Monthly Movie Guide - February 2012

January has come and gone as it often does and movie-goers are ready to see what February has to offer. Does this leap year have something special up its sleeve? Take a look below to find out.

Daniel Radcliffe has officially moved on from the wizarding world of HARRY POTTER. First, he performed in the Broadway hit, “How To Succeed In Business,” and on February 3, audiences can fear for his life in THE WOMAN IN BLACK. A paranormal thriller based on the book by Susan Hill, Radcliffe plays a young lawyer, who after traveling to a secluded village, learns that a particular house is the haunting ground for a ghost known as, well, “The Woman in Black.” As he tries to uncover the truth behind the story, Radcliffe catches glimpses of the woman, which the townspeople claim is a bad omen. Ciarán Hinds, who co-starred with Radcliffe in HARRY POTTER (and pops up again in GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE) also appears in the film and unless the trailer showed all the good parts, this looks to be a ghoulish good time (shameless ghost pun intended).

If you fear THE WOMAN IN BLACK will be too terrifying for the kids, take them to see BIG MIRACLE instead, also opening February 3. Starring Drew Barrymore and THE OFFICE’s John Krasinski, the story (based off true events) follows cameraman Adam (Krasinski), who wishes to escape from the dreary news world of Alaska. However, when a family of whales (nicknamed Fred, Wilma, and Bam-Bam) becomes trapped in an expanding ice form in the middle of the Arctic Circle, Adam enlists the help of environmentalist—and ex-girlfriend—Rachel (Barrymore). Together, they pull assistance from the town and world in order to save these giant, gentle animals. The moral of the story will show kids that standing up for what you believe in will cause miracles, and in this film’s case, it will cause BIG MIRACLE’s.

Don’t fret action fans because there is certainly something for you to enjoy this month as well. Denzel Washington and resident funny man Ryan Reynolds team up in SAFE HOUSE, opening February 10. Washington stars as a renegade CIA agent whose safe house is attacked. After escaping with a down-on-his-luck operative (Reynolds), who wants nothing more than to prove he’s capable of being a full-fledged agent, the two become unlikely allies in trying to track down the people wanting Washington dead. While the plot seems overdone (the premise of a best agent/rookie agent team has been seen time and time again) fans will most likely enjoy the concept of Washington and Reynolds together. Putting serious with comic does often pay off (see Bruce Willis and Justin Long in LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD for an example) so it’ll be interesting to see how this chemistry works out.

Pushed up from its initial February 17 release date, THIS MEANS WAR instead opens on Valentine’s Day and what a lovely film to see with your beloved. Chris Pine and Tom Hardy star as spies and best friends who have worked together for years taking down bad guys and saving the world. Sadly, their partnership is about to hit a snag when they both meet and fall in love with Reese Witherspoon (who wouldn’t?). Now they’re about to use their skills on each other in order to win the girl. Cheesy? Sure, but to be honest this film looks like it doesn’t take itself seriously, which is good because this is the type of movie that can go one of two ways. It’ll either bring in a decent pull from the box office or it will slump and have endless bad reviews. This hubber will leave the decision to you.

I think most of us can agree that GHOST RIDER was not the best adapted movie from a comic book. Still, that didn’t stop the studio from throwing in money for a sequel. GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE opens February 17 and Nicolas Cage returns as the cursed fiery skeleton. This time around he’s teaming up with recent Golden Globe winner Idris Elba and his monks in order to save a young boy from the devil, played by THE WOMAN IN BLACK’s Ciarán Hinds. Truthfully, that’s all you need to know except that the film is being released in 3D and 2D. It’s safe to say you can’t do any worse than the first film, though whether this one will surpass it remains to be seen.

If the action film SAFE HOUSE wasn’t for you then you might want to check out GONE, opening February 24. Amanda Seyfried portrays Jill, a closed off young woman, who after returning home from work one night discovers that her sister has been abducted. Having escaped a kidnapping last year, Jill believes the same man that took her also took her sister. With the police thinking she’s just upset, Jill has no choice but to take matters into her own hands. Aware that her sister might only have until sundown to live, Jill is in a race against the clock as she works to track down the abductor and make him pay once and for all. Will this be Seyfried’s best? Probably not, but it does seem to be a thrilling popcorn flick and there’s also the nagging question of whether it’s real or all in Jill’s head.

That about sums it up for February. Some other films you might want to check out this month include CHRONICLE (February 3), THE VOW (February 10), and ACT OF VALOR (February 24). Go forth and enjoy movie-goers and I’ll see you in March!