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marcjanajensen
Reviews
The Summit (2012)
Almost Like Being There
Unless you have been driven by a desire to climb high peaks at the edge of your capabilities and have had at least one close brush with death, you may enjoy or be fascinated by this documentary, but you will also struggle to understand the appeal that motivates high mountain climbers to risk their lives in these kinds of adventures. Mountaineering is not the only pursuit that draws the thrill seeker to toss the dice with death, but no other endeavor puts the adventurer in the most austerely beautiful places on earth, with little more than his or her own strength, experience, and wisdom to achieve a goal both difficult and sublime. If all goes well, the climber will endure discomfort, exhaustion, moments of uncertainty and doubt, and difficult choices, sometimes to the greatest extreme, to reach the summit and return to safety and the routines of daily life.
Those who criticize the trendy pursuit of reaching the highest peaks with the support of high-dollar commercial operations primarily for the glory of joining an elite cadre of mountaineers, have plenty of justification for their criticism. It is an unworthy goal to pay someone else with superior skill to drag you to the top of a high peak as an unequal partner. When that happens, you have not really earned your spot and the achievement is hollow, even though you may have been working to the limit of your capabilities and you may have faced fear and death.
This is a real story told by those that were there, facing fear and death, and who survived the most deadly day on the most deadly mountain in the world. The many scenes of re-enactment are well-done and very realistic, almost seamlessly serving to help convey the story. The tips of the crampons on nubs of rock, the sense of the vertical precipices, the whoosh of a body accelerating down a steep icy slope, all contribute to the viewer's immersion in the experience of the event from the climbers' perspective. These re-enactments, together with video by the climbers themselves, make for compelling drama.
Acknowledging that many of the elements presented in the film are complicated and confusing, does not diminish the achievement of this documentary. Much of what happened, exactly, is unknown. A certain amount of conjecture is required when the only witnesses are dead. Even so, the events are remarkably well documented by the many others who were there and came back with photography and personal accounts that confirm much of the story.
The viewer may have to work to capture all the elements in a cohesive story, but if they succeed, they will find a story with many elements of truth about human beings and what drives them to climb mountains, both worthy and not.
My Son Hunter (2022)
This Is An Important Film - But I Don't Recommend Watching It
As one who has been following this story since the reports of Hunter Biden's laptop started to surface before the general elections of 2020, I am familiar with the facts it presents. I don't think there is any doubt about Hunter having left a laptop in a repair shop that contained files and emails that establish, on their own, substantial evidence incriminating Hunter and his father and others in sordid and illegal political influence pedaling. This evidence is now in the public domain and in the hands of the FBI. The evidence is corroborated by undisputed videos, news reports and first hand witnesses, such as Tony Bobulinski. The facts about Hunter's drug and sex addictions are well established. Hunter lost a paternity legal battle with a prostitute/stripper based on DNA evidence. The laptop has numerous photos of his sexual activities and drug use. He was booted out of the military for testing positive for cocaine. Hunter leveraged his father's political status to get positions and large monetary compensation he would otherwise not deserve. Hunter is a sorry excuse for a human being.
I watched the whole film and was disgusted with the bald depictions of drug use and sexual perversions that can only be imagined conceptually if you weren't actually there in person with Hunter. I was offended by the constant use of foul language in the script. I know many people use foul language all the time, but I hate it. This is a life that I have no desire to know in this kind of intimate detail. At the end of the film, after some contemplation of the filth and depravity depicted, I concluded that I did not have to see this film to confirm my understanding that Hunter Biden and his father, Joe Biden, and all those they embraced in corrupt and degenerate activities are evil influences in the world.
The only thing this film does, and it is done in a clever and perversely amusing way, is to convey all the relevant facts about Hunter Biden (and his father) in a tapestry of human imagery. It weaves a comprehensive story with vignettes that are fiction, but using as a foundation for that fiction all the known facts about their corrupt lives. You don't need to see this film to acquire knowledge and the film is so disturbing to watch that I don't recommend watching it, or if you do, focus on the tail end of the movie where many of the historical news and interviews are presented. You can achieve the same end by just read about the Biden family's corruption and degeneracy in the unbiased media and do your own investigation based on the facts without wallowing with the pigs in the mire, as this film leads you to do.
Another Life (2019)
A Decent Concept Ruined By Spoiled Children Posing As Astronauts
I tried - twice - to watch this series, but could get past the second episode. My first attempt was defeated by the incessant and unrestrained foul language that permeates the script. The unnecessary use of vulgar words well illustrated the saying "Profanity is the effort of a feeble brain to express itself forcibly." Weeks later I tried again using VidAngel to filter out the profanity. This helped and I really wanted the story to succeed as I found the concept intriguing. I could see potential for many exciting plot twists and character definition in a fantastic science fiction setting that should produce excellent entertainment. Such elements were definitely present, but they were utterly ruined by the writers' presentation of too many of the characters as 20-something immature brats. These characters mirror the modern-day reality of self-absorbed youngsters who have been spoiled by easy living, unearned accolades, and the belief that they are entitled to whatever they want without the work required for such privileges. I suppose the writers were motivated by a desire to appeal to a young audience in their presentation of young characters who supposedly were highly-trained astronauts. Unfortunately, the concept failed as these self-infatuated, insecure, and immature characters with low moral standards instead came across as barely qualified to be organizing a high school after-game dance.
Run Hide Fight (2020)
Gritty, Insightful, Impactful
Almost everyone would like for life to be wonderful, full of peace and love. But it's not and it's important to our sanity and our ability to cope with this life that we accept there is evil, pain, and sorrow all around us. To make the world a better place we must do all that we can to oppose evil, promote good, and help each other deal with pain and sorrow. This movie is all about that effort. Great story, excellent characters, believable actors. One of the best movies I've seen in a long time.
Free Solo (2018)
A Must See For Rock Climbers
If you have any passion for or even just a strong interest in rock climbing, you can't miss this film. Alex is an excellent representative for the aspirations and yearnings that most rock climbers feel about challenging themselves against gravity and rock. Alex is like other climbers in that respect, except he has developed himself into one of the best of the best climbers. You do have to put up with a little human drama between Alex and his girlfriend amongst the gripping climbing sequences, but that drama just serves to highlight the humanity of even super-human climbers.
Gosnell: The Trial of America's Biggest Serial Killer (2018)
No Hollywood Blockbuster, But A Must See Movie
It's not entertainment, but a desire for education and enlightenment that makes Gosnell: The Trial of America's Biggest Serial Killer a must see movie for all those seeking to understand an issue that contributes significantly to defining our modern times. Although there is justification to contend that the movie isn't taking a position on the legality of abortion, the whole movie revolves around the subject of abortion. Abortion is not new in the history of human society, but the legalization and commercialization of abortion subsequent to the 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe vs. Wade is new. Whatever your position on abortion law, it's likely you would find Gosnell's abortion clinic and his frequent practice of "snipping" the spinal cord of life-birth babies to be abhorrent and contemptible. The movie shows how Gosnell's abortion practice was able to survive under the protective politics of those who religiously defend "a woman's right to choose" an abortion, even though he brought harm to many women by the filthy conditions of his clinic, including reuse of surgical implements, and the callous treatment of babies medically induced to be born alive only to then be killed to satisfy the abortion objectives. All of this information about Gosnell and his deeds is well conveyed by the excellent script and actors without any gory illustrations. It is left to the imagination whether or not your skin crawls from the gruesome nature of Gosnell's nightmarish clinic. Abortion is a serious modern issue and this movie presents the facts of a true situation in a way that is useful to understanding important factors of the issue.