Saturday, January 28, 2012

Weekend Movie Picks

THE GREY
Directed by JOE CARNAHAN
Starring LIAM NEESON, FRANK GRILLO, 
DERMOT MULRONEY, and DALLAS ROBERTS

The Grey
I like doing weekend movie picks. To me it's the equivalent of "Eat This, Not That." This weekend you should be dining on The Grey. The Grey is the new survival film starring Liam Neeson. Due to the inappropriate marketing, some moviegoers may mistake The Grey for a man versus nature action flick, but thankfully for the audience, The Grey is so much more than that. The Grey is a gripping story of survival and is gut wrenchingly emotional. Another thing that distinguishes The Grey from other survival films before it, is the visceral performance of Liam Neeson.
Despite being drama-centered, rather than action centered, The Grey is still a man's man's movie. It's a sparse, no-nonsense, masculine thriller, with surprisingly good character development--even for the wolves. Ultimately, The Grey is a brutal story of survival, similar to AliveInto the Wild, and Cast Away. And similar to other survival films before it, The Grey digs beneath the surface of man v. nature (or in this case wolves v. Neeson) to the emotional layer beneath. At it's core The Grey is a drama, however, it's also a mixture of the action and horror genres, with several gruesome sequences laced throughout. So The Grey is not for the faint of heart.

I won't go as far as to say that The Grey is a great film, but it's good and it will leave you thinking for a few days. And isn't that what movies are supposed to do? Although I couldn't help but wonder, where was Bear Grylls when you need him? The Grey is currently rated at 77% on rottentomatoes.com. January continues to be a good month for Liam Neeson.

Elizabeth Banks and Sam Worthington
MAN ON A LEDGE
Directed by PABLO FENJVES
Starring SAM WORTHINGTON, ELIZABETH BANKS, and JAMIE BELL

Sam Worthington admitted that Clash of the Titans (2010) was a bad movie. He even asked moviegoers to give him the benefit of the doubt for Wrath of the Titans (the sequel to Clash of the Titans). But why may I ask is Worthington involved in yet another stinker? Man on a Ledge doesn't even qualify for the "ok" category--it's terrible. The concept, the acting, the direction are all equally ludicrous.

Worthington
plays a down on his luck ex-cop turned diamond thief/fugitive. Or is he? After enjoying a nice "last meal," he calmly gets on the ledge of his hotel and threatens to jump. He also just so happens to get a beautiful female police negotiator. As one could see from the trailer, the "man on a ledge" is just a distraction from the real job, which is a poor-man's version of mission impossible. 


I really like Sam Worthington and I think he's an incredible actor, but he seriously needs to pick his projects better. If you're really desperate on movie night, see this at the $1.50 theater. Although, the $1.50 theater has become the $2.50 theater. I don't know how that happened? Man on a Ledge is currently rated at 22% on rottentomatoes.com.

6 comments:

  1. Saw The Grey Friday night. The trailers make it out to be an action film, but it is drama and character development first. Thought it was excellent, although very somber.

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  2. They are probably two I would wait and watch on blu-ray. I wouldn't want anyone bothering me with a cell phone.
    ;-)

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  3. I might watch the movie, but probably not this weekend.

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  4. I saw that pic of Neeson earlier and wondered what it was from, neat.

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  5. I think you make the Grey sound ok-might give it a go, but man on ledge? Don't think so, it looks poor.

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  6. We need a sparse non-nonsense masculine film starring women. I mean hello, women can survive much more than childbirth and bad relationships. I dare say this would have been a stellar film had Neeson and his fellow males been replaced with oh Milla Jovovich, Sigourney Weaver, Gina Torres, Lucy Lawless, Katee Sackhoff...That being said and I'm climbing off my soap box, LOL I'll probably see this as I love Liam.

    Sorry I haven't been around for a while. Was sick and am catching up on things. :)

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