1. FILM: Dog 51 (January 2)
Worried about the implications of AI? Well, this dystopian thriller probably won't help. The film takes place in near-future Paris, where the AI Alma is keeping an eye on everyone. When an inventor is found dead, two police officers must investigate: a slick, modern officer named Salia (Adele Exarchopoulos) and a grizzled veteran named Zem (Gilles Lellouche). “Should the police use a tool that is faster than human thinking but has neither the conscience nor the humanity to administer justice?” asked director Cedric Jimenez in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “In my opinion, justice needs human brains.”
2. TV: Copenhagen Test (January 6, presentation)
Kim's Convenience star Simu Liu from the 2021 Marvel film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings headlines this spy thriller. Liu plays Alexander Hale, a first-generation Chinese-American intelligence analyst whose brain is hacked. The challenge is to figure out who is responsible while pretending everything is fine. “I thought he was a really cool character that I really liked—and what’s even better is that he was wrapped in a really cool tech sci-fi thriller premise,” Liu told Postmedia. Melissa Barrera co-stars and the first season also began streaming on January 1st on StackTV. “There’s just so much going on and so many twists and turns,” Liu said. “It's just an exciting watch.”
3. MUSIC: Devon Allman (January 2)
Devon Allman's ambient art rock album Nightvision draws on the sounds of the '80s and bands like The Police and The Cure. Allman recorded it at home during the COVID pandemic and features the debut recording of his son Orion Allman on synthesizer. John Lam and Justin Corgan play drums and bass respectively. “It feels like a sense of accomplishment to pull this piece out of storage after five years,” Allman said in a statement. “Nightvision is a special project for me. I've always had a desire to write music for films, so this is an exploration of that dimension.”
4. BOOK: “When I first saw him” (January 6)
Laura Dave is releasing a sequel to her hit 2021 mystery thriller The Last Thing He Told Me, which became an Apple TV series of the same name starring Jennifer Garner. According to the synopsis, The First Time I Saw Him finds Hannah Hill and her stepdaughter Bailey “forced to run a relentless race to stop their past from catching up with them.” “As gripping drama unfolds, Hannah risks everything to get Bailey to safety and discovers there may be a way back to (her estranged husband), Owen and their long-awaited second chance.”
5. CHALLENGE: Dry January
The abstinence challenge is designed to help people recover from excessive drinking during the holidays—and is in line with current trends. According to a Restaurants Canada report released in September, 41 per cent of Canadians have reduced their alcohol consumption in the past year. The drivers of change are improved health, economic factors and productivity needs. Stores and restaurants are responding by offering more sophisticated cocktails, non-alcoholic beers and non-alcoholic wines. Clinical psychologist Dominique Morisano told Chatelain that taking part in Dry January can improve cognitive performance, concentration and mental health. It may also improve sleep.
