Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You - February 2012

January is coming to a close, so I thought now would be as good a time as any to take a peek at the movies coming up over the course of the next month. February is generally a weak month for the movies, but the same can also be said of January, which gave us a pair of exceptional thrillers in the form of "Haywire" and "The Grey". Let's take a look.

"You're just a big... well, a big miracle!"

Feb. 3rd: This is a particularly interesting week, as it spotlights a number of somewhat smaller films which are hoping to sell people on intriguing concepts and then survive via good word-of-mouth. The most prominent release is "The Woman in Black," which offers Daniel Radcliffe his first prominent post-Harry Potter role. Even so, the film's inventive promotional campaign has been selling the scares rather than its well-known young actor. We also have "Chronicle," which brings a new spin to "found footage" filmmaking by spotlighting a group of teens who have developed superpowers. Superhero flicks and found footage flicks are both getting wearisome, but a combination of the two is an interesting idea. We'll see whether the public responds. Additionally, Ti West follows up his well-regarded flick "The House of the Devil" with another horror outing, "The Innkeepers." If it generates a similar response, West will have established himself as one of the genre's most prominent voices. Given that all three of the aforementioned pictures are on the dark side, we're also getting the family-friendly and amusingly-titled "Big Miracle" (which stars Drew Barrymore and is directed by the man who gave us "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants"), which is about friendly people saving friendly whales from unfriendly ice.

"Wait... they seriously made a sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth!?"

Feb. 10th: A handful of the month's more high-profile movies arrive on this date, kicking off with the Denzel Washington/Ryan Reynolds thriller "Safe House" (which somehow isn't directed by Tony Scott). If there's one reliable fact in life, it's that Denzel Washington thrillers will always be reasonably entertaining, and a supporting cast which includes Brendan Gleeson, Vera Farmiga, Robert Patrick, Liam Cunningham and Sam Shepard certainly doesn't hurt this one's chances. On the flip side of things, Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams star in the somehow-not-written-by-Nicolas-Sparks romance "The Vow", which is one of the year's most hotly anticipated films for people who like that sort of thing. For the younger viewers, there's "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island", which pretty much wins the award for year's worst title. Making a sequel to the middling "Journey of the Center of the Earth" was a bad idea, and making one without Brendan Fraser is even worse. Still, The Rock seems content to poke fun at his image (whatever may be left of it) and Michael Caine turns up to enliven the proceedings. I've heard mixed things about Oren Moverman's "Rampart", but great things about Woody Harrelson's "Bad Lieutenant"-style performance in it. Harrelson was the highlight of Moverman's tender "The Messenger" a couple of years ago; word is that they fought rather bitterly during the making of this one. Oh, and "The Phantom Menace" is getting re-released in 3-D, because of course it is.

"I have bills to pay. I have bills to pay. I have bills to pay." 

Feb. 17th: I doubt that "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" will be good. However, I do know that it will feature Nicolas Cage urinating fire, so it can't be all bad. I think Ghost Rider's a terrific character, but the first film messed up in almost every way. Cage was actually solid, though, so maybe things worked out this time. Again, I kind of doubt it. It certainly looks more appealing than "This Means War", a romantic comedy with a crummy premise which looks like a painfully unfunny waste of Chris Pine, Tom Hardy and Reese Witherspoon. Finally, there's "The Secret World of Arietty", which is the latest Studio Ghibli offering (and is not directed by Mr. Miyazaki, sadly). I'm certainly going to check it out, but the trailer looks a little less flavorful than most outings from the studio.

"Look, all those dresses in my closet... honey, I can explain."

Feb. 24th: The director of "Role Models" offers up "Wanderlust", which stars Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston in a film which is being described as, "enthusiastically ribald." Okay. Tyler Perry offers up an earnest, comedy-free outing in the form of "Good Deeds" (in which Tyler Perry learns that he is out touch because he doesn't know how much a gallon of milk costs), and Amanda Seyfried stars in the dreary-looking and blandly-titled thriller "Gone" (hey there, Wes Bentley!). The curiosity is "Act of Valor", a Navy SEAL-themed action flick which stars actual Navy SEALs. Expect awkward line readings and exceptional stunt work.

Picks of the Month:

3. Chronicle (I guess)

Brought to you by the color gray.

2. The Woman in Black (I guess)

"You're taking this seriously, right?"

1. Safe House (I mean, it could be good)

"Yeah, I saw Green Lantern. It was... I mean, the special effects were pretty good."

Not really feeling confident about anything heading into the next month, but there are certainly some items with potential.

Anything which strikes your fancy among the flicks listed here?

Back at ya later