We all know that January is where Hollywood dumps its crapburgers – although we did better than usual this year, thanks to Haywire and The Grey – but February usually brings some of the more interesting genre films of the year, and each of them has an actual shot at finding an audience, thanks to the lack of mega blockbusters. This year is no exception. Even your Valentine’s Day offering has gunfights in it. Here are the top 12 films competing for your heard-earned dollars this month, and our advice on how to spend that currency wisely. Sneak preview: The Phantom Menace 3D doesn’t qualify.
Chronicle (Rated PG-13)
Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Alex Russell, Dane DeHaan
Directed by: Josh Trank
Opening: February 3
A new twist on the “Found Footage” genre: a group of teenagers develop psychic powers and document their attempts to master them. What starts out as some kind of superhero YouTube video gradually turns truly epic.
CraveOnline’s Call: We’ve already seen Chronicle, so we’re just going to say it. Go see this f*cking movie. The enigmatic marketing campaign is designed to avoid spoiling the film, but the unfortunate side effect has been that they’re withholding all the good parts. This movie is everything the American Akira remake should be, and almost definitely won’t.
The Woman in Black (Rated PG-13)
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Janet McTeer, Ciarán Hinds
Directed by: James Watkins
Opening: February 3
Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe gets his first post-franchise role as a young lawyer terrorized by a vengeful spirit. Based on the novel by Susan Hill, which had previously been adapted into a Made-for-TV film directed by the venerable Herbert Wise (I, Claudius).
CraveOnline’s Call: When Hammer Film Productions started up again a few years ago, this is the kind of movie we all expected them to make: nice spooky period piece with creepy houses and British character actors. We’re on board for that alone, but the fact that the screenwriter of Kick-Ass and X-Men: First Class is involved is pretty reassuring too. But the real story here is whether Radcliffe can open a film that isn’t based on an existing pop culture phenomenon. We’re guessing not so much, but we have our own theories on why that is…
The Innkeepers (Rated R)
Starring: Sara Paxton, Pat Healy, Kelly McGillis
Directed by: Ti West
Opening: February 3
Two hotel workers (Paxton and Healy) spend their last few nights on the job trying to prove that the Yankee Peddler Inn is really haunted, aided by a actress/psychic played by Top Gun’s Kelly McGillis.
CraveOnline’s Call: Two haunted house movies in a single weekend? We’d say it was Christmas, but it’s clearly more like Halloween. The Innkeepers is a creepy treat of a horror film that actually makes you want to scream “Don’t go in there!” It doesn’t quite hold up to West’s last movie, the brilliant House of the Devil, but it does cement him as one of the most exciting young directors working in the horror genre. Oh, and Sara Paxton is destined for stardom. Just give her time.
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (Rated PG)
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Josh Hutcherson, Vanessa Hudgens, Luis Guzman, Michael Caine
Directed by: Brad Peyton
Opening: February 10
The sequel to 2008’s Journey to the Center of the Earth very loosely adapts one of Jules Verne’s other fantasy novels, The Mysterious Island. A surprisingly impressive cast joins Hunger Games star Josh Hutcherson as they explore a magical land of 3D CGI creations.
CraveOnline’s Call: So Journey to the Center of the Earth sucked pretty hard, but it made money so now we’re getting another one. We expect a contemporary Around the World in 80 Days is next, and involves some truly atrocious airport delays. It looks stupid as hell, but at least it clearly knows that. We’re passing, but it might be okay for the little kids in your life.
Safe House (Rated R)
Starring: Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Robert Patrick, Vera Farmiga, Sam Shepard
Directed by: Daniel Espinoza
Opening: February 10
Young CIA agent Ryan Reynolds has an easy job: just watch over a fugitive Denzel Washington in a safe house. Well, it turns out it’s not so safe…
CraveOnline’s Call: No thanks. Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds are both great screen presences, but they have an unfortunate tendency to make films that aren’t worthy of their star power. Unless Daniel Espinoza directs the hell out of this generic-looking thriller, Safe House seems destined to go down as one of their lesser projects.
Rampart (Rated R)
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Sigourney Weaver, Anne Heche, Cynthia Nixon, Ben Foster, Steve Buscemi, Ice Cube, Ned Beatty
Directed by: Oren Moverman
Opening: February 10
Woody Harrelson stars as a Los Angeles beat cop whose life unravels after a police brutality charge brings his utter corruption to light.
CraveOnline’s Call: Another one we’ve had the pleasure of seeing, Rampart is Oren Moverman’s follow-up to 2009’s Oscar-nominated drama The Messenger, co-written by L.A. Confidential author James Ellroy. The material is pretty familiar to police drama enthusiasts – you’ll find a fair amount of The Shield in here – but it’s all just an excuse to watch Woody Harrelson give the best performance of his career. He didn’t get nominated for an Oscar, but he shoulda been a contender.
