January was an immemorable month for HD DVD movie releases. Compared to previous months that had such big hits like Transformers, Shrek the Third, The Bourne Ultimatum, and Harry Potter, January was a big zero. The month was characterized largely by releases from minor studios. Maybe the majors wanted to give us all some time to get caught up on our Netflix queues. Or perhaps this is just a reflection that the biggest hits of 2007 came out earlier in the year, leaving fewer hit movies from the last quarter to choose from at the start of 2008.

Whatever the reason for the low-profile release slate, things start picking up in the weeks and months ahead. As February rolls in, it brings a couple of higher-profile 2007 titles with it. First off is American Gangster on February 19, which came out in theaters last November. Directed by Ridley Scott, this film features Oscar-winning stars Denzel Washington and Russel Crowe portraying the real-life story of a 1970s crime lord’s drug empire and the police officer who dared to bring him down. This isn’t an action flick like The Bourne Ultimatum or a new Scarface, but something that concentrates more on Scott’s strengths as a storyteller (he’s the director behind Bladerunner, Gladiator, Alien and more). The movie has two Oscar nominations: one for art direction and another for best supporting actress (Ruby Dee - who already won the SAG award for this role), although many were surprised it didn’t get more.

Beowulf, the other big title for February, was also a November 2007 release. Continuing (and hugely improving!) his foray into computer graphics films, Director Robert Zemeckis (Polar Express, Forrest Gump, Back to the Future) brought the classic story of Beowulf practically to life last year in 3D at IMAX screens. Alas the home version is not in 3D, but should still boast really good picture quality owing to its digital roots. This film is also famous for it’s “naked” Angelina Jolie segment in a PG-13 movie. This rating happened because it’s really computer generated nudity, but famed critic, Roger Ebert, said it’d be plenty real enough for him if he was 13.

There’s much more than this coming out in February, and we’ll try our hand at reviewing more of the movies instead of just previewing or announcing them. You can see most of the February release slate in this page at Amazon, and they’ll be highlighted here as they get released each week.