Audiences have three evenly matched movies to choose from this weekend. There’s an environmental romcom starring big Hollywood stars with a weepy save-the-animals plot (Big Miracle), a spooky haunted house tale starring Harry Potter (The Woman in Black), and a Cloverfield-esque superhero origin story starring unknown actors (The Chronicle).
Big Miracle
Loosely based on the true story as told in the book Operation Breakthrough, Big Miracle is a feel-good environmentalist romcom (yes, we have those now), starring Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski (of The Office fame). Barrymore plays Krasinski's environmental activist ex, he's a local news reporter about to break the biggest story of his career, when a pack of national news media overwhelm him. The story? three gray whales get trapped in black ice in the Beaufort Sea in Alaska and without a giant tanker or other means of cracking that ice—they will die. (If the whale gets it, I'm gonna be mad).
Perfect For: Fans of Drew Barrymore, environmentalists, animal lovers and all the family.
What the Critics Say: The film hasn't yet been widely reviewed—but so far, it's pretty positive. The Associated Press writes: "If a movie is cheesy and knows it's cheesy—if it embraces the soft, gooey texture and pungent aroma of its own fromage—does that make it any more palatable as a meal? That is the question to ponder while watching "Big Miracle," a rousing, feel-good, family-friendly animal adventure which has the added benefit of being based on a true story." The Boston Pheonix writes, "Surprisingly, the film offers genuine complexity."
Our Take: Perfect for whiling away a Sunday afternoon.
The Woman in Black
A haunted house movie set in Victorian England, featuring an evil ghost who hates all newcomers to the house. How original! Based on a book by Susan Hill of the same name, this story has been retold in England many times in the guise of plays and TV series. But for the film version, they've cast Daniel Radcliffe in the lead role as a grieving parent, and a lot of fast-moving shadows as the scary bits.
Perfect For: Fans of Harry Potter; people who like to have nightmares for fun; Anglophiles.
What the Critics Say: Variety says it's a gorgeously rendered film—the props people should pat themselves on the back—but that Mr. Potter is woefully deficient. "It's a pity, then, that lead Radcliffe doesn't bring more charisma to the party, although the "Harry Potter" franchise has made him skilled enough now in the art of looking frightened."
Our Take: It's stylish and scary-looking, but we're not sure it's worth the $10.
The Chronicle
The good thing about The Blair Witch Project is that it opened the door for more naturalistic horror films. Though not necessarily a straight-up horror film, The Chronicle follows in that tradition of "dude, we totally have to film this!" as it follows its three teenage leads as they develop weird superpowers after encountering a strange light in a hole in the ground. It's all fun and games at first, until one of the boys starts abusing his powers.
Perfect For: Fans of Blair Witch, Cloverfield, Paranormal Activity, and weirdly, the X-Men.
What the Critics Say: Not bad, not bad at all. "The Chronicle, with its found-footage storytelling and superpowered teens, at least playfully transcends its “Cloverfield meets Heroes” pitch," writes the Village Voice. MSN Movies unfurled mild praise on the film: "The picture is in fact a reasonably engrossing and occasionally inventive piece of sci-fi schlock."
Our Take: It seems like it'd be a refreshing spin on some of the usual sci-fi and horror tales. Yeah, we'd go.
