New Movies You Won’t Want to Miss: Feb. 12-14

This Valentine’s Day weekend features the premieres of multiple favorites from the recent Sundance film festival and a couple of other Oscar hopefuls:

Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar (Amazon Prime Video)

From the people who brought you Bridesmaids, comes Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar, a film about two lifelong friends who leave their midwestern town for the first time in their lives and embark on the adventure of a lifetime. Critics are calling it a cult-classic comedy in the making.

Land (Theaters)

You may know her from The Princess Bride, Land marks the directorial debut of actress Robin Wright. The film is about a depressed woman who leaves her city life behind in the pursuit of finding her will to live somewhere out in the great outdoors. The film is full of beautiful landscapes and showcases a compelling performance from its first-time director. Read my full review here: https://moviereviewstoday.com/2021/02/01/2021-sundance-film-festival-the-fourth-day/

Minari (Theaters)

A breakout film from Sundance’s 2020 film festival, Minari stars The Walking Dead‘s Steven Yeun as the father of a Korean-American family that moves to a small Arkansas farm in the pursuit of the American Dream. Kristen Yoonsoo Kim from The Nation calls the film “a poignant immigrant drama that can be felt with all five senses.” Also, did I mention it’s an A24 film?

Judas and the Black Messiah (Theaters and HBO Max)

Saving the best for last, I could not praise Shaka King’s newest film enough. Judas and the Black Messiah is a film that will spark difficult conversations, is an unflinching drama that portrays the tense relationship between the African American community and the police, and hosts two of the best performances I’ve seen all year from LaKeith Stanfield and Daniel Kaluuya. This is not a film to be missed. Read my full review here: https://moviereviewstoday.com/2021/02/02/judas-and-the-black-messiah-makes-a-splash-at-sundance-film-festival/

Other notable films releasing this weekend include The French Exit in limited theaters, a Woody Allen-esque film starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Lucas Hedges, and The World to Come, a melancholic lesbian period piece starring Vanessa Kirby and Katherine Waterston.

Author: Teddy Frederick

Movies have been my passion since I was a young teenager. I had realized how much I loved going to the theater and watching something on the big screen, and I wanted to feel that sensation as often as possible. I began seeing as many movies as my schedule and wallet could allow, and in wanting to give back to the film community and myself, I wrote film reviews. I first posted them under the audience reviews of Rotten Tomatoes; if I ever go back to those posts now I cringe at the writer I used to be. In 2018, I had the idea to start my own space to post my content and thus Movie Reviews Today was born. I am a film and media studies student at Arizona St. University. I am also a three-year shift supervisor with Starbucks. My hope is to soak up as many movies and movie knowledge as I can moving forward and to share my passion with my readers. View all posts by Teddy Frederick