Yeah, this is gonna be a regular thing now. I went to the theaters ten times this month. And only one of those was to see a movie a second time. This list will recount and review all the movies I saw for the first time in theaters during the month of February. In the order I saw them.
The Finest Hours was a decent “based on a true story” movie. And just happens to be probably the least good movie I saw this month. It was all uphill from here. Gripping at times. The acting wasn’t bad. In fact, Wally West from The Flash TV show was randomly in this. I just don’t think I’ll ever see this again.
SEE IT ONCE.
A love letter to ‘50s Hollywood. There are just minutes-long segments of the movie to indulge in some ‘50s-type movie scene. Thankfully, the trailer didn’t spoil a gut-busting plot point. Oh, goodness, this movie was so funny. Hail, Caesar! The one movie this month that can grammatically be a sentence. How about that? I’m a big Coen Brothers fan. Huge. And an actor I didn’t even know can sing was all up in that for a song and dance number. If you love the very concept of film, see this movie.
SEE IT MORE THAN ONCE.
This movie shouldn’t have been good, but it totally was. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies worked when it had no right to. Unlike Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, this movie followed Seth Grahame-Smith’s novel very closely. Thankfully, one plot point from the book wasn’t covered. Matt Smith was the highlight of the film as he played quite the foppish dandy. The fight scenes were fun and exciting. Cinderella can kick ass! Cersei Lannister even had some good scenes.
SEE IT MORE THAN ONCE.
Movie of the month and in strong contention for movie of the year, Deadpool was a blast from start to finish. If you hadn’t guessed it already, this is the movie I saw more than once. The jokes were great, the fourth wall breaks were even better, and the references to the broader popular culture did not feel forced. Organic is the word. The soundtrack was also really well done. Ryan Reynolds and director Tim Miller nailed the character perfectly. Let’s all forget Weapon 11 ever happened.
SEE IT A MILLION TIMES!
The Lady in the Van was an enjoyable film. Maggie Smith, an actress I’ve seen few places outside the Harry Potter film franchise, reprised a role she had played both on stage and radio. A mostly unbearable and unstable homeless woman manages to be charming. Lots of snooty British people getting their apple carts upset. And I think we can all get behind that.
SEE IT MORE THAN ONCE.
Why it took this long for a Jesse Owens bio pic to get made, I’ll never know. The on-the-nose titled Race did justice to a rather amazing athlete. I will say his story lacked much in the way of a rival (although they briefly tried to shoehorn in one,) so his accomplishments on the field are largely a fait accompli. It’s the off the field stuff from race in 1930s America to the ethics of attending an Olympics hosted in Germany during the Hitler regime that displayed the difficulty Jesse Owens went through. You could feel the evil emanating off the guy playing Joseph Goebbels, which is fitting I guess. Jason Sudeikis surprised in a rare dramatic turn.
SEE IT MORE THAN ONCE.
What will probably be the best Christian pander movie this year (there are at least four of them coming out,) Risen gives us the tale of the Roman Tribune tasked with hunting down the body of Jesus. What he discovers, unsurprisingly, gives him a literal “come to Jesus” moment. Oddly, they only refer to Jesus as Yeshua throughout the film. I realize this is the common Hebrew way to refer to Jesus, but the actors speak English throughout the film. Whatever. Cliff Curtis plays Jesus. Also known as the main character from Fear the Walking Dead. Yeah, that guy. Thankfully, although I called this a Christian pander film, there are no head-slappingly stupid moments in reference to that. I respect a filmmaker who doesn’t cheapen my religion by talking down to me.
SEE IT MORE THAN ONCE.
I almost didn’t see this movie. I’m glad I did. Zoolander 2 was ridiculous and chockablock with celebrity cameos. Some of which came out of absolutely nowhere. I enjoyed the first one a lot, so I guess it’s unsurprising I liked this one. Although last year’s two comedy-sequels-that-came-out-a-few-years-later-than-they-should-have were both awful, this one worked.
SEE IT MORE THAN ONCE.
We got two Olympic athlete films this month and within a week of each other! Eddie the Eagle is the one I enjoyed slightly more. A not very good athlete who has dreamt since as long as he can remember of representing his country at the Olympics works through all the people telling him it’s fruitless to finally fulfill that dream. At the same Olympics as the Jamaican bobsled team! Yes, the one from Cool Runnings. I really enjoyed the music in this film. Felt so ‘80s. Taron Egerton will have a long career.
SEE IT MORE THAN ONCE.
I realize I ranked most of the movies this month as “SEE IT MORE THAN ONCE.” I just see myself seeing these movies again at some point, presumably when I purchase them on DVD or Blu-ray. This ranking doesn’t mean all the films that received it are of the same quality. Think of them as getting a B rating, between 80-89. “SEE IT ONCE.” can then be seen as a C rating. Make sense? Good. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice comes out next month, and I think I’ll probably enjoy it.