Whiteout

Disturbingly violent thriller is set in Antarctica's Amundsen-Scott Station days before the winter closes down travel. Carrie Stetko (Beckinsale), the only U.S. Marshal assigned to the post, hopes to wrap up an uneventful two-year stint, but the station's first homicide victim shows up just as a brutal storm approaches. Stetko's not going anywhere, right? Yeah, and neither is this movie. As dead scientists pile up, Stetko gets assistance from mentoring father figure/pilot Doc (Skerritt) and special UN investigator, Robert (Macht). Flashbacks to a Russian plane crash in 1957 hint at the back-story but the storm, big parkas, and frenetically filmed action make it difficult to follow the unfolding mystery. On a good note, the gorgeous Beckinsale delivers her obligatory disrobing and shower scene very early in the film so, guys, if you doze off in the final third...you're good.