Avalanche Alley

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.

What is that great saying? They did the best with what they had.

Unfortunately, this felt the case with this movie as well, with not much character definition and too many sidelines which failed to be explored. We did get the obligatory tit/sex shot-for those that must need that kind of stuff in their movies.. ho hum!

Fortunately the show improved midway through when what appeared to be a minor character, Simon (played well by young Canadian, Tobias Mehler), took on more work and brought a level of enjoyment (for this viewer) to the otherwise predictable script. Some good lines were not wasted when delivered properly and the show had potential, but seemed to 'get buried' a little too deep. The scenery certainly improved the script!

Having said all that, I'm still glad I bought the movie for my collection. It's one of those 'switch off and just watch' movies.

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')

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.

if you like action movies with hot chicks, devastating mountain action and a

captivating story then this is for you. If you see yourself as an extreme boarder that likes to get drunk, hike a ridge all night with no snow shoes, peeps or

clearly a clue then this is for you too. Plus if you can still be chucking spins and getting your grabs in whilst trying to outrun a grade 4/5 avalanche then you'll appreciate this too...

I would actually like to see this again, I told so many people about it today on the hill that its become a joke on our mountain - fantastic absolute crap.