Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar is Lionsgate’s comedy film, directed by Josh Greenbaum (New Girl), from a screenplay by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo. The film stars Wiig (Wonder Woman 1984, Her, Bridesmaids), Mumolo (Bad Moms, Bridesmaids), Jamie Dornan (The Fall, Fifty Shades trilogy), Wendi McLendon-Covey (The Goldbergs), Vanessa Bayer (Trainwreck), and Damon Wayans Jr. (Happy Endings).
The film follows best friends Barb and Star, who leave their small Midwestern town for the first time to go on vacation in Vista Del Mar, Florida, where they soon find themselves tangled up in adventure, love, and a villain’s plot to kill everyone in town. It is scheduled to be released on PVOD.
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar VOD release date: February 12, 2021
To All the Boys: Always and Forever
To All the Boys: Always and Forever is Netflix’s original teen romantic comedy directed by Michael Fimognari. The film is based on Jenny Han’s 2017 novel ‘Always and Forever, Lara Jean‘ and is a sequel to To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You (2020), and the third and final installment in the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before film series which began in 2018. Fimognari previously directed the second installment.
The film stars Lana Condor (X-Men: Apocalypse), Noah Centineo (Charlie’s Angels, The Perfect Date), Janel Parrish (Pretty Little Liars), Jordan Fisher (Work It), Ross Butler (13 Reasons Why), Madeleine Arthur (Snowpiercer), Emilija Baranac (Riverdale), C. Ernst Harth (Capote), Sarayu Blue (Blockers), and Lisa Durupt (Heartland).
The film follows Lara Jean Covey (Condor) as she prepares for the end of high school and the start of adulthood, a pair of life-changing trips leads her to reimagine what life with her family, friends, and Peter (Centineo) will look like after graduation.
To All the Boys: Always and Forever Netflix release date: February 12, 2021
Willy’s Wonderland
Willy’s Wonderland is an action horror-comedy film directed by Kevin Lewis (The Drop), written by G. O. Parsons, and produced by Nicolas Cage. This is a crazy dumb action entertainer to watch where everything goes wild and it will be released through video on demand.
It stars Nicolas Cage (National Treasure, Kick-Ass, The Rock), Emily Tosta (Mayans M.C.), Ric Reitz (Safe Haven), Kai Kadlec (Dropouts), Taylor Towery (Little), Christian Del Grosso (Mono), Caylee Cowan (Sunrise in Heaven), Terayle Hill (Step Up: High Water), Jessica Graves Davis (Out of Time), Jonathan Mercedes (Cobra Kai), David Sheftell (The Young and the Restless), and Beth Grant (Donnie Darko, Speed).
The R-rated film follows a quiet drifter who finds himself stranded in a remote town when his car breaks down. Unable to pay for the repairs, he is tricked into spending the night cleaning Willy’s Wonderland, an abandoned family fun center. But this wonderland has a dark secret that the “The Janitor” is about to discover.
He soon finds himself trapped inside Willy’s and locked in an epic battle with the murderous demonic animatronic mascots that roam the halls. The mundane tasks suddenly become an all-out fight for survival, he must fight his way through each of them. Fists fly, kicks land, titans clash — and only one side will make it out alive.
Willy’s Wonderland VOD release date: February 12, 2021
Saint Maud
Saint Maud is a psychological mystery horror film written and directed by Rose Glass in her feature directorial debut. It stars Morfydd Clark (His Dark Materials, The Personal History of David Copperfield), Jennifer Ehle (Zero Dark Thirty), Lily Knight (Their Finest), Lily Frazer (Motherland), Turlough Convery (Killing Eve), Rosie Sansom (Episodes), and Marcus Hutton (Brookside).
The story follows hospice nurse Maud (Clark), a recent convert to Roman Catholicism, who becomes obsessed with a former dancer (Ehle) in her care, believing she must save her soul. But sinister forces, and her own sinful past, threaten to put an end to her holy calling.
Saint Maud had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 8 September 2019 and was released in the UK on 9 October 2020. The R-rated film received widespread acclaim from critics, praised for its directing, atmosphere, performances, and score. It had a limited release in the US on 29 January 2021 and now will be released through VOD. The film holds a 91% RT score based on 103 reviews making this a must-watch.
Saint Maud VOD release date: February 12, 2021
Supernova
Supernova is a romantic drama film written and directed by Harry Macqueen (Hinterland). The film stars Colin Firth (Kingsman, The King’s Speech), Stanley Tucci (Spotlight, The Lovely Bones), James Dreyfus (Mount Pleasant), Pippa Haywood (Bodyguard), and Sarah Woodward (The Pale Horse).
