Everyone’s going to either try to get closer to their special someone, forget that they don’t have a special someone, or perhaps try to forget that they have to pretend like they’re want to get closer to that special someone when they really would rather be in a far away foreign land of fantasy. Movies aren’t a bad prescription in any of those cases.

Garry Marshall’s multi-stor, all-star rom-com, “Valentine’s Day,” is the worst reviewed of the three critically unloved films coming out this weekend, but since when does something like a seriously lacking 14% “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes stop filmgoers bent on lightly sentimental entertainment? With Julia Roberts on board and Garry Marshall’s brand of uber-schmaltz on offer, a lot of mostly female folks will be interested and their partners better be alongside them. DiOrio is expecting as much as $45 million for Warner Brothers for this one. “Avatar” shchmavatar, I guess.

Director Chris Columbus is, if anything, even less of a critical darling than Garry Marshall. (He’s absolutely no darling of this critic, I can tell you that.) Still, the latest entry in the “Precious: Based on the Noel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” ungainly title sweepstakes is Columbus and Fox’s version of “Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief.” It may look like a teen-Harry Potter knock-off to the uninterested observer, but critics are being a bit less harsh on this entry, allowing it a mixed 48% “Fresh” rating, It’s worth noting that that the Greek mythological background might make things a bit easier for English teachers the world over. DiOrio is expecting something over $30 million. Sure, I guess.

Expected to come in at the #3 spot or thereabouts is the monstrous semi-remake of “The Wolfman,” with Benecio del Toro and Anthony Hopkins stepping in for Lon Chaney, Jr. and Claude Reins in a much bloodier and more elaborate period tale. Del Toro may be the best actor to play the part so far. Still, many critics, including our own Will Harris, are only about 31% impressed with either his acting this time around or the movie as a whole.

Kind words mostly seem to be mostly reserved for the striking atmospherics from director Joe Johnston’s effects team including make-up genius Rick Baker, which have been getting us fanboys so riled about this long-delayed production for low these many moons. Horror and monster lovers (in a platonic way, I mean) haven’t hard much to work with lately, so that sounds about right to me. I guess.

All I can say is that this version looks top notch. I thought director Joe Johnston’s “The Rocketeer” was very fun and pretty underrated, and this looks to have the potential to be even better. One thing’s for sure, considering the best known movie wolf men so far have been ex-Dr. Pepper song-and-dance guy David Naughton (“An American Werewolf in London”) and Chaney, Jr., who had some moments but was not nearly the actor his legendary dad was, it’s safe to say that del Toro will be by far the best actor to inhabit’s the wolf man’s hairy skin. Check it out.

And remember….

Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night,
May become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright.

As discussed in my last post, more “everything old is new again” stories flitting about…

* There was a time in Hollywood history when A-list actresses, too, could draw at the box office well into their maturity, just like A-list males. If we’re talking about Meryl Steep that time is now. For myself, I can say that I only appreciate Ms. Streep more each year, especially since she’s had the chance to show her comic side.

* A political flash from the past. Nikki Finke relays the news that a quartet of heavyweight thesps — Benicio del Toro, Bill Murray, Robert Duvall, and James Caan — are paying a visit to Cuba. It used to be that such visits would be painted as Hollywood liberals endorsing a communist dictatorship, part of the endless “who’s more hypocritical?” aspect of the liberal-conservative culture wars. As the possibility of more open relations with the island continues to grow, this is no longer really possible. Especially considering that Robert Duvall is a fairly outspoken Republican. Damn those Hollywood limousine conservatives.

* Speaking of politics, today is the anniversary of the old Breen Office Production Code, which is the reason all those black and white movies have to use code to even hint at anything relating to sex or other basic realities. Aaron Hillis Mick LaSalle has a lengthy and worthwhile history and analysis I’m nevertheless not sure I completely agree with. From last year, the Self-Styled Siren, queen of retro film bloggers, has a shorter one I do agree with, pretty completely.

* The break-up of Reed-Elsevier publishing isn’t directly a movie story, but it does have a sadly familiar ring.

* On a far more positive note, two of our most indispensable online movie resources are making positive news and finding inviting new homes.

After a brief hiatus, the very cool David Hudson, who compiles in vast detail just about everything cinematic with a very slight bias toward the more cinephiliac/international/indie-arty/analytic side of the movie world is now doing his thing at The Auteurs. (H/t Karina Longworth) David’s role in the online movie community can’t be understated, so this is great news.

Anne Thompson, a great reporter whose pretty cool herself and a terrific reporter and writer, has written her last post at Variety and is about to be reconstituted over at Indiewire, early next week, I imagine.