Not sure what is coming out this month? I tell you what to check out in theaters, rent later and avoid altogether. Check out the list below.
See:
8. Cop Out (Smith, Feb. 26th)
Synopsis: A comedy about two cops whose adventures include locating a stolen baseball card, rescuing a woman, and dealing with gangsters and their laundered money.
Why You Should See It: Although the green band trailer was a disappointment, the film recently earned an R from the MPAA for pervasive language. It looks like Smith is in comfortable territory, despite it being his first directing job with a script not written by himself.
7. From Paris With Love (Morel, Feb. 5th)
Synopsis: In Paris, a young employee in the office of the US Ambassador hooks up with an American spy looking to stop a terrorist attack in the city.
Why You Should See It: Pierre Morel returns just a year after Taken with what looks like a little stupider, a lot sillier and bit more carefree action flick.
6. Frozen (Green, Feb 5th)
Synopsis: Three snowboarders become stranded on a chairlift at a ski resort. Realizing it’ll be a week before the resort opens again, they are forced to make a series of life-or-death decisions.
Why You Should See It: Garnering solid reviews from Butt-numb-a-thon and Sundance, Adam Green’s latest horror/thriller is scary fun. It will do for skiing what Jaws did for swimming says Bloody Disgusting.
5. The Wolfman (Johnston, Feb. 12th)
Synopsis: Nobleman Lawrence Talbot returns to his ancestral homeland, where his brother has gone missing and villagers are being killed by a nightmarish beast. The search reunites him with his estranged father (Hopkins) and draws him near to his brother’s fiancée, however, Talbot’s lager concern is the discovery of a side to himself which he never could have imagined existed
Why You Should See It: Although the production was riddled with turmoil, it should be fun to watch Benecio Del Toro turn into a wolf and Emily Blunt look pretty. Not to mention Anthony Hopkins and editing by Walter Much..among many others.
4. The Red Riding Trilogy (Jarrold, Marsh, Tucker, Feb. 5th)
Synopsis: A series of modern noir films, each helmed by a different director and each taking place in a different year that follow a a serial killer who terrorized northwest England in the 1970s and ’80s.
Why You Should See It: An ambitious modern noir project? I’m there. Hopefully enough people check it out before Ridley Scott does his remake. The lead Andrew Garfield is also breaking into America with David Fincher’s The Social Network and Mark Romanek’s Never Let Me Go later this year.
3. The Ghost Writer (Polanski, Feb. 19th)
Synopsis: A ghostwriter hired to complete the memoirs of a former British prime minister uncovers secrets that put his own life in jeopardy.
Why You Should See It: Roman Polanski is back and finally finished editing his latest while on house arrest. Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan lead this mystery thriller.
2. A Prophet (Audiard, Feb. 26th)
Synopsis: A young Arab man is sent to a French prison where he becomes a mafia kingpin.
Why You Should See It: Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes, this is Audiard’s first film since 2005’s The Beat That My Heart Skipped. Due to the raw style, sprawling story and perfect performances, this is one of the best foreign films I’ve ever seen.
1. Shutter Island (Scorsese, Feb. 19th)
Synopsis: Set in 1954, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels is investigating the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane and is presumed to be hiding on the remote Shutter Island.
Why You Should See It: Scorsese dips into the horror/thriller genre with this tale of twists and surprises. After reading Dennis Lehane’s novel, I’m confident Scorsese is the man to bring justice to the eclectic story. Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Emily Mortimer, Michelle Williams, and Jackie Earle Haley star.
Avoid:
Dear John (Hallström, Feb 5th)
Synopsis: A romantic drama about a soldier who falls for a co-ed while he’s home on leave. Their relationship is tested in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks, an event that causes him to re-enlist for service.
Why You Should Avoid It: Although Lasse Hallström is a talented director, the story looks too sappy to recommend. After sitting through the horrendous Nights In Rodanthe, I’ll just pretend The Notebook is the only Nicholas Sparks adaptation put on film.
Rent:
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (Columbus, Feb. 12th)
Synopsis: Life changes in an instant for troubled 12-year-old Percy Jackson when he learns his birth father is the god Poseidon and he’s looped in on a cross-country mission to settle a feud between his dad, Zeus, and Hades.
Why You Should Rent It: Chris Columbus attempts to kick-off another beloved book saga after starting up Harry Potter. With the more epic-looking Clash of the Titans coming out so soon it’s hard to recommend seeing this one in theaters.
Valentine’s Day (Marshall, Feb. 12th)
Synopsis: Intertwining couples and singles in Los Angeles break-up and make-up based on the pressures and expectations of Valentine’s Day.
Why You Should Rent It: Garry Marshall knows how to direct a romantic comedy and this looks a hell of a lot better than last year’s He’s Just Not That Into You. Although, with the massive cast and no clear storyline, it looks like it may be too ambitious for it’s own good.
The Crazies (Eisner, Feb. 26th)
Synopsis: As a toxin begins to turn the residents of Ogden Marsh, Iowa into violent psychopaths, sheriff David Dutton tries to make sense of the situation while he, his wife, and two other unaffected townspeople band together in a fight for survival.
Why You Should Rent It: This remake looks like it has a slick visual style and a fun performance by Olyphant. It’s hard to fully recommend a film by the guy behind the mess that was Sahara so I say rent it later.
What do you think of the list? What are you looking forward to this month?