I’ll start with a confession: I’m a huge Neil Diamond fan, though mostly a closeted one. I don’t lead with it at dinner parties, but put “I Am… I Said” or “September Morn” on the stereo and I’m all in. So when Song Sung Blue appeared on the January calendar, my interest was immediate. The idea of a Neil Diamond tribute band as the emotional engine of a feature film already had me leaning forward. Add Hugh Jackman—who was genuinely terrific in The Greatest Showman—and expectations went from cautious to quietly high. Jackman understands how to sell sincerity without winking at it, which feels essential to doing justice to Neil Diamond’s big-hearted catalog.
From there, this January lineup fans out in compelling directions: a fevered, music/dance-driven portrait of Shaker founder Ann Lee; a homegrown documentary about teenage curiosity taking on environmental wrongdoing; a sharp critique of neoliberal ideology; a tender comedy about midlife reinvention; and a Paris-set mystery anchored by Jodie Foster at her most precise. It’s a slate that rewards attention and emotional openness—exactly what winter, and Hudson Valley indie theaters, do best.
Song Sung Blue
Song Sung Blue is a 2025 American biographical musical drama that reimagines a real-life love story through the pulse of pop music and Midwest grit. Directed and written by Craig Brewer, the film stars Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson as Mike and Claire Sardina, the Milwaukee couple behind Lightning & Thunder, a Neil Diamond tribute band that found joy and heartbreak on stages far from superstardom.
More than a jukebox musical, the movie tracks their journey from down-on-their-luck musicians to deeply bonded partners whose devotion to each other and to Diamond’s timeless catalog keeps them singing through adversity. With a strong supporting cast that includes Michael Imperioli, Ella Anderson, Mustafa Shakir, Fisher Stevens, and Jim Belushi, Song Sung Blue blends “Sweet Caroline” nostalgia with heartfelt drama.
It’s the sort of film that makes you feel the warmth of a packed bar on a cold January night—and reminds you that sometimes, a song isn’t just background noise: it’s what carries you home.
Song Sung Blue is currently screening at the Beacon Movie Theater and opens on January 2 at Story Screen Cinema in Hudson.
The Testament of Ann Lee
The Testament of Ann Lee is a daring historical musical drama that reimagines the life of Ann Lee, the 18th-century founder of the Shaker movement, with Amanda Seyfried in a transformative lead performance. Drawing from traditional Shaker hymns reinterpreted as ecstatic musical numbers and anchored by raw, physical choreography, the film follows Lee’s extraordinary journey from hardship in England to her visionary leadership in Colonial America—where she preached peace, gender equality, celibacy, and communal living against great odds.
Directed by Mona Fastvold with a script co-written by Brady Corbet, the movie uses music and movement to make the inner life of a forgotten religious founder palpable, not just historical. It resists reducing Shakerism to its tidy crafts or aesthetic quirks, instead dramatizing belief, suffering, and spiritual fervor as lived experience. Seyfried’s performance—at once vulnerable and commanding—carries the film’s emotional weight, making The Testament of Ann Lee a singular cinematic encounter with faith.
The Testament of Ann Lee starts January 23 at the Crandell Theatre in Chatham and Upstate Films’ Starr Cinema in Rhinebeck.
Teenage Wasteland
Teenage Wasteland is a riveting documentary that revisits a remarkable chapter of grassroots journalism and civic courage right here in the Hudson Valley. Directed by Emmy-winning filmmaking duo Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss (Boys State, Girls State), the film traces how a scrappy group of Middletown High School students and their unconventional English teacher turned camcorders and curiosity into a groundbreaking investigation of illegal toxic waste dumping at a local landfill in the early 1990s.
Far from a simple environmental expose, Teenage Wasteland is a coming-of-age story about youthful tenacity, media literacy, and the power of ordinary people to demand accountability from powerful interests. Through a compelling mix of archival footage and present-day reflections, the film celebrates both the messy thrill of discovery and the enduring impact of mentorship and persistence.
For a deeper look at the story behind the documentary and its local roots, check out our longer article on Teenage Wasteland.
Teenage Wasteland screens beginning January 9 at Upstate Midtown in Kingston.
The Invisible Doctrine
The Invisible Doctrine: The Secret History of Neoliberalism is a provocative, razor-edged documentary that peels back the curtain on an economic ideology most of us live under but rarely name. Narrated by British journalist and activist George Monbiot, the film traces how what began as a fringe set of ideas in the 1930s evolved into a dominant force shaping global politics, culture, and everyday life— turning citizens into consumers and ideals like competition and deregulation into unquestioned dogma.
Directed by Peter Hutchison and Lucas Sabean, The Invisible Doctrine functions as both detective story and persuasive critique. Through incisive narration, archival material, and striking visuals, it connects neoliberalism’s ascent to widening inequality, corporate power, and the hollowing-out of democracy—all without descending into didactic sermonizing.
The Invisible Doctrine screens on January 12-13 at the Beacon Movie Theater.
Is This Thing On?
This warm, witty dramedy from Bradley Cooper marks his third outing as director and co-writer. The film stars Will Arnett as Alex Novak, a middle-aged husband and father whose long marriage to Laura Dern’s Tess quietly unravels, prompting him to seek new purpose in New York’s stand-up comedy scene just as his life begins to shift.
Loosely inspired by the real-life story of British comedian John Bishop, the movie blends humor and heart as Alex negotiates divorce, identity, and co-parenting— discovering in the process that reinvention can come in unexpected forms. The ensemble cast also includes Andra Day, Bradley Cooper, Amy Sedaris, Sean Hayes, and Christine Ebersole, grounding the film’s emotional turns with grounded performances.
Shot with a thoughtful eye toward life’s messy transitions, Is This Thing On? offers a thoughtful, human portrait of love, loss, and laughter in midlife.
Is This Thing On? opens on January 9 at the Moviehouse in Millerton and Upstate Films’ Orpheum Theater in Saugerties.
A Private Life
A Private Life marks a beguiling turn for Jodie Foster, who delivers a fluent French-language lead performance as Lilian Steiner, an American psychoanalyst whose orderly Parisian life unravels after the apparent suicide of one of her longtime patients. Convinced it was murder, Lilian embarks on her own amateur sleuthing, drawing in her ex-husband Gabriel (Daniel Auteuil) and navigating a cast of suspects that includes Virginie Efira and Mathieu Amalric.
Directed by Rebecca Zlotowski, the film blends mystery, dry humor, and introspection with a noir-tinged Parisian elegance. Foster’s crisp, measured performance—a rare lead in French for the two-time Oscar winner—anchors a story that is as much about buried emotions and fractured relationships as it is about uncovering the truth.
A Private Life screens beginning January 30 at Upstate Films’ Starr Cinema in Rhinebeck.
The Voice of Hind Rajab should be on your list…if it hasn’t been blacklisted by the cinema powers in the Hudson Valley!