By now, all you stargazers are aware of the films in contention for the coveted Best Picture Oscar. This year, there are ten nominees and if you haven't seen all of them, you have the whole month of February to play catch up.
I've seen 9 of the 10 nominees. Now that The Blind Side has been nominated I have no more excuses for avoiding it. There are also a handful of other films with acting and technical nominations I plan to see.
You'd think it would be a busy month with all those Oscar must-sees plus the February releases. Luckily, Hollywood is looking out. February has a paltry eight major releases (according to IMDB). Aside from a couple of prime choices, this month's gang bang participants are a shabby bunch. Come see what I mean:
Exercise the Right To Cinematic Celibacy.
Valentine's Day (02.12) Remember when one quirky, feel-good indie film gave rise to dozens of mediocre ones? Love Actually did the same for intertwined ensemble romances. If the quantity vs. quality formula holds, the staggering number of actors in Valentine's Day guarantees this will be an abysmal story (that, and Taylor Swift's debut as an 'actress').Dear John (02.05) I've never actually seen any movie adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel, but that doesn't stop me from hating. Channing Tatum's starring credit adds merit to my disdain. Sorry, Amanda Seyfried, but I'll save my cash for your sexy turn in Chloe and keep my love for Judd Hirsch's sitcom untarnished.
It's Friday, I Don't Want to be Alone.
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (02.12) The desperate need for this to be the Harry Potter replacement franchise is woefully obvious, and I initially dismissed this as such. However, lots of action, a decent story and some solid acting talent has piqued my interest. The appearance of Rosario Dawson in no way lifted this out of cinematic celibacy - honest!
Shutter Island (02.19) Since last Oscar season I have sat through this EXACT SAME TRAILER. That's four seasons of experiencing what had once struck me as mysterious and thrilling. At this point I feel compelled to see it, but my desire to do so has crumbled to ash like Michelle Williams' character.
The Crazies (02.26) Seeing Timothy Olyphant play the man behind the badge brings me back to those good ol' Deadwood days,though I doubt this premise will be nearly as satisfying or complex. The gore-drenched thrills and chills will offer a nice escape from heady Oscar material, as long as I can get over the film's horrible title.
Cop Out (02.26) Things I enjoy: Bruce Willis's comical, fun-loving side; Tracy Morgan and his insane 30 Rock antics; and Kevin Smith's R-rated movies (i.e. everything but Jersey Girl). So how is it the combination comes off more overstuffed with cheese than overflowing with genius? I hope the trio's skills will overcome any script, but I'm not convinced I should pay to find out.
Moist With Antici...Pation!
From Paris with Love (02.05) An out-of-control John Travolta performance has a fifty-fifty chance of success. Director Pierre Morel is batting two for two in my book and writer-producer Luc Besson is the go-to guy for action. Combine that, the steamy Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and a metric shit ton of exploding cars and I'll wager with those odds.
The Wolfman (02.12) I am still upset studios pulled this from releasing on my birthday last fall. Werewolves are my preferred horror monster, and even the awkward rock score attached to this trailer won't deter me from opening weekend. The effects look spectacular and watching Benecio unleash the beast on Emily Blunt should prove... stimulating.
***There are a handful of worthwhile limited releases I'm excited to see (My Name Is Khan, The Ghost Writer, and Frozen) so give them a chance should you find them opening in your neck of the woods. Otherwise, I suggest your February goal be to experience all the Oscars have to offer and rest up for a more enjoyable stable of releases next month.
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Percy, The Wolfman,and Frozen.
ReplyDeleteThe last 2 I will definitely see, Percy I might see just for Alexandra Daddario.
Have you heard about all the problems The Wolfman has had?
I'd love to see Frozen, but I don't see it coming around here for months.
ReplyDeletePercy should be good for the "adventure thrill" fix, but it'll have to take a backseat to my OScar catch-up.
I know Wolfman got pushed back several times and they bickered over the rating. I worry it will be slow and overblown, but as long as I can ogle Emily Blunt for a third of the runtime, it won't be all bad.
I want to see Wolfman and possibly Percy Jackson and Frozen. Valentine's Day is getting murdered by reviewers so you are definitely right on this one.
ReplyDeleteIt can not be understated how awful this month looks in terms of new releases. Oh, how I long for the days of Ninja Assassin...
ReplyDeleteI had interest in seeing The Wolfman...until the reviews came out and trashed the shit out of it. Though, now I kinda want to see it just to see how bad it is.
Percy might be "fine," but c'mon, is that the best they can give us?
Frozen - haha. I thought the trailer was a joke. Reminded me of Open Water 2, if that tells you anything (aside from what it says about my late night cable viewing habits).
@Castor- Percy Jackson is growing on me, the positive reviews are helping. Saw Wolfman while my wife went to Valentine's Day. She definitely suffered for her sin of patronage. Wolfman was not bad, not great either.
ReplyDelete@Fletch- Open Water 2, haha! I had forgotten they had even made that. I found myself laughing at parts of Frozen's trailer, but unless reviews for it are crap, I'll check it out.
February has sucked so bad I've already been thinking about spring/summer; Iron Man 2, A-Team, Hot Tub Time Machine though beyond those summer's looking weak, too.
I didn't find Wolfman terrible. My review should be up this week.
Shutter Island and The Crazies for me (altho' I'm on a streak of not seeing movies in theaters since August - yikes!): because SI seems so un-Scorcese-like and The Crazies, well, Timothy Olyphant just = yum.
ReplyDeleteAugust, whoa?! I'd be in an insane asylum right now if I had not been to a theater that long.
ReplyDeleteWe love watching Skeazy Timothy Olyphant. I'll probably catch Crazies at the second-run.
Have you heard about his new show, Justified, on F/X? He looks cool as a cucumber in the promos.