I've been crawling in the dark, looking for the answer – “Edge of Darkness”

"Edge of Darkness" is a relatively standard thriller that is nevertheless affecting.

Affecting in the sense that I expected a sudden and violent death for several hours after my viewing of it. Walking back alone is not recommended.

Full of conspiracy theories and secret cover-ups, "Edge of Darkness" is much less an action film than the trailers would have you believe. The movie is an adaptation of the 1985 BBC television series, and despite the original series' 6-hour length, the film never becomes too complicated or overstuffed.

"Edge of Darkness" stars Mel Gibson in his first leading role since "Signs" in 2002. Though he has attracted much ire from, shall we say, his personal life in recent years, it is nonetheless good to see him back onscreen again.

Gibson makes an effective return in "Edge of Darkness."

Gibson plays Thomas Craven, a Boston police detective whose daughter Emma (Bojana Novakovic) killed in front of him on his front porch. Authorities believe that he was the intended target and that she was caught in the crossfire. Craven is not so sure.

What follows is an investigation that leads Craven through many different sections and districts of Boston. He is helped in part by the enigmatic Jedburgh (Ray Winston, previously seen in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"), who could be friend, foe, both, or neither.

Referred to by his employers as a "clean-up man," Winston gives a wry and intriguing performance as Jedburg.

Gibson plays Craven as a straight and no nonsense man with a Boston accent who is driven by a single purpose: to find out what happened to his daughter. While this role has been played by many an actor in many a movie, Gibson brings a grounded and hard-boiled edge to the character that makes him less of a superhuman action star and more of a man, relatable and human.

At times, he is darkly comedic. Consider a scene in which his partner on the force tells Craven to sleep at his place instead of Craven's house. "There's a guy out there who's armed and dangerous," he says. "What do you think I am?" responds Craven. Or a scene in which he finds a guy who may have had an indirect hand in his daughter's death and gives him a good thrashing. "I'm not going to hit you again, she wouldn't want me to," sighs Craven, and then on second thought does it anyway.

After 8 years, it's nice to have Mel Gibson back to kick some ass.

Though the plot could be described as a standard police thriller, the dialogue and characters are rather well-written. The movie has many small touches where it seems to respect the thinking capacities of its audience and mentions things without overexplaining them, such as a reference to the writings of Scott Fitzgerald or an untranslated bit of Latin; "You know what that means," says one character, and the other simply nods because, yes, he does know what it means.

Producer Graham King, like in his previous production "The Departed," uses the Boston setting to great effect, allowing its distinctly New England look to distinguish the movie without drawing too much attention to itself. The whole world seems very lived-in, and not drummed up for the occasion: Craven's kitchen is full of old wooden cabinets and outdated appliances, and even Craven himself is a man who we sense has been around awhile and isn't acting world-weary for the sheer hell of it.

Here is a man who looks every inch of his 50+ years.

Director Martin Campbell, who also directed "Casino Royale," also takes things a bit old-fashioned. Rather than using the Queasy Cam effect to create more "immersion" or quickly cutting between the characters while they're talking, he simply lets the camera sit still and photograph them.

There is a fistfight during an earlier part of the movie, and dear readers, I could actually tell who was punching who. In a world where every thriller and its uncle is looking to ape "The Bourne Ultimatum," I can't tell you how nice it is to watch an action scene and know what's going on the entire time.

I enjoyed "Edge of Darkness," but it's definitely not for everyone. The movie is punctuated by moments of sudden and intense violence, and the ending is rather Shakespearian, if you get what I'm saying.

Still, the movie definitely had its moments, and Gibson's performance and character-work is a sight to behold. Tense and intelligent, "Edge of Darkness" will please moviegoers looking to have a darkly good time.

Whiteout (2009) - Kate Beckinsale stumbles on a VERY cold case

Early on in “Whiteout,” there is a scene in which U.S. Marshall Carrie Stetko (Kate Beckinsale) strips off all of her clothes and hops in the shower for our guilty pleasure.

Later on, Stetko has an innocuous and unnecessary conversation with a character that is given a good chunk of dialog, but is never heard from again.

Hmmm. I wonder who that guy could be.

“Whiteout,” directed by Dominic Sena and based on a graphic novel of the same name, is a dull, formulaic crime thriller that hopes against hope its Antarctic setting will distinguish it just enough from other crime thrillers to attract an audience. Here is a movie you already know the melody to, even if you don’t quite know the words.

The plot has to do with Stetko, U.S. Marshall for an Antarctican research station, investigating a corpse that is found in the middle of the ice fields. When the investigation turns up another body, Stetko enlists the help of U.N. official Robert Pryce (Gabriel Macht) and rookie pilot Delfy (Colombus Short) in order to find out what’s happening.


Pryce (Macht) and Stetko (Beckinsale) investigate what the frozen-heck is going on.

No cliché is unturned during “Whiteout's” 104 minute runtime. On the cliché wagon is a scene where another minor character refuses to tell Stetko what has happened, but instead tells her to come over to his research center: “you’ll understand everything.” I don’t think I’m spoiling anything by saying that he is promptly murdered before he can tell her anything.

Also included on the cliché list are some very flagrant red herrings about who the villain may be near the end, a plot device centering on someone Finding Something He Wasn’t Supposed To Find, and the obligatory faux-nudity scene that so many 18–25 year olds hanker for with their violence these days.

Beckinsale, looking beautiful as ever, manages to carry herself with dignity and brings a strength to the character, and does her best with the material given. As Stetko’s friend Dr. John Fury, Tom Skerritt brings a sort of aged calm to his character, and handles the screen charismatically.


Always a talented actress, Kate Beckinsale uses her exceptional chops on an exceptionally under-written character.

Everyone else has little to do but wrestle with the dialog, which alternates between off-the-shelf peril-speak like “Nobody knows we’re down here?” and odd, lady-doth-protest-too-much lines to remind us that we’re in the arctic, like “It’ll lower your core temperature.” Also included for the audience’s benefit is a helpful explanation of exactly what a whiteout is.

The film works best when it’s covering CSI: Antarctica territory. Early scenes where Stetko and Fury examine the body to determine cause of death provided me with a twinge of intrigue.

Less effective are the thriller sections, where Beckinsale is chased (all while looking absolutely gorgeous!) through a frozen research station by a bundled-up man with an icepick. And the less said of the film's anticlimactic third act and Stetko’s forgettable backstory, the better.


The thriller sections of the movie don't really gel well.

The film certainly looks pretty, though. Filmed in Montreal, “Whiteout” includes several wide, panning shots of Canada’s barren, frozen landscapes. It’s ironic that a movie filmed in such a bright environment could house an atmosphere for a murder mystery, but “Whiteout” uses the scenery effectively on this front.

There is nothing really wrong with “Whiteout;” the actors perform competently, the soundtrack provides emotion when it is needed, and the film never makes any glaring missteps. This is a reasonably serviceable crime thriller for people who really like reasonably serviceable crime thrillers.

However, poor pacing, clichéd story, and a general lack of interesting plot developments make “Whiteout” hard for me to recommend. Give this one the cold shoulder.