February Movie Preview: (Furry) Blue Valentine
With the release of our February movie preview, it’s time to start planning that perfect night with your special someone. Luckily we have the perfect Valentine’s Day movie date for you. Nothing says romance like a talking blue hedgehog with super speed attempting to thwart an evil genius. It really sets the heart aflutter. But if that’s not for you, the February movie list has some good variety. Here’s our full preview.
February 7th– Birds of Prey
Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn has mostly seen its loquacious subtitle ditched in favor of the more advertising friendly name Birds of Prey. But those advertisements still focus almost exclusively on Margot Robbie’s Quinn. The plot has Harley Quinn team up with other superheroines to stop a crime boss and save a little girl. Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Jurnee Smollett-Bell co-star as Huntress and Black Canary respectively.
February 14th– Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island, The Photograph, Sonic the Hedgehog
Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island fulfills the greatest fantasies of a group of island visitors. A horror version of the Ricardo Montalbon series from the 70s, it’s quite clear that this isn’t going to go well for the tourists. Lucy Hale and Maggie Q star. Fantasies include revenge on a bully and resurrecting a deceased loved one. Screaming and running away come soon after.
The only romance movie hitting theaters on Valentine’s Day is Photograph. The story has LaKeith Stanfield playing a journalist who falls for a woman (Issa Rae) while writing a profile about her mother. A whirlwind romance ensues while Rae’s character worries about committing after considering her mother’s struggles with love.
It’s a real watershed moment in the world of Internet outrage. After the first trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog dropped, a lot of people had thoughts about the look of the titular animated character. A few days later it was announced that the movie would be delayed as the studio adjusted the animation. Now we have a Sonic that looks more like the video game version. We also can’t forget that Jim Carrey stars as the over-the-top villain Dr. Robotnik.
February 21st– Brahms: The Boy II, The Call of the Wild
In 2016, Lauran Cohan starred in The Boy as a nanny charged with looking after a life-like doll. Well it turned out that doll was alive… and evil. Brahms: The Boy II is a sequel to that story. When a family moves into the guesthouse on the grounds where the first movie takes place, their son finds and befriends the doll. That brings about a series of haunting events. Katie Holmes and Owain Yeoman star as the human boy’s spooked parents.
Based on the novel written 100+ years ago, The Call of the Wild follows a domesticated dog named Buck who is stolen from his California home and sold as a sled dog in Alaska. After becoming a tough wild dog in order to survive the harsh environment, Buck, becomes pals with an outdoorsman played by Harrison Ford. Large portions of this adventure film, including Buck, are CGI. Harrison Ford is actually there though… or so we’re told.
February 28th– The Invisible Man
Horror movies are bad enough with monsters and ghosts that pop out, but The Invisible Man takes it to the next level with that villain being invisible. Based on the HG Wells classic, this modern take has Elizabeth Moss starring. After her abusive ex apparently dies, she doesn’t believe it to be true. Then the creepiness begins. She connects the dots that it’s an invisible person terrorizing her, but other people just think she has lost her mind.
As I usually gravitate toward the big action blockbusters, my picks among the February movies have to be Birds of Prey and Sonic the Hedgehog. Will either of those movies be good? I have no idea. But out of respect for my younger self watching Batman: The Animated Series and playing Sonic on SEGA Dreamcast, I have to pick them. Nostalgia wins.