100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 145: Big Miracle

Director: Ken Kwapis

Genre: Drama

Runtime: 107 minutes

Year: 2012

Starring: Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski, Kristen Bell, Ted Danson, Dermot Mulroney, Tim Blake Nelson, Stephen Root, Rob Riggle

Description: In small town Alaska, news reporter Adam (John Krasinski) recruits his ex-girlfriend Rachel (Drew Barrymore)- a Greenpeace volunteer - on a campaign to save a family of gray whales trapped by rapidly forming ice in the Arctic Circle.

Review: ‘Everybody loves whales’. This is a message given a lot in “Big Miracle”. And people have been fascinated by these giant mammals for centuries. The movie is based on a true story, about three whales who trapped in the ice in Alaska in 1988.

Lead role is for John Krasinski, who plays reporter Adam Carlson, who happens to find the whales who are trapped. Soon the whales are worldwide news. To save the whales, a path has to be created to set them free in the ocean. Adam and his ex-girlfriend Rachel, who is a Greenpeace activist, try everything to save them. But it costs money and who is willing to help out?

The story is touching, but the scenario doesn’t really succeed in that area. The base of the film is historically correct but it’s still a movie. Maybe the movie would have been a bit better if it weren’t a film. Some storyline take your attention away from the actual happenings and you really don’t care about all that.

“Big Miracle” does have enough to offer in the end. It will keep the attention of young and old and it was an enjoyable film. It would have been better to keep the focus on the whales, because everybody loves whales.

Rating: 3/ 5

Top 5 Thursday: Movie Posters 2012

Like last year I summed up the best movie posters of the year. Again I had the choice between some wonderful, creative and original posters. So here they are. I haven't seen any of the movies on this list yet.

5. Big Miracle
As a nature lover and a slight preference for whales, I just had to choose this poster.

4. Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter
I like the dark and mysterious look. It fits this movie perfectly.

3. Frankenweenie
I always like these kind of posters. Looks like concept art. The etchy form really speaks to me.

2. The Cabin in the Woods
This poster reminded me of Escher, his drawings have a similar style. It looks so good, there are so many things to look at in this poster.

1. The Amazing Spider-Man
This poster captures it all. It's perfect and this really amazed me when I first saw it. Great poster.

They almost made the top 5: Paranorman, The Words, Prometheus

Movie Trailer Sunday (4)

This weeks trailers are about J. Edgar Hoover, whales, a scandal, love in the 1950's and a man on a ledge.

J. Edgar
Description: As the face of law enforcement in America for almost fifty years, J. Edgar Hoover (Leonardo DiCaprio) was feared and admired, reviled and revered. But behind closed doors, he held secrets that would have destroyed his image, his career and his life.
Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Naomi Watts, Judi Dench and Josh Lucas
Trailer: Trailer "J. Edgar"
Comment: This movie has to be a succes. Directed by Clint and starring Naomi Watts and Leonardo DiCaprio. I'm saying hell yeah!

Big Miracle
Description: a small town news reporter (John Krasinski) and a Greenpeace volunteer (Drew Barrymore) are who joined by rival world superpowers to save a family of majestic gray whales trapped by rapidly forming ice in the Arctic Circle.
Director: Ken Kwapis
Starring: John Krasinski, Drew Barrymore, Kristen Bell, Ted Danson and Stephen Root
Trailer: Trailer "Big Miracle"
Comment: Definitely want to go see it. Love Drew and John!

Oranges and Sunshine
Description: Margaret Humphreys is a social worker from Nottingham who uncovered one of the most significant social scandals of recent times: the deportation of thousands of children from the United Kingdom to Australia.
Director: Jim Loach
Starring: Emily Watson, David Wenham and Hugo Weaving
Trailer: Trailer "Oranges and Sunshine"

The Deep Blue Sea
Description: The wife (Rachel Weisz) of a high court judge, shockingly in her 1950s milieu, leaves her husband to move in with a dashing young ex-RAF pilot, with whom she has fallen passionately in love. The film explores the nature of love and the lines drawn between love and passion.
Director: Terence Davies
Starring: Rachel Weisz, Tom Hiddleston and Simon Russell Beale
Trailer: Trailer "The Deep Blue Sea"

Man on a Ledge
Description: An ex-cop and now wanted fugitive (Sam Worthington) stands on the ledge of a high-rise building while a hard-living New York Police Department hostage negotiator (Elizabeth Banks) tries to talk him down. The longer they are on the ledge, the more she realizes that he might have an ulterior objective.
Director: Asger Leth
Starring: Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Ed Harris, Jamie Bell, Edward Burns and Kyra Sedgwick
Trailer: Trailer "Man on a Ledge"