Opening up this weekend of February 3, 2012 are The Woman in Black, Chronicle and Big Miracle.

The Woman in Black

Daniel Radcliffe starts off his post-Harry Potter career in The Woman in Black, a movie in which he plays a young lawyer who travels to a remote village, only to discover that the ghost of a scorned woman is terrorizing the locals. It’s a very old-fashioned, gothic looking horror story, the type of movies that Hammer Films used to make with Christopher Lee (but less cheesy). It has quite a few good scares, but it’s nothing that you haven’t seen before.

Chronicle

It’s the superhero movie re-invented. If some teenage kids got super-powers, would they use it to fight cream and beat-up criminals? More likely they’d use it to goof around and impress girls. As they learn their powers, things start to go bad and spin out of control. Things get dark fast. It’s one of those “found footage” films like The Blair Witch Project, Apollo 18 or Paranormal Activity. For a relatively low-budget movie, they did an impressive job – helped out by a very talented young cast and good writing. My prediction is that this movie will achieve cult status.

Big Miracle

These whales are in trouble! Let’s help them out! Wow, I really identify with those whales, I love those whales. Let’s make sure we help them. Hey, I love you! Hey, I love you too! The end.

Opening up this weekend of January 27, 2012 are THE GREY, Man on a Ledge and One for the Money.

Liam Neeson stars in The Grey, the story of a bunch of oil-rig roughnecks whose plane crashes into the remote Alaskan Wilderness. Not only must they deal with their injuries and nightmarish weather, but they must struggle to escape and find safety – while they’re dealing with a pack of crazed wolves hunting them down. It’s a fight for their lives from beginning to end. It’s ALIVE (where those soccer players’ plane crashed into the Andes) without the cannibalism but with a savage struggle against crazed hungry wolves. What would you do to survive? Critics seem mixed about this film, saying it’s a bit cliché at times, but watching a struggle of man versus nature is always exciting to watch, especially with a talent like Neeson.

Sam Worthington stars as an ex-cop and wanted fugitive who stands on the edge of a high rise building while a police department negotiator (played by Elizabeth Banks) tries to talk him down. They’re essentially stretching out a scene that would have lasted 2 minutes in the latest Mission Impossible movie into 90 minutes. I’m not sure about you, but in real life if I see a guy standing on a ledge, if he doesn’t jump, chances are I’m leaving 10 minutes into it (yes, I’m cruel, go figure), but to sit down for 90 minutes watching it – no thanks, I’m gone.

Katherine Heigl stars in the “big movie adaption” of the series of books by Janet Evanovich about a Jersey girl who decides to work for her sleazy cousin as a “recovery agent” for a bail bondsman. Think Dog the Bounty Hunter with a really hot chick. Before seeing this movie you need to consider 2 things:

1) the studio didn’t screen the movie in advance for preview. This is NEVER a good sign. They want people going to theatres this weekend without hearing anything from the critics, before they hear what a mess it is.
2) Katherine Heigl made an announcement that she was hoping that she could make a return visit to play her character Izzie. First, she was trying to get some PR out of that to pimp her movie. Second, her film career has not done as great as she hoped it would. There’s no arguing that she’s beautiful, that’s a given, but most of her appeal is based on her looks, not acting ability or lack thereof. As Ms. Heigl gets older, she’s going to have problems landing projects. She thought Grey’s Anatomy would crash & burn after she left, it’s actually doing better, it’s doubtful that they’d even consider bringing her back- she left in a bad way and was a known diva. They don’t even mention her character’s name anymore.

Opening up this weekend of January 13, 2012 are the movies Beauty and the Beast (in 3D), Contraband and Joyful Noise.

What can you say about a movie about Gospel music without one mention of the classic “Oh, Happy Day”? It’s a film about a Gospel choir led by 2 directors in the form of Rose Hill (Queen Latifah) and G.G. Sparrow (Dolly Parton), both have very different views on how the choir should go about their business, a much different way of doing things. G.G’s grandson Randy has an ear for music but also an ear for Rose’s daughter (predictable, but to the movie’s credit, it doesn’t make issue of the fact that it’s an interracial relationship, it just accepts it like it should be accepted – this might be a “Disney” view of the world, but it’d be a nice world to be in wouldn’t it?). Essentially this movie is GLEE for devout Christian teens, and when going to a movie who do teens love to see more than Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah? The movie is charming and fun in it’s own way, and you can’t help but have a smile on your face from the music alone, but there’s not much else going for this movie, aside from being harmless fluff that will pass the time.

What’s to say about this film, it’s a heist film starring “Marky Mark” Wahlberg, it’s essentially Ocean’s 11 without the “coolness” and “class” that film had in spades. It’s pretty standard as these type of films are, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not entertaining. Friends who saw advanced screenings have said it was a lot of fun, that it’s a great “popcorn” film. And, at the very least, it’s not THE HAPPENING, so you’re safe this time.

As usual, the 3D “upgrading” to the movie doesn’t change at all anything about the movie at all – it’s still the same movie that charmed us 20 years ago with it’s fairy tale romance, it’s great musical moments and it’s classic story of redemption, of love and friendship and how we need to look at what’s inside a person rather than what’s outside. If you’re seeing it for the 3D, don’t bother, if you’re out to see something that will delight the kid s in all of us, then rush to enjoy this masterpiece on the big screen as it should be.