February 2010 Movies

Ok, so who else saw Dear John last weekend? Anyone? Just me? Don't judge me.

No, I didn't see the most recent release from Nicholas Sparks' arsenal of testosterone-reducing book to film adaptations (excuse me one second, I need to do 100 pushups, chug a beer and smash the glass over my head), but part of me is happy that it finally stole the box office from the domination that is Avatar. Sidenote: Amanda Seyfried, the woman in this movie, is from Allentown, PA, which I just learned this week. I preferred her role in Jennifer's Body though.

I'm a little confused about what was supposed to be released this past Saturday, February 6th. On what would be Bob Marley's 65th birthday, a documentary was supposed to be released which was rumored almost 2 years ago to be directed by Martin Scorsese. The only information I can get now is that it was instead directed by Jonathan Demme, whose last directorial work was Rachel Getting Married. However, I can't really tell if it was released or not; based on the utter lack of information available, I'd guess not.

Anyway, moving on to the rest of this month's releases...a short month but I have a good pick for each of the three remaining weekends of February...

Starting with this weekend, I gotta go with The Wolfman. Benicio Del Toro really hasn't been in anything bad and has mostly been awesome in his acting gigs, going all the way back to his role as "Duke the Dog-faced Boy" in Big Top Pee-Wee (though if he truly does take the role in the rumored film of The Three Stooges, that streak may end). Anyway, The Wolfman looks like it'll be a good flick. It looks like Benicio as a wolf could kick all the asses of those shirtless whimps from Twilight.

The following weekend will bring us what I think will be the best movie of the month: Shutter Island. I've read a few of Dennis Lehane's novels, this one included, and was merely satisfied with the two that were made into movies: Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone. This one, however, I think will blow those two out of the water, especially with the Marty/Leo team-up. I'm usually not that impressed with a film after having read the book and think that may come into play with this one as well, but I also think it has potential to be an exception.

Bringing us to the last weekend of the month, I'm going to split it between two releases that have potential but probably could wait until DVD. I saw the trailers for Cop Out (Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan) and immediately thought it was going to crash and burn. Pretty much the only thing that's keeping me from continuing that mindset is that, believe it or not, it's directed by Kevin Smith (I know, I was surprised too). The other release that I'm on the cusp about is the horror/thriller flick The Crazies. It's a remake of George Romero's film from 1973 and I'm basing my opinion on seeing the trailer only once or twice, but it looked like it had some creepy potential.

As for DVD releases, I'll be checking out Black Dynamite, The Informant!, Bronson, and A Serious Man. Happy movie watching until next month.