The Impossible

J.A. Bayona, 2012

IMDB

4/5

There are disaster movies that focus on the disaster, and then there are disaster movies that aren't really disaster movies because they focus on the characters that are victim to the disaster. The Impossible is definitely the latter of the two. A disaster film with a heart. Focusing on an English family of five, they are on Christmas holiday in Thailand in 2004 when the historic tsunami hit their beachside resort. The images of this natural disaster have been in my memory for the past 13 years since it happened. Seeing the beautiful country decimated by Mother Nature so quickly. I remember seeing the amateur footage on Youtube back when the disaster occurred.

Bayona's immediate accomplishment with this film is getting you invested in the characters so quickly. Without this they would be nameless faces dealing with the destruction. But instead, you are familiar with them very early on. You see their vulnerabilities as they sit on an airplane on their way to their vacation spot. Maria (Naomi Watts) has anxiety from the turbulence. Henry (Ewan McGregor) has some OCD tendencies with trying to remember if he had set an alarm at home before they left. These elements cleverly humanize them and help to generate empathy early.

When the tsunami hits, it doesn't feel like a bastardized CGI construct. It feels like an authentic force. The film doesn't heavily lean on the CGI though. It feels completely necessary, like its just enough. How it should be. A supplemental tool in the absence of the real thing. There is an obvious sense of panic. You are left with no real answers as to which members of the family have survived and which members have perished. The film then evolves into more of a gripping survival film as a wounded and incomplete family desperately tries to become complete again.

The sense of desperation and heartbreak resonates throughout the film and I can't remember the last time that a 2 hour running time passed by so quickly. Watts and McGregor deliver remarkable performances as they usually do. Surprising to see that Watts was the only one that received attention from the Academy with a Best Actress nomination (she lost to Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook). McGregor really deserved a nomination too. It's actually quite surprising to realize that McGregor has yet to receive a single Oscar nomination in his entire career when you remember his performances in films like Trainspotting and Big Fish. The Impossible is a really gripping film, rich in detail. History should be kind to this film. A really accurate look at one of the most tragic and destructive natural disasters in our modern era.

Swiss Army Man

Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheinart, 2016

IMDB

3/5

There hasn't been a movie made quite like Swiss Army Man, and theres a good chance there wont be another. Surely nobody has seen a movie about a morose castaway that befriends a farting corpse. Perhaps the best way to describe this film is to say its like Cast Away on mushrooms. The movie is almost entirely Paul Dano's Hank character interacting with deceased Manny, played by Daniel Radcliffe. Hank is on a small deserted island and has lost all hope. He's about to commit suicide and end it all for good when he sees Manny's body wash ashore. So desperate for human contact of any kind, he decides to scrap his plans for suicide and finds inspiration in silent Manny.

What follows is one of the most quirky films made in some time. A zombie bromance story. An imaginary friend movie. It's for the most part an incredibly quirky comedy, but there is certainly some heart in this film. Hank's character is truly tragic. Like the trash he discovers in the forest, he is a person disregarded by society - even before he was stranded. He is able to discover so much about himself through Manny. In a sense he is forced to rediscover everything that makes someone human, as Manny has no memory of his past life and Hank needs to start from square one. An unsettling revelation in the final moments of the film wrap things up quite nicely. Swiss Army Man has a place somewhere but it's definitely in a category of it's own.

Captain Fantastic

Matt Ross, 2016

IMDB

4/5

Captain Fantastic is one of those films that seemed to slip between the cracks over the course of 2016. Which is strange because on paper it looks like an interesting movie. Viggo Mortensen stars as father of six kids who live remotely in the Pacific Northwest forests and struggles to maintain order within his family after his wife suddenly passes away. It feels like an easy sell. And makes you wonder why this film didn't really generate a lot of buzz over the course of the year. Perhaps because it's so indie-feeling. Some of those quirky indies, if they aren't directed by Wes Anderson, struggle to float to the surface among the many bigger budget films that distract from these smaller ones over the course of the year. Mortensen is becoming one of those actors that, like Clive Owen, are so consistent that you know you are going to get a good performance from them in any film. He's able to bring an energy to his Ben character that makes it hard to picture anyone else in his place.

