Opening This Week: A HERO Surprises, SEE FOR ME Thrills, THE 355 Mystifies

The first full week of the new calendar year starts off slowly but is not without its intrigues.

A Hero
The film opens Friday, January 7 in select U.S. theaters via Amazon Studios and will be available January 21 on Prime Video.

The latest film from Asghar Farhadi (A Separation, The Salesman) is another tightly-written, expertly-crafted, highly-dramatic character study that evolves over a two-day leave granted Rahim (Amir Jadidi), who has been jailed because he was unable to repay a debt.

What initially appears to be a miscarriage of justice becomes something else entirely as the slender story develops muscles and sinews, revealing a fascinating look at life in a society and in a country that is far different than my own. It's not necessarily an easy watch, which is part of why it's so fascinating.

Pick of the Week: See For Me
The film opens Friday, January 7 in movie theaters and various On Demand platforms via IFC Films. Visit the official site for more information.

Skyler Davenport stars as a young woman, hired as a housesitter, who must deal with home invaders. Kim Coates and Jessica Parker Kennedy also star; Randall Okita directed. In my review, I described it a "rare thriller that refreshes familiar terrain and refashions it into something new and invigorating."

The 355
The film opens Friday, January 7 in movie theaters via Universal Pictures.

Jessica Chastain, Penélope Cruz, Bingbing Fan, Diane Kruger, Lupita Nyong'o, with Édgar Ramirez and Sebastian Stan star in an action-thriller directed by Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Dark Phoenix). Per the official synopsis: "When a top-secret weapon falls into mercenary hands, a wild card CIA agent joins forces with three international agents on a lethal mission to retrieve it, while staying a step ahead of a mysterious woman who's tracking their every move."

The trailer looks fine and the cast sounds great, but what kind of action heroes will they be?. We shall wait and see.

Monsters in the Closet
The film is available starting today on Digital and various Video On Demand platforms from Gravitas Ventures.

Do you like to watch men in tights hanging on walls? Or would you rather summon a vampire into your own kitchen? If it's the latter, this may be the movie for you.

According to the official synopsis: "When famous horror author Raymond Grant dies under mysterious circumstances, his daughter returns home to investigate his death. Jasmin discovers her father was using evil black magic to write his newest horror masterpiece. When the author's audio book is played out loud monsters, zombies and terrifying beings spring from the undead pages to haunt the living. Never open a Pandora box that can't be closed."

From The Snygg Brothers, the film stars Jasmine Flores, Shanna Bess, Valerie Bittner, Tom Cikoski and Camilla Crawford.

American Gadfly
The film is available starting today on various Video On Demand platforms.

Directed by Skye Wallin, the documentary follows 89-year-old former U.S. senator Mike Gravel, who "comes out of retirement when a group of teenagers convince him to run for president." Personally, I don't remember even hearing about this unlikely campaign, but as someone who has lived in this particular region of the world all his life, very little surprises me anymore .. but this trailer surprised me.

Opening This Week covers international and indie genre films and TV shows that are available in movie theaters and via On Demand platforms.