On to February’s list!
February 1: Look for a zombie comedy romance (yep, all
three) in Warm Bodies (PG-13) starring Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer and John Malkovich. We also have Sylvester Stallone as a
New Orleans hitman in Bullet to the Head ( R) teaming with Sung Kang (as a D.C.
cop) to take down the person who killed their respective partners – it also
stars Jason Momoa and Christian Slater. And in limited release, Stand Up Guys (
R) comes to the big screen with Al Pacino, Alad Arkin and Christopher Walken as
old-school con men out for one last hurrah.
February 8: Identity Thief ( R) stars Jason Bateman and
Melissa McCarthy, but I have to ask myself why these two actors would stoop so
low? McCarthy steals Bateman’s identity, and he tracks her down on his own. A
few laughs, but not one I’ll go see. Side Effects ( R) looks a bit more
promising for my tastes: Jude Law as a psychiatrist who’s patient (Rooney Mara)
starts exhibiting some strange side effects from prescribed medication. It also
stars Channing Tatum and Catherine Zeta-Jones. I do like a psychological
thriller.
February 15: Bruce Willis returns as John
McClane in A Good Day to Die Hard ( R) as the always-in-the-middle-of-things
cop travels to Russia,
assuming he’s going to help his wayward son (Jai Courtney) only to discover
that Junior is CIA. Is this the series hand-off to a younger generation?
This weekend’s busy. Look for Beautiful Creatures (PG-13), a
supernatural thriller (the TV promos look interesting) with an intriguing turn
by Emma Thompson as an evildoer. Also stars Alice Englert, Viola Davis, Alden
Ehrenreich, Jeremy Irons and Emmy Rossum; based on the books by Kami Garcia and
Margaret Stohl. Safe Haven (PG-13) is the latest adaptation of a Nicholas
Sparks’ novel, and it stars Julianne
Hough, Cobie Smulders and Josh Duhamel – tearjerker, I’m sure. Escape From Planet Earth (not yet rated) is sure to pull in the younger crowd; the animated
comedy stars the voices of Brendan Fraser, Rob Corddry, Jane Lynch, Jessica
Alba, Sofia Vergara and William Shatner, among many.
February 22: Only two movies are scheduled to be released
the last weekend of the month. Snitch (PG-13: really?) stars Dwayne Johnson as a father going undercover to save his son
from a set-up drug charge. It also stars Jon Bernthal, Susan Sarandon and Rafi
Gavron. Dark Skies (not yet rated) is another supernatural thriller (I’ll
probably skip this one) about a family faced with a deadly force, starring Keri
Russell, Josh Hamilton, Dakota Goyo and J.K Simmons.
A couple of titles caught my eye for March: Oz the Great and Powerful, The Call, Admission, and The Place Beyond the Pines. The first one is
probably a must for me, being a native Kansan; The Call stars Halle Berry and
the trailers look kind of scary; Admission stars Tina Fey and Paul Rudd and it
looks pretty good, but it might be more drama than comedy; and the last one
looks a mite depressing but it’s getting good buzz. Stay tuned!
Don’t forget the telecast of the 85th Academy Awards at 6
central Sunday, February 24, on ABC. We’ll talk about the Oscars next week.
In the meantime, see ya at the movies!