By now, my feelings on Joe Carnahan's "The Grey" ought to be well-known. But worth mentioning within that is Liam Neeson's incredibly underrated, tortured performance. It's been interesting to see reaction to it run the gamut from "he phoned it in" to "he's never been better," but I found he dug deep and put a lot of real-life pain into this performance. It's cold and dark and full of the most bitter emotions, completely of a piece with the film's atmosphere and themes. Had it been released later in the year, maybe there would be more buzz, but this January release is looking likely to be forgotten by the season and that's a shame. - Kristopher Tapley