Movie Reviewer Andy McKinney, who lived in Alaska in 1988, calls "Big Miracle" a film that shows the state with the harsh environment as it is, a place where everyone pulls together. With "everything that makes for a good movie," "Big Miracle" gets Andy's rating of 3 1/2 Sawblades.
           Andy says,  "I lived in Alaska in 1988 when this movie was set and remember the whale rescue, so I naturally chose to see Big Miracle instead of double Oscar winner Iron Lady.  As much as I respect Margaret Thatcher, I really love Alaska and whales.  I am glad of my choice.
           "This movie has everything that makes for a good movie.  The actors are good, but professional actors are always good, it is what they do.  The production, particularly the seamless melding of live action, animatronic whales and CGI images of eerily beautiful under the ice whale-human interaction, is excellent.  Long time collaborating writers Jack Amiel and Michael Begler have built a workable script sans the jarring clunkers that mar many family dramas.
             "In Alaska, the environment is so harsh and dangerous that we very self consciously pull together.  Director Ken Kwapis has the Eskimos, oil people, politicians and even environmentalists all working for a common goal, something outsiders often miss."
             For more on this film and showtimes at the Sawmill Theatre in Payson, go to Payson Daily Bugle's Movie Review Page.