You'll need wite-out to fix Whiteout...

Dear Friend,

After sleeping off the afternoon and a quickly fixed dinner of leftovers, P decided it was time for a movie night. It's been a week at least since we've seen something new. It's one of our more normal past times.

But due to my current streak of intolerable moodiness, P was left to pick the flick. This week's entertainment: Whiteout.


They should have named that movie "EVERYONE OUT"!

The usually classy Kate Beckinsale steps behind the badge of the cliche jaded cop. Toning down her vampiric flare, British accent, and acting talent, Beckinsale left us all in the cold as she stumbled around the Antarctic wilderness searching for a killer.

The whiplash-inducing plot begins with the discovery of a body...in Antarctica. US Marshall Carrie Stetko (Beckinsale) due to an overdeveloped sense of duty, runs willy-nilly trying to solve the mystery-which of course delays her impending retirement. Despite years of training and experience, Stetko throws herself into a string of ill-advised activities. After the frostbite and 20ft fall, even the most adventurous viewer will begin to question the character's practicality.

Adding to the lack of believability, a recycled score, and poor scripting make this movie almost unwatchable. (I'm pretty sure all that kept P watching was the hope of further nudity-look out for the shower scene within the first ten minutes....)

However, the untouched purity of the white desert is also a good reason to keep watching. The sharp style of cinematography captures the simple beauty of the snowy plains and crisp edges of mountains. At the same time justifying the repeated warning that "nature did not want anyone to survive Antarctica".

If you are inclined to enjoy slow-moving, poorly-scripted murder mysteries, by all means watch Whiteout. You'll be in for an enjoyable night.

For the rest of you, trust that this film will bring you on an exciting journey......at least as long as the previews last. Perhaps you'd prefer to check into the director's other work. Dominic Sena is better known for his work filming Janet Jackson. At least if this isn't your style it will be over before the popcorn gets cold. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvMpBlyKlfo)

-S