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The New Movies of February 2017, In Order of Anticipation

By  · Published on February 2nd, 2017

From cursed videos and singing mermaids to stylish hitmen and white people, these are the movies we’re most excited to see in theaters this month.

February is the shortest month of the year, but the theaters seem more packed than ever. We take a look at our ten most anticipated new releases of the month below, and yes, you can probably predict our number one pick.

10. Rings (2/3)

Pros: Gore Verbinki’s The Ring remains a great horror movie and a rare remake that surpasses the original, so it seems only fair to give the sequel the benefit of the doubt. Plus, if one ring was scary just imagine how frightening multiple rings will be. Right? Right?!

Cons: Verbinski’s sitting this one out (as is star Naomi Watts), and while new director F. Javier Gutiérrez (Before the Fall) has one good film under his belt it’s unclear if he can deliver the creepy goods. Also, and this really can’t be overstated, Akiva Goldsman is one of the three credited writers.

9. The Space Between Us (2/3)

Pros: It’s a fish out of water tale about a teenager (Asa Butterfield, Hugo) born on Mars who comes to Earth for the first time and finds love with Britt Robertson (Tomorrowland), and honestly I just like the simplicity of it. Toss in Gary Oldman, Carla Gugino, and BD Wong, and it might just be the YA/sci-fi movie we’ve been waiting for.

Cons: Uh, it’s from the writer of Collateral Beauty.

8. Land of Mine (2/17)

Pros: This World War II drama about German POWs tasked with digging up millions of land mines has already won dozens of awards and is nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at this month’s Oscars. It’s probably safe to assume some Nazis go boom.

Cons: With our luck the message of the film will be that we shouldn’t want Nazis to go boom.

7. The Great Wall (2/17)

Pros: Director Zhang Yimou (House of Flying Daggers, Hero) makes incredibly attractive epics, and the still above suggests this will be another colorful and exciting experience. Plus, who among us isn’t psyched to see Matt Damon fighting monsters?

Cons: With our luck the message of the film will be that we need a giant wall of our own.

6. American Fable (2/17)

Pros: I know next to nothing about this one, and that’s a luxury typically reserved for festival films. What I do know is that it’s a slice of magical realism starring Kip Pardue and Richard Schiff and that it’s the feature debut from writer/director Anne Hamilton.

Cons: Maybe there’s a reason I haven’t heard anything about it?

5. Get Out (2/24)

Pros: Jordan Peele makes his feature debut with a racially-themed riff on The Stepford Wives, and the result is an entertaining film with a strong comedic bent and some sharp observations on casual racism and relationships.

Cons: Peele’s script stumbles on the thriller aspects with a weak threat and poorly thought-out logic.

4. The Lure (2/3)

Pros: It’s a funny, sexy, wickedly creative musical about cannibal mermaids turned lounge singers in Poland.

Cons: I mean, it obviously won’t be for everybody.

3. A Cure for Wellness (2/17)

Pros: Gore Verbinski may have skipped out on the Ring sequel, but he’s back with an R-rated, two and a half hour horror epic about a mysterious spa in the Swiss Alps. It looks absolutely gorgeous with its mix of the gothic and the dream-like, and writer Justin Haythe also wrote the severely under-seen thriller The Clearing.

Cons: Advance word from a handful of folks who’ve seen it hasn’t been great.

2. The LEGO Batman Movie (2/10)

Pros: 2014’s The LEGO Movie is still awesome, and one of the best elements of it was the time spent with Will Arnett’s Batman. The trailers for this one look like they’ve captured the spirit of the character without losing any of the original’s charm and humor.

Cons: The original film’s Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are involved solely as producers with writing and directing duties going to people who have yet to prove themselves on the feature front. There’s also the chance that part of what made Batman so great in the first movie was his presence in short doses.

1. John Wick: Chapter Two (2/10)

Pros: John Wick’s back. This seems like a no-brainer, but if that alone isn’t enough Keanu Reeves is joined once again by director Chad Stahelski and writer Derek Kolstad, and the supporting cast includes Laurence Fishburne, Ruby Rose, Peter Serafinowicz, Peter Stormare, and Franco Nero alongside returning favorites Ian McShane and Lance Reddick.

Cons: Recent action sequels like Jason Bourne and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back showed us that sometimes our heroes shouldn’t come back, but I’m thinking Wick can buck that trend.

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Rob Hunter has been writing for Film School Rejects since before you were born, which is weird seeing as he's so damn young. He's our Chief Film Critic and Associate Editor and lists 'Broadcast News' as his favorite film of all time. Feel free to say hi if you see him on Twitter @FakeRobHunter.