whiteout Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Ho-hum, another Tyler Perry movie, another first place opening. The man is a franchise unto himself, obviously, and it's somewhat heartening that this -- his seventh film in four years -- is his consensus best; maybe Lionsgate will actually screen his next one (coming in April, natch) for critics. I Can Do Bad All By Myself didn't put up the numbers that Madea Goes to Jail did earlier this year (despite the apparent presence of Madea -- I wonder if her name in the title is what makes the difference), but $24 million was more than enough for first place on a low-key weekend.

Interesting that first second and third place this week went to films by Lionsgate, Focus and the Weinstein Co., respectively. Second place went to Focus's 9, which opened on Wednesday to mixed reviews and around $15 million for the five days; the distributor aimed low, with a 1600 screen release, and the film did probably as well as it could have, despite that spectacular trailer. Inglourious Basterds, still holding up pretty well, took third and crossed the $100 million mark.

Further down the list we see a weird glut of late-summer horror: Whiteout and Sorority Row opened against each other, just a couple weeks after The Final Destination and Halloween II opened against each other. Both of this week's openers wound up with about $5 million to show for it; given that neither is a brand name or particularly distinctive, they probably didn't lose much. Halloween II sank out of the top 10, while The Final Destination hung around and is now the top-grossing movie in the franchise with $58 million.

The top ten films after the jump.

The Antarctic murder mystery Whiteout was a wipe-out this weekend, with almost universally negative reviews and a sixth-place debut at the box office. The movie's lousy -- here's Cinematical's scathing report, courtesy of Peter Hall -- but by most accounts the graphic novel it's based on, written by Greg Rucka and drawn by Steve Lieber, is pretty good. In conjunction with that, Portland film critic and cartoonist Mike Russell interviewed Lieber (who's also a Portlander -- lots of comic book people here) about the process of drawing the book and seeing it turned into a movie. Russell adapted this conversation into an edition of his "Culture Pulp" comic, which appears occasionally in the Oregonian newspaper and online at Russell's website.

As is often the case with bad movies, the behind-the-scenes stories for Whiteout are fascinating. Wolfgang Petersen (Air Force One, The Perfect Storm) expressed interest in making a film version of the graphic novel way back in 1999, and a script was commissioned. The project stalled; Reese Witherspoon got involved at some point as a potential star; another script was written; Joel Silver came aboard; and finally Dominic Sena, who had made Swordfish and Gone in 60 Seconds, campaigned for the privilege of directing it. Lieber says in the "Culture Pulp" interview that it was clear Sena was a real fan of the book. (I've seen the movie. I'd hate to see what someone who didn't like the book would have done with it.)

The most telling component of how misguided and laboriously mediocre Whiteout, the latest film from Gone in 60 Seconds director Dominic Sena, is can be found within the manner in which its heroine, United States Marshal Carrie Stetko, is introduced. The camera tracks the back of Stetko, played by the aesthetically immaculate Kate Beckinsale, through the winding corridors of her station at a research lab on Antarctica before she arrives at her personal quarters. Beckinsale then begins to slowly remove every layer of her clothing in preparation for a remarkably unnecessary shower sequence.

Now, before that begins to sound like a prospect that may make Whiteout worth your time or money, keep in mind how unabashedly pointless this extended scene is. It's not showing us how savage the conditions in Antarctica are, as Beckinsale looks like she just emerged from a week at a health spa. It's not showing us how mundane her job is, as the camera spends a fraction of the time on her badge as it does her dwindling layers of clothing. No, the only purpose of this sequence is to show off the sole allure this film has: Kate Beckinsale. And Sena is brazen in treating her like a commodity.

This shouldn't come as a surprise from the man who captained the film that paid Halle Berry a bonus $500,000 for her bare bosom (note: Beckinsale does not actually go the Berry/Swordfish route), but it is the first sign of how tonally incongruous the entirety of Whiteout is. Preceding this strip-down is an opening flashback to fifty-years prior in which a poorly rendered CGI Soviet plane crashes under mysterious circumstances during a poorly rendered CGI snow storm. Following the shower sequence is the establishment of a murder mystery so convoluted it comes as no surprise that four different people share a screenwriting credit on top of the author of the graphic novel upon which the 'first murderer in Antarctica premise' is based.

