Movie Reviews 2.0

[Laa-Yosh]

No helicopter can fly up to the top of Everest

But this is actually something I've been thinking about after seeing the movie - eventually we'll probably have some kind of aircraft that can actually fly up there, some sort of VTOL thing like a Harrier, only in commercial form.
Now, all the payed amateur climbers would probably still want to go up there on foot, both because it'd be cheaper, and of course where's the challenge in sitting in an aircraft... But then the summit is crowded enough already, so I can't imagine what it would be like in 20-30 years or so. You could say that eventually it'd become too "easy" but even then it'd probably not lose its magic, so even more people would want to go up there... Which is actually one of the things the movie's actually about...

 

[Sxotty]

The thing with altitude sickness is that you can be as fit as a fiddle yet still suffer potentially life-threatening problems. On the other hand, you could be a real couch potato yet have no problems. It's all down to genetics.

I would not say that is true. I have gotten altitude sickness at 10,000 feet before and also climbed above 20,000 feet with no problem. There is a lot of unknowns in how people respond.

 

[Mariner]

There was actually a really interesting BBC documentary a few years back called "Everest: Doctors in the Death Zone". (Worth hunting out if you're interested in this sort of thing). A group of doctors trekked up to the top of Everest and carried out a number of tests on each other (including taking a sample of arterial blood!) to see what sort of stresses the body was put under at such altitude. One of them, who felt absolutely fine and was functioning best with the altitude had a blood oxygen level lower than any ever measured in somebody who still alive - they were all pretty amazed he wasn't dead! Must have been his genetic make-up which allowed him to function with such low O2 levels - I think they mentioned that his blood looked like a dark blue colour though this was very close to the summit.

 

[London Geezer]

Uh-oh, London-boy is not going to be happy about this.

I'm hyperventilating

 

[pjbliverpool]

There was actually a really interesting BBC documentary a few years back called "Everest: Doctors in the Death Zone". (Worth hunting out if you're interested in this sort of thing). A group of doctors trekked up to the top of Everest and carried out a number of tests on each other (including taking a sample of arterial blood!) to see what sort of stresses the body was put under at such altitude. One of them, who felt absolutely fine and was functioning best with the altitude had a blood oxygen level lower than any ever measured in somebody who still alive - they were all pretty amazed he wasn't dead! Must have been his genetic make-up which allowed him to function with such low O2 levels - I think they mentioned that his blood looked like a dark blue colour though this was very close to the summit.

That's a bit scary! I've been looking into base camp expeditions over the last couple of days and it looks like it can be done for a reasonable price. I saw one for £2K all in but I think it can be done cheaper if you arrange some things yourself. I think this one's going on the list.

 

[Arwin]

Actually, I believe that there has to be quite a few of those stories...

And yeah you can never know in advance. That's why you should take a few trips before you commit to such an expensive journey.

Yeah, but Touching the Void is one of the best I think ...
http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0379557/

 

[Sxotty]

There was actually a really interesting BBC documentary a few years back called "Everest: Doctors in the Death Zone". (Worth hunting out if you're interested in this sort of thing). A group of doctors trekked up to the top of Everest and carried out a number of tests on each other (including taking a sample of arterial blood!) to see what sort of stresses the body was put under at such altitude. One of them, who felt absolutely fine and was functioning best with the altitude had a blood oxygen level lower than any ever measured in somebody who still alive - they were all pretty amazed he wasn't dead! Must have been his genetic make-up which allowed him to function with such low O2 levels - I think they mentioned that his blood looked like a dark blue colour though this was very close to the summit.

No doubt about that, but even then that is a separate issue in terms of how well the body functions with low O2 levels. I am talking about the super bad headaches, nausea and dizziness on the way to edema and what not. Anyway I read a study that said ginko tends to diminish the probability as well as diamox. The ginko study wasn't huge, but was compelling enough for me.

It is very strange how the same person can respond differently, but it is also hard to make a decent study since the person might have a tinge of a cold and not know or something of that nature.

 

[Mariner]

Back on to the topic, I watched The Martian the other night. Quite well done and my wife enjoyed it a lot though I thought that the book was, of course, better. Some sections of the book were missed out/simplified which I suppose is understandable but it did detract from plot to some degree. I don't think the main character's humour came across particularly well but then I suppose it isn't easy to transfer diary entries to the screen!

Unfortunately, I've come to the conclusion that I can't enjoy a film too much when I know what is going to happen. Probably the same reason that I'll rarely rewatch films/TV shows and also explains why I didn't perhaps enjoy movies such as LoTR and The Hobbit as much as some apparently did!

 

[DuckThor Evil]

I don't think the main character's humour came across particularly well but then I suppose it isn't easy to transfer diary entries to the screen!

Agree with this. I think they should have left half of those to the cutting room. Still an enjoyable movie.

 

[DuckThor Evil]

New Star Wars trailer.