The film follows a couple, Sam (Firth) and Tusker (Tucci), partners of twenty years, who are traveling across England in their old camper van visiting friends, family, and places from their past. Following a life-changing diagnosis, their time together has become more important than ever until secret plans test their love like never before.
Supernova had its world premiere at the San Sebastián International Film Festival on 22 September 2020. It is released in the US on 29 January 2021 and is scheduled to be released in the UK on 5 March. The R-rated film holds a 86% RT score based on 103 reviews with much praise for the lead performances. It is now releasing through VOD. You can read our review for Supernova below!
RELATED: SUPERNOVA MOVIE REVIEW: COLIN FIRTH AND STANLEY TUCCI ELEVATE EMOTIONAL DRAMA
Supernova VOD release date: February 16, 2021
Nomadland
Nomadland is Searchlight Pictures’ contemporary Western drama directed, written, edited, and co-produced by Chloé Zhao (The Rider and upcoming Marvel’s Eternals). It is based on the 2017 non-fiction book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder, and stars Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Fargo) in the lead.
McDormand also produced the film. It also features David Strathairn (Lincoln), as well as real-life nomads Linda May, Swankie, Bob Wells, and Peter Spears (Call Me by Your Name) as fictionalized versions of themselves.
The R-rated film follows a woman in her sixties by the name of Fern (McDormand) as she picks up the pieces of her life after losing everything during the Great Recession and embarks upon a journey through the American west, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad, learning something about herself and life in the process.
Nomadland premiered on September 11, 2020, at the Venice Film Festival, where it won the Golden Lion. It also won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, making it the first film ever to win the top prize at both Venice and Toronto. The film garnered acclaim, and various critics and publications have cited it among the ten best films of 2020.
Now it will be simultaneously released in select theatres, drive-ins, and on Hulu. It is going to be a frontrunner for many awards, it is likely going to get nominated for Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, and Best Actress. It holds a 95% Rotten Tomatoes score based on 229 reviews making it a must-watch film as it is likely to win some major awards.
Nomadland (theatres & Hulu) release date: February 19, 2021
The Mauritanian
The Mauritanian is STX films’ legal drama directed by Kevin Macdonald (How I Live Now, The Last King of Scotland) from a screenplay written by M.B. Traven, Rory Haines, and Sohrab Noshirvani. The film is based on the 2015 memoir, Guantánamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Salahi, a true story of Salahi’s experience of being held for fourteen years without charge.
The film stars Jodie Foster (The Silence of the Lambs, Taxi Driver), Tahar Rahim (A Prophet), Shailene Woodley (The Fault in Our Stars, Big Little Lies), Zachary Levi (Shazam, Chuck), Saamer Usmani (What/If), and Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange, The Imitation Game, Sherlock).
The film follows Mohamedou Ould Salahi (Rahim), who is captured by the U.S. government and is languishing in Guantanamo Bay detention camp claiming falsely without charge or trial. Pretending to lose all hope, Salahi finds allies in defense attorney Nancy Hollander (Foster) and her associate Teri Duncan (Woodley). Together, they face countless obstacles in a desperate pursuit for justice.
Their controversial advocacy, along with fabricated evidence uncovered by the formidable military prosecutor, Lt. Colonel Stuart Couch (Cumberbatch), eventually reveals a shocking and far-reaching conspiracy without any evidence. The R-rated film so far holds a 62% RT score based on 26 reviews. The Mauritanian is set for a wide theatrical release.
The Mauritanian release date: February 19, 2021
Flora & Ulysses
Flora & Ulysses is Disney+ original family superhero comedy film directed by Lena Khan (The Tiger Hunter) from a screenplay by Brad Copeland and based on the children’s novel of the same name by Kate DiCamillo.
It stars Matilda Lawler (The Block Island Sound), Alyson Hannigan (How I Met Your Mother, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Ben Schwartz (Sonic the Hedgehog, Parks and Recreation), John Kassir (Pete’s Dragon), Anna Deveare Smith (Black-ish), Danny Pudi (Community), Benjamin Evan Ainsworth (The Haunting of Bly Manor), Janeane Garofalo (Ratatouille), and Kate Micucci (Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?).
The film follows an imaginative and creative 10-year old cynic named Flora (Lawler). When she rescues a squirrel she names him Ulysses (Kassir), she is amazed to discover that he possesses unique superhero powers, which take them on an adventure of humorous complications that ultimately change Flora’s life–and her outlook–forever.
This movie feels like a story of Marvel’s Squirrel Girl except the girl doesn’t have powers and it’s the squirrel who is a super. The family adventure will be released on Disney+.
Flora & Ulysses Disney+ release date: February 19, 2021
I Care A Lot
I Care A Lot is Netflix’s original black comedy thriller film written and directed by J Blakeson (The 5th Wave, Gunpowder). The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2020. It stars Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl, Pride & Prejudice), Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones), Eiza González (Baby Driver, Bloodshot), Chris Messina (Birds of Prey, Argo), and Dianne Wiest (Life in Pieces, The Mule).