Theres a certain degree of hypnosis pretty quickly when a Sigur Ros tune starts playing in the background and you are treated to some superb cinematography with some beautiful lighting. Basically a showcase of their forest spread. Giving you the indication that they have been there, roots are pretty deep, comfort is there. Some of this daydreamy vision that exists in the film is reminiscent of The Spectacular Now, which also had a lot of ambition and heart but not all of it landed like it does with this film. Some of the quirkiness is reminiscent of a Wes Anderson piece, particular the way Anderson approaches some normally morbid subject matter. In fact this film could be regarded as the 2016 Wes Anderson movie that he didn't do. The forest world that's constructed is reminiscent of the The Kings of Summer, another indie that slipped by a few years back and should have received more praise.

This is a film that should be seen. There are things that are done here that haven't been the same way before. Brutally honest moments at a dinner table. Umcomfortable moments at a funeral that haven't been seen since Harold and Maude. The way the film deals with death late in the film has an intrepid black comedy approach that is heartbreaking but also emotionally rewarding.

Mountain Men

Cameron Labine, 2016

IMDB

3/5

The relationship between siblings can be complicated and volatile over the course of a lifetime. When we are children, we spend so much time together because we all live under the same roof and will take what we can get in terms of company. Whether we are sharing a bunk-bed with that particular sibling or they live across the hall, we have a live-in playmate that may have different interests but for the most part we overlook the difference at that age and will be flexible for the other person. Then we get older, we grow apart. Sometimes years go by before we see each other. Sometimes it takes more than the holidays to bring everyone together. Sometimes its a wedding or, in this particular story, a death in the family.

Toph (Tyler Labine) and Cooper (Chace Crawford) have lost touch over the years. Coop has built some success on his own, living in New York disconnected from the family. Toph is more of a burn-out, living in his hometown. He is quick to say he's a professional DJ but the only actual income he has is from selling weed to the local pot-heads. Their mother gets remarried shortly after their father's death. While at the wedding Toph manages to convince Coop to venture to the family cabin to evict a squatter rumored to be residing there.

The get stranded in the snow-covered mountains and have to rely on each other (and their fathers wisdom) to return to safety. Mountain Men manages to capture some of the nuances of brothers. Abrupt fighting. Preying on weakness. Bringing up embarrassing memories of childhood. Part of the built-in authenticity of the film is probably due to the fact that director Cameron Labine is real-life brother of star Tyler Labine (also the stand-out role in the film). Mountain Men succeeds because it focuses more on the brother dynamic and less on trying to be a purely unique film. It's a predictable movie, and that's okay. The chemistry between Labine and Crawford feels real and that's enough to make it an entertaining watch. Crawford's Coop character is clearly the more introverted type and it contrasts well with Toph's goofy but likeable personality. The funniest most memorable shot of the entire film is the sudden jump to the cabin burning down. That's something that I will be laughing about inside for some time. Mountain Men is a nice little film, a fun watch.

The Revenant

Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu, 2015

IMBD

4/5

Watching The Revenant reminds you of how good our modern civilization has it. Not having to scavenge for fur in the wild to sell to get by. Not having to endure unforgiving weather in some rinky-dink shelter, cold wintry wind blowing at the thin walls. Living in the early 1800's involved you trying to avoid frostbite while also trying to avoid arrows piercing your skull from a Native American ambush.

Survival is a constant theme in the film. What it takes to survive. What you are actually living for. Or who are you living for. Do you have anything worth living for. These questions circulate through the Hugh Glass character, played by Leonardo Dicaprio. He had fallen in love with a Native American woman, had a child with her. The Pawnee people were able to give him love, skills, and happiness. He then had to watch so much of it being stripped away from him. As if his lost love wasn't enough hardship for him, he is then brutally mauled by a bear in the woods while trying to guide his fellow men. It's hard to think of a character in a film that has to bear so much misery as Glass, who really spends most of the movie being treated like a rag-doll hanging on by a thread. Dicaprio is really impressive with the Glass character. Instead of being a voiceless crawler through the film, he does a really good job of playing out all of the aches and pains as if you were able to feel some of it yourself. Tom Hardy is just as good as John Fitzgerald, the man who abandons Glass and leaves him to die. It's hard to even see Hardy at first through the thick beard and layers of clothing. Soon after discovering it's him you forget again.

