The Best Movies, TV, Books and Music for January

Welcome to Culture Hound, InsideHook’s deep dive into the month’s most important cultural happenings, pop and otherwise.

WATCH: Glass
Speaking of dry January … it’s a barren landscape for good movies this month, but M. Night Shyamalan’s sequel to Unbreakable and Split seems like a fun yet decidedly grounded take on the superhero (and supervillain) genre. Fun fact: The director funded the $20 million movie himself. (Jan. 18)

WATCH: True Detective
The long-gestating year three of Nic Pizzolatto’s noir series follows a missing children case in the Ozarks over three time periods. Starring Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali, early reviews point to a (grim) return to form after a forgettable second season. (Jan. 13, HBO)

PONDER: Removed
What are the social and physical implications of our constant phone use? Here, artist and photographer Eric Pickersgill restages everyday scenarios but with all personal devices removed, highlighting the void we allow our personal devices to fill.

PERUSE: Nude Book. by Leonardo Glauso
Artsy, beautiful, clothes-free pics from the Italian fashion photographer and Resuer magazine founder. (Out now)

BUY: The Sopranos Sessions
The TV critics for Tony Soprano’s hometown paper deliver this collection of recaps, interviews and critical essays covering every episode. (Jan. 8)

BID: Banksy, Paris Hilton CD
The street artist planted 500 copies of his own version of Paris Hilton’s debut album in record stores back in 2006, which kept the original barcode but swapped out inner sleeve pics to parody the socialite and replaced the music with a Banksy/Danger Mouse collab (a 40-minute sonic take on Hilton’s catchphrase “that’s hot”). A decade-plus later, you can bid on your own copy. (Jan. 9)

WATCH: Fyre
Ah, the Fyre Festival, the trainwreck (or really, beachwreck) of a 2017 music fest that landed its organizer Billy McFarland in jail. Netflix’s doc was directed by Chris Smith (American Movie, Jim & Andy) and promises footage from before, during and after the doomed, Lord of the Flies-worthy weekend. (Jan. 20)

LISTEN: Our monthly Spotify playlist
All of the month’s best new tunes from artists old and new, including tracks by The Raconteurs, Neon Indian, Wale, Broken Bells, Alice Glass and more.

And don’t forget … Joe Cornish’s Attack the Block was a cult classic, so we’re willing to bet his more kid-friendly, Arthurian fantasy The Kid Who Would Be King is worth dragging the family to see (Jan. 25) … Snow time: Cocaïn: History and Culture is a beautiful coffee (or is that coca?) table tome that examines the evolution of the drug (Jan. 3) … Forget the movies, and enjoy the zombie apocalypse via Capcom’s remake of their classic console game Resident Evil 2 (Jan. 25) … Justin Cronin’s The Passage was an epic horror trilogy that evoked the best of Stephen King. The trailer for the TV adaptation looks meh, but take a peek — or just dive into the original book series (Jan. 14) … Black Monday looks like Wall Street with Don Cheadle, so we’re game (Jan. 20) … And finally, a welcome return to cringe-y comedies I’m Sorry and You’re the Worst (Jan. 9), Future Man (Jan. 11), Friends from College (Jan. 11) and Broad City (Jan. 24).