In 2014, Jennifer Kent made the transition from character TV actress to director of a feature-length film. That film was The Babadook, not only one of the best horror films of the decade but one of the very best films of the decade period. The film was showered with critical praise and landed Kent on the shortlist of "it" directors. Then... nothing.

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Kent could have easily jumped at the first studio horror film or blockbuster that came her way. Instead, she decided to write and direct The Nightingale about a young Irish convict woman named Clare who is hell-bent on revenge for a terrible act of violence committed against her family.

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What follows is one of the most brutal and unflinching films I've ever seen. There were some reports that during its festival run, there were counselors present for audience members after the left the theater. If hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, then you don't even want to know what happens to a woman that is way more than scorned.

 

What makes The Nightingale stand out from other revenge films is how we see how the main character's actions affect her. No matter how vengeful Clare is, it doesn't make her feel any better once she gets her revenge. I really appreciated the climax of the film because it didn't go where I thought it was going to go.

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The other major theme in The nightingale is race. Throughout the film, we see how the British Troops treat the Aboriginal population. Those aspects of the film might feel heavy-handed, but I couldn't help but think that the way the aboriginals were treated was probably even more brutal than depicted in the film. Jennifer Kent is a really talented filmmaker and if it takes her 4 years to make her next film, I will be patient.

In recent years, January has become the dumping ground for films that studios don't have a lot of faith in. Enter Underwater, a film about a crew of aquatic researchers trying to get to safety after an earthquake destroys their subterranean laboratory. 

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Not so spoiler alert considering it's shown in the trailer but it wasn't an earthquake that destroyed their lab. Clearly, Underwater is channeling a multitude of space horror films like the Alien franchise.  The film is the most you can ask for in a January release.  It's well made and entertaining enough, even if it's a Chinese food version of a film.

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Underwater stars Kristen Stewart, who gets a lot of grief for her acting chops.  I've never seen the Twilight films, so I don't have them to use as an example. I don't think she's a bad actress, I just think that she's kind of blah in almost every film I've seen her in.  I can't help but think that with a different lead actress or actor, the film might have been elevated above what we actually got.

It's a shame the studio didn't get behind Just Mercy more for an awards run. Michael B. Jordan and especially Jamie Foxx (who is nominated for a Screen Actor's Guild award) are more than deserving. Instead, the film got lost in the shuffle of all the other awards fare that is released late in the year, not to mention all the big-budget films.

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Just Mercy tells the incredible true story of a young civil rights defense attorney who works to free a wrongly condemned death row prisoner. As you would expect from such a film, Just Mercy shines a light on the injustices of the African American population that lives in the deep south. What makes the film even more powerful is knowing that we haven't exactly come very far in many regards when it comes to how minorities are treated in our justice system.

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Michael B. Jordan continues to impress me as an actor. He's making some really good choices right now and is actually one of the producers for the film. Now that it's January and you've already seen Frozen and Star Wars, stop by your local theater and support Just Mercy.