January '09 was a pretty disappointing month as far as new movie releases were concerned, but February wasn't that brilliant either. On the contrary: the number (and quality) of wide releases dropped sharply compared to last year.

Let's take a brief look at what ruled and what really sucked in February 2009:

THE BAD

February didn't start well this year. One of the first films I saw was the totally unnecessary "The Pink Panther 2," an atrocity of a movie. After seeing the first one, I really hoped they wouldn't go there again, but that's exactly what happened, and the result is cheap, lousy and plain embarrassing.

On that same weekend I also saw Ken Kwapis' comedy "He's Just Not That Into You," a film I looked forward too because I really liked what I saw in the trailer and TV spots. Sadly, this one disappointed me as well, primarily because the plot dragged on and most of the conversations between these people were just incredibly shallow.

Let's quickly move on to Valentine's Day weekend and "Confessions of a Shopaholic," another film that really didn't win me over. I totally love Isla Fisher and I'm convinced she's got a fabulous future ahead of her, but this film just didn't work. I never read Sophie Kinsella's books, but as far as the movie was concerned, it just failed to entertain me.

I also saw "Friday the 13th" that weekend, a horror remake that failed to impress me. Sure, it looked pretty nice and all, but the stupid characters and the film's repetitive plot and lack of suspense ended up annoying me to death.

Two other films really stank in February: the first one was "Fired Up!," a ridiculous teen comedy about two morons going to cheer camp to make out with chicks. Tasteless humor and some offensive gags mostly ruined this patethic attempt at amusing audiences.

The second movie I couldn't enjoy was "Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li," a lame reboot with only a few nice battles and mostly lame characters and an utterly boring plot. No, February wasn't exactly a great movie month.

THE GOOD

Believe it or not, but I saw two excellent films this February! The first one was Henry Selick's 3D stop-motion adventure "Coraline," which I really loved. Stuffed with wonderful imagination, an intriguing story and very nice art and precision, this one pulled me right into Selick's creative world. Great stuff.

The other movie I really appreciated was Tom Tykwer's thriller "The International." Sure, the whole thing is just completely unrealistic, but the plot kept me engaged from start to finish. Plus, the story features a few intense action sequences, including a massive shoot-out at the Guggenheim. Not a perfect flick, but highly entertaining nonetheless.

Two other films I midly enjoyed were "Push," which lacked action but featured some interesting aspects, and "Madea Goes to Jail," which was too predictable and preachy but funny at least whenever Madea stepped in front of the camera.

And that's it. February '09 is a thing of the past, and I am glad I saw at least two solid films. I'm glad this one's over, and I can only hope March will be better. I enjoyed "Watchmen," so I'm off to a decent start, for sure.