FEBRUARY FILMS
By Lori Vernon
It’s been five years since everything
was "awesome" and now the citizens of
Bricksburg reunite in an all-new action-
packed adventure to save their city. They
are now facing a massive new threat:
LEGO DUPLO invaders from outer space,
wrecking everything faster than it can be
rebuilt. The battle to defeat the invaders
and restore harmony to the LEGO uni-
verse will take Emmet, Lucy, Batman, and
their friends to far away, unexplored
worlds, including a strange galaxy where
everything is a musical. Chris Pratt,
Channing Tatum, Elizabeth Banks, Tiffany
Haddish, Will Arnett, and Stephanie
Beatriz provide voices.
The Prodigy
The Rhythm Section
T
he Academy announces its winners
February 24, which means only three
more weeks of speculation about
whether Lady Gaga will win Best Actress,
Roma will be the first non-English Best
Picture, or if Spike Lee will finally get his
Best Director Oscar. No matter who you’re
rooting for it’s safe to say we’ll all be grate-
ful when it's over. Here's what's new this
month.
Piercing
February 1 • Rated R
Directed by Nicholas Pesce
Family man Reed (Christopher Abbott)
plans a business trip, but instead of a
toothbrush, he packs a murder kit.
Everything is set: check into a hotel and
kill an unsuspecting victim to rid himself
of his devious impulses so that he can be a
good husband and father. But Reed runs
into Jackie (Mia Wasikowska), an alluring
but slightly unhinged call girl who comes
to his room. At first, things seem reason-
able between them, and he's in control. But
an unexpected disruption switches things
up, and everything changes between the
two. Before the night is over, a feverish
nightmare
will
unfold
in
this
horror/romance.
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part
February 8 • Rated PG
Directed by Rob Schrab & Mike Mitchell
14 illinoisentertainer.com february 2019
February 8 • Rated R
Directed by Nicholas McCarthy
Taylor Schilling (Orange Is The New
Black) stars as Sarah, a mother whose
young son's disturbing behavior signals
that an evil, possibly supernatural force
may have overtaken him. Fearing for her
family's safety, she is forced to look for
answers in the past, taking the audience on
a wild ride where the line between percep-
tion and reality are blurred. Also starring
Colm Fiore, Peter Mooney, Brittany Allen.
City, Ido tries to shield her from her mys-
terious past. Her new street-smart new
friend, Hugo (Keean Johnson), offers to
help trigger her memories and a growing
affection develops. When deadly forces
come after Alita, she soon discovers
extraordinary fighting abilities that could
save the friends and family she’s grown to
love. Determined to uncover the truth
behind her origin, Alita begins a journey
that will lead her to take on injustice and
discover that she can change the world in
which she lives.
Fighting With Family
February 14 • Rated PG-13
Directed by Stephen Merchant
Paige (Florence Pugh) and her brother
Zak were born into a wrestling family.
They are ecstatic when they get the once-
in-a-lifetime opportunity to try out for the
WWE. But when only Paige earns a spot in
the competitive training program, she
must leave her loved ones behind and face
this new cutthroat world alone. Her jour-
ney pushes her to dig deep and ultimately
prove to the world that what makes her
different is the very thing that can make
her a star.
The Rhythm Section
Alita Battle Angel
February 14 • Rated R
Directed by by Robert Rodriquez
In the distant future, Alita (Rosa
Salazar) is found in a scrap yard by Ido
(Christoph Waltz), a compassionate cyber-
doctor who takes the unconscious cyborg
to his clinic. Alita awakens with no memo-
ry of who she is, or any recognition of the
world she finds herself in. As she learns to
navigate the treacherous streets of Iron
February 22 • Rated NA
Directed by by Reed Morano
When her family is killed in a plane
crash on a flight that she was meant to be
on, Stephanie Patrick (Blake Lively) dis-
covers the crash was not an accident.
Seeking to uncover the truth about the dis-
aster, she adopts the identity of an assassin
to track down those she thinks are respon-
sible.