The Grey (2012)

Don't you have a Jedi mind trick we could use, Liam?

At a glance:

We all thought it was Taken (2008) with wolves, didn't we? Based on the short story Ghost Walker by Ian Mackenzie Jeffers, The Grey (2012) is Joe Carnahan's supposed January lame duck which turned out victorious at the North American box office, deliverin its upstart distributor Open Road Films a first No.1, while in Malaysia our friends at Rainfilm (formerly Platinum Pictures) can only hope to emulate its success. We can at least be surprised at the cool alternative poster they put up at GSC Tropicana City, though other distributors should complain about how they managed some extended shows despite only sneakin, especially a Wednesday 9pm show on the eve of its general release. The film is pretty straightforward - veteran badass Liam Neeson (pic) leads a team of stranded oil rig men against some unseen wolves (animatronic puppets, live trained animals & CGI cover-ups) when their plane crashes into the middle of the cold nowhere.

Bad news on the doorstep:

This was a guy who REALLY liked the film.

It's not really an action movie but rather an adventure thriller and survival drama like The Edge (1997), though not as satisfyin. Also, it was quite the mindfuck because [spoiler to follow] the audience is on trial - if you left before the coda after the end credits, you see a different endin - and it's almost as if the film's intention is to match you with the kind of endin you deserve to see!

Reminds me of:

Alive (1993), that movie about the Uruguayan rugby team that were stranded in the Andes and had to eat each other's butts to survive. Also, the recurrent flashbacks of a woman in the film reminds me of the real life demise of Natasha Richardson, the actress wife Neeson lost to a skiiin accident.

I can't remember if I cried:

When I read about how an overzealous fan tattooed the poem from the movie onto his arm and sent it to the movie's Facebook fan page here.

Most memorable line:

The poem, of course. It reads: Once more into the fray. Into the last good fight I'll ever know. Live and die on this day. Live and die on this day.

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?

Three stars for not resortin to Twilight-type wolves and keepin the animals comfortably hidden. On a side note, there is a level of artistry in its despondent narrative. Still, I bet audiences think this movie talks too much. Can't decide how much was censored because of its choppy editin.

Trailer for the curious:

Bonus:

Here's a pic of the Malaysian poster visual bein displayed at Cathay Damansara in Malaysia, courtesy of me mate Adam. My wife thought it was gonna be a werewolf movie like Twilight.

Mystery Of The Wolf (2006) @ Suden Arvoitus

At a glance:
Raimo Niemi's Finnish family movie has some breathtakin shots of the Nordic woodlands. While it ain't exactly an offbeat TV movie, Suden Arvoitus is definitely more mystery than wolf - leadin to a general shortchange for anybody hopin for somethin more epic like White Fang (1991) or Call Of The Wild (1972). After a prologue by the river about a fishin accident, we fast-forward 11 years to when young Salla (Tiia Talvisara, pic) is now mothered by someone else (Miia Nuutila) other than her own (Vuokko Hovatta). The rebellious girl shares quite a few character traits with wolves. She has to work her way through the complicated social structure of her small mountain village and also deal with the return of her estranged mother. Soon, she finds herself fightin against time to save a pair of wolf cubs that are bein tracked by the village hunter Venesmaa (Peter Frenzen).

Bad news on the doorstep:
The shortchangin comes when the audience watches Salla retaliate against her mother by insistin that she sighted wolves and not huskies at the hills. What's the fuss about? This is because you will discover it is indeed true that wolves were not employed in the movie - merely wolfdogs, a sort of hybrid animal which results when wolves and dogs fuck. So if you were duped into marvellin at how Niemi managed to shoot so many glorious shots with the notorious canines, this little information might dent your impression on the showmanship of the film.
Perennial wonderment:
Child stars - what can you say, eh? Either you make it or you don't. IMDb doesn't list young Talvisara in anythin after this movie. The young Finn does possess some mystical aura to her (a kind of beastly quality) and uses it to good effect when the story suggests the equality of wolf and man. However, the suggestion is unfortunately, simply that – a suggestion. No more is explored. Salla's wrestle with her biological identity and her place in the world is only of token value.
Reminds me of:
European woodlands. Wish I lost more of me in there.
Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?
Peter Frenzen as the detestable Venesmaa injects some menace into an otherwise largely uneventful movie. While Suden Arvoitus doesn't do a complete disservice to the depiction of the wolves, the simplistic interplay between the human characters fails to pack a better punch, if you would pardon the pun. Ironically, Mystery Of The Wolf had little mystery, if at all. ★★ 1/2