Friday, February 1, 2013

2013 Preview: February

Welcome back to this monthly preview of the upcoming films of 2013. This is Part 2 of 12 and today we'll be looking at the films that will hit theaters in the month of February.


*While January saw the return of the one and only Arnold Schwarzenegger, fellow 80's stars Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis both have new films coming out this month. Stallone's movie, 'Bullet to the Head', starts off the month on the 1st. Directed by Walter Hill (producer of the Alien franchise and director of '48 Hrs.'), Bullet to the Head stars Stallone as Jimmy Bobo, a professional hit-man who joins forces with a young detective to take down an enemy in New Orleans.



*Two other movies hit theaters the same weekend as Bullet to the Head. One of these films is a crime-comedy, 'Stand Up Guys'. Al Pacino stars as Val, a con man who is released from prison and reunites with his old partner Doc, played by Christopher Walken. Little does Val know that Doc has been hired by a man known as Claphands to kill Val as revenge for killing his son.



*The final release of the week is 'Warm Bodies', a zombie romantic comedy film from Jonathan Levine, director of 2011's '50/50', and based on the novel of the same name by Issac Marion. Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: First Class) stars as R, a zombie who wanders around America after a mysterious plague wipes out most of the human population. After eating the brains of the boyfriend of a young woman named Julie (Teresa Palmer), R falls in love with her.



*A slew of new movies hits theaters starting on the 8th of February. The first is a comedy, Identity Thief, directed by Seth Gordon (who helmed 2011's 'Horrible Bosses'). Jason Bateman stars as Sandy Bigelow Patterson, who heads to Florida when he learns that his identity has been stolen by a woman named Diana (Melissa McCarthy).


*'Side Effects' is a psychological thriller from director Steven Soderbergh. Rooney Mara stars as a young woman who tries prescription drugs to deal with her anxiety as she awaits her husband's release from jail. Jude Law, Channing Tatum, and Catherine Zeta Jones co-star.


*This week also sees the first 3-D re-release of the year (one of two (previously five until the cancellation of 'The Little Mermaid 3D' and both 'Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones' and 'Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith') in 'Top Gun', the classic 1986 action film directed by the late Tony Scott starring Tom Cruise as Maverick, a hotshot pilot who enlists at the Navy's prestigious school, Top Gun. The film will see a 6-day re-release in IMAX 3-D starting on the 8th.




*Valentine's Day Weekend is going to be a packed one at the theater as four new movies are set to come out this week, including two romance films (both of which are based off of books), an action film, and an animated film. The first romance film is 'Beautiful Creatures', based off the novel of the same name by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, the first novel in the Caster Chronicles. The story follows a boy named Ethan, who falls in love with a girl named Lena who is revealed to be a Caster, someone that can use magic.



*The other romantic film that weekend is the latest based off of a novel by author Nicholas Sparks, following 'The Notebook', 'Dear John', 'The Last Song', and 'The Lucky One'. In 'Safe Haven', a young woman named Katie (Julianne Hough) moves to the town of Southport, North Carolina harboring a dark secret. While there, she falls in love with Alex (Josh Duhamel), a widower living with his two kids. 'Safe Haven' is directed by Lasse Hallstrom, director of 'Dear John'.



*For the action crowd, this weekend sees the release of 'A Good Day to Die Hard', the fifth entry in the 'Die Hard' series. Bruce Willis reprises his role of NYPD cop John McClane and in this film, he heads to Russia where he becomes involved in a terrorist scheme along with his son Jack (Spartacus' Jai Courtney). It is also the first film in the series to not be based off of either a preexisting novel (Die Hard 1 and 2) or screenplay (Die Hard with a Vengeance/Live Free or Die Hard).


*The animated film released this weekend is 'Escape from Planet Earth'. The film is produced by Rainmaker Entertainment, the company responsible for the first CGI animated series, Reboot, and will be distributed by the Weinstein Company. The film follows astronaut Scorch Supernova, a national hero on his home world of Baab who gets caught up in a trap when he answers an SOS from a dangerous planet.


*A sci-fi horror film hits theaters on the 22nd. Dark Skies is the latest film from Jason Blum, producer of the Paranormal Activity series and Insidious. Keri Russell and Josh Hamilton (the actor from the 1993 film 'Alive', not the baseball player) star as a couple who must save their family from an alien presence.



*The last film to hit theaters in February is Snitch. Dwayne Johnson stars as the father of a teenaged boy who is framed and put in jail for distributing drugs as Johnson's character tries to clear his son's name.



LIMITED RELEASE OF THE MONTH



*'A Glimpse inside the Mind of Charles Swan III' is a comedy film directed by Roman Coppola, son of Francis Ford Coppola. Charlie Sheen stars as Charles Swan III, a successful graphic designer who tries to turn his life around after his girlfriend dumps him. The film will hit theaters in a limited release starting on February 8th.

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