January sometimes gets a bad rap for movies. The big blockbusters are in the summer and the dramatic Oscar contenders roll around in the early fall. There are some generally solid flicks in theaters right now worth checking out from comedies to thrillers to fantasies. AOL sat down with some of the top actresses and actors in Hollywood to dish about their interests and the projects they’re excited for audiences to see.
Jennifer Lopez on the Audience for ‘The Boy Next Door’
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Jennifer Lopez in a heart-racing, but still a hit of romance thriller. She first grabbed our attention with movies like, “Out of Sight,” and “Angel Eyes” and now she’s back with “The Boy Next Door. The movie revolves around Jennifer Lopez’s Claire Peterson being stalked and progressively harassed by her next door neighbor (Ryan Guzman) after a one-night stand, and balances equal parts suspense and slinky sexiness.
Lopez sat down with AOL to talk about how she related to the woman in the film, and how a lot of people, especially in their 40s know what it’s like to be in a relationship that’s falling apart. “The character is based on something true, and real, and emotional,” said Lopez.
Olivia Munn Wants to Star in Every Movie Ever
Olivia Munn sat down to talk about her new comedy “Mortdecai” with Johnny Depp, but more importantly about the movie’s she’d like to be in. The short answer: all of them! Munn then rattled off a list of them from “Boomerang” to “Jurassic Park” but the stand-out were the Olsen Twins movies. Listen, Olivia Munn is great, and we’d probably enjoy her in every movie ever. One can never have too much Munn, right? But we’ve gotta draw the line with the Olsen twins. “Full House” had it’s moment, but the spin-off movies that followed should probably be dropped at the bottom of the sea.
Julianne Moore on the Role of Technology in ‘Still Alice’
Juliane Moore’s having a bit of a comeback — really, hot streak since she’ contentiously been a big screen staple — with movie’s like “Maps to the Stars” and “Still Alice.” The later film has been getting rave reviews and sees Moore tackling Alzheimer’s disease. In the movie, Juliane Moore plays Alice Howland, a 50-year-old linguistics professor who struggles with her mental deterioration as the waves memory loss overwhelm her, and moments of clarity fade away. It’s interesting to see the way technology played a part in the film and Alice Howard’s coping with the disease.
Evan Rachel Wood on Playing Marriane in ‘Strange Magic’
We’ve seen George Lucas dabble in animation as a side project with “Clone Wars” but that’s still keeping things safe within the confines of his Star Wars universe. “Strange Magic” sees the director delivering us a fantasy world filled with goblins, fairies, and other weirdos with pointy ears. Evan Rachel Wood plays the movie’s central fairy and gives Anna Kendrick a run for her money as Hollywood’s newest songbird. Like “Frozen,” the movie is female driven and aimed at girls, but has a soundtrack of songs for just about everybody.
Anne Hathaway on Her Favorite Musicians
Anne Hathaway is making the rounds for her music-driven drama, “Song One” and discussed the huge part music plays in the film and her life, too. The movie follows Hathaway’s character, Franny who is called home from studying abroad because her brother has been struck by a car and is in a coma. Yeah, it’s not really you’re carefree kinda music movie. The film does pull at your heartstrings though and that’s something that the actress credits to the music of Jenny Lewis who co-wrote the film’s soundtrack.
Hathaway went on to praise Lewis’s talents as well as female artists like St. Vincent, Patty Smith, and legend Dolly Parton.