This February, in a month typically laden with romance movies up on the big screen, Hollywood is offering something different: action. With a large number of moviegoers looking for a break from the cold, the multiplexes are heating up with new offerings from big stars and the final film of an animation icon.
“The Monuments Men” released on Feb. 7
Originally slated for release last November, George Clooney heads back to the director’s chair with “The Monuments Men,” released on Feb. 7. Based on a book by non-fiction writer Robert Edsel, the film tells the story of a ragtag platoon of seven men – ranging from historians to art curators to museum directors – sent into the battle zones of Nazi Germany toward the end of World War II. With a mission to find and return stolen art masterpieces, the men find themselves in a fight to defend and preserve the culture of mankind. The film’s trailers give off signs that the film is a mix of drama and action, with a healthy dose of low-key comedy. Likely to draw solid box-office numbers thanks to its high-profile cast – including Clooney, Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, John Goodman, Bill Murray and Jean Dujardin (“The Artist”) – “The Monuments Men” seems like a safe bet, a good time with a healthy dose of history.
“RoboCop” released on Feb. 12
Five days later, on Feb. 12, the latest remake of a 1980s science fiction offering hits the big screen. Releasing in 3-D, IMAX and 2-D, “RoboCop” stars Joel Kinnaman (“The Killing”) as a police officer in a futuristic Detroit who is turned into a half-robot, half-human hybrid after being injured in the line of duty. Kinnaman may not be a household name, but the supporting cast includes notable actors such as Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, Abbie Cornish (“Sucker Punch”), Jay Baruchel (“This is the End”) and the most intriguing casting of all: original Batman Michael Keaton as the villain, the evil CEO of the company whose robot technology created the RoboCop. With stellar visuals and solid performances from the trailers, the film looks to be an entertaining ride into the future that the 1987 original first brought to the screen.
“The Wind Rises” released on Feb. 21
Considered to be the primary competition to “Frozen” for the Best Animated Feature Oscar, animation icon Hayao Miyazaki’s swan song before retirement, “The Wind Rises,” hits theaters on Feb. 21. Adapted from Miyazaki’s own manga, the film tells the story of Jiro Horikoshi (voiced by Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who worked as chief engineer on the design of Japanese fighter planes during World War II. Bursting onto the American scene with the masterful “Spirited Away” in 2003, Miyazaki’s career resume also includes acclaimed films such as “Howl’s Moving Castle” and “Princess Mononoke,” as well as his own production company Studio Ghibli. Miyazaki garnered several American stars to voice characters in his final film including Emily Blunt, John Krasinski and Stanley Tucci and judging by the low-key, beautifully animated trailers, he still has the golden touch.
“Non-Stop” released on Feb. 28
Closing out February is Liam Neeson’s “Non-Stop,” which gives Neeson another chance to show audiences his skills as an on-screen vigilante, whether he’s rescuing his daughter in “Taken” or fighting off wolves in “The Grey.” This go-around, Neeson – under the direction of his “Unknown” director Jaume Collet-Serra, also known for making the horror film “Orphan” – plays an air marshal who finds himself fighting to protect passengers on a transcontinental flight when he receives a series of text messages threatening to kill a passenger every 20 minutes. While “Non-Stop” sounds like a run-of-the-mill action movie, the presence of Neeson in the lead gives a sense that it will be an entertaining one. With a supporting cast including Julianne Moore, Michelle Dockery (“Downton Abbey”), Corey Stoll (“Midnight in Paris”) and Lupita N’yongo (currently collecting several awards for her Oscar-nominated supporting role in “12 Years a Slave”), “Non-Stop” looks to be a solid offering for audiences when released on Feb. 28.