 

[nutball]

So is it double-plus confirmed now that

Spoiler

Luke Skywalker is the bad guy

???

 

[Sigfried1977]

Loved The Martian. I'm not really buying Kate Mara (who still looks like she's fresh out of high-school) as an astronaut on a Mars mission, but that's literally the only (inredibly nitpicky) criticism I can think of.

 

[Laa-Yosh]

So is it double-plus confirmed now that

Spoiler

Luke Skywalker is the bad guy

???

Far from it. It's just some speculation and not that solid at it, either.

 

[nutball]

Far from it. It's just some speculation and not that solid at it, either.

Hmmm. OK. I hadn't seen any of that speculation on the Internet. It was a conclusion I drew from watching that trailer. Followed closely by the realisation that of course it was precisely the sort of thing that the Internet hive mind would have already come up with.

It's a fairly obvious thing to conclude from the content (or lack thereof) of the trailer on the LS front, and would also align well with the Hollywood Cheese Vector.

The penny drops slowly sometimes for us older folk.

 

[eastmen]

Happy back to the future day !!!!

Geeking out a bit

http://www.nj.com/entertainment/ind...k_to_the_future_toyota_commercial_filmed.html

I couldn't get lunch the day they filmed this ! The Bendix dinner is a staple in a lot of Hollywood movies and a great place to fill up after a long night of drinking which I've done many of times growing up.

I also went to a marathon of all 3 at my local thearter.

Oh and my friend wrote that article !

 

[Grall]

Finished San Andreas some days ago, and yeah - it's really rather awful really, in most every way one can think of. Even as a timewaster this movie feels dumb.

Then watched Sherlock Holmes II, and it was decently alright. Guy Ritchie's steampunk-ish take on Holmes also feels decently alright - not so over the top as Wild Wild West or Leage of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Freddie Prinze Robert Downey Jr. is miscast as Holmes though, watching, or rather, listening to him trying to do a dry English accent rather kills my suspension of disbelief at times. Ell-oh-ell.

Who isn't miscast however is Jared Harris as James Moriarty. This guy - whom I spent the entire movie thinking of where else I'd seen his face, not realizing I probably hadn't; it was his dad I'd seen! - is a simply fabulous villain! He is menacing, yet subtle. Confident, yet patient. Psychotic, yet restrained. He gets screen time throughout the entire movie, and none of his scenes are wasted.

The movie is very well paced. You don't even learn what the master plan is until quite far in, and there's still time to resolve and counter it in a manner that does not feel rushed. All the same, the movie feels a little flat - if it's the anachronisms that to some extent kills it (the very modern cinematography and fighting choreography), or Downey's performance, or something else, I don't know. There's simply something missing, I'm not sure what, that keeps it from being a true classic.

It's entertaining enough for the moment though, that's for sure.

Now I'm half-watching Sudden Impact, and geez, fucking hell, is this movie a racist piece of pseudo-fascist propaganda or what. I'm thinking I must have picked up vibes of this in the past but maybe not reacted to it as I should have because cool action movie with Clint Eastwood, but jesus. Seeing it again so many years after it was made, it's so fucking obvious to me now what this thing really is.

 

[London Geezer]

I happened to click on something called Cowspiracy on Netflix last night and, assuming his facts are right (I tend not to trust shocking figures given with no supporting evidence so I'll prob spend all day today googling it, cause I don't have a life), then this might just be one of the most shocking docufilms I've seen.

Highly recommend it.

 

[cheapchips]

Finally managed to see The Martian. I've not read the book but heard good things about the film.

Found it really fun, much more humorous than I expected. And mostly proper science. Yay!

Feels like ages since I watched a space sci-fi film without a crew of idiots in it.

 

[nutball]

I randomly re-watched Lethal Weapon last night. Oh boy, the 80s was such very special decade. I feel privileged to have lived through it.

Then watched Sherlock Holmes II, and it was decently alright. Guy Ritchie's steampunk-ish take on Holmes also feels decently alright - not so over the top as Wild Wild West or Leage of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Freddie Prinze Robert Downey Jr. is miscast as Holmes though, watching, or rather, listening to him trying to do a dry English accent rather kills my suspension of disbelief at times. Ell-oh-ell.

I quite like the two R.D.Jnr Sherlock movies I have to say. His English accent doesn't bother me too much. If you've seen the recent BBC TV series with "Eggs" Benedict Cumberbatch, he does the same sort of clipped, dry manner, and he has an English accent by birth. I agree that Moriarty is wonderfully played.

Personally I think that the best rendition of Holmes I've seen is the Jeremy Brett TV series from the 80s and 90s.

 

[Mariner]

I randomly re-watched Lethal Weapon last night. Oh boy, the 80s was such very special decade. I feel privileged to have lived through it.

Undoubtedly, the best-ever film to feature electric sponge water-torture.