7 Movies for a Fantastic February
January might be the coldest month here in Chicago technically, but for me, February is the toughest month to get through. Between the holiday hub-bub wind-down and celebrating my birthday and my son’s birthday later in later in the month, January’s 31 days fly by. It’s not until February that I fully realize that we’re in the thick of winter, it’s freezing out, there’s another snowstorm coming, and wait why exactly is it that I’ve chosen to live in the Midwest my entire life again?
Thankfully, we have a getaway at the end of February to catch a Cubs Spring Training game in Arizona. But until then, it’ll be these new movies at the Box and Redbox On Demand that keep my spirits afloat until March.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife – Bustin’ still makes me feel good—decades after the original Ghostbusters hit theaters in 1984. Carrie Coon, Paul Rudd, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace and lots of fun cameo appearances will keep you entertained as the next generation continues the tradition of taking down paranormal baddies.
Clifford the Big Red Dog – You likely remember the Clifford books from your childhood, and I’m happy to say that this live-action adaptation (with a gigantic CGI’d Clifford) stays true to their sweet themes and family-friendly escapades. Darby Camp and Jack Whitehall play a middle-school girl and her uncle who go on a mad dash across Manhattan to keep Clifford out of the hands of a scientist who’s up to no good.
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City – A reboot of the film franchise that starred Milla Jovovich—as well as a much more faithful adaptation of the popular video games of the same name—this first new installment, starring Kaya Scodelario and Robbie Amell, takes us back to 1998 to show us how the franchise’s disastrous zombie outbreak first started.
King Richard – This “origin story” of Venus and Serena Williams stars Will Smith as their father, Richard, who had a plan for his daughters to dominate the world of tennis since the day they were born.
Encanto – Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Encanto soundtrack has just made it to the top of the Billboard charts for a 4th week. Its breakout song, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” has even landed in the #1 spot on the Hot 100—something it did more quickly than even Frozen’s “Let It Go.” So when this animated Disney movie hits Redbox On Demand next week, you can finally find out what all this fuss is about Bruno!
Eternals – Later in the month on February 22, a team of ancient heroes—played by Angelina Jolie, Gemma Chan, Richard Madden and more—lands at Redbox, and on Earth, to help save humankind from reaaalllllyyyyy bad creatures called Deviants.
American Underdog – Also on February 22 comes this inspiring true story of St. Louis Rams football player Kurt Warner (Zachary Levi) and how—against all odds—he achieved his dream of becoming a Super Bowl MVP quarterback.