We love February, yes we do

There are lots of reasons to love February.

No, really.

This February, at least, the weather has been superb (as I type this, I’m looking out over Riverside Ave. at summerlike sunshine and near-balmy temperatures). But there’s another reason to be thankful to this February, too.

The Academy Awards.

The nominations came out Tuesday, and any movie fan would find that exciting. But for those of us who live in Spokane, it’s good for something else, too: Oscar nominations mean that films which normally bypass Spokane end up playing here.

This week, for example, openings include “Talk to Her,” Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar’s latest work (Regal Cinemas at NorthTown Mall); “The Quiet American,” which features Oscar-nominated Michael Caine (AMC’s River Park Square Cinemas); and “The Pianist,” Roman Polanski’s powerful look at Polish musician Wladyslaw Szpilman’s real-life struggle to survive World War II (Regal Cinemas at Newport Highway).

Not a bad lineup. Of course, “Daredevil” and “Jungle Book 2” open, too. Just so nobody feels left out.