|
|
|
Deep Winter
R2 - United Kingdom - Chelsea Films Review written by and copyright: Samuel Scott (9th October 2011). |
|
The Film
 Picture the scene... there you are atop a mountain, surrounded by the sheer whiteness of the soft powdery snow, freezing your bollocks off, ready to go down a steep descent on a couple of planks of wood, covered in carbon fibre, avoiding rocks, avalanches, trees and other enthusiasts as you go. You realise you're a complete rookie, fall down a crevice and die. Lonely and cold. OK, so maybe that's not necessarily how winter sports are but those are just a few reasons why it's not my type of thing, instead preferring the relative safety of rugby or football. Hell, I did actually try snowboarding once up near Fort William. It sucked. I sucked. I was just cold and sore the entire trip. Yet, when I watch shows such as the Winter X-Games on the Extreme Sports Channel (Sky 419) I am consistently amazed by the skill some these guys have and I can sit and watch others taking part all day long... which brings us to Deep Winter, a skiing movie set in Alaska. The synopsis from Chelsea Films reads: Renegade downhill skier Tyler Crowe (Lively) and his best friend since childhood snowboarder Mark Rider (Lutz) may adopt different methods of descent but they’re both addicted to the rush of living on the edge and making a perfect run in seemingly impossible conditions. Reunited for the first time in years following Tyler’s recent undignified departure from his ski team, the pair set their sights on making history by conquering a legendarily unrideable mountain known as “The Meteorite” and catching it all on film for extreme sports video producer Stephen Weaks (Goss). On hand to assist them is helicopter pilot and veteran mountain guide Dean (Madsen), whose former partner was killed making his own attempt to descend the notorious peak. As the day of reckoning approaches, tensions arise and the friends’ plans are jeopardized when Mark learns that Tyler has started dating his younger sister, Elisa (List), behind his back and the ensuing argument results in Tyler leaving the project. Then, out of the blue, tragedy strikes… The casting for Deep Winter is quite good for the genre, with seasoned professionals such as Robert Carradine and Michael Madsen putting in very good performances in their roles and helping pick up the slight slack from the two main stars, Eric Lively (TV's The L Word) and Kellan Lutz (Twilight). Don't get me wrong, Lively and Lutz are both reasonably good, but whenever their characters are on screen with Carradine's Coach Dando or Madsen's helicopter pilot Dean, they seem to give off a better screen presence than when it is just the pair of them. Luke Goss and Peyton List also put in good turns as director/financier of the skiing film Stephen and Lutz's sister Elisa. The story itself is a by-the-numbers affair following the expected formulaic route of overcoming the fear of what the deceased friend has died from in order to get closure. There isn't much in the way of character development, but there is enough to show the differences between Tyler and Mark (Lively and Lutz respectively). The character of Elisa is a good addition for the additional aspects it adds to said friendship and thankfully, the character is not overused. The script is mediocre and although none of the dialogue is particularly bad, it's still instantly forgettable and throwaway. The best thing about "Deep Winter" is without a doubt the skiing footage. I don't know if director Mikey Hilb (Dish Dogz) filmed these himself or if a lot of it is stock footage of some sort but the action sequences, especially those using the helmet cam, are fantastic to watch and seem akin to those you would find in specialist skiing videos. The locations are also lush and some of the panning shots across the very scenic mountains are extremely well done. Unfortunately, the formulaic and average nature of the rest of the movie means this is almost forgotten.
Video
Chelsea Films brings "Deep Winter" to the United Kingdom for the first time, and they give us an anamorphic 1.78:1 transfer which is good if unspectacular. There is a lack of sharpness throughout, and the occasional bit of grain but there is nothing that is worth worrying about or avoiding this release for.
Audio
We get a couple of choices as far as audio goes, an English Dolby Digital 5.1 track and an English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track. I watched the movie with the 5.1 audio and, like the video quality, it's good if unspectacular. Surrounds are used to reasonable effect but could've been used more, especially for the helmet cam scenes. No subtitles have been included.
Extras
Just a theatrical trailer. A technical commentary would've been a very welcome addition, or even a documentary about the history of skiing. Even a featurette on training the cast would have been nice.
Overall
Formulaic movie with good performances from the supporting cast. The scenery and action scenes look fantastic and I recommend the movie to anyone who views those special interest skiing videos as you'll definately get a kick out of some of the footage here. For everyone else, rent it first.
|
|||||
|