on Peacock.
Boy Kills World (2024)
The talented Bill Skarsgård had a very interesting 2024. He starred in one of his career’s biggest box office and critical disappointments, the much-derided remake of The Crow, but ended on a high note by bringing the sinister Count Orlok to life in Robert Eggers’ acclaimed remake of Nosferatu. However, he also starred in Boy Kills World, possibly 2024’s most underrated action movie.
The film sees Skarsgård as the titular Boy, a mute young man who goes on a bloody rampage against the family who controls his city and is seemingly responsible for the deaths of his mother and sister. Thrilling, wacky, blood-spattered, and with a biting and absurd sense of humor, Boy Kills World is an electrifying action extravaganza that’s perfect to inject some adrenaline into this otherwise lethargic month.
Skarsgård anchors the film on his broad shoulders, joined by an ensemble cast of scene-stealers, including a particularly sassy Michelle Dockery and a hilariously ridiculous Sharlto Copley.
Boy Kills World is available to stream on Hulu.
Holiday (1938)
Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn are two of Classic Hollywood’s best and most recognizable stars. They worked together in several movies, perhaps most notably The Philadelphia Story. However, one of their most underappreciated efforts in the 1938 romantic comedy Holiday, directed by the equally iconic George Cukor.
In the movie, Grant plays Johnny, a free-thinking and spirited man who develops feelings for his fiancée’s younger and outspoken sister (Hepburn). Holiday doesn’t really reinvent the rom-com, but it doesn’t need to. Grant and Hepburn are so good together, and the script gives them enough to do that the film is elevated by their sheer presence.
The pair plays wonderfully off each other, playing variations of the tropes that would cement them as cinematic icons while still finding new ways to charm and entertain. Holiday is a wonderful post-New Year movie and a sure bet for those looking for an old-fashioned rom-com.
Holiday is available to stream on Philo.
