Armored

Rating: PG-13

Movie Release Date: December 4, 2009

DVD Release Date: May 4, 2010

Plot 411: A group of armored car drivers plot to steal $42 million dollars.

Review: With his parents dead, the responsibility to raise his younger brother falls on Ty's (Columbus Short) shoulders. After an honorable discharge from the military, he takes a job as an armored car driver with his godfather Mike (Matt Dillon). After passing Ty passes his probation, Mike lets him in on a plan that he and his team have been plotting to steal one of their loads. At first Ty refuses to be involved, but with the bank ready to take their house and child welfare knocking on his door, he feels he has no choice but to snag some of that money. Surprisingly, this was better than I thought it'd be (though far from a good heist film). The quality of actors used in this movie was surprising. Besides Dillon, there was Jean Reno and Laurence Fishburne and a small part by Fred Ward. Younger actors included Amaury Nolasco, Milo Ventimiglia and Skeet Ulrich. Unfortunately, they weren't really able to sell me on the plot. There were a lot of sequences that weren't believable, actions that just didn't fit. Also, they introduce Ventimiglia's character only to use him as a human prop. They completely wasted him. The movie didn't go too much into detail regarding the motive behind this heist. I guess as the audience we're just supposed to think that the money is enough. Only Ty had a real reason for needing the money. I guess the others can be summed up with plain old greed.

Watch It: If you're okay with a mediocre turn out by some top-notched actors.

Skip It: And go with one of the Ocean's flicks. Much more entertaining.

Whiteout

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: September 11, 2009

DVD Release Date: January 19, 2010

Plot 411: The first-ever murder on Antarctica forces a U.S. marshall to confront her past in order to resolve her current problems.

Review: In this thriller, U.S. Marshall Carrie Stetko (Kate Beckinsale) must investigate a murder, just days before she is supposed to rotate out of Antarctica, when a scientist is found dead miles away from any kind of research base. One death leads to another and now things are getting serious in the coldest place on Earth. A U.N. rep, played by Gabriel Macht, shows up at a crime scene to investigate, but he has his own secrets that he doesn't share with Stetko. Also in this film are Tom Skerritt (looking extremely old these days), Alex O'Loughlin (complete with his yummy Aussie accent) and Columbus Short. This was a middle-of-the-road thriller because while it had some suspenseful scenes, it was also predictable as hell. There was a fair amount of action, especially considering the setting of minus 55 degrees celsius, being totally isolated and being confined to only a few different sets. One negative was the CGI snow and blizzard. Sometimes it looked fine and other times a child could see it was fake. I don't really know how it works so maybe some parts are harder to animate than others?

Watch It: And marvel at how Beckinsale manages to still look beautiful in the harshest weather conditions ever.

Skip It: Because somehow Beckinsale doesn't manage to pull off the cop role despite trying to be all hardcore. There's something about her that is too fragile for me to believe that she's lived in the ice and snow of Antarctica for a couple years.