What plays out in The Revenant becomes a duality of survival and revenge, all painted on a cinematic canvas that Inniratu and Co. clearly was trying to perfect - and maybe did. The nature pillow shots. The snow floating across the screen. There's even a scene where Glass is laying on the ground breathing onto the camera lens, and there's a seamless transition to some mountain mist and grey clouds. Credit must be made to cinematographer Emmanuel Lubeski, who worked with Innaritu on last year's Oscar Winning Birdman but has a career filled with working with skilled directors like Terrence Malick and Alfonso Cuaron. It's interesting because from a visual perspective, The Revenant feels a lot like a blend of Children of Men and The Tree of Life (which Lubeski was DP on) in terms of harsh erratic exterior elements mixed with abstract dream-like flair. The rumors were running wild during the production of the film, having you think it was going to be Innaritu's Apocalypse Now. Perhaps it is, as the entire film was shot chronologically over the course of three months, and Innaritu was adamant about only using natural light in the film which gave them only a few hours to shoot every day. Apparently there was production turnover from people who just couldn't handle the conditions. But The Revenant feels like one of those films that is going to be talked about for decades to come. Innaritu is clearly at the peak of his career, and those lucky enough to work alongside him are probably not going to regret enduring the harsh conditions during production.

If anything The Revenant feels a bit lengthy, partly due to the dream sequences and some of the more abstract elements, but nothing in the film feels unnecessary or dragged out. It's a movie that is bound to have more fruit to bear on multiple viewings, and I certainly plan on seeing it again as soon as I am able to. Undoubtedly one of 2015's best.

Goodbye World

Denis Henry Hennelly, 2014

IMDB

1/5

We are living in an age of numerous apocalyptic movies. Nuclear wars, zombie plagues, global pandemics, terrorist attacks. The list goes on. Seems like every year we are served a dozen or so of them and we are forced to weed through them to find one of quality. Goodbye World, is one of the ones of little quality. The film starts off interesting. An ambiguous text starts to circulate saying "Goodbye World", puzzling the recipients. As a group of old friends plan their arrival to friend James' (Adrian Grenier) remote mountain house, order is beginning to break down. The group of friends are reuniting after years of not seeing each other for various reasons. Their reunion just happens to coincide with the collapse of civilization. And coincidentally, James happens to be a doomsday-prepper type who happens to have everything they will need when shit hits the fan. How convenient! The fact that he has all of the supplies, solar power, medicine neutralizes the panic and for most of the film all we really have to indicate that things have really collapsed is some smoke way off in the distance. Oh, and the occasional invader such as a pair of soldiers aggressively trying to claim their place on the compound. 

It's a movie that would have certainly benefited from being much simpler. It could have been an effective limited storytelling piece in an enclosed setting. But the stakes would have needed to be higher. Instead of pure panic and main conflict points were marital troubles, which would seem so trivial in a time like this. There were also just way too many story threads in general. Business conflict between the men. An old couple that still has feelings for each other. A woman still dealing with political fallout from a sex scandal. An ex con lecturer who does college tours.

The movie would have been a great opportunity for Adrian Grenier to do something that he was never able to do during his many years on HBO's Entourage: prove that he is a viable actor. Unfortunately, he fails to do that here. There actually isn't really a memorable performance in the film. Goodbye World is an frustratingly confused film. Probably a movie that was didn't end up materializing the way it was intended to. Instead of keeping things simple, it fell into a web of unnecessary complications. It's a movie that also has some glaring flaws, like kids just standing there when someone is shot to their death or when there is a stranger screaming at a mother. One of the most irritating points in the film is when one of the main characters reveal themselves to be a an absolute computer aficionado. How convenient!

Pressure

Ron Scalpello, 2015

IMDB

2/5

Scalpello's deep sea survival piece feels very much like a blend of All is Lost and Gravity in terms of concept. Basically the entire film is set in the tight pod that houses a crew of men who were sent 700 ft below the surface to repair a pipeline. After rough seas force them to abandon their duties and return to their ship, they learn that their base ship has perished in a storm above them. The limited oxygen in the ship creates a figurative life-clock that they constantly monitor. Their distress beacon can be dispatched but may not have a wide enough range to help them. Even the pressure levels at their depth can create big problems for them. The deep ocean elements basically create a situation that very much feels like being lost in space. They can't exit their vessel without enduring the harsh exterior elements. They have little to no connection with the outside world. Perhaps it's a bit more daunting than being stuck in space, because there are literally just a few hundred feet below the surface of the water right here on Earth.

