It’s the month of love – both for your significant others and for the cinema – and I’ve got a wildly diverse selection of films for you and your special someone to go see.
For your action/comedy mix, check out Love Hurts. Starring Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once) as a successful real estate agent, Marvin, the movie picks up when his past life as a hitman comes back to haunt him. As his own brother comes to town to hunt him down, Quan’s character shows off his comedic form – as well as some serious martial arts moves with bone-crunching sound effects – during the trailer. Directed by Jonathan Eusebio (The Bourne Legacy), a stunt coordinator with 80 films under his belt, the action will surely outclass the story – and sometimes, that’s all you need. It releases on Feb. 7.
If you want some behind-the-scenes footage of rock and roll legends, look no further than Becoming Led Zeppelin. A documentary that charts the band from their beginnings up to their meteoric rise in popularity in the ’70s, the story will be told by the remaining band members Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Robert Plant, with archival and never-before-heard audio from John Bonham, who passed away in 1980. This is the first fully authorized documentary from the band, and a work-in-progress screened in 2021 to a ten minute standing ovation. Hopefully it’s only become better when it releases on Feb 7.
The obligatory superhero movie for this month is Captain America: Brave New World. Starring Anthony Mackie (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) as Sam Wilson/Captain America, the story finds Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford, previously William Hurt) newly elected as president and immediately under fire due to an international incident. Full of plots that require knowledge of multiple other movies and TV shows to fully understand, the film looks to have all the normal Marvel pizzazz, explosions, one-liners and slick looking action when it hits theaters on Valentine’s Day.
For some animated perfection, take a look at The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie. The first original, fully animated feature in the Looney Tunes franchise, it features the voices of Eric Bauza, Candi Milo, and Fred Tatasciore, all noted voice actors. Early screenings have been overwhelmingly positive, praising the story, voice work and animation. Originally set to release on Max – where, in my opinion, it would have languished and died going almost fully unseen – it will now thankfully have a theatrical release on Feb. 28
Lastly, if fantasy and adventure are more your speed, don’t miss The
Legend of Ochi. The story goes like this: In a remote village years ago, children are told not to go out after dark because of the fearsome creatures known as ochi. When a baby ochi is left behind, a young girl (Helena Zengel, System Crasher) takes it upon herself to return the creature to its family. The film also stars Willem Dafoe (Poor Things), Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things), and Emily Watson (Chernobyl). The movie seems to use a beautiful mix of puppetry, animatronics, animation and matte paintings to give the film a wholly unique vibe. It hits theaters on Feb. 28.
Main image credit: Captain America: Brave New World; photo courtesy Marvel Studios, all rights reserved
