The ending is ambiguous and perplexing if it means anything at all. Perhaps Cormac McCarthy, whose novel this movie is based on, couldn’t think of a proper way to conclude the story and decided to stop while he was ahead. The preceding plot isn’t wondrous enough to spend a lot of time trying to figure it out, but No Country is intriguing, thanks mostly to its villain; a merciless killer named Anton.
my rating : 4 of 5
2007
The Goonies are reject kids who live for fun and wonder, use “gnarly” as an interjection, scream “Geronimo” down water slides and refer to each other as “guys” a little too much.
These imitation Hardy Boys and girls journey thru caves and taverns rigged with traps and bats, but the scariest bit is a grotesque being who looks like Bert from the back.
Maybe the movie, with its crude plot, idiotic comedy attempts and all, wouldn’t be so bad if the kids, especially the fat one and the Chinese one, weren’t so damn annoying.
my rating : 1 of 5
1985
“Why do we do this to ourselves,” a Mount Everest climber asks another, “It’s crazy.” Though all they really get for reaching the highest peak on Earth is the satisfaction of knowing they did it, that last bit isn’t necessarily true. It could just be stupid. It seems, if they’re not on secret suicide missions, it has to be either one or the other. When you reach the so-called Death Zone, you’re guaranteed to start dying from lack of oxygen. Even with a full “O” mask, you could just as easily fall or freeze to death.
Everest is based on the true story of several climbers getting caught in a deadly blizzard, but you’d be better off watching one of the many documentaries covering the 1996 disaster. This fictionalized version never gets far off the ground. There’s a poignant phone scene near the end, but nothing in the storytelling invokes much compassion for the cast of foolish or crazy characters. So much for suspense. Consistently hearing them breathe and grunt as they climb only adds to the annoyance.
my rating : 3 of 5
2015