To the film's credit, the struggle between the men is moderately compelling. The look of worry on their faces, and the challenges that are in front of them are enough to draw some sympathy. But there's something lacking in the film that pushes it lower in the ranks of the really good survival pictures. It's because of lack of story. You are forced to spend 90 minutes in panic with the group that you really don't know much about. You don't know anything about their lives above the surface. We aren't ever really given much backstory, other than in the form of abstract flashbacks that are more confusing than revealing. It's certainly a nice looking deep sea movie with impressive set design. But it just scratches the surface of a really good ocean movie, making it feel more Open Water than 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

Meek's Cutoff

Kelly Reichardt, 2010

Can I Stream It?

2/5

Set in 1845, a group travels across the Oregon country under the guidance of a man named Stephen Meek. Meek promises to guide them through what he believes is a shortcut over the Cascade Mountains. Their doubts grow as they continue to travel in what seems like endless country with food and water running low. When they encounter a Native American in their journey, they are torn between the guidance of Meek and the guidance of the man widely thought to be threatening to settlers.

Reichardt's Oregon Trail-based period piece focuses on the survival of a group across a very desolate landscape. Scattered clusters of dry grass across the cracked earth. The intermittent sight of copper boulders that provide a small sliver of hope that there may be something bounteous on the other side, only to soon find that it's just one of many disappointments across the steppes. Very unforgiving. While the group moves across the harsh terrain, there is a common theme at work: uncertainty. Uncertainty is a dominant motif at work here. They don't know if they can necessarily count on Meek to bring them to their destination. They are certainly losing faith in him. They aren't sure how close they are to finding water, food. In fact, they don't even know if they will drink any water tomorrow. Because of this, they aren't even certain of how long they will be able to maintain the same company. They aren't certain that the cattle or the wagons will persevere. The wooden barrels roped to the sides of the wagons are running dry like their morale. They don't know if their recent "companion" to join the group is going to be helpful, or dangerous. As the wheels turn on the rickety wagon, the wheels turn in their minds. They tread on, continuing forward. Because they have no other choice. The uneventful days turn to black nights, consisting of Emily scraping together some supplies for some minimal calories.

Unfortunately the story maintains synchronicity in terms of the crawling pace that the group upholds. Devoid of any real bursts, you are left in the company of a fairly two-dimensional group of people who don't ever really pull you in and keep you fully concerned. To their credit, their struggles feel realistic and their fortitude is inspiring. But like them, your thirst builds to the point of pure exhaustion. It's betraying when the score builds in the background, only to have that particular moment deflate and transition to a long shot of the two wagons continuing slowly across the empty plain. It's a bold piece of work for Reichardt in terms of a filmmaker attempting to make something with very little. Sadly that it's just not enough.

After the Dark

John Huddles, 2014

Can I Stream It?

4/5

A philosophy professor challenges his students on their last day of class in Jakarta to a social experiment. If faced with the apocalypse, how would they narrow down their group of 21 students to 10 to successfully survive in a fallout shelter for a year?

Huddles delivers an fascinating picture that examines a very interesting philosophical concept. You have a group of people. Each individual person possesses a unique skill-set. One is an organic farmer. One is a structural engineer. One is a psychologist. But then you drop to a "lower" tier of specialties. Gelato server. Poet. Trades that are noble on their own but may not necessarily be in high demand when the world comes to an end. You also have to consider the future sexual needs that will exist as well. These students will need to reproduce. So ensuring a complimentary dynamic between the group is also a must. The future of the human race is at hand. That very study comes into play, and the final result is both thorough and at times unforgiving.

In a sense it's a limited storytelling piece, similar in ways to Richard Schenkman's 2007 picture The Man from Earth. The students never actually leave the classroom. But when you're treated to the visual representation of the story, the film really is a feast for the eyes. Although the Indonesian classroom setting is nothing you want to look away from, you find yourself eager to get back to the imaginary world. The survivors are not confined to a concrete shelter below a run-down post office. The bunker is a modern sanctuary. The mahogany gates are open wide basically giving you a warm welcome to the futuristic quarters that is filled with sleek nooks and chrome crannies with all of the amenities and comforts they would need for a year. The story entertainingly plays out in multiple scenarios, each time putting the students in front of some marvelous natural backdrop that is inevitably about to be destroyed by an atomic blast.

