cmass11 There were a number of excellent actors in this film and it was a very good story to make into a film. I ultimately found that, despite the dramatic real life story, the film missed opportunities to push for a very viseral experience. There were moments that certainly could have and should have been more drawn out to give the viewer a truer experience to what the real life story was based on. The film is certainly worth watching, but it is not one that I would return to for another viewing.

Gattobuono No, that's not an error of syntax, 'Movie Disaster' is an entirely fitting epithet for the two hours of bland clichéd drivel that I just subjected myself to.Synopsis: A group of wealthy, entitled, and in some cases entirely unfit people need to bolster their fragile egos. In order to do this, they travel to a third world country to climb to the top of the world biggest rock because ... 'reasons'. The big rock isn't that cool with they idea of having silly little people clambering all over it and leaving their s##t everywhere, so with the help of his friends snow, wind, and ice decides to show them whose boss.Surprisingly ... big rock wins!In Short: Insipid dialogue. Stereotypical Hollywoodian characters. Zero character development. Obligatory nausea inducing soppy bits. Total lack of info about why certain key failures happened (read the books). ... and why should we give a damn about these idiots anyway?Save your time and watch something decent, such as Touching The Void.

Gavin Purtell 'Everest' is a true survival - man vs nature - film. It's not necessarily fun, but it is engrossing. Since it's based on a true story (I haven't read the 'Into Thin Air' novel), it's a simple plot - in 1996, a group of experienced climbers engage the services of Rob (Clarke) to assist them in their climb to the summit of Earth's highest mountain - Mt Everest in Nepal. The film spends 40min (probably too long) introducing the characters and staying at Base Camp, but it does give you the chance to get to know them and their motivations - especially Beck (Brolin) & Doug (Hawkes).That's the main question throughout - "why"? I think it boils down to ego - man's desire to conquer everything, even nature's most extreme obstacles - highest mountain, driest desert, deepest ocean trench, outer space, etc. It is nice to see them fulfilling their dreams on making it to the summit, but once the inevitable storm blows in, it really does make you think "these people are insane for being up there"! I definitely won't be climbing Everest!It's a well-made film, with good pacing once they're climbing and some truly beautiful shots of the Himalayas - very glad they shot a lot of it on-site. The devastating storm is one of the loudest and most ominous things you can imagine when at the top of a mountain. Rob's calls with Jan (Knightley - worst Kiwi accent ever) slow things down, but add to the drama.

EBJ 'EVEREST' - 2015Directed by Baltasar Kormakur{2 Guns; Contraband}Starring Jason Clarke{Dawn of the Planet of the Apes; White House Down}, Josh Brolin{The Goonies; No Country for Old Men} and Josh Hawkes{The Sessions; Winter's Bone}Plot Overview: We follow experienced Mt Everest Climbers, Rob Hall(Jason Clarke) and Scott Fishcer(Jake Gyllenhaal{Brokeback mountain; Nightcrawler}) take a series of mountain climbers to the peak of Everest. But when an unexpected storm strikes, Hall and Fishcer must get their climbers down before it is too late.I am a man whom is VERY fond of films that have been based on a true story. The sometimes horrifying fact that an event actually took place is haunting to me, but immensely intriguing. Thus, I went into this movie with perhaps too high of expectations. Kormakur's movie '2 Guns' ceased to impress me so I should have maybe lowered those expectations. Alas, I believe in second chances so I gave the man a chance. And I was incredibly disappointed. Everest is a dull, boring, monotonous Oscar bait film that I had the displeasure of seeing. Nothing in this film is distinctly amazing, nothing in this movie is distinctly good. But this isn't one of those average movies where you think 'Oh it wasn't too bad; I could still watch it again sometime'. This is one of those average movies that was a chore to get through, not based on quality but based on entertainment value. I didn't expect Jason Clarke to wield a bazooka and rocket jump up the mountain, but the overly long and boring dullness that this film presents, once again, ceased to impress me.Did I like anything in this film though? Yeah. I loved the performances. Not a single actor fails in this movie and they consistently displayed the hardships they're facing and barbaric nature of the event they find themselves in. Two standouts for me are easily the two I initially billed: Jason Clarke and Josh Brolin. Clarke is an actor that I've never took issue with, but has never been blown away by. That is until this movie. Clarke delivers a gut wrenching and harrowing performance as Rob Hall and he was, perhaps unfairly, one of the only two characters I felt a genuine connection to. I think you can guess who the other was. Surprise, surprise - it was the other character in the movie who gave a stand out performance. Josh Brolin is an excellent actor and I truly loved his performance in this film. He is the other character I was even remotely interested in, and that is down to Brolin's excellent performance. Was anyone Oscar worthy? No. But I was definitely fulfilled and pleased with the performances in this film. Another aspect of the film I was impressed by, was the visuals. The cinematography in this movie was excellent, and Kormakur definitely succeeds in enveloping the audience in his cold, calculating blanket of snow and ice. I actually got shivers at certain point from the way Kormakur utilised the camera and visual effects to manufacture a chilling, icy atmosphere of isolation. The editing was also very well done and incredibly concise. Visuals are honestly the greatest praise I can award this movie. Alas, amazing visuals are not enough.I don't think I can call the story of this film weak without possibly offending someone. But in all honestly, I did. As insensitive as this may be to say, I don't think it was that interesting OR a story that needed to be told. Don't get me wrong: it's absolutely horrible was happened on that mountain, and my sympathy forever lies with the families and victims, but I just didn't find the event itself that interesting. I was frequently bored throughout this film. I had little to no interest in what was happening and didn't really care for any of the characters, as cruel as that may be to say.Expanding on that point, films like this rely on the audience feeling sympathy for the characters. But I didn't. The two I did actually care for were the only two that I actually knew something about. They have a little meeting that is designed to give me an insight into their lives, make me care for them and bloat the already overly long run time(seriously, it's 2 hours long but it feels like 4). Alas, all of these goals fail except the last one. I have no interest in that the woman has climbed "6 of the 7 peaks" or whatever; I don't know anything about HER, only what she has achieved. It's this unfortunate lack of sympathy that lets this film down for me.As a whole, I was disappointed by 'Everest'. It succeeds in being one of the most mind numbing films I have watched in ages, so credit for that. It has gorgeous visuals and great performances but the disconnect from the situation and characters that I felt made me see no reason in watching it. I didn't like 'Everest' and so I cannot recommend it. I'll rate 'Everest' 5 out of 10.