Man on a Ledge

Well you can accuse this movie of many things, but false advertising isn't one of them. Man on a Ledge does contain both men and ledges and that's about the best thing I can say about it.

As for the rest, it's a convoluted tale about crooked cops, a diamond the size of a grapefruit, a greedy billionaire who puffs away on his cigar and of course the one good gal who believes in the man...on...the...ledge.

Sam Worthington plays Nick Cassidy, a convict on the run accused of a crime he didn't commit. Worthington is the Australian actor who hit it big playing big blue in Avatar. But if he keeps making mediocre movies like this one, the next blue character he'll be appearing as will be a Smurf.

Man on a Ledge is essentially a heist movie in disguise. But this is a heist so hapless it makes MacGyver look like a master criminal. This is a movie where criminals sneak by cameras using a skateboard and a grey blanket. Plus what is the point of building the world's most expensive safe, and then PUTTING THE AIR VENT RIGHT NEXT TO IT?

Man on the Ledge is also a movie that is so promising in the United States the studio is already offering a 2 for 1 deal to try and get people in the door. What confidence. Don't feel like paying 12 for this? How about 6? How about 2? My suggestion is, wait a couple weeks, by which point Summit Entertainment will be ready to pay you instead.

Rating: 1 out of 5

One for the Money

One for the Money is based on the best-selling series of books about Stephanie Plum. She's a blue-collar Jersey Girl who decided to become a bounty hunter to get out of debt. Blond-haired Katherine Heigl went brunette for the role and executive produced the adaptation.

Now I believe everything you need to know about this movie can be learned from one pivotal scene

Katherine Heigl appears as Stephanie Plum in One for the Money. (eOne Films)

Stephanie Plum is in the shower, handcuffed to the rail while Joe Morelli a handsome ex-cop she's pursuing is ransacking her apartment.

While Morelli digs through her kitchen he says, "How does a person eat like you eat and look like you look? "

Her response, "Hey, why you messing with my tastycakes, huh?"

So let's deconstruct this.

We have Jason O'Mara the dollar store version of Gerard Butler, as the ex-cop. And Katherine Heigl and her Vinnie Barbarino, Brooklyn accent. Now tastycakes could be some American junk food I've yet to encounter. But on another level it's Heigl flaunting her tastycakes, standing in the shower, trying to play the tough bounty hunter and the sex kitten at the same time.

Katherine Heigl was once a talented comedienne with charisma and good timing but her choice in material has been her undoing. One for the Money is a Rom Com without the romance or the comedy. Call it a Non Com. Or just don't call it at all.

Rating: 0.5* out of 5

*Why 0.5? Because some screenwriter had the courage to write the words "Damn Skippy" in a movie set in 2012.

The Grey

Look at the trailer and you think may you've seen this film before. (It's Alive, with extra wolf punching!) But The Grey LINK is a little darker and smarter than the typical man vs nature adventure.

Liam Neeson plays a man named Ottway. He's a hired gun wallowing in misery when we meet him, paid to protect petroleum workers. But when a flight home from Alaska ends in a harrowing crash, 7 survivors find themselves alone facing a pack of hungry wolves.

What could have become a pulpy b-movie is grounded by the performance of Liam Neeson and artful touches of director Joe Carnahan. Neeson has a face that was built for anguish and a body made for dishing out destruction. In this small gang of rough characters he's the alpha dog, fighting the other men, the weather and even himself. There are hints early on, Ottway was ready to give up. But something inside him keeps him going as the elements and accidents shrink the number of survivors.

Adding to the atmosphere is the fact that The Grey was shot on location in Smithers B.C. This is no digital snow and we feel the strain as the men struggle to lift their boots with every step in waist-high snow drifts.

For a furious film with no lack of adrenaline, The Grey is packed with grace notes. Flashes of a cheerful in-flight magazine while the plane plummets towards the ground. The quiet way Neeson eases one of the men to his last dying breath. ("Who do you love?") The wolves themselves are an almost existential threat, more heard than seen. The less-is-more approach helps keep the tension up until the furry (albeit somewhat unbelievable) finale.

Director Joe Carnahan first had a big splash in 2002 with the movie Narc. After disposable fluff such as Smokin Aces he's returned with a movie that brings to mind the wild spirit of a Jack London novel. There's a stark unforgiving nature to the men's predicament. As their numbers drop, one of them wonders if the dead are in heaven. "They're not," spits out Ottway. "They're no where."

Packed with atmosphere and a cast of mostly fresh faces, The Grey is a movie to see with something warm to sip on. Oh and make sure you sit through the final credits.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5