'Grey' Dominates as Gritty, Action Loaded Alpha

Jedi Master, Greek god, Gotham rogue - Liam Neeson always ends up with the most manly roles. 

The trailer for The Grey presented audiences with a captivating yet ambiguous account of Liam Neeson pitted against a pack of hungry wolves. But despite what appeared to be a straightforward premise; there always seemed to be something lurking in the background, a plot twist that we just couldn’t converge our attention on away from the overall theme of survival. Nothing of the sort exists and The Grey transcends that initial belief with a gritty metaphor about survival. 

The Grey trails the remaining members of an oil drilling team led by a take-charge hunter (Neeson), who survived a plane crash and trek across the remote Alaskan wilderness. Before these men can reach safety, they are pursued by a pack of territorial wolves and battle the brutality of life-threatening weather conditions. The Grey is directed by Joe Carnahan (Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane, Narc, The A-Team), who has a tendency to not hold back in any of his previous films and this is no exception to that rule.

Sensual 'Shame' Examines Sex Addiction in Artistic Fashion

Brandon (Michael Fassbender) is just an ordinary man, but obsessed with having sex.

If 2011 is remembered for anything, it’d be Michael Fassbender taking Hollywood by storm as not only the year’s biggest breakout star, but also the actor whose performance can enhance the overall aura of any film. Since Jane Eyre, Fassbender has transcended the role of the Byronic hero with magnetic villainy and psychological bluntness, but none of the stellar performances is as intimate as his role as a sex addict in Shame. 

Shame is Steve McQueen’s sophomore film, the first being 2008’s Hunger also starring Fassbender, and ultimately examines how an individual, particularly Fassbender handles being broken down and craving sex no matter what the consequences are or with whom. Fassbender’s character, Brandon, not only has to battle his sexual addiction, but also support his troubled younger sister (Carey Mulligan), who is a dependent burden seeking to become a famous singer.

Fourth 'Underworld' is Abomination, Not 'Awakening'

After being frozen for over a decade, Selene's back and ready to finish what she started.  

Vampires and werewolves are still battling one another and believe it or not it’s not Twilight. Sorry to get your hopes up Team Edward and Team Jacob. In fact, that other vampire and werewolf franchise is back in what seems to be the recent trend of every third year in January.  

Underworld: Awakening reintroduces the former Death Dealer, leather-clad Selene (Kate Beckinsale), who has been cryogenically frozen for the past twelve years since the events of “The Purge.” Selene finds herself in a world quite differently than one she remembers, most particularly one where an enigmatic hybrid could turn the tide in the ageless battle between vampires and lycans. Despite some chronological shifts in Rise of the Lycans, Awakening remains the fourth film in the series.

'Artist' Triumphs as Tribute to the Silent Film Era

Michel Hazavanicius' The Artist transports audiences back in time to a more simplistic era.

Calling a film such as The Artist, a diamond in the rough may seem on the verge of cliché, but in truth, in the midst of all the countless sequels made for the simple pleasure of making more money and the hapless romances spewing straight from Hollywood’s churning mill, audiences are in desperate need of a reminder of the early days of the industry. Before the time of 3D, a time before breakthrough special effects and even a time before color, films were silent, shot in black-and-white. Audiences hardly have an appreciation for a style they consider archaic that it’s almost a shame that The Artist will not appeal to a universal audiences. 

However for us cinemaphiles, a film like The Artist comes along on the rarest of occasions. The film follows film star George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), who has reigned supreme over the silent era, only to find the times are quickly changing as the medium is quickly moving to talkies. Valentin forms an on-and-off relationship with up and comer, Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo), who breaks out onto the talkie scene after he insists that the studio use her in upcoming pictures.

Streep Outshines the Fragmented 'Iron Lady'

After Julia Child and Miranda Priestly, Margaret Thatcher is another ideal role for Meryl Streep.

It won’t be long before the bio-pic genre starts to run out of iconic figures from 20^th century Britain to base films around. Already audiences have praised The Queen and The King’s Speech, both of which took home a vast number of honors in 2007 and 2011 respectively. Helen Mirren and Colin Firth brought to cinematic life to Elizabeth II and George VI; now Meryl Streep takes her turn in transporting another figure from the noble halls of government to the big screen as Margaret Thatcher. 

Portraying the only female British prime minister cannot be hailed as a cakewalk for Streep. But that doesn’t mean that she can’t tackle the fierceness of The Iron Lady. After all, Streep can play just about anyone from Julia Child to a staunch nun and even a devil in heels. The Iron Lady looks at bits and pieces of Thatcher’s rise to power, her prime and eventual decline, where Streep portrays the latter two eras of her life.

Spielberg's 'War Horse' Journeys Towards Epic Proportions

Steven Spielberg gives audiences not just one, but two movies over the holiday stretch.

If The Adventures of Tintin wasn’t enough Steven Spielberg over the long holiday season, there remains yet one more sprawling epic from the iconic director with the release of War Horse. 2011 isn’t this first instance that Spielberg has released two of his films in the same year. Back in 2005, Spielberg released his vision of War of the Worlds in the midst of summer and Munich, later in the year attracting attention from many critics. 

