Whiteout


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...out_poster.jpg


Alrighty then. First review (INCLUDES SOME SPOILERS).

So I watched Whiteout. I'd seen the trailer awhile back, thought that it looked like a cool idea (no pun intended), and then forgot about it until recently.

After finishing the film, I must say I'm very disappointed. Visually, the film is nice to look at, with some gorgeous scenery, although too reliant on CGI.

The real problem is the plot. To put it bluntly, it's DOA. Dead on arrival. That may be because the opening scene pretty much sucks most of the mystery out of the movie, and instead of leaving this viewer intrigued, I became bored waiting for the story to unfold past the expected discovery of the plane.

Kate Beckinsale plays a U. S. Marshal stationed at a Antarctic research base. Through the SUBTLE USE OF FLASHBACKS, we gradually discovered she has been traumatized by past betrayal. This naturally leads the viewer to suspect she might, just might probably definitely will be betrayed again at some point in the film.

I don't want to diss on Beckinsale too much here because she has a nice ass and I liked seeing her bent over in her little white panties... but her performance was pretty stiff, stiffer than me during her shower scene.


http://blastr.com/assets_c/2009/09/W...x257-23948.jpg
Pictured: Kate Beckinsale acting.


Sorry bout that last paragraph. :D

All of the performances were stiff, nearly lifeless in fact, and the only relationship in the film that even approached the convincingly human was between Beckinsale and Tom Skerrit (an actor I rather like), who plays the base doctor.


http://0.tqn.com/d/horror/1/0/c/4/0/-/Whiteout11.jpg
"This won't affect my acting career, will it, Doc?"


The best scene in the whole movie involved Beckinsale's frostbitten fingers, but even then she seemed slightly less upset than I think I would have been at losing two of my fingers, and I'm a fairly stoic dude. :eek:

The director, Dominic Sena, strives for a claustrophobic feel, mainly by using too many close-ups from obtuse angles, yet for an isolated research station, this place is jumpin.

Not to tell anyone how to do their job, but I can't help but think the movie would have been better served by the removal of the opening plane scene. In fact, given the hackneyed flashbacks throughout, I don't see why the opening scene was not used only as a flashback during the plane discovery scene. It might have helped preserve some interest earlier on if the beginning had focused more on the characters and had then introduced us to the main plot via their discovery of the first body.

Oh well.

The dialogue is dull as rock, consisting of actors repeating the obvious, for the benefit (one supposes) of the sight-impaired.

The action scenes are limp. Partly because I just didn't care for these cardboard characters, and partly because the whole thing is so darn cliche. Watching the killer try to slice up Beckinsale with his ice axe, I wondered if the movie secretly aspired to be a slasher film.


http://www.alexoloughlinonline.com/w...sive-pic-4.jpg
All your base are belong to us.


Anyways, the whole thing drags on until the unshocking nonrevelation at the end, and not soon enough.

Rating: 3/10

Predators


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._54632_glg.jpg


So, here we have the new film in the Predator series. I have to say, I'm not especially impressed.

However, I'm not exactly disappointed either. The film succeeds modestly well at giving fans what they expect, and there are some nice surprises to keep it from becoming too formulaic.

I'm not much for plot description because readers can find out that stuff just by doing a simple online search themselves (besides, this film's story is well-known anyway), so I will focus on what I consider to be some of the strengths and weaknesses of the film.

My biggest problem with the film is the miscasting of Adrien Brody as Royce, the merc leader of the survivors. He simply does not belong in this movie. Though I respect him as an actor from his work in films like The Pianist, I just could not suspend disbelief and accept him as some badass mercenary type.


http://webchaser.org/wp-content/uplo...dators2010.jpg
"Christ, this thing is heavy."


Perhaps he was meant to bring some added depth and credibility to the film, but I think the part would have been better suited to a more rugged actor, such as Jason Statham. Brody is a fine actor, but he's a bit scrawny and sensitive-looking to pull off this kind of role.

Other performances range from adequate to surprisingly good. In particular, Laurence Fishburne as a soldier suffering from PTSD, which was amusing although slightly over-the-top. The other performance I enjoyed was Topher Grace as a seemingly benign doctor who isn't as out of place amongst these professional killers as he first appears.


http://reelthinker.com/images/posts/...n-brody_01.jpg
"I reckon that's one for the wall."


The film looks decent, although somewhat bland. The director, Nimrod Antal, doesn't really take advantage of the jungle setting or try to differentiate environments within the story. For a supposed alien world, there is nothing memorable whatsoever about the scenery.

The action sequences in the film are fairly well-done if not spectacular or numerous, and I managed to keep interest throughout despite their sparseness. Overall, I'd say the movie took itself a bit too seriously and that definitely hurt it.


http://img.ezinemark.com/imagemanage...en-recent.jpeg
Only YOU can prevent laser fires.


The predators themselves looked cool, but there wasn't enough of them. In fact, they hardly felt like part of the movie at all.

The ending was abrupt and unsatisfying, leaving unresolved the fates of two characters we were obviously intended to care for. The music during the credits was retarded and unfitting for what had occurred before it.

Rating: 6/10