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 Alive, Into 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.