Dr. Seuss' The Lorax

This movie does not have a tagline. This is the journey of a boy as he searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams. To find it he must discover the story of the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world.

Ted Wiggins is an idealistic 12 year old boy who will do anything within his power to gain the love of the girl who is the object of his affection. Audrey is the dream girl of Ted and her wish to see a real tree is brought to his attention it begins an adventure that may change the walled city of Thneed-Ville. The Once-ler is the person who recounts how his discovery of the Truffula Forrest in the past led to its depletion and the departing of its guardian the Lorax.  Aloysius O'Hare is the Mayor of Thneed-Ville who has made a fortune exploiting the area's environmental collapse and is determined to stop anyone who may undermine his profitable business.

Act Of Valor

The tagline for this movie: The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday. When a mission to recover a kidnapped CIA agent results in the discovery of an imminent global threat, an elite team of highly trained soldiers must immediately embark on a secret operation. During the new objective  the skills, training and tenacity of the soldiers is showcased and the outcome of their call to duty may determine the fate of the free world.

Chief Petty Officer Dave is a soldier who is  part of Bandito Platoon, SEAL Team Seven on a mission with his team to free a taken CIA operative in Costa Rica but the success of that mission uncovers a terrifying threat to the security of the world.

Morales is an undercover CIA agent who is captured by the men of the drug smuggler she had under surveillance, but when the tables are turned it seems that there is a larger puzzle at work to which her gathered intelligence is a small piece of.  Mikhail 'Christo' Troykovich is a wealthy drug smuggler with ties to all sorts of other illegal activities on a global level which has made him a person of interest for Central Intelligence Agency and other organizations. Abu Shabal is a Chechen terrorist who has converted to a different religion and seeks to bring a jihad to the United States by using his friend Christo's contacts to smuggle a new type of undetectable explosive vest to be used by suicide bombers.

If you have ever seen a bad Christian movie from the 80's or 90's then you have seen the type of acting that I was forced to tolerate in this film. Just replace the parts where they would say a biblical quote with a factual bit of information about a weapon or military operational procedure and you have got the same kind of movie. There are even the cameo performances by Professional Actors that shine light on how stilted the acting is of everyone else involved. The only selling point for this movie are the Intense and Realistic action sequences which drive the over used plot of the film. Its obvious that this is a commercial to help recruit for the Navy SEALS, but the one thing I can say is that it lets you know that from the very beginning. When the movie is over you will come to the realization that you may remember the exploits you witnessed but not the characters that executed them. I rate this movie a Rated D. You can wait for dvd on this one.

The Woman in Black

One of the taglines for this movie: She'll Never Let Go. A young lawyer travels to a remote village where he discovers the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman is terrorizing the locals. With the support of one of the locals he decides to investigate the reason behind the haunting in hopes of finding a way to end the ghost's reign of terror over the citizens of the town.

Arthur Kipps is a young solicitor who is haunted by visions of his wife who died during childbirth, but soon finds that his new assignment includes a type different kind of haunting that has left an entire town in the grip of terror for the safety of their children. Sam Daily is a local landowner who has become convinced that the superstitious towns people have gone overboard with their belief of a ghost targeting the children of the small town  and does what he can to aid Arthur.  Elizabeth Daily is Sam's wife who is still reeling from the death of their son to mysterious circumstances and believes that she can communicate to those who have passed on.  Jennet Humfrye is the entity believed to be haunting the small town .

Hammer Film Productions have always stood for quality Gothic horror films since the 1950s and this is a solid example of what the company is able to put forth in the modern film market. This movie is based on the novel of the same name by Susan Hill and does a great job of creating atmosphere that allows us to believe everything that is happening on screen. I have never seen the other adaptions of this story whether it is the made of tv movie, the stage play or the radio drama but I liked this version.  Daniel Radcliffe does a decent job of playing Arthur Kipps and James Watkins shows us with his sophomore film that he has a future in this genre. I rate this movie a Rated B.

The Grey

The tagline for this movie: Live Or Die On This Day. An unruly group of oil-rig roughnecks are forced to work together when their plane crashes in the wilderness. As they battle merciless weather and mortal injuries, they come to the realization that they are also being hunted by a vicious pack of wolves. They only have a few days to escape their pursuers and the icy conditions before their time runs out.

John Ottway works for an Alaskan oil-rig hunting the wolves that threaten the oil drilling team, but due to complications involving his wife he is considering suicide until he is thrust into the role of leader to a motley crew of survivors after a plane crash. John Diaz is an ex-con who brings his selfish mentality to the group as his fear of the situation grows and his instinct to rage against whoever he sees as an authority figure gets the better of him and turns him against Ottway's leadership. Talget is trying to get back to his wife & daughter and only interested in the best way to stay alive so he can get back to them, but when he finds himself on the precipice of his greatest fear that he most try to overcome by staying calm. Pete Hendrick is the will of the group to follow directions and help any of the survivors who may need it, but when he is in need of a helping hand his own panic do the severity of the situation and the helpers ignorance may become his undoing.

This movie has the kind of roles in it that actors pray for, with monologues and close ups that makes an audience feel that they know the character. I would describe this movie as a horror movie for the campers or survivalists as it shows that you don't have to be afraid of the imaginary boogey man in the dark when you have a real life pack of wolves stalking you. Liam Neeson does a superb job leading the cast and Joe Carnahan brings a rawness in his directing that strikes a nerve at the very core. The movie is based on the short story Ghost Walker by Ian MacKenzie who co-wrote the script with Carnahan which probably why the tone has of the able to remain from one medium to the next. The only thing that may polarize viewers in the ending which can be interpreted in many ways depending on how you felt about the scenario. I rate this movie a Rated T.

P.S. There is a Post-Credits Scene that may further confuse some and/or give a sense of closure to others.