3 For February

Well, I warned you about January. I saw only one 2011 movie last month despite numerous occasions to head to the theater. February, though, is the jump start for this year. There's nothing great headed our way in my mind, but there are enough interesting and fun movies to keep us afloat through the Academy Awards.

3. "Gnomeo and Juliet," February 11 - James McAvoy, Emily Blunt
Obviously a loose adaptation of "Romeo and Juliet", this one finds our star crossed lovers taking the form of garden gnomes in rival yards. On the down side, this was bounced from development at Disney when John Lassiter took over. On the plus side, I like animated movies and this trailer cracked me up for reasons I can't quite explain. I'm not expecting Pixar quality but I'm hoping for a fun night out if nothing else.

2. "I Am Number Four," February 18 - Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Dianna Agron
Nine survivors from an alien planet take refuge on earth only to find that their enemies have tracked them down. Being the sci-fi dork that I am, how am I not going to get a little excited about this? Timothy Olyphant is a dynamite villain, which is what he'll play here, and while I can't say the rest of the cast does much to get me going, I'm happy to give them a chance. Director DJ Caruso is on the short list for Great Director of the Future and what he did with "Disturbia" got my attention. I'm cautiously optimistic.

1. "Unknown," February 18 - Liam Neeson, January Jones, Aidan Quinn
I went back and forth on which of these three films would top the list and finally went with the one that has the best chance of being a legitimately GOOD film rather than just entertainment. Liam Neeson plays a doctor who, after a car crash, wakes up in a hospital and finds that his life has been hijacked. The obvious comparison to 2009's "Taken" is fair but the added psychological element takes it to a whole new level. And if nothing else, I'm not sure any movie star has a better time on screen than Neeson these days.