Last week's new releases took a pummeling from the holdovers from the previous weeks. None of last week's newbies did better than third, with Mike Judge's new comedy Extract landing way back in ninth place. Here's the top five:

1. The Final Destination: $15.3 million
2. Inglourious Basterds: $14.9 million
3. All About Steve: $14 million
4. Gamer: $11.2 million
5. District 9: $9.1 million

Four new ones this week.

9
What's It All About: Animated feature based on director Shane Acker's short film of the same name. In a post-apocalyptic future where humanity seemingly no longer exists, a group of rag doll-like creatures band together to survive the onslaught of machines intent on their destruction.
Why It Might Do Well: Based on the trailer this looks like an imaginative and beautifully designed film and it doesn't hurt that one of the producers is Tim Burton.
Why It Might Not Do Well: 59% at Rottentomatoes.com is a little discouraging.
Number of Theaters: 1,638
Prediction: $9 million

Sorority Row
What's It All About: A crazed killer is messily dispatching college students who were responsible for the death of a schoolmate.
Why It Might Do Well: Maybe the folks who went to see Halloween 2 are still in the mood for some slice 'em dice 'em action.
Why It Might Not Do Well: No star power and a story that looks even less original than most slasher films.
Number of Theaters: 2,500
Prediction: $8 million

I realize that different movies receive different marketing campaigns to emphasize different elements for different audiences in different territories, but these two Thai posters for District 9 (courtesy of IMP Awards) are selling something different from what's in the actual movie.

If Exhibit A on the left is to be believed, the film features one city-destroying robot and multiple motherships. It's like Transformers meets Independence Day, and if it were actually the case, it'd guarantee beaucoup baht at the box office. The other poster, our Exhibit B, adhere to the one mothership present in the film, but then suggest that there are multiple man-sized robots running amok -- again, selling the idea of a robot rampage that is simply not in the film.

(Hell, that robot suit doesn't even factor in much before the last twenty minutes; how disappointing might that fact be?)

This is simply the most misleading piece of marketing I've seen in quite some time. The worst thing going on Stateside at the moment is a trailer for Whiteout that implies a monster movie is in the cards for anyone going to see their serial killer thriller. Now, I ask you guys and girls to share: what are some of the most egregious trailer and poster deceptions that you've experienced at the movies?

Alice In Wonderland
Tim Burton's take on the classic Lewis Carroll book is just as creepy as you might expect. Johnny Depp is the stand-out as The Mad Hatter, but Tweedledum and Tweedledee will give you the willies too and the Cheshire Cat has more teeth than could possibly fit comfortably in his mouth. This may be the movie Burton was born to make. The tumble down the rabbit hole begins on March 5.

The Book of Eli
This trailer basically shows Denzel Washington being a bad ass in a bleak post apocalyptic future set thirty years after a global war has wiped out most of the population. Washington's character is walking across the wasteland carrying a book that can somehow save humanity. Gary Oldman and Mila Kunis also star. Look for this on January 15.

Whiteout
Kate Beckinsale stars as a U.S. Marshall stationed at an Antarctic research base who must find a murderer before the sun sets for six months. Based on a series of graphic novels, this kind of reminds me of 30 Days of Night mixed with elements of The Thing. This will be out on September 11.

I know, it's been a while since I've written one of these gore-soaked missives, but the upside to that is ... we have a lot to talk about! And since I wrote this during a lazy Sunday (happy belated holidays, btw) I figure it's time to break out the candy-coated bullet points! Let's start out with a freaky fistful of upcoming DVD releases:

Currently strewn across shelves are Donkey Punch and Vinyan, two festival-heavy horror films that couldn't possibly be more different. One's about venal young jerks, and the other is about heartbroken (but stupid) parents. Really bad things happen to all of them.

This Tuesday we're getting the old-school-style monster movie Splinter, which is really quite good. If you like prickly monsters, that is. On the same day ... whoa. It looks like someone actually bothered to exhume flicks like Repossessed, Slaughter High, and My Best Friend Is a Vampire. That sound you just heard was my Netflix queue getting fatter.

Come the 21st we get J.T. Petty's The Burrowers, which played (and played well) at last year's Fantastic Fest, and Robert Hall's Laid to Rest, which is sort of like a non-snarky slasher throwback with a hint of Phantasm-style weirdness. Couldn't find a stranger double feature than these two, believe me.

