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.
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.