A Few Movies in February

Jean Teller November and December found me at the movie theater for Skyfall, Lincoln, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and Les Misérables. And I would recommend any of them. A friend also recommends The Impossible, Silver Linings Playbook and Zero Dark Thirty. Another friend says that Hansel and Gretel isn’t that great, so it might go on the to-rent list.

Lincoln, nominated for a number of Academy Awards, stars Daniel Day Lewis as the 16th president.

A few others currently in the theater that you might be interested in: Django Unchained, Gangster Squad, Quartet, Broken City. Oh, and The Last Stand. No, wait, forget that one. Arnold did not do well in his return to the box office. We’ll see how his contemporary Sylvester fares with his new release this weekend.

From my rental list, here are a couple of recommendations: Hugo, Brave, and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.

The Impossible is based on a true story, and it stars Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor.

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Quartet stars Pauline Collins and Maggie Smith as retired musicians.

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.

Bullet to the Head is another shoot-em-up starring Sylvester Stallone.

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.

Identify Thief is a comedy starring Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy.

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?

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A Good Day to Die Hard is the latest of the John McClane adventures starring Bruce Willis, this time with Jai Courtney as his son, Jack.

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.

Beautiful Creatures is a supernatural thriller, starring Emma Thompson, Jeremy Irons and Alice Englert.

Safe Haven, adapted from a book by Nicholas Sparks, stars Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel.

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!

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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!