We are living in an interesting time when it comes to film-making. Capable filmmakers are no longer handicapped by enormous budgets. If you have a appealing script and a good editing/video design team, you can still create a quality picture with impressive digital effects like those seen here. On paper it's easy to sell you on this story. Instead of becoming over-indulgent on the visual elements or excessive with the gory parts, it doesn't. It just relies on humanistic creed to sort out the problems at hand. Just like the students are taking the lesson seriously, the actors are really taking their performances seriously. In this sense the film plays out much more like Lord of the Flies and much less like a Final Destination film with it's abrupt demise of any individual person. There are moral breakdowns going on. There are ramifications to each and every decision, and once the decision is made there is no turning back. You're left to live out a year of life, possibly being the only people left alive on earth hoping that you have surrounded yourself with the right people.

All is Lost

J.C. Chandor, 2013


4/5

A man (Robert Redford) is alone at sea, is startled when a shipping container collides with his yacht. He is quick to mend the situation, but it's the beginning of a series of events that tests his ability to survive at sea.

It's sure to solicit comparisons to similarly-themed survival at sea films like Open Water or Cast-Away. But it has so much more heart and substance than the former and less outrageous and hefty than the latter. You could say it's simply a story about a man and his boat. A man looking for some solitude, some peace, perhaps at a refectory period in his life. And some things just get in the way. Some things like, say, a forgotten Chinese shipping container filled with knock-off sneakers. And other things, like Mother Nature displaying her fury on the sea, turning a beautiful day into a grayish hell. Perhaps it's a lesson in life, that you can't run away from your personal conflicts, because conflict can find you anywhere in the world. How you deal with them when they arise, is possibly the true test of character.

Redford, cast as "Our Man", brings his veteran acting chops to the table as a veteran yachtsman. And he does a damn good job of doing it. There's a lot of things you don't know about the man, and you're left to put a lot of the pieces together. He's used to being at sea. That's quite clear. He appears to take comfort in being alone. Why he's alone is not clearly explained. You hear his narrative early on, and you see his wedding band on his finger so you know he has a family somewhere. He's a man who likes a cocktail (or two), and perhaps that's why he's alone at sea in the first place, especially given the apologetic tone set early on. At first when the metal shipping container pierces the side of the boat, he doesn't panic. He quickly improvises, clearly putting a certain skill-set into action and improvising. Even when the storm comes, he remains collected. But he is an effective hero, because although he doesn't tell you much, you are right there with him on that boat rooting for him.

The minimalism is what makes this film so great. No dialogue, one cast member. That puts a lot of pressure on Redford, but he handles it remarkably. It seems like Chandor must have gone through 100 cameras making this film. As far as the sound goes, the score isn't so pronounced nor does it need to be. Sometimes you just hear the sound of the fierce wind blowing. But when he's in the brunt of the unforgiving storm, there is an ambient resonance that is so perfectly haunting it gives that one particular scene so much more power. That scene, without revealing what happens, is the most memorable of the film. That synergy could be the best attribute of the film, other than Redford's acting. The creaking as the boat rocks back and forth. It becomes such an integral part of the film. You sit in the cabin with him, wondering what could be coming next. The schools of fish gather below the boat, and it may as well be a clock ticking. They grow in number and size. The impending doom. A story of a man's misfortune. A reminder that water can be the basis of one's survival, or one's peril. A tale of time, or the proper use of it. Especially when every minute counts. A test of one's personal fortitude. The possibility of breaking a man.

This is the End

Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg, 2013


4/5

James Franco (playing himself) is hosting a housewarming party at his new palatial contemporary home when the party is inconveniently interrupted by the apocalypse. Terrified of the impending doom, they decide they are better off sticking together trying to survive.

