Nature Unleashed: Avalanche

A group of people that I never truly identify with attempt to fight off a poorly-CGI'd (with the help of some abysmal practical effects thrown in) avalanche from destroying a snow lodge that refuse to close despite the mounting evidence of impeding doom (no pun intended) I believe this originally was a SyFy film but I saw it on Encore Suspense which I preferred as I didn't have to fast-forward every 6 minutes are so due to the vastly numerous amount of commercials on that channel.

But I digress, back to the movie at hand, it's boring, overly melodramatic, and uninteresting. I found myself checking my watch multiple time and I don't even own a watch so it was always a freckle after a hair o'clock which in all honesty was still vastly more interesting than this movie.

This film essentially begins somewhere in Eastern Europe with two brothers named "Thom Cussler" (Adam Croasdell) and "Jock Cussler" (Andrew Lee Potts) acting as guides for a couple of tourists who have rented snowmobiles from them. Although Thom warns the tourists not to travel too far up a glacier that looms above a local ski resort, one of them does anyway and causes an avalanche to come barreling into the small town. Fortunately, although there is some damage done, nobody is seriously injured or killed. Even so both Thom and Jock are blamed by the local villagers for their reckless actions. Meanwhile, a businessman by the name of "Mr. Alkin" (Steven Grives) is in the process of building a large hotel there and he is sparing no effort to make sure it is safe and sturdy. The problem is that his financial manager known simply as "Rogov" (Valentin Ganev) has acquired money for the project from a criminal element and they insist on having it built within a timeframe not suitable for Mr. Alkin's specific agenda. Things get even worse, however, when an environmental scientist by the name of "Katya" (Kate Henry) appears on the scene and warns them of a potential super-avalanche if immediate action isn't taken. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a fairly boring film due in large part to the director (Mark Roper) trying to create suspense by repeating the same scenario over and over again. Likewise, the personal drama between the characters-especially Jock and his former girlfriend "Callie Alkin" (Jessica Brooks)-lacked the necessary passion to really amount to much. In any case, while those interested in a disaster movie of this type might not consider it to be too bad, it didn't really impress me and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Below average.

Is all I could think about during the first 20 min (that's all I could do) is how much wasted money and energy went into this horrendous film. I know there are good screenplays out there being shelved...and yet we have this dog! It did have humor though..Like how they used every previous avalanche ever filmed and combined the footage. Different lighting...different mountain, different snow, but what does it matter when you get a good chuckle. I have three more lines but cannot think of anymore to say about this film. Awful Awful Awful. Oh, the little village is quaint until it gets hit by what seems to be a large cloud of talcum powder and tapioca. This mystery snow does not effect the trees though, they don't move?

But it gets the job done.

A bunch of characters including two brothers, the younger brother's lover, her father the developer, and an avalanche watcher start to realize a nearby peak is about to come crashing down. Trying to find a way to keep everyone safe while maintaining profit, all while overcoming their own inner drama and differences, keeps them busy for roughly an hour and a half. We get to tag along too.

It basically has mediocre dialog, mediocre directing and editing, some pretty good photography, and bad acting, but it's the story that keeps this little experience interesting. In general, it's a somewhat tense countdown while the weight of the mountain starts burdening the souls of all involved. Can't say it was that bad.

Obviously a big difficulty was keeping it going with limited materials, being that a few shots/ideas are re-used several times. It also has a pretty useless side-story about the developer's evil business partner that frankly only worked to use up space, then climaxed in a pretty campy shot that I won't give away. But the fact that it even had side-plots and backstory and character development is kind of commendable for the type of movie it was. So there we go. Entertainment fun-fest and all that.

--PolarisDiB

Rarely have I seen a movie of this calibre. The convincing and passionate actors deliver line after line of heartfelt and meaningful dialogue.

The looming danger of the 'super-avalanche' drives the beautiful avalanche scientist Katya and ruggedly handsome snowmobile driver Jock together. But can unbridled love survive the SUPER AVALANCHE?

I won't spoil the ending, you'll have to see it for yourself. WOW, this movie has everything: avalanches, snow, suspense, and romance. How could anyone not love this movie?

If you like avalanches, and if you want to be swept away by a beautifully written and sublime movie: watch it.

10/10