For the first time in Movies of the Week history, there are actually some decent releases! It’s Valentine’s Day weekend, but luckily the studios aren’t forcing romantic comedies down everybody’s throats. Then again, maybe there’s a reason two sci-fi movies are coming out this weekend: some people need to escape when they don’t get any “Be Mine” candy hearts.
Definitely, Maybe
Ryan Reynolds stars as the father of a 10 year-old, played by Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine, No Reservations), in the midst of a divorce. His daughter wants to know all about her parent’s marriage, how they fell in love and what life was like when he was still single.
Turns out, there were three women Reynolds had loved. He changes the names of the women so his daughter doesn’t know which one became her mother, and neither do you. As the story unravels, the chance for another try at love sparks (of course: it’s Valentine’s Day.)
Written and directed by the guy behind Wimbledon, the movie has gotten overall good reviews. “A surprisingly clever romantic comedy,” said the Associated Press.
So if dinner and a movie is what the menu of love requires, consider this your best bet.
Spiderwick Chronicles
From Nickelodeon comes the film adaptation of The Spiderwick Chronicles. Jared Grace and his family move from New York to a house in the middle of the woods, once owned by their great, great Uncle Spiderwick.
Weird stuff happens, like disappearances and accidents, and it’s up to Jared to figure out what’s going on. There are magical creatures and they look pretty cool.
Directed by Mark Waters (Mean Girls, Freaky Friday), it’s pretty, shiny, happy stuff for recapturing the kid in us.
Step Up 2: The Streets
Anyone who’s seen Step Up should be throwing up red flags, asking how the hell a sequel could get made. Once again, a fish out of water has to “risk everything”, because all she wants to do is hip-hop dance.
Throw in a hot guy and some snotty girls, and you have the plot. It’s choreographed by Jamal Sims, the guy behind the first Step Up, along with Dave Scott (Stomp the Yard) and Hi-Hat. At least there will be some sweet moves.
Jumper
While most of these are speculative, I can say for a fact that this is a bad movie. Hayden Christensen stars as David Rice, who realizes when he’s 15 that he can teleport. Plot holes and unlikable characters abound. Can’t wait for Jumper 2!
Luckily, it looks nice, including an impressive fight scene in the Coliseum. Doug Liman (Mr. and Mrs. Smith, The Bourne Identity) knows how to keep energy high, but it’s a bang-pow-punch of bad dialogue and even worse acting.