In a two-week span, two movies about Alaska will make their big-screen, big-budget debuts. "The Grey," starring Liam Neeson, comes out nationwide Friday and tells the story of oil workers who become stranded when their plane crashes in the Alaska wilderness. "Big Miracle," which had its unofficial debut on Wednesday in Washington, D.C., tells the story of a 1988 rescue of grey whales trapped in the sea ice near Barrow.

These movies are vastly different both in theme and subject matter -- "The Grey" is an action flick of the kind that the well-regarded actor Neeson seems increasingly drawn to nowadays, which prompted NPR to ask, "What will Liam Neeson punch next?" The movie is directed by Joe Carnahan, whose last name is appropriately reminiscent of "carnage" and who also directed Neeson in the equally frenetic "A-Team" movie last year.

"Big Miracle," on the other hand, looks to be a feel-good cross between a romantic comedy and environmental activism film, and stars the perky personalities of Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski, among others. It's directed by Ken Kwapis, whose other directorial offerings are similar lighthearted fare, like “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” and “Dunston Checks In.”

But perhaps the biggest difference is that of these two movies, both purported to take place in Alaska, only one ("Big Miracle") was filmed here. Filmmakers of "The Grey" -- despite a lucrative set of Alaska tax credits that the Legislature must vote to extend or abandon this session -- opted for the Alaska-lite filming locale of British Columbia, Canada.

Now, most people won't know the difference, which is what Hollywood always counts on when it comes to film settings. But there's debate to be had over whether Alaska should want every movie -- "The Grey" depicts its team of oilmen not only crashing in the wilderness, but subsequently being stalked by a pack of what appear to be the most murderous wolves in history. It even prompts Neeson to tape single-shot alcohol bottles to his hands, giving him claws and making it a fair fight when he decides to have a showdown with a wolf.

"The Grey" might not be a bad movie. In fact, it even had a favorable score of 78 percent on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes in the day before its release. It might even end up being a better-regarded film than "Big Miracle," which was shot in Alaska.

But the image it gives Alaska can't be one that anyone in the state is too thrilled about. Thus "The Grey" will likely join the pantheon of films promoting a wide array of misconceptions about the Last Frontier and the lives that its people.

Here are five other films that misconstrue Alaska in a way that might never be forgiven.

1. 'The Edge' (1997)

So "The Edge," a suspense thriller starring Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin, never explicitly states that it's taking place in Alaska. It's clear from the float planes, soaring mountaintops, rushing rivers and remote locales that the filmmakers are attempting to evoke the "Great Land." There are references to early sunsets and Kodiak bears. The Native American imagery is a little muddled, depicting not Alaska Natives but another, more traditional stereotype of a continental American Indian.

But the film, which was written by the usually reliable (and Pulitzer Prize-winning) David Mamet, was filmed almost entirely in Alberta, Canada. Not only that, but its affronts to Alaska are numerous, full of flawed logic and implausible circumstances.

The story revolves around a billionaire (Hopkins) and a fashion photographer (Baldwin), who are forced to survive in the wilderness after their plane strikes apparently the largest flock of geese in recorded history -- if the number of feathers flying into the cockpit are any indication. Hopkins suspects Baldwin is having an affair with his wife, and so the men must fight the beast inside themselves, in addition to another, less metaphorical beast: a 1,500 pound Kodiak grizzly.

In the early part of the movie, a grizzled innkeeper warns the naïve New Yorkers about bears.

"They'll kill ya as soon as look at ya," he says. "Nothin' he'd rather eat than human flesh -- he's a man-killing machine." Sounds about right. He then warns people not to leave food uncovered, even indoors. It doesn't stop Anthony Hopkins from stumbling upon a whole ham sitting uncovered by an open window later that night in the kitchen -- a ham he then leaves out.

Film critic Roger Ebert, in his review of the film, mocked the first credit after the movie's dramatic conclusion, which in bold letters proclaims "Bart the Bear," the grizzly featured in the film. Despite Ebert's scoffing at the credit, it feels appropriate. The bear is the most Alaskan thing about the whole movie.

Well, that and the sweet grizzly-fur vest that Anthony Hopkins makes later in the film.