Movie Review 10-1-09

Warner Brothers Keeps This One Ice.
By Lisa Miller

WHITEOUT (2009)
* *1/2 (Grade B-)
Directed by Dominic Sena
Starring Kate Beckinsale, Gabriel Macht, Tom Skerritt, Columbus Short, Alex O'Loughlin, Shawn Doyle
Warner-Rated R-Thriller-101 min
The desolate but powerful landscape of the Antarctic looms before us in the opening scenes of "Whiteout." We see it from a Russian cargo plane where an onboard battle causes the plane to crash on the ice. Fast-forward 50 years and we're in the present day at the McMurdo Research Station. The facility, an oasis in an unforgiving landscape, is viewed through the eyes of U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko (Kate Beckinsale). Carrie enters the shelter swaddled in her hooded parka and walks through a maze of corridors, passing rooms where dozens of researchers toil, talk, and eat.
Reaching her own room, Stetko removes her parka and five layers of clothing leaving her clad in undergarments when something unsettling happens. The camera becomes a voyeur, peeping at Beckinsale's backside from behind as she leans over to turn on the shower, continuing to leer, both in close up and through a fogged shower door, until someone lets himself into her room. It's Carrie's friend and colleague, Dr. John Fury (Tom Skerritt). His familiarity baffles us when we see Stetko don her robe, and join him in her room for a rather dry discussion.
The viewer is uncomfortable long before murder rears its ugly head, but we can't quite put our finger on the source of this vexation. Are Carrie and John simply good friends, or are they something more? The fog enveloping their connection never lifts. Based on the graphic novel by Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber, the screenplay adaptation by the Hoeber and Hayes brothers becomes tangled in forced psycho drama, disturbing its claustrophobic mood.
Stetko's troubles begin after a Russian is found dead on the ice. Though she had planned to turn in her badge, Stetko is asked to investigate the death, hopefully averting an international incident. And just what is a warm girl like Stetko doing in a cold place like this? Through a series of flashbacks to her previous U.S. Marshal career in Miami, the film discloses that Stetko has fled to the ends of the earth to escape bad memories.
Inorganic character development will injure a story every time, and "Whiteout" is no exception. Beckinsale portrays Stetko as perfectly grounded in reality and free of vices. She is clear thinking with a Sherlock Holmesian turn of mind.
The film suffers from too many expository patches that fail to bridge its storytelling gaps, however, the action is fairly intelligent. Tension mounts when the station is evacuated in advance of an incoming whiteout, leaving only five people in the facility -- one of them the killer. The shivery landscape is Stetko's most formidable opponent and several outdoor sequences are jaw clenching.
It's a tribute to the strength of its premise that "Whiteout" remains engaging despite its numerous character missteps. Warner Brothers Studio has treated this little thriller shabbily, virtually blacking out the press while doing no advertising to speak of. Therefore, it shouldn't surprise anyone that "Whiteout" barely registered at the box office. Since it's likely to have a short theatrical run, fans of adult thrillers ought to hurry.

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (2009)
* *1/2 (Grade B-)
Directed by Phil Lord Chris Miller
Voiced by Anna Faris, Bill Hader, Bruce Campbell, James Caan, Andy Samberg, Mr. T, Bobb'e J. Thompson, Benjamin Bratt, Neil Patrick Harris, Al Roker, Lauren Graham
Sony-Rated PG-Animated, Family-90 min
Based on a popular, but slim children's book, the story is expanded and outfitted with new characters for its feature film adaptation. Most residents of an impoverished seaside town are only eating the sardines that are canned there, until Flint Lockwood (Hader) invents a machine that turns water into food. Soon, hamburgers, pancakes, spaghetti and pizza rain from the sky three times a day. However, in a complication Flint could not foresee, both his machine and the food grow inordinately large Though fixing the problem sounds as easy as turning off the machine, Mayor Shelbourne (Campbell) insists it be left on to satisfy tourists stuffing the town's coffers. The first animated film from Sony since "Surf's Up," parents are advised to feed the kiddies before bombarding them with realistic depictions of all their favorite edibles.