Premise: Poised with shark-like self-assurance, Marla Grayson (Pike) is a professional, court-appointed crooked legal guardian for dozens of elderly wards whose assets she seizes and cunningly bilks through dubious but legal means. It’s a well-oiled racket that Marla and her business partner and lover Fran (González) use with brutal efficiency on their latest “cherry,” Jennifer Peterson (Wiest) — a wealthy retiree with no living heirs or family. But when their mark turns out to have an equally shady secret of her own and connections to a powerful gangster.
The R-rated film is scheduled to have a streaming release in most countries through either Netflix or Prime Video depending on the region. Netflix will release in the US, Germany, Latin America, South Africa, the Middle East, and India. Prime Video will release in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, and the UK. So far it holds a 93% RT score based on 28 reviews with praise for its story and Pike’s performance.
I Care A Lot (Netflix or Prime) release date: February 19, 2021
Silk Road
Silk Road is Lionsgate’s crime thriller written and directed by Tiller Russell (Outlaw Empires). It stars Jason Clarke (The Devil All the Time), Nick Robinson (A Teacher & Love, Victor), Alexandra Shipp (X-Men: Age of Apocalypse, Dark Phoenix), Katie Aselton (She Dies Tomorrow), Jimmi Simpson (Westworld), Daniel David Stewart (Catch-22), Darrell Britt-Gibson (Barry), Lexi Rabe (Avengers: Endgame), and Paul Walter Hauser (I, Tonya).
Inspired by larger-than-life actual events, the film follows the rise and fall of Silk Road, the infamous darknet site that sent a seismic shock through the World Wide Web. Young, idealistic, and driven to succeed, Ross Ulbricht (Robinson) creates the internet’s first unregulated marketplace: Silk Road.
But when it becomes a multimillion-dollar pipeline for illicit drugs, Ross is set on a collision course with Rick Bowden (Clarke), a disreputable and dangerously unpredictable DEA agent, who will use any means necessary to take him down. The R-rated film is set for a limited theatrical release and VOD release.
It is scheduled to be released on February 19, 2021, by Lionsgate.
Silk Road VOD release date: February 19, 2021
The Killing of Two Lovers
The Killing of Two Lovers is Neon Pictures’ drama film, written, directed, produced, and edited by Robert Machoian (God Bless the Child). It stars Clayne Crawford (Lethal Weapon), Sepideh Moafi (The Deuce), Chris Coy (The Deuce), Avery Pizzuto, Arri, Bruce, Jonah, and Ezra Graham.
The film follows David (Crawford), who desperately tries to keep his family of six together during a separation from his wife, Nikki (Moafi). They both agree to see other people but David struggles to grapple with his wife’s new relationship.
It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2020. The R-rated film so far holds an 82% RT score based on 17 reviews. Now it will have a limited theatrical release along with a digital release.
The Killing of Two Lovers VOD release date: February 23, 2021
Minari
Minari is A24’s drama film written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung (Abigail Harm, Lucky Life). A semi-autobiographical take on Chung’s upbringing, the plot follows a family of South Korean immigrants who try to make it in rural America during the 1980s.
It stars Steven Yeun (Okja), Han Ye-ri (Worst Woman), Alan Kim, Noel Kate Cho, Youn Yuh-jung (Sense8), Esther Moon, and Will Patton (The Postman).
A tender and sweeping story about what roots us, Minari follows a Korean-American family that moves to a tiny Arkansas farm in search of their own American Dream. The family home changes completely with the arrival of their sly, foul-mouthed, but incredibly loving grandmother. Amidst the instability and challenges of this new life in the rugged Ozarks, Minari shows the undeniable resilience of family and what really makes a home.
The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2020, winning both the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award. It was named one of the ten best films of 2020. It is going to be a frontrunner for many awards, it is likely going to get nominated for Best Picture, Director, Best Actor, and Supporting Actress.
So far it holds a 99% RT score based on 90 reviews making it a must-watch film as it is likely to win some major awards. It will have a theatrical release on February 12 2021 followed by a VOD release.
Minari VOD release date: February 26, 2021
Tom & Jerry
Tom & Jerry is WB’s live-action/computer-animated slapstick comedy adventure film based on the characters of the same name created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, produced by the Warner Animation Group. The film is directed by Tim Story (Fantastic Four) and written by Kevin Costello.
It stars Chloë Grace Moretz (Kick-ass, Suspiria), Michael Peña (Ant-man), Rob Delaney (Deadpool 2), Colin Jost, Pallavi Sharda (Lion), and Ken Jeong (The Hangover, Community) in live-action roles, while the voices of the titular characters are provided by Hanna, Mel Blanc, and June Foray, via archival voice recordings, alongside Frank Welker (Scooby-Doo).
