Just as expected, January was a super boring month. I only managed to see Zero Dark Thirty (which is a 2012 movie anyway) and Mama which was nothing to get excited about. Maybe February will be better but probably not by much.
FEBRUARY 1
- Bullet to the Head – Read Will’s resoundingly negative review. I think I’ll pass.
- Warm Bodies – Read Rob’s and my review. We both liked it enough to be glad we saw it, but it was just not quite as good as we had hoped. I’d recommend seeing it though since there’s not much else out to compete.
- Stand Up Guys – Alan Arkin, Christopher Walkin, and Al Pacino reminisce about their criminal past when Pacino gets out of jail. Only thing is Walkin is putting off the inevitable–he’s been ordered to kill him. Seems like a decent set up and the trailer is peppered with some comedy but I can’t help but be put off by its 35% on Rotten Tomatoes. I’d give this one a chance, but probably just at home.
FEBRUARY 8- Identify Thief – Can’t help but think the makers behind this one just wanted to capitalize on the “people want to see Melissa McCarthy be wacky” idea. Which actually is probably true for broader audiences. Is this like what Due Date was for Zach Galifianakis after The Hangover? Well Due Date was okay but nothing close to the initial hilarity of The Hangover (which holds up less and less on further viewing). Let’s just talk about how Craig Mazin wrote this, who was responsible for the complete rehash The Hangover: Part II and a shit ton of spoof movies. That does not bode well for me, although the director Seth Gordon did do Horrible Bosses. This film is going for the same vibe, even down to the poster. Overall, I am very mixed up over this. Unless I hear great word of mouth I’ll probably wait to see this at home.
- Side Effects – And finally, my first movie of the year that I have been heavily anticipating. I’ve spent the last month tuning out any TV spots that I’m sure are getting more and more spoiler-y as the release nears. I love Soderbergh and if he’s so dead set on ending his career now I plan to savor the last of it (along with Behind the Candelabra which will air soon on HBO). The cast is awesome, the trailer looks beyond intriguing and I can’t wait to check this out in theaters.
THU FEBRUARY 14
- Beautiful Creatures – This movie could not be trying harder to be the new Twilight. It looks awful, I’m sure there’s plenty of terrible southern accents, and the special effects should be hilarious. Thing is, Twilight was totally my guilty pleasure movie series. If I see this and end up loving it I’ll be very disappointed in myself, but I won’t be surprised. Maybe it’s best to just avoid it altogether and save myself any potential shame.
- Escape From Planet Earth – I love the old school vibe of this movie’s name and Rob Corddry does voice the main character. But am I living under a rock because I have seen nothing about this. Could be cute but I’m not too worried about seeing it.
- Safe Haven – Is it just me or are these Nicholas Sparks movies getting less of a plot? I’m pretty this one is just good looking dude meets damaged good looking girl. This looks like garbage but I bet masses of single high school girls will make plans to see this with their friends.
- A Good Day To Die Hard – I’m totally behind on these. Besides parts of this series over the year, I haven’t seen one Die Hard movie all the way through. This will change next Monday when FTS takes a trip to the movies to see a screening of the first movie. Maybe I’ll marathon the other three and check this out in theaters. I do love a great action movie.
FEBRUARY 22
- Dark Skies – I think the trailer for this looks great. It’s got a great tone, decent premise, and seemingly good scares. It should at least be very tense and that’s good enough for me as long as it has some thrills.
- Snitch – Jesus, this line up every few weeks of weak movies with the usual action stars is getting a little boring. The Last Stand, Parker, Bullet to the Head, and now Snitch all look and have been received as mediocre or worse. I’ll just wait for Pain & Gain.
What are you looking forward to watching this month?