War Horse comes at the perfect time of the year, fitting the shape of an awards bait film with its epic scale and emotional tension. Though everything points to War Horse being a film that is here to only collect a potential pile of awards, there is so much more that Spielberg delivers in divulging a tale that simply comes down to one about a boy and his horse. And that’s exactly how War Horse begins. An Irish farm boy named Albert (Jeremy Irvine) begins a bond with a recently purchased horse, but when his father is behind on the rent, the horse is thrown into the midst of World War I and continuously changes owners.

Timeless Disney Classic Returns in All Its Animated Glory

Disney's tale as old as time returns to big screen for the first time in nearly a decade. 

It should be no surprise to see the tale as old as time back on the big screen once more, particularly after the re-release of The Lion King 3D this past fall did more than exceed expectations and extended what was originally intended as a limited two-week engagement. With a Blu-Ray and Blu-Ray 3D releases on the shelf, Beauty and the Beast isn’t here to market these available options, but to give audiences the opportunity to see this classic on the big screen again or for some, the very first time. Disney is a business that constantly seeks to reach newer generations with their classics and re-releases are nothing new for the company. 

Beauty and the Beast is the timeless tale of Belle, an out-of-place village girl who wants so much more than what her little village has to offer. Under a series of circumstances, Belle finds herself the prisoner of the Beast, after taking her father’s place after he intruded upon his castle. What begins as an awkward living arrangement soon blossoms into one of the most touching romances in not just animation, but cinema as a whole.

Spy Classic 'Tinker Tailor' Tightens Traitor Investigation

Smiley (Gary Oldman) investigates the top men of British Intelligence in an updated Tinker Tailor.

An espionage film can be boiled down into two categories – either going the flashy route with an abundance of iconic characters, disposable gadgets and explosive action sequences like James Bond or Jason Bourne or conversely taking a more subtle, subdued path where the audience is required to be patient and come to an understanding that flashiness isn’t everything to craft a film. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is the latter, bringing together the most prominent actors in British cinema, many of which are having their own little Harry Potter reunion in this film. 

Tinker Tailor is adapted from the 1974 John le Carre novel by the same name about a seasoned agent (Gary Oldman) drawn out of retirement to investigate which one of British Intelligence’s top men are also working alongside the Soviets and blowing the cover of a fellow agent during a mission deep inside the Hungarian borders. Each of possible suspects is given a codename – “Tinker,” “Tailor,” “Soldier,” and “Poorman.”

'Devil' Serves the Right Hand of Unintentional Comedy

Now there's a face that should be intimidating, but if anything it's comedic.

January or more specifically, the first weekend in January, is always one filled with dread. It’s almost a traditional dumping ground for the worst of the worst with films thrown into a post-holiday messy mix. 2012 is no exception. What better way to kick off a brand new year than a good old-fashioned exorcism or two. Now if 2010’s The Last Exorcism and last year’s The Rite hadn’t satisfied such a demonic appetite, director William Brent Bell attempts to possess legions of horror and found footage fans with The Devil Inside. 

The Devil Inside is a faux documentary tracing the various stages of the demonic possession of Maria Rossi (Suzan Rowley), who murdered three of her fellow clergy in 1989. Twenty years pass and her daughter, Isabella (Fernanda Andrade), with cameraman friend in tow, venture to Rome to uncover the truth of Maria’s condition and the fine line between mental illness and possession.

'Zoo' Partially Embraces a Heartfelt Wild Side

Some people say they live in a zoo, but very few can literally back that claim up.

Buying any piece of real estate typically wears a person down for quite some time, dealing with the endless red tape and practically selling your name and your life away in order to committing to stay there for however many years down the line. Normally, it isn’t something that done on a whim, especially when it’s for something more than you bargained for. That is, unless you’re a single father of two who decides to start anew and buy a zoo in the country. Matt Damon happens to be that single father of two in We Bought a Zoo. 

We Bought a Zoo is based on a true story, helmed by acclaimed director Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous), of a family from England, who bought a dilapidated zoo and subsequently reopened the facility to the public. Crowe’s adaptation Americanizes the story, transplanting the narrative across the ocean to the bright California countryside.

Spielberg Returns with Visually Groundbreaking 'Tintin'

Tintin (Jamie Bell) and Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis) team up to find the secret of the Unicorn.

When two of Hollywood’s most acclaimed directors converge together, you simply expect a project that hoists itself above the ordinary and perhaps the extraordinary too. Steven Spielberg has proved time and time again, hardly without fail that he is the universal benchmark among directors. Whether tackling historical drama or sci-fi, Spielberg has brought to life some of most iconic films of the past forty years, but it is when he ventures back to those serials from the 30s and 40s along the lines of Indiana Jones does the timeless magic take shape once more. 

Now The Adventures of Tintin might not be a classic charismatic archaeologist with a bullwhip, but a Belgian boy detective and journalist, a drunken sea captain and cuddly canine companion are an equal fit for the genre and for Spielberg himself. The Adventures of Tintin is based on the Hergé comics from that serial era. Spielberg starts the adventure in the middle of the series with The Secret of the Unicorn, which also happened to be a temporary subtitle for the film as well.