The film’s story follows Jerry taking up residence in a fancy hotel in New York City with Tom hired to keep him from ruining an important wedding until they have to put their differences aside to face against a staffer antagonizing the two.
This film is also following the HBO Max release strategy. Tom & Jerry is set to be theatrically released in the US with a one-month simultaneous streaming release on HBO Max. It will have a normal theatrical release internationally. All the Tom & Jerry lovers and classic cartoon fans should not miss this.
Tom & Jerry HBO Max release date: February 26, 2021
The Vigil
The Vigil is IFC Midnight’s supernatural horror film written and directed by Keith Thomas in his feature directorial debut. It stars Dave Davis (The Walking Dead), Menashe Lustig (Menashe), Malky Goldman (Unorthodox), Fred Melamed (WandaVision), and Lynn Cohen (Munich). The film is executive produced by Jason Blum through his Blumhouse Productions banner.
The film is set over the course of a single evening. Low on funds and having recently left his insular religious community, Yakov (Davis) reluctantly accepts an offer from his former rabbi and confidante (Lustig) to take on the responsibility of an overnight “shomer,” fulfilling the Jewish practice of watching over the body of a deceased community member. Shortly after arriving at the recently departed’s dilapidated house to sit the vigil, Yakov begins to realize that something is very, very wrong.
The Vigil premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival in September 2019. The film so far holds a 92% RT score based on 38 reviews. It is now scheduled to be released through VOD and in select theatres in the US.
The Vigil VOD release date: February 26, 2021
The Father
The Father is a drama film directed by Florian Zeller, written by Zeller and Christopher Hampton based on Zeller’s 2012 play Le Père. The film stars Anthony Hopkins (The Two Popes, The Silence of the Lambs, Thor), Olivia Colman (The Crown, The Favourite), Mark Gatiss (Sherlock), Imogen Poots (Vivarium, Green Room, Castle in the Ground), Rufus Sewell (The Man in the High Castle), Ayesha Dharker (Coronation Street), and Olivia Williams (The Sixth Sense).
The story follows an aging Welshman (Hopkins) who must deal with his progressing memory loss as his daughter (Colman) moves into his flat with him. He refuses all assistance from his daughter as he tries to make sense of his changing circumstances. He begins to doubt his loved ones, his own mind, and even the fabric of his reality.
The Father had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on 27 January 2020 and it was previously scheduled for December 2020 release but it got postponed. Now it is set to be released in the US this month by Sony Pictures Classics, and later in the UK on 12 March by Lionsgate.
The film received acclaim from critics, who lauded Hopkins and Colman’s performances and praised its depiction of dementia. The movie already gathered a lot of awards buzz. It is likely going to get nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor, and Supporting Actress. The film currently holds a 100% RT score based on 50 reviews making it a must-watch.
The Father release date: February 26, 2021
The United States vs. Billie Holiday
The United States vs. Billie Holiday is Hulu’s original biographical musical drama film directed by Lee Daniels (Precious, Empire), screenplay by Suzan-Lori Parks, based on the book Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs by Johann Hari. Andra Day (Marshall) stars in the lead role of Billie Holiday.
Inspired by Holiday’s life story, this is the intimate tale of a fierce trailblazer which examines her struggles with addiction, fame, and heartbreaking love, and whose defiance through music helped usher in the civil rights movement.
The film also stars Trevante Rhodes (Moonlight), Natasha Lyonne (Orange Is the New Black), Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy), Miss Lawrence, Rob Morgan (Bull, Daredevil), Da’Vine Joy Randolph (Dolemite Is My Name), Evan Ross (Star), Tyler James Williams (Detroit), Tone Bell (Fam), and Erik LaRay Harvey (Luke Cage).
The film follows legendary Billie Holiday (Day), one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time who spent much of her career being adored by fans across the globe. Beginning in the 1940s in New York City, the Federal Department of Narcotics targeted Holiday with an undercover sting operation led by black Federal Agent Jimmy Fletcher (Rhodes), with whom she had a tumultuous affair. It is in a growing effort to escalate and racialize the war on drugs, ultimately aiming to stop her from singing her controversial and heart-wrenching ballad, “Strange Fruit.”
The lead actress, Andra Day is getting a lot of praise for her performance. The film got a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in Drama and Best Original Song. This film will debut on Hulu this month.
The United States vs. Billie Holiday Hulu release date: February 26, 2021
Which February movies are you most excited about? Which movies will you be seeing during the month of February? Let us know in the comments below or on our social media and be sure to come back to The Illuminerdi for more movie news!