Rogen and Goldberg and company pull off an impressive feat in this much-used premise of the apocalyptic doom and gloom epic. The final result is sort of like if Seth Rogen put pot brownies on the craft services table during the filming of The Day After Tomorrow. Powered by a strong cast that includes many of the usual Apatow suspects, the reactionary humor never runs dry. Several cameos (Michael Cera, Rihanna, Emma Watson) show that many were willing to take a pay cut to have some fun with the $32M budget. The $32M budget went impressively far, with special effects that should impress most with a big-budget feel. With the cast playing caricatures of themselves, they show that they are capable of making fun of themselves. Giving Rogen and Goldberg free reign with putting their writing at the screen is a good decision, already proven with Pineapple Express. With a flawless screenplay, soundtrack and editing, the colossal demise of our world has never been so funny. The earth opens up wide to swallow the coke-riddled narcissists of Tinseltown. Jonah Hill has one stand-out scene in the film where he's acting very Jonah Hilly that should have you laughing days later.

And so continues Seth Rogen's interesting career. He has some serious comedy gems under his belt at this point (Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Pineapple Express) and of course some duds. His comedy is the most effective when you feel as if you're next in the weed circle. He's clearly his strongest in roles that are well within his comfort zone, and there's no shame in that. And while the amount of weed hasn't diminished, neither has the comedy. You get a sense watching that the boys have all grown up a bit, but haven't lost a step.

The Kings of Summer

Jordan Vogt-Roberts, 2013


4/5

In an effort to escape the constraints of their overbearing parents, buddies Joe (Nick Robinson) and Patrick (Gabriel Basso) decide to build a house in the middle of the woods with the help of oddball friend Biaggo (Moises Arias). When they complete their project they realize they have created something that will have a long lasting impact on them.

It's a coming-of-age tale that is really nice looking, but also possesses an inviting quality that is both endearing and comedic that generates memories of Stand By Me. It examines the ever constant painful embarrassment of growing up in your parents house and not having the means to escape. The cast is full of personality, with Nick Offerman perfectly cast as the bitter father who is still grieving over the loss of his wife and taking it out on everyone around him. His sister Heather (Alison Brie) is at an age that she was able to escape to freedom but left Joe to endure the angst. Patrick has his overbearing parents (played by the very talented Megan Mullally and Marc Evan Jackson), who have a difficult time letting Patrick leave their sight. When they do have him in their grasp, they spend the entire time picking apart every facet of his existence. The addition of Biaggio to the group adds a lot of levity. Certainly (and hopefully) not the last we'll see of Moises Arias.

The kids are just looking for some air to breathe, and they find it in their Thoreauian fortress. The sound of their parents voice is enough to annoy them, and the young boys likely see their elders as reflections of their future selves - and that's a scary thing to them. They want their niche. They also want a sense of purpose. They establish principles, and try to stick to them. A very present soundtrack really amplifies the film with a repetitive melody scored by Ryan Miller combined with several other Indie staples. The punched up script delivers the laughs and feels fresh. The film does get a bit overindulgent with the slow-motion shots, some of the awkward humor feels a bit forced at times, and the building of their house feels quite painless... but that's okay. It succeeds in its message. It's a very relatable film to anyone who grew up looking for some independence, and we all attempted to construct shacks that were likely far less detailed than the house in Kings.

The Snow Walker

Charles Martin Smith, 2003


3/5

Veteran pilot Charlie Halliday (Barry Pepper) agrees to transport a sick Inuk girl named Kanaalaq (Annabella Piugattuk) along in his bush plane to bring her to a hospital after he makes a delivery to a small tribe. Soon after takeoff the plane crashes and he is left in the frozen wilderness to survive. His friends lose hope of finding him in the tundra, but he is fortunate to have taken the ailing passenger along with him.

Based on the short story "Walk Well My Brother", this drama contains some familiar themes. The American man teamed up with the capable native woman is similar to Dances with Wolves. The plane crashing in the wilderness, forcing the characters to utilize their survival skills is similar to The Edge. But this film certainly has some unique qualities, and it is certainly one of the better Survival dramas made. A few minutes into the film you get a feel for Charlie's character, as he boozes it up while playing pool in the bar. He's full of himself, and everyone knows it. Some of the men around him are bothered by it, while some women are attracted to it. It's similar to his character Frank in Spike Lee's 25th Hour. A man with a clear Inuit descent accidentally bumps into him and is clearly apologetic about it, but Charlie pushes him away with dismissive aggression ("I am NOT your brother..."). This shows the divide between his people and the natives, the natives who he would later come to appreciate for helping him survive. Kanaalaq is at first just a coughing girl wrapped in animal furs, but she soon becomes a rather critical key to his survival. Without her help, he without a doubt would not have made it. Her instincts had a relaxing quality, because she never appears to be out of her element. The plane crashes, she immediately throws a line into the water to catch a fish - knowing that they need to be worrying about their next meal. Her lack of English makes it difficult to communicate at first, but she slowly picks up on some words. Piugattuk was very effective at showing someone who was trying to use the English language but was still getting caught up in some of her native tongue. While the barren landscape at times feels a bit too forgiving and lacking natural predators, it was aesthetically pleasing. There were some really beautiful moments in the film such as one scene where you see a purple sunset combined with an Inuit song playing in the background. In the end Charlie is humbled by his circumstances, while watching you imagine that if he ever makes it home - he's going to be a changed man.

