Deep Winter

I totally dug this movie! It has great action and cool actors, the skiing is off the hizzle and the picture looks incredible. It is about time somebody made a decent story on the slopes without selling out to some typical Hollywood story. I felt like the pages of Powder Magazine came to life, literally. Hey it ain't Shakespeare, but there is a compelling buddy picture story, sort of man against nature vibe that takes you into the world of expert skiing and the majesty of the Alaskan Rockies. Emerging star Kellan Lutz commands as the snowboarder and Madsen rules as a grizzled pilot. I loved the soundtrack, too! This is the kind of movie that I can watch over and over on cable whenever it is on. Impressive effort, technically sound.

(2008) Deep Winter ADVENTURE

Acting is bad, and the plot is too cliche to be taken seriously as well as absolutely offers nothing professional skiers do not know themselves besides being very predictable, but if anyone were to be ignorant as much as I am about the dynamics of filming skiing videos this film succeeds at doing just that. Co-written and directed by Mikey Hilb directing a movie that has simplistic plot about a professional skier, Tyler Crowe (Eric Lively) who gets himself kicked off his ski team, he then visits a girl, Elisa Rider (Peyton List) working at a bar who the star Tyle is close to her brother and a professional snowboarder, Mark Rider (Kellan Lutz) who also knows about the star getting himself kicked off his skiing team, brings along and introduces to him a film crew who makes ski videos for a living and offers him a contract to showcase him to do some serious skiing on some of Alaska's most treacherous mountains. Michael Madson also stars as the helicopter pilot, Dean whose job is to drop skiers/ snowboarders to the mountains. The process of making skiing videos is what should be focused here than on anything else, otherwise it's pointless for this to be watched at all.

Tyler (Eric Lively) is a hotshot skier with much talent but not enough self-control. His defiance of rules and instruction gets him tossed off the American ski team by his coach (Robert Carradine). Heading back to his Rocky Mountain home, he catches up with old friends, including Mark (Kellan Lutz) and his attractive younger sister, Elisa (Peyton List). Not having a good plan for his future, Tyler and Mark, also a skier, are asked to ski in a put-on-a-show video in Alaska! The concept is that a helicopter will take the duo up to a mountain in the 49th state, drop them off and have a camera rolling. It is one risky business, for small avalanches occur regularly. Only the most skilled athletes and fearless souls need apply. The two men go. There they meet a former Alaskan skier, Dean (Michael Madsen) who will be giving them advice and holding the recorder. Initially, things go well and some spectacular footage is shot. But, with both Mark and Tyler liking to compete "on the edge", will they return home safely? This movie has some of the most terrific scenery and skiing cinematography that most viewers will ever see. Imagine, skiing down a huge mountain in Alaska! Just looking at it makes one a bit dizzy! On the other hand, while the cast is talented and good looking, the plot is mediocre. It also has some drug related elements that might make some film fans uncomfortable. Nevertheless, the movie's unique setting and eye-popping ski stunts make the flick very worthwhile, winter or summer.

I read this review on DVD Verdict then rented the movie and loved it.

You know, I wasn't expecting anything more than a cookie-cutter snowboard jock-movie starring annoying characters, but Deep Winter surprised me. It's an entertaining spectacle, sporting some jaw-dropping downhill footage, a serviceable human drama, and likable players to tie it all together.

Deep Winter is sort of a meta-snowboard movie, quite possible the first of a genre. The story is about these guys making a ski and snowboard movie, but it's obvious from the crazy downhill shenanigans that human beings are actually strapping themselves to thin pieces of sculpted plastic and voluntarily sliding down a big-ass mountain. Really, I can't say enough about how awesome the skiing and snowboarding is in this movie. If I had to guess, the angles are sheer 90 degree drops of doom and somehow the nutjobs the filmmakers suckered into rocketing down the slopes negotiate this wintry peril with ease. Just fantastic.

Buttressing all of this is the movie itself and it's decent. You'll be able to chart out the trajectory of the plot no problem: the twists, the relationships, the looming fatalities, the Final Momentous Choice our hero makes, all of it. You've seen this melodrama in countless other works. The clichés are tempered with some solid acting and a likable Alpha Male awesome skier guy who bangs his best friend's sister, sure, but that's a necessity in movies like this, so you can't fault him for that. Even Michael Madsen brings his game, likely relieved he's not hoisting around a fake sword and incomprehensible accent from a Uwe Boll movie or playing a gangster for the billionth time.

Again, the centerpiece of Deep Winter is the ski action footage, so I wouldn't hold it against you if you skipped through some of the extended sentimentality to get to the good stuff.

The film looks good in its 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen treatment, though the picture quality isn't as vibrant as it could be. In fact, Deep Winter is best-suited for a high-definition treatment. Audio is pushed by a 5.1 track, and it's rich, pounding bass and blasting out the nifty soundtrack. The total lack of extras is a major missed opportunity.

I had high hopes for this movie. The cinematography is great. This had an opportunity to be a great film.

Poor scripting, bad dialogue and second hand acting really put this one in the crapper. I think the best part of this movie is on the editing floor.

The feel of the movie is very slow, the romance depicted is so boring no one in their right mind would put up with that.

One saving grace is the sound track -- awesome music, very little good action shots.

I will give credit where credit is due -- Very good photography and some awesome skiing.

Very Amateurish for a movie.

3 / 10