Avalanche Alley

That was a pretty bad movie.

I work with people in the industry, (I am a member of a ski patrol myself). This movie was so silly, if I wasn't full of scotch when it came on, I could not have watched it. The premise is dumb. The actors are wooden and stereotypes. This is one of the worst flicks I have seen in a while (and I have seen a few).

However, if you are willing to watch bad movies (and you are full of scotch) then perhaps you can sit thru it.

First things first. I lived in a ski resort up on the mountain in the Rockies. Why would anyone build a ski resort in an avalanche risk area and then set off avalanche bombs to trigger a slide to wipe out the resort you work for? I know almost all the ski patrol's out there would S@#$% bricks if people thought they were this incompetent.

Ok I saw this piece of work during one of my insomniac spells recently. So my state of mind wasn't all that great to begin with on top of trying to knock myself out with some sleeping pills. So only with this state of mind did I get scared out of my pants with this movie. Now I am a long time skier/boarder [I did Delirium Dive, Sunshine Village], but the scenes being trapped under the snow were dead on real, and very claustrophobic. The acting wasn't that great, but the aerial snowboard scenes were not that bad for a movie shot in B.C.

So all in all, only see this movie if you had one too many, because you don't you might fall into holes of the plot line.

With some different cast, this movie would have been great.

The action and avalanche sequences keep you on the edge of your seat, while a quirky humour gives the film its own odd character. Lots of fun snowboarding scenes. The scenes of survivors buried in the snow are truly claustrophobic. Kirsten Robek's performance as the lead female who remains buried for hours, is extremely convincing.

Unfortunately, there was no chemistry between the lodge owner, played by Ed Marinaro, and his much younger wife, played by Kirsten Robek. This made it difficult to buy into this intergenerational marriage, and made for some very lame dramatic scenes. Nick Mancuso was great, however, as the drunken lodge manager whose machinations raise the level of danger. The nerdy filmmaker who the avalanche survivors depend on to get help, is a very fun character, very much the anti-hero. I also liked the nice touch with the cocky snowboarder who ends up buried up to his neck in snow, with only his head showing.

Despite some slow drama, the story works very well and keeps you watching.

I would recommend this film.

The description of this flick sounded promising, but all we really get are a few faceless B-movie actors along with a strangely doughy looking Nick Mancuso attempting to rescue a few kids trapped in an avalanche. You'd think that, being direct to video, they'd just flash a few cheesy visual effects and call it a day. But no, they have to attempt dramatic moments, and that's really where this movie falls and breaks its neck. It's so slow that it makes retirement home bingo seem fast-paced and exciting in comparison.

They tried to give parts of AA a stylish, music-video look, but it doesn't work with the obviously limited budget. (The tinny garage band music isn't a plus.) The end of this movie is also very abrupt and unexpected. There's no closure given at all. Do the snowboarders die or not? One of the guys that gets trapped simply vanishes for the rest of the film. Did he quit during production? Given the result of this fiasco, I would completely sympathize.

Rick (Ed Marinaro) is the owner of a ski resort near the bankruptcy. His alcoholic friend Scott (Nick Mancuso) manages the place, and Rick decides to put his young wife Lauren (Kirsten Robek) in charge of the management. Alex (Wolf Larson) is one of the responsible for the safety of the mountain. In order to improve the condition of the mountain against avalanches, Alex and Lauren install eight explosives on its top to provoke a controlled explosion. However, three reckless snowboarders jeopardize the operation, causing a serious accident. This movie is a good action movie, showing astonishing landscapes, specially through the aerial camera. It transmits lots of tension, specially when some persons are buried under the snow, waiting for rescue. The problem is the story with many flaws. For example, how could a man invest money in a place located in a area with risk of avalanche, and gives its management to a drunken friend? His friend shows that has no moral qualities, lying about Alex and Lauren, drinking on duty etc. In the conclusion of the plot, it seems that the budget finished and the story has a very disappointing end. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): `A Fúria da Avalanche' (`The Fury of the Avalanche')