Keep reading for a look at our ten most anticipated movies hitting screens this month!
Another month down, another month begun, and is is always the case there are movies worth being excited about — we hope. The ten movies below are hitting screens big and small over the next four weeks, and while I’ve seen a few of them already the rest are titles I’m anticipating for one reason or another. Will they all turn out great? Not a chance. But I’m a dreamer too…
10. Primal Rage
Release date: 2/27
“A newly reunited young couple’s drive through the Pacific Northwest turns into a nightmare as they are forced to face nature, unsavory locals, and a monstrous creature, known to the Native Americans as Oh-Mah.”
Pros: It’s a new Bigfoot movie! If my ranked list of 47 — that’s 47! — Bigfoot movies shows anything it’s that I am always and eternally a sucker for movies about the big hairy beast despite the pretty high rate of duds. Having seen this one I can say with certainty that it would land somewhere in the top 15 of the sub-genre thanks to creative and plentiful gore, an engaging story, and some terrific creature design.
Cons: Again, having seen it, I can also say the dialogue leaves a lot to be desired, and some of the acting isn’t much better.
9. Game Night
Release date: 2/23
“A group of friends who meet regularly for game nights find themselves trying to solve a murder mystery.”
Pros: Jesse Plemons, Rachel McAdams, Jason Bateman, Lamorne Morris, Chelsea Peretti, and Kyle Chandler in a comedy about murder? Yes please.
Cons: The otherwise very nice John Francis Daley also directed the abysmal and horribly unfunny Vacation remake and writer Mark Perez also gave us The Country Bears.
8. Diverge
Release date: 2/6
“The survivor of a deadly virus is given the chance to reclaim his lost life by stopping the man responsible for the disease.”
Pros: Time travel movies hold the potential for twisted thrills and mind-boggling fun, and this one is something of an indie Twelve Monkeys as a man travels back to the present from a future devastated by a virus to prevent the catastrophe. It features some solid turns and ideas all the way through to the end.
Cons: As an indie it’s unable to deliver much in the way of big or memorable set-pieces.
7. Braven
Release date: 2/2
“A logger defends his family from a group of dangerous drug runners.”
Pros: You gotta love the simplicity of that synopsis, and the film delivers well on its admittedly one-note premise. Jason Momoa is a charismatic and believably capable hero, and Garrett Dillahunt always makes for a terrifically mean bad guy. It’s old-school action done right.
Cons: The big finale features some abysmal green-screen work that ends the film on an unfortunate note.
6. Double Lover
Release date: 2/14
“Chloé, a fragile young woman, falls in love with her psychoanalyst, Paul. A few months later she moves in with him, but soon discovers that her lover is concealing a part of his identity.”
Pros: From 8 Women to Swimming Pool to In the House, director Francois Ozon has shown himself highly capable of infusing tales with variable degrees of suspense, character, and sex appeal. His latest promises a smart thriller at the intersection of love, lust, and lies.
Cons: It’s Ozon’s 18th film, and it’s a spotty enough filmography that this potentially generic thriller may end up as one of his less memorable ones.
5. The Cured
Release date: 2/23
“A disease that turns people into zombies has been cured. The once-infected zombies are discriminated against by society and their own families, which causes social issues to arise. This leads to militant government interference.”
Pros: Zombie horror played itself to death over the years, but recently a new sub-genre has emerged positing what happens once the infected are cured. This thriller follows a similar setup and sees the previously “undead” left to repent for their flesh-eating crimes as they try reintegrating back into society. It’s an intriguing premise, one the trailer suggests builds to a disastrous outcome, and with Ellen Page in the lead it promises to be a well-acted descent into hell.
Cons: A few films have touched on this idea, from The Returned to They Came Back, and it’s unclear if this one has anything new to say.
4. The Tag-Along 2
Release date: 2/6
“A mother goes in search of her missing teenage daughter after her sudden disappearance. She is told that her daughter was last seen in the company of a girl in red, leading the mother to attempt to unravel the mystery behind the girl.”
Pros: The Tag-Along is one of 2015’s best and creepiest horror movies, so I’m all in for a sequel from the same creative talents.
Cons: A sequel isn’t necessary, of course, and there’s a risk that an attempt to explain the truth behind the horror will dampen it instead.
3. Before We Vanish
Release date: 2/2
“Three aliens travel to Earth in preparation for a mass invasion, taking possession of human bodies.”
Pros: Kiyoshi Kurosawa makes smart, beautifully-crafted films, and while he usually dabbles in horror this very human tale of alien invasion succeeds on a more emotional and thought-provoking way. It’s exciting at times, but its greatest beats come in dialogue exchanges and moments of realization.
Cons: As a genre-blender it may not work as well for viewers wanting more action/bloodletting than it delivers.
2. Annihilation
Release date: 2/23
“A biologist signs up for a dangerous, secret expedition where the laws of nature don’t apply.”
Pros: Jeff VanderMeer’s novel, the first in a trilogy, is a trippy mind-bender concerned with ideas, observations, and outcomes, and I’m stoked to see it come to the screen with these talents on and off screen. Writer/director Alex Garland (Ex Machina) is joined by Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Benedict Wong, and Oscar Isaac, and that’s a slice of sci-fi heaven.
Cons: Studio reps reportedly called it “too intellectual” which, let’s be honest, is probably something that belongs in the Pros category.
1. Black Panther
Release date: 2/16
“T’Challa, after the death of his father, the King of Wakanda, returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation to succeed to the throne and take his rightful place as king.”
Pros: Where to start… Ryan Coogler (Creed) directs, the cast includes Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Andy Serkis, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Sterling K. Brown, and more, and it opens up a new world in the Marvel Universe in a big way.
Cons: The only downside here is if you let yourself be over-hyped by the expected advance praise and its place in pop culture history. Yes it’s breaking some new ground, but it’s still just a superhero movie from the same studio who gave us Iron Man 2 and Thor: The Dark World.