Love Happens (2009)
* * (Grade C)
Directed by Brandon Camp
Starring Jennifer Aniston, Aaron Eckhart, Sasha Alexander, Martin Sheen, Dan Fogler, Judy Greer
Universal-Rated PG-13-Drama
Jennifer Aniston pairs with Aaron Eckhart for a romantic dramadey set in Seattle. Dr. Burke Ryan (Eckhart) has written a hugely successful self-help book for those confronting pain and loss. However, secretly the doctor has been unable to get past the death of his wife. Attending Ryan's Seattle seminar, Eloise Chandler (Aniston) wants to let go of her own painful past in order to embrace her budding floral shop business. When the pair meet, romantic sparks fly, but both are unprepared to take a chance. Stuck in an implausible storyline, this admittedly cute coupling ought to attract a following from the over-30 chick-flick crowd. Perhaps due to the success of "Sex and the City," Universal hopes female patrons will come out in sufficient numbers to put this film in the black.

The Informant (2009)
* *1/2 (Grade C)
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Starring Matt Damon, Tony Hale, Patton Oswalt, Scott Bakula and Joel McHale
Warner-Rated R-Comedy
Director Steven Soderbergh attempts to channel the Coen Brothers in this parody of a true story. Matt Damon portrays company-man-turned-whistleblower Mark Whitacre. In 1995, Whitacre is a Ph.D. working for Archer Daniels Midland, a Fortune 500 ag-business he accuses of price-fixing. Much of the humor arises from Whitacre's overconfidence. He claims he will be appointed CEO after exposing ADM's errant practices because "The company needs me," and demands the code name 0014 "Because I'm twice as smart as James Bond." The FBI agents (Bakula and McHale) working his case barely manage to stifle their laughs and contain their fears when Whitacre nearly exposes each of his wired sessions. Whether or not Whitacre tried to do the right thing for all the wrong reasons, the film certainly hangs him out to dry -- or does it?

I Can Do Bad All By Myself (2009)
* * * (Grade B)
Directed by Tyler Perry
Starring Tyler Perry, Taraji P. Henson, Adam Rodriguez, Mary J. Blige, Gladys Knight
Lionsgate-Rated PG-13-Comedy-133 min
Tyler Perry dons a wig and house dress to reprise his role as the pistol packing grandmother with attitude. After catching teenaged Jennifer and her two younger brothers looting Madea's home, the sassy granny delivers the delinquents to April (Henson), their hard-drinking aunt who wants no part of raising her niece and nephews. April soon reconsiders her commitment to parenting the kids when handsome Sandino (Rodriguez) rents her spare room and offers to help out. Sarcastic Madea provides comic relief while April's neighborhood church showcases a colorful collection of characters. Perry's faith-based message films have been a hit for Lionsgate, prompting the studio to greenlight film adaptations of Perry's library of stage plays with all due haste. At this rate it won't be long before Perry will need new material.

Gamer (2009)
*1/2 (Grade C-)
Directed by Mark Neveldine Brian Taylor
Starring Gerard Butler, Michael C. Hall, Ludacris
Lionsgate-Rated R-Sci-Fi, Action-95 min
Following a lackluster Los Angeles test screening, "Gamer" has been kept under wraps. This ambitious story casts Butler as Kable, a living, breathing person controlled by a nanochip in his brain and forced to fight combatants -- gladiator style -- in the video game "Slayer." Kable desperately wants the freedom he was promised as reward for winning 30 games so he can rescue his wife trapped in yet another video game, "Society." Kable's wife is controlled by a creepy, obese gamer forcing her to explore the seamy underbelly of a dangerous city. Chaotic action relies on many a jump-cuts while the storyline struggles to move the action past bloody confrontations. Michael C. Hall, of "Dexter" fame, appears in a brief role as the game's cruel inventor, but since he and his adversary, Kable barely meet, the "Gamer" hasn't got much "game."

All About Steve (2009)
* (Grade D)
Directed by Phil Traill
Starring Sandra Bullock, Bradley Cooper, Thomas Haden Church, Ken Jeong
Fox 2000-Rated PG-13-Comedy-99 min
Sandra Bullock goes blonde and eccentric for the role of Mary Horowitz, a crossword puzzle constructor. Following a brief blind date with handsome news cameraman Steve (Cooper), Mary becomes obsessed with him. She follows Steve cross country, disrupting his assignments. The film is saved by Church playing self-serving news reporter Hartman Hughes (Church), a blowhard encouraging Mary to follow her heart whatever the cost. Neither Steve nor Hartman could predict that Mary's oddball ways would garner her a collection of fans prompting Steve to take another look at Mary. Wouldn't it be cool if we could push a button to vote for who should get the girl? Why not Church?