And mark your calendars, gore-lovers, for April 28, because that's when Martyrs finally hits R1 DVD. According to the UK poster, Scoot Weinberg says it "makes Saw look like Sesame Street," which is one of the most shameless blurbs I've ever heard. Even if the guy is correct, brilliant, and really handsome. (Trust me, this is one rough horror movie.) Also on this Tuesday we'll get the unofficial Donnie Darko sequel, and a movie starring Amber Benson called One-Eyed Monster. I leave the jokes to you fine folks.

2009 has begun on a rather tense note for geekdom as Watchmen became further embroiled in legal soup. As Fox pushes for a delay, we must contemplate a rather thin year of geeky offerings .... which just shows how spoiled we've become. Watchmen and Wolverine alone would have made our year before the wonder that was 2008, when we had Bruce Wayne, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, and the Punisher. But hey, this is going to be the Year of Announcements -- we're going to find out who Captain America and Thor are, who or what Iron Man must face in his sequel, and hey, we might even find out whether Edward Norton will reprise his role as the Hulk. We're going to have fun, no matter what happens with Watchmen.

January
Nothing. Watch The Dark Knight ten more times, I guess (especially when it returns to conventional and IMAX theaters on January 23). Or read a graphic novel; you must have gotten some for Christmas? Anyway, take a breather. You're still recovering from 2008.

February
Neil Gaiman's Coraline, and a limited release of the long-delayed Fanboys both come out on February 6th. Gaiman for the win, no question.

March
Watchmen Watchmen Watchmen Watchmen Watchmen Watchmen Watchmen.The film is still scheduled to arrive in theaters on March 6th, however Warner Brothers and 20th Century Fox are still fighting in court over who actually owns the rights to the property. If a judge rules in favor of Fox on January 20th or before, we may not get Watchmen on time ... but we will get a whole bunch of angry fans. Read more about it on our Watchmen page.



April
Dragonball Evolution hits theaters on the 8th. The excitement is palatable.

May
This is the month of geekdom, kicking off with the film my year centers around, X-Men Origins: Wolverine on May 1. If this isn't good, the Geek Beat will burn with the fury of a thousand suns the following Tuesday. May that be your warning, Fox.



A little independent film you might have heard of also comes out this month: Star Trek hits theaters on May 8th.

Bruce McDonald's Pontypool, which is a horror film that played TIFF but not in the regular horror section, now has a trailer. Get the info and a trailer link over at Twitchfilm. Flick looks pretty cool to me. Speaking of promo clips, Shock has one for Jamie Blanks' remake of Long Weekend, which is viewable right here.

Ji-woon Kim's very good A Tale of Two Sisters is about to spawn a remake of its own. It's called The Uninvited, it stars Elizabeth Banks, and MTV Movies Blog has an exclusive clip. And Bloody-D has new photos from Dread, the upcoming Clive Barker adaptation, while Arrow has some new shots from this weekend's Splinter.

Dread Central reports that Dominic Sena's graphic novel adaptation Whiteout, which stars mega-hottie Kate Beckinsale, has been pushed back to next September. And Shock has some news on the DVD front regarding Eden Lake and a handful of old-school WB double features.

And yes, the guy who directed the mega-harsh Martyrs will now be the guy behind the Hellraiser remake, says THR. Lastly, here's a pretty cool list of relative obscurities from the genre freaks at Bloody-D.

Whiteout finally gets to come off my "Whatever happened to ... ?" list. According to ShockTillYouDrop.net, the Antarctic thriller finally has a release date of September 19th.
The movie stars Kate Beckinsale, Gabriel Macht, Tom Skerritt, Columbus Short and Alex O'Loughlin.

The film is based on the graphic novel by Greg Rucka (and I love that they mimicked Frank Miller's cover for the poster at right). It follows Carrie Stetko, a U.S. Marshall working at the McMurdo Station in Antarctica, and her investigation of a murder that takes place there. The location is what makes this murder mystery good and tense, as she has to investigate around the deadly climate of Antarctica, and find the killer before Antarctica is plunged into its six months of darkness.

I saw the teaser at last year's ComicCon and thought it looked like a good thrill ride -- and I actually managed to hold the opinion despite seeing it played twice in a row. It's a little odd that it has been delayed so long, as it was obviously finished as of last summer. I'll hold out hope, though, because Beckinsale is one of my favorite action chicks, and she was hilarious at the Whiteout panel, handling the sleazy comments with aplomb. Hopefully, we'll get to see that teaser on the Internet soon. I will probably watch it and wonder why I thought it looked good. Oh well.