February is the shortest month, but it sure does feel like the longest. This month's diverse new movie releases should keep you distracted. They include a family film, an A24 horror, a new addition to a rom-com franchise, a documentary about an earthquake and a thrilling account of a real-life rescue mission. You can learn something you never knew, get freaked out or giggle and swoon. Maybe all of the above.
'Death Without Mercy'
![Death Without Mercy | Trailer | Laemmle [Theatres] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/L1BRDQprtkI/maxresdefault.jpg)
In 2023, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the Turkish-Syrian border and killed 55,000 people. A new documentary by Syrian director Waad Al-Kateab, "Death Without Mercy," follows two Syrian families in the immediate aftermath of the natural disaster. The doc combines first-hand footage with TV reports, CCTV and drone shots, providing an unseen perspective on the tragedy. As the subjects "search for their missing loved ones," the "corruption, governmental negligence and systemic failures that exacerbated the disaster's impact" are also revealed, said Variety. (Feb. 6 on Paramount+)
'Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy'
There are already three movies centered around Renée Zellweger's zany British heroine Bridget Jones; the first, "Bridget Jones's Diary," was released over 20 years ago. Time flies, even for fictional characters, and the latest installment in the series, "Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy," finds our narrator a mother and widower in her 50s. "We rarely see rom-com heroines after the happy ending, much less watch them age," said The New York Times. (Feb. 13 on Peacock, Feb. 14 in theaters)
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'Paddington in Peru'
During the respective releases of "Paddington" and "Paddington 2," film critics praised everything from the lush production design to the clever dialogue to the heartwarming (but never cheesy) performances. The British tales of a polite Peruvian bear were sweet enough for children to delight in and sour enough for adults to chuckle at. This month, the bear is back with a third addition to the canon, "Paddington in Peru," which sees our hero leaving soggy old England and returning to his ancestral homeland in search of a missing family member. Even if this third installment does not live up to the legend of its predecessors, a "lesser Paddington outing remains vastly superior to most G-rated films," said Tara Brady at The Irish Times. (Feb. 14 in theaters)
'The Monkey'
Osgood Perkins' "Longlegs" was last year's breakout horror and 2024's highest-grossing independent film. The director is not slowing down, releasing a new horror flick based on Stephen King's 1980 short story "The Monkey" less than a year later. As the story goes, when twin brothers Bill and Hal find their father's old monkey toy in the attic, the cursed object leads to a string of grisly deaths. Like cult hits "Get Out" and "Shaun of the Dead," the film blends horror and comedy. "Perkins centers his latest around the suffocating, inescapable inevitability of death," mining that for "absurdist laughs instead of chilling dread," said Meagan Navarro at Bloody Disgusting. (Feb. 21 in theaters)
'Last Breath'
![Last Breath - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters February 28 - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/sNMyooXZZTM/maxresdefault.jpg)
A 2019 documentary also called "Last Breath" detailed the harrowing true story of a diver trapped 330 feet below the surface of the North Sea while conducting routine maintenance on an oil well. The 2012 diving accident ended with diver Chris Lemons being miraculously rescued despite the lack of breathing gas, heat or light. "Last Breath" is a fictional retelling of that incident, a survival thriller starring Woody Harrelson. Claustrophobes, thalassophobes and dark-fearers, steer clear. (Feb. 28 in theaters)
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