One of the worst movies ever...
A boring celebration of pure stupidity. I felt like I was watching a 94 minute long beer commercial.
shareOne reviewer perfectly expressed what the worst thing about this movie was:
"
I'm feeling confused
1/10
Author: Alex Di from The Moon
30 January 2011
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Just like the infamous Confused Matthew I'm feeling confused about this movie. Why does it get so high of a score?
I knew right from the start this movie was going to be an awful experience. I knew right from the start it had two ingredients that would kill this movie for me. Firstly it is based upon real event, and an interpretation of real events is always such a delight to witness. And secondly it was about a guy talking to himself for ninety five percent of the movie. To me even one of those two reagents is a no go.
But alas I was in a way dragged in to see it, nothing I could do about it. And the reason I hated this movie so much wasn't because of the two constructs established, but a third I wasn't aware of before a movie ended. If it hadn't been for the third thing I wouldn't even waste my time on writing a review.
And the third thing is: it tries to convey a wrong message, and does so poorly!
There is a fundamental difference between being a loner and being an idiot. And our beloved protagonist played by Jim Franco is exactly both. But the funny thing is that the movie blames all his misfortunes not on him being an idiot, but rather on him being a loner.
I am a cynical loner myself. You could argue about my level of intelligence, but in all of my individualism I would never go mountain or cave climbing alone, without telling my relatives my exact route, estimated times of arrival at each checkpoint, and bringing both a long- range mobile phone and GPS along with a massive amount of supplies with me.
And that anti-hero of ours does neither of those things! And what does he blame it all on? Ooh, he's a lone hero, he doesn't need anyone. No, no, he's not stupid, he's just a loner. Ugh, what a load of bull.
And the way they shove this idiotic notion in our faces is anything but subtle. That's why as I said earlier it tries to convey a wrong message poorly. That's about it when the movie becomes a total pile of steaming junk, culminating at the end. Else I could at least let them score a point for telling an idea, albeit a wrong one in a right way.
This movie is nothing more than another piece of societal propaganda, preaching and forcing their morals and values on us, the individuals. But don't believe a word I say without proof. Watch it and judge for yourself, but approach it very carefully, as such movies are dangerous."
Some fair points raised and an interesting counterpoint to a lot of the mainstream reviews.
My take on a couple of the reviewer's remarks.
"But the funny thing is that the movie blames all his misfortunes not on him being an idiot, but rather on him being a loner."
I don't think that is quite right. The movie does portray him as a risk - taker who does tread a fine line to the point of stupidity...the mountain bike sequence at the start. I was just waiting for him to stack it and was mildly surprised he wasn't more busted up when he finally did.
"That's about it when the movie becomes a total pile of steaming junk, culminating at the end."
What part of the end is he talking about and why does he think along those lines? My understanding is that it is a true representation of the events.
The fact is that Ralston has continued to succeed in living an extreme lifestyle despite the loss of his arm. He's also a successful motivational speaker, so IMO, the guy can't be a complete klutz.
This reminds me of way back in the day when I was growing up in a small town in Northwest Iowa. My best friend's older brother set traps all over the place out towards the Missouri River. One day in checking the traps he found an Opossum in a trap with his leg nearly chewed off. He saved the 'possum and kept him as a pet. I remember every time I went to see my friend that 'possum was somewhere around the clothes line climbing all over the place with one missing leg.
shareHaters gonna hate.
Funny he brings up Confused Matthew. They both probably have the same poor tastes (especially after looking at Matts negative reviews).
People hate for the sake of hating.
i just hate evil, this "thing" is pure evil, and it all started with the focking blair witch project and reality tv shows.
i mostly will not be able to answer your reply, since marissa mayer hacked my email, no notification
[deleted]
This movie is nothing more than another piece of societal propaganda, preaching and forcing their morals and values on us, the individuals.
Not sure I'm buying all that, but your broader point is valid. Disclaimer: I'm a big Danny Boyle fan, and a big James Franco skeptic. I can't tell if that "young Hollywood intellectual" thing he's working so hard to cultivate is genuine, or merely another scripted performance - look up the youtube video of the time he was on Stephen Colbert (a real intellectual) trying to appear all deep and well-read . . . and Colbert effortlessly knocked him down several notches. If it hadn't been so funny, I would have been embarrassed for him.
But as I was saying, another recent movie made the same mistake you're talking about: "All Is Lost," in which we get to spend 100 minutes staring at extreme close-ups of Robert Redford's face lost at sea while wondering, "WTH doesn't he have GPS, FGS?" He has a SEXTANT (which he knows how to read), but not GPS or a SatPhone? SMH - share
Exactly. Most people don't realize that, regardless of the director's intentions, and regardless of how much box-office potential it might have, if a proposed script or movie does not fit a certain mold of propaganda, it simply never gets financing or gets marginalized deliberately and is not seen by more than handful (if it does manage to secure completely independent financing, as in, from somebody's own personal money only and not the "money" they legally counterfeit in the banks through the fractional reserve scam).
Therefore, multi-millionaires like Boyle, who have a Marxist/collectivist mentality, get promoted. Movies that promote herd-mentality and demonize individual dissent get promoted, movies that demonize countries and people Israel doesn't like get promoted, etc. Movies that promote a healthy balance between the individual and his tribe, a synergetic balance that gives more-of-all and more-for-all simultaneously, but never in equal proportion, in keeping with natural inequalities yet sacrificing none in the process, and requiring only the bearing of responsibilities for free choices and actions, in other words THE MORAL, are never promoted. If any organic and truly moral message like this gets through, you can bet your bottom dollar it is almost always an accident and rarely deliberately intended or promoted.
The Age of Manipulation – The Con in Confidence, the Sin in Sincere – Wilson Bryan Key Ph.D. (close colleague of Marshall McLuhan):
http://www.slideshare.net/TheOccultTruthDotCom/the-age-of-manipulation-wilson-bryan-key
"Big winds come from empty caves." -- Ancient Chinese Proverb
Go watch my dinner with andre or tarkovsky's solaris :)
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