Open Water

Chris Kentis, 2003


(REWATCHED)

2/5

Romantic couple Susan (Blanchard Ryan) and Daniel (Daniel Travis) go scuba diving while on vacation in the Caribbean. After their boat miscounts the passengers it leaves without them, leaving them stranded in the shark infested waters.

It's probably a very familiar nightmare in many peoples eyes. Stuck in the ocean, not knowing whats below you in the infinite depth or not knowing when or if a safety vessel is coming for you. Do they even know that you are gone? It's an interesting idea, but this limited storytelling piece is limited in a lot of other areas. The immediate jump start of the film feels like you are getting pushed into cold water without warning. Soon you see zoom shots that are downright confusing, almost as if the button was broken on the camera and can activate at a moments notice. Why zoom in on the clamshell phone? It's amateurish. You soon feel alone (before you even leave for vacation), because the lack of character development leaves you relying on the performances of to pull you in. But they don't offer much. Ryan and Travis certainly don't deliver electrifying performances. You know their characters are busy, business-types. They never get a vacation, and they finally get one. But there's not much more there. Danny Boyle taught the world that you can paint a colorful picture with limited story as he did in 127 Hours. James Franco really delivered a complex performance and you were caught up in his dilemma. You were rooting for him. When you have a bland landscape of rippling ocean currents and the mostly periodic shark fin protruding through the surface, you really need the acting to carry the film. There are no ebbs and flows to Open Water. It has the excitement of observing a fish tank with the charm of watching a buoy float. There is so much room for improvement. In fact, similar-themed The Reef played on shark fears, and did it much better. And who cares if the shark was very obviously CGI'd. Nobody is looking for perfection there. The animatronic Jaws shark stills haunts us forty years later. But comparing Kentis to Spielberg would be like comparing Joel Schumacher to Stanley Kubrick.

Touching the Void

Kevin MacDonald, 2003


3/5

Using first-hand interviews interlaced with accurate reenactment footage, this docu-drama covers the story of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, a pair mountain climbers who run into trouble when one of them falls and breaks their leg while attempting to climb the west face of the Siula Grande in the Andes mountains in 1985.

It is undeniably a story worth telling. Using the technique of reenacting the journey, it certainly puts you in the action. The camera is not just fixated on the side of the mountain either. Unique locations like elevated above the climbers, down at the base of the snow where you see chips of ice falling on the lens. It makes the work much more cinematic, more entertaining than if you were just sitting watching two veteran climbers reflect on their journey. When the heavy snow is pinning them to the sides of the cliff at night while they look above with miner's lights on their helmets - you really get a sense of the comradery involved. Connected by a piece of rope, their lives are really in each others hands. The sudden decision made by one of the climbers is made in a few seconds but is clearly a life-changing one. It certainly presents a moral dilemma to the film that leaves the viewer wondering what he or she would do in the same situation. When the film makes a shift into a more survival-based theme, its very reminiscent of the struggle in Danny Boyle's 127 Hours. Like that story, there is a focus on the resilience of the human body. The film certainly explores the concept that perhaps there are parts to this world that are not meant to be accessed. But that wouldn't be human nature would it? We are curious creatures, bound to take risks. We are eager to put our foot in virgin soil. We want to make our mark.

Happy People: A Year in the Taiga

Dmitry Vasyukov & Werner Herzog, 2010


4/5

A beautiful film that examines a part of the world hardly explored. It's a magnetic film that really puts you in the middle of the remote Siberian village. It's a raw study of human survival and community in the harshest of climates. It's a village built on a patriarchal family structure, with the man of the house constantly having to go out into the vast forest to tap into his biologically-inherited hunter-gatherer abilities.

The inhabitants have a strict routine that they follow, mainly because their very survival depends on it. With the assistance of their loyal hunting dogs, they travel miles into the snow-covered Siberian landscape to set traps, clear traps, hunt game, and build tools and structures with the very trees that surround them. It's a very honest film, the protagonists don't sugar-coat anything about their life. They must kill animals for their food, and have no shame in doing so. At one point in the film one of the men even says that he feels more honest about killing his food - because he's the one with the blood on his hands. Although the town of 300 is completely removed from the world around them, they are very accommodating and appear to be very comfortable in front of the camera. They are true survivalists, most people wouldn't be able to endure the harsh winter climate or the isolation. They not only have to endure both, they have to endure long periods of both, for months on end. They build the cabins they sleep in, and craft the skis and canoes that they travel in. Herzog's narration adds a noticeable tone to the film, and you are THERE with the people of the Taiga. You are underwater when they drop their nets into the icy river, and you are with them as they traverse the narrow winter paths via snowmobile. It's a refreshing escape from the Western World, removed from technology. Removed from dependence of the superficial. Removed from the meaningless drama that finds its way into our daily lives. These people have REAL drama, like maybe not having a next meal. There are a lot of question marks for them when they wake up in the morning. Will there be anything waiting for them in their traps? Will one of their beloved dogs get attacked by bear? When they arrive at their outlying cabin in the forest, will it be intact? Every one of these variables can have a profound impact on their survival. It can certainly make parts of the American life feel trivial.

The film is VERY similar to the independently produced documentary "Heimo's Arctic Refuge" which is part of the "Far Out" series created by Vice. It follows a man named Heimo for a week while he participates in very similar activites around his secluded cabin in rural Alaska. That film can be streamed HERE

Castaway on the Moon

Hey-jun Lee, 2009

4/5

Kim has hit rock bottom. With accumulating debt and a recent breakup, he feels he has nothing to live for. He decides to end it all, and jumps off of a bridge into the Han River. He wakes up on the shores of an island, wet and confused. He's not even sure if he's alive, or in some form of an afterlife. 

Castaway on the Moon maintains more of an imaginative, dream-like tone than Robert Zemeckis' Cast Away (2000, Tom Hanks). Initially, you sit in doubt as to whether or not Kim is alive, dead, or in some alternate dimension where sits as a lone observer of the lively city in front of him. He's left with no resources other than what washes ashore on the island. He's left to his wits, which he admits actually makes him smarter. While he labors on the island to survive and keep himself busy, he doesn't realize that a bedroom-dwelling hermit is observing his activities via camera. He gives her a new-found passion, a curiosity for what's outside her bedroom door. She hides her face from an mysterious incident from years past. Her grocery list is sent via text to her mother who nervously places it outside her bedroom door. Each day passes, and the garbage bags pile up in her room. Kim needs to hit his rock bottom to see the beauty in life, and that beauty resides in the small things. He creates his own universe, far removed from credit card debt. Far removed from dead-end relationships. Far removed from courtesy callers. His duck-boat home feels welcoming. In the end its rewarding for everyone involved. 

The Way Back

Peter Weir, 2010


3/5

          Set during World War II, a group of prisoners escape from a Siberian labor camp and brave the harsh winter conditions and venture through the freezing snow-covered forests, sand-ridden desert, and the Himalayan mountains in an effort to ultimately seek refuge in India. Based on a true story.
          Peter Weir takes you on a long journey much like Edward Zwick does in Defiance (2008). Instead of focusing on Jewish prisoners though, this story focuses on mostly Polish prisoners but also an American (Ed Harris) and a Russian (Colin Farrell). While the story is at times dragging along, Weir does a good job of really focusing on the surrounding environmental struggles and the sheer will they have to survive. Not only do they have to worry about the harsh conditions that surround them, they also have to be very conscious of anyone who may try to retrieve a bounty for their head if seen by the wrong person. The film is very effective at studying human morality in many ways, especially during a time when the world around you is being destroyed. In the end all you're left with is the urge to keep walking, and every step counts. By the time the group reaches the desert, and sees the miles of scolding earth in front of them - you assume that most people would simply give up. The main attraction to the film are the beautiful landscapes... the rocky tundra, endless mountains. Good acting manages the story well, but its a long journey and by the end you are exhausted along with them.