Kate Beckinsale’s ‘Whiteout’ About as Thrilling as a Blank Screen

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CHICAGO – Producing more derisive snickers than gasps and more snores than thrills, Dominic Sena’s “Whiteout” is a massive waste of time, a predictable, dull, and hysterically cliched slice of junk that should be run out of theaters before month’s end.

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 1.0/5.0
Rating: 1.0/5.0

Based on a graphic novel, “Whiteout” has been sitting on the shelf for long enough that the most confounding thing about this mystery is why anyone at Warner Brothers decided to waste their time with a theatrical run instead of just shuffling this mess off to DVD. Only a relatively interesting performance by Kate Beckinsale saves “Whiteout” from being an unmitigated disaster. And just barely.

StarRead Brian Tallerico’s full review of “Whiteout” in our reviews section.

The film opens in 1957 with a shoot-out on a Russian cargo plane over Antarctica. Whatever the Russians were carrying, it goes down into the frozen tundra at the edge of the world.

Flash forward to the same area of the planet five decades later as a nearby scientific research station is about to shut down for the season of darkness. Of course, a blinding storm is on its way as well. It’s a bad time for a murder mystery to pop up for U.S. Marshall Carrie Stetko (Kate Beckinsale). Stetko is a melting pot of cliches, coming off a case-gone-bad and self-punishing herself by taking the beat that no one else would volunteer to take.

StarContinuing reading for Brian Tallerico’s full “Whiteout” review.

‘Whiteout’ stars Kate Beckinsale, Gabriel Macht, Tom Skerritt, Alex O’Loughlin, and Columbus Short. It was written by Jon & Erich Hoeber and Chad & Carey Hayes and directed by Dominic Sena. It opened on September 11th, 2009. It is rated R.

Whiteout
Whiteout
Photo credit: Warner Brothers Pictures

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Re: Beckinsale’s ‘Whiteout’ About as Thrilling as a Blank Screen

I’m excited to see the whole movie. It keeps me thinking about Kate Beckinsale’s role as a US Marshall. It appears all that time Kate Beckinsale spent honing her acting chops for serious dramas like Van Helsing and Underworld may have been in vain, as the Whiteout movie she’s billed in is getting a hiding at the hands of the critics. The Whiteout movie, or just simply, Whiteout, has nothing to do with the office supply, but rather takes place in Antarctica where a serial killer is on the loose. Most films opening this weekend are getting a lot of stick – no one likes Tim Burton’s 9 movie, or Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself, either. Maybe after the Whiteout movie gets a quick movie, perhaps Hollywood can try coming up with something good for a change.

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