The Ascent (2010)

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

What a difference the DIRECTOR'S CUT makes...Attended a private screening for this film, of which, I had no idea about, called THE ASCENT. All I knew was that it was an indie-action flick, and my friend, who is in the business, dragged me to this screening... And wow was I blown away.Really good story. Strong, solid performances, especially the lead actress, JOSIE DAVIS. And the two elