Everest

When asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest, English mountaineer George Mallory famously answered "Because it's there." The world's tallest point, Everest has long been a source of the impossible, of reaching up to the heavens and doing something humans simply aren't meant to do. In doing so though, climbers take an incredible risk that often results in death. Nowhere is that shown better than the recently released 2015's Everest.

It is 1996 and Mount Everest remains a climber's dream. Things have changed though as expert climbers now guide expeditions up the famous mountain -- the tallest point on planet Earth -- for hefty sums that hopefully get those climbers up to the top where they become one of the few to accomplish the feat. Among those expedition and guide leaders are Rob Hall (Jason Clarke) and Scott Fischer (Jake Gyllenhaal) who have different outlooks on what they do but are both expert climbers. In a crowded climbing season in '96 as many other expeditions go for the summit, both Rob and Scott lead their own teams up. Weeks of preparation and acclimatization ready the teams for a go at the top -- almost 30,000 feet up, the cruising altitude of a commercial airliner -- but no one can know what awaits them on Everest's slopes. There's only a small window to even make a go at the summit, and the window is closing fast.

From director Baltasar Kormakur (Contraband, 2 Guns), 'Everest' is based on the 1996 Mount Everest disaster that claimed five lives (as far as this story is concerned). Obviously, don't read that link if you don't want MASSIVE SPOILERS. The story itself gained notoriety when author Jon Krakauer -- who was part of the expedition -- wrote Into Thin Air, a bestselling book documenting the disaster. It was even quickly turned into an ABC TV movie. This retelling though? Wow. What a moving, uncomfortable and incredibly difficult movie to watch. Trailers and commercials portray this film as more of an adventure story, of spectacle, but it is far-more emotional and personal than I thought. All this is a compliment by the way. It isn't exactly tearing up the box office, but an easy movie to recommend.

Where 'Everest' succeeds best is in its on-mountain portrayal. Much of the first hour is spent establishing the hellish environment the climbers and guides will be attempting to climb. Even base camp is at 17,000-plus feet. By the time you reach anywhere near the summit, you're in what is called 'the Death Zone.' Your body isn't meant to survive in those situations and is literally dying. Kormakur's film gives a window into this terrifying world where ice crevasses and avalanches, frigid temperatures and impending death await around every corner. Even the experts struggle to do it, much less the climbers they're trying to help. The 1996 season for years was the most deadly as the mountain claimed double-digit lives, and you see why. To say you climbed Mount Everest is an incredible accomplishment, but it is far from a given that you will make it to the top.

So that cast...yeah, pretty decent. Jason Clarke is on the cusp of big things, and this is another part that shows off his impressive talent. He's likable, believable and delivers a very real, very human performance as a mount climber who knows the danger but also the glory of making it to the top and finds himself weighing that knowledge in a life-and-death situation. He has some great scenes with his wife (Keira Knightley, excellent as usual) that really help humanize him and give the Rob Hall portrayal another level. Another excellent performance comes from Gyllenhaal (one of my favorite actors) as Fischer, a free-spirit who thinks only legit climbers should see Everest's summit. Hall and Fischer are competitors but still good friends who make a business decision as the final go at the top of the mountain nears. Two excellent performances.

That's not enough though because...well, it just isn't. The main focus on the climbers is Josh Brolin's Beck Weathers, a 40-something Texan with a wife (Robin Wright) and two kids at home, John Hawkes' Doug Hansen, a mailman who's neared the summit twice but come up short both times, Naoko Mori as Yasuko, a climber who's reached six of the seven tallest summits in the world, and Michael Kelly as Krakauer, the journalist writing a story. For the rest of the guide teams, look for Sam Worthington (why is he not in more, better movies?!?), Emily Watson, Martin Henderson, Ingvar Eggert Sigurosson and Thomas M. Wright. Some good performances, especially Brolin and Hawkes and Worthington, among the bunch to round out an impressively assembled cast.

Two things worth mentioning that come as a surprise and make the movie difficult to watch. As I mentioned, previews, commercials and trailers portrayed 'Everest' as far more of a spectacle flick and adventure story because at its heart, it is. It's human beings doing the impossible and attempting to climb Mount Everest. So looking at it solely in that vein, it is a haunting, beautiful movie where Mount Everest becomes an incredible, eye-popping visual character. The long, intimidating and foreboding shots of the mountain in the distance or from far below are a sight to behold. Aided by composer Dario Marianelli's score, the snow-capped, windy, rocky set-up establishing shots are an easy success and a treat to watch. Then you see a speck of a human being traversing up the mountain and it all puts into perspective how difficult climbing the world's tallest summit really is.

The counter is the depths of emotions that get thrown at the viewer. Quasi-SPOILER alert, but the climb doesn't go anywhere near as planned and several lives are lost. Some of the deaths are quick and shocking as we see the Death Zone tear the climbers up as the frigid temperatures and lack of oxygen wreak havoc. The other deaths are slow and drawn out -- with some surprises along the way -- that produce some truly heartbreaking scenes. Surprisingly emotional with a haunting final shot. Not an easy movie to "like," but a very pleasant surprise and a big success on just about every level, regardless of how its doing at the box office. I definitely recommend NOT reading about the 1996 expedition before going to see this one. Go in with a clean slate.

Everest (2015): *** 1/2 /****

The Book Thief

Reading it this fall, I loved Markus Zusak's novel The Book Thief after some early struggles catching its rhythm. Once I did, I couldn't put it down. My timing couldn't have been better as a big screen release was scheduled for late November, just a month or so after I finished Zusak's novel. It took me a couple weeks to get out to theaters, but here we are with 2013's The Book Thief.

It's winter 1939, and Liesel Meminger (Sophie Nelisse) has seen her world get turned upside down.  After her brother dies, Liesel has to move in with a German family when her mother can no longer care for her. She moves in with Hans (Geoffrey Rush) and Rosa (Emily Watson) Huberman, a middle-aged couple living inthe middle of Germany. A worldwide conflict is turning into a war, Liesel just trying to adjust to her new life with the Hubermans. She goes to school, forms friendships, learns to read and carves out a new life for herself in the midst of Nazi Germany. It's a good if not luxurious life, one Liesel learns to love. That life for Liesel, Hans and Rosa is thrown a curve when a young Jewish man, Max (Ben Schnetzer), arrives on the Hubermans doorsteps seeking a hiding place from the Nazis. They hide him in the basement, life going on somewhat as normal, but the threat of someone finding out is there at all times.

I should probably just save this next paragraph and copy-and-paste it every time I watch a movie after reading the book it was based on. It'd just be simpler, but here we sit just the same. It is the rare movie that is better than the book it is based on. Thanks, Jim Gaffigan, now I feel like a jackass (watch HERE). This was a novel that's pretty daunting to adapt into a feature film. It covers four-plus years during World War II, introduces a dozen or so key characters, and oh yeah, is narrated by Death himself. The threat is that the things that are cut are key to the plot and characters for the sake of time. Thankfully, that isn't the issue. Director Brian Percival and screenwriter Michael Petroni do an admirable job adapting the novel. Yes, certain things are cut, some subplots, some characters, but the heart of the movie is still there and for the better.

The movie's success lives and dies on the shoulders of 13-year old Sophie Nelisse, a young Canadian actress, who does an admirable job bringing Liesel Meminger to life. As if moving in with foster parents wasn't enough, this young girl has to do so in the middle of Nazi Germany as World War 2 approaches ever faster. It's an easy character to like, be sympathetic to and root for in the end. What it comes down to is that this is a really sweet, caring and thoughtful girl. A good start for Nelisse, hopefully a whole lot of more worthy roles coming her way.

The easiest transition from novel to film comes from a great jumping off point. Beyond Liesel, there are some great characters that don't feel like cardboard cutouts, but real, 3-D people with flaws and emotions. The best character is equally thoughtful, caring Hans who becomes more than a stepfather to Liesel. The middle-aged German immediately welcomes her into the house, helping her learn to read, helping her adjust and teaching her most of all to be a good person. The same goes for Watson's Rosa, except she doesn't show it in the same way, yelling and screaming, teaching with the toughest of tough love. We also meet Rudy Steiner (Nico Liersch), the blonde-haired, blue-eyed young German boy living next door who becomes fast friends with Liesel, Max, the desperate young Jewish man looking for another day, another week of living, and Ilsa Hermann (Barbara Auer), the Mayor's wife who shares Liesel's love of reading and gives her an outlet to do so.

One of the coolest aspects of the novel that makes the transition to the film is the narration by Death himself, voiced here by Roger Allam and seen briefly but never directly. The narration is profound in its simple, straightforward approach and thoughts about life, living, humans and ultimately, death. What better time to get a window into Death's thoughts than World War II, a period in human history where millions of lives were claimed. Death has a fascination with Liesel, meeting her at the graveyard when her brother dies. As he globe trots around the world, he keeps coming back to her, curious and interested what she's up to, what she's doing. I liked especially the portrayal of Death itself, not a menacing monster spawned from Hell. Death is simply a being doing a job, one that tortures him with questions about mankind. It's a great character that gives a different layer to the story.

And time for one last rant, quasi-warning. I think it helps going into this book and/or film is that you like reading. It puts the story in a different perspective, Liesel learning to read in a time where books were burned when deemed subversive. She finds one book, steals others and treasures all of them. If there's a weakness, it's that the film doesn't delve into WWII as much as it could have. We know Max can't be found, but the darkness of the Nazis is only vaguely dealt with. The story drags a little bit at 132 minutes, but overall, it's a worthy adaptation for fans of the book and those just curious to see a good movie.

The Book Thief (2013): ***/****