Theatrical Releases This Week
Big Miracle
Director: Ken Kwapis
Trailer
Inspired by the true story that captured the hearts of people across the world, the rescue adventure Big Miracle tells the amazing tale of a small-town news reporter (John Krasinski) and an animal-loving volunteer (Drew Barrymore) who are joined by rival world superpowers to save a family of majestic gray whales trapped by rapidly forming ice in the Arctic Circle. (Synopsis by Universal Pictures)
Apparently Winter has really let herself go since September. Wait, wait…this isn’t a sequel? Seriously? They made another movie about a marine mammal in distress? What’s next, “Manatee 3: Breaking Free?” The Big Miracle would be if this is any good.
Chronicle
Director: Josh Trank
Trailer
Three high school students make an incredible discovery, leading to their developing uncanny powers beyond their understanding. As they learn to control their abilities and use them to their advantage, their lives start to spin out of control, and their darker sides begin to take over. (Synopsis by the Official Site)
Check out my review on The Dagger later this week.
The Woman in Black
Director: James Watkins
Trailer
A young lawyer (Radcliffe) travels to a remote village where he discovers the vengeful ghost of a scorner woman is terrorizing the locals. (Synopsis by CBS Films)
Shaping up as a fairly uninspired yet watchable Victorian horror piece. The haunted house genre is resurrected yet again, though this time more of an old-fashioned storyline. Radcliffe is still trying to redefine himself; this go around features more pants and less horse.
DVD Releases This Week
The Thing
Director: Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. and Matthijs van Heijningen
Trailer
Paleontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) has traveled to the desolate region for the expedition of her lifetime. Joining a Norwegian scientific team that has stumbled across an extraterrestrial ship buried in the ice, she discovers an organism that seems to have died in the crash eons ago. But it is about to wake up. When a simple experiment frees the alien from its frozen prison, Kate must join the crew’s pilot, Carter (Joel Edgerton), to keep it from killing them off one at a time. And in this vast, intense land, a parasite that can mimic anything it touches will pit human against human as it tries to survive and flourish. The Thing serves as a prelude to John Carpenter’s classic 1982 film of the same name. (Synopsis by Universal Pictures)
A pedestrian attempt at a prequel to Carpenter’s far superior film. This one is big on gore at the expense of substance. Skip this and hope they do better with the other remakes planned for this year.
The Big Year
Director: David Frankel
Trailer
Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson are at a crossroads — one is experiencing a mid-life crisis, another a late-life crisis, and the third, a far from ordinary no-life crisis. From David Frankel, the director of The Devil Wears Prada and Marley & Me, comes a sophisticated comedy about three friendly rivals who, tired of being ruled by obligations and responsibilities, dedicate a year of their lives to following their dreams. Their big year takes them on a cross-country journey of wild and life-changing adventures. (Synopsis by 20th Century Fox)
Previously reviewed by The Dagger.
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