In last year's "A Dolphin Tale," Ashley Judd, Harry Connick Jr. and Morgan Freeman saved the dolphins. Now, in "Big Miracle," Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski and Dermot Mulroney save the whales. Somewhere, the manatees are thinking, "What about us?"

Halfway through "The Woman in Black" comes a long sequence -- at least 15 minutes -- in which Daniel Radcliffe spends a night alone inside a haunted house. Doors slam shut. Inanimate objects move ever so slightly. Dark corners seem to harbor monsters.

A couple of years ago, when Edward Burns had trouble pulling together financing for a film, his thoughts turned to this: "When I was 25 years old and had no money -- and didn't know how to make movies and had no experience -- I was able to get $25,000 together, and that film was 'The Brothers McMullen.' So let's just do that again."

"The Artist" has 10 Oscar nominations, including best picture, director and screenplay. Only "Hugo," with 11, has more, but "The Artist's" two nominees in the powerful best acting categories make it at the very least one of the favorites for the Oscar. Does anyone realize how remarkable an accomplishment that is?

Liam Neeson pumps up the volume on his reputation as a middle-aged neck-snapper with "The Grey," in which he doesn't take on a pack of bad guys but a pack of really bad wolves.