February movie reviews

In theaters:

SHELTER

The latest Jason Staham movie is generic even by his standards (this is half Safe, half Beekeeper), but it's an okay watch. 

SEND HELP

Sam Raimi's super entertaining dark comedic thriller where mousy office worker Rachel McAdams and her douchebag boss Dylan O'Brien crash land on a deserted island. The comedy is very funny, led by McAdams in the kind of full bloom, going for it movie star performance she has been so rarely afforded. 

GOOD LUCK, HAVE FUN, DON'T DIE

My favorite film of the year to this point, a super creative, weird, wacky time travel sci-fi comedy. A well cast Sam Rockwell leads a cool ensemble that also has Zazie Beetz and the always terrific Haley Lu Richardson. This thing is like 12 Monkeys if it was made by the Rick and Morty team. Shockingly, it was directed by Gore Verbinski, a filmmaker who has been doing big projects for over 20 years, but few I have liked at all. 

CRIME 101

We used to get these big star-driven crime movies a lot, and I miss them. This one is definitely aching to be Heat, and it's not made with that level of precision, but it's a more than solid film. The plot weaves interestingly. The cast is really good, led by a stoic Chris Hemsworth, and with strong turns by Mark Ruffalo and Halle Berry. Barry Keoghan's character beings a lot of out of left field energy. The romantic subplot is a little bland, but it gives us plenty of the stunning Monica Barbaro. 

HOW TO MAKE A KILLING

Dark comedy in which Glen Powell sets about to kill all the family members in his way to collecting a huge inheritance. It's a decent watch, but never truly clicked as a comedy or as a thriller. I feel like Powell is on auto pilot. 

COLD STORAGE

Went into this one, well, cold, and came out really satisfied. This is a genuine B movie, in which a deadly fungus from space threatens to take over a small town. Somehow, this movie features Liam Neeson, Lesley Manville, and Vanessa Redgrave (WHAT?). The leads are the enjoyable Joe Kerry from Stranger Things and Georgina Campbell from Barbarian. Some of the fx are really bad, but it's the kind of movie where that doesn't even bother me. 

Everything else:

IF I HAD LEGS I'D KICK YOU

Okay, I'm still on board with Jessie Buckley winning the Oscar, but Rose Byrne is SO good in this, as a relentlessly put-upon mother dealing with constant problems and getting no help from anybody. This is a stressful film. It makes Uncut Gems seem relaxing. It's very, very good, though. 

WILDCAT

Well, I've seen worse throwaway Kate Beckinsale action movies. This one contains at least a little effort. It's just a shame what's she's done to her face and her career. 

THE MARSH KING'S DAUGHTER

This drama with the always terrific Daisy Ridley starts out a lot like a more thriller-y version of Room, then pivots into a more conventional and bland thing. 

SWEET GIRL

Jason Momoa seeks revenge on the health care execs who denied his dying wife life-saving care. This thing has some okay action, and Isabela Merced is terrific as his tag along daughter, but boy, is your film in trouble when you need Momoa to emote. And the film has a weird twist for twist's sake that makes no sense. 

WEIRD: THE AL YANKOVIC STORY

The best music biopic in ages, and the only possible way a Weird Al biopic could be made, as a fully committed parody of the genre. I laughed my ass off at parts of this thing, cause they fully commit to the bit, as the story of Al's rise quickly spins off into subplots involving a torrid affair with Madonna (Evan Rachel Wood in maximum gum snap) and a violent clash with Pablo Escobar. Daniel Radcliffe is really good as Al, and there are some fun cameos. It's a damn shame that this got dumped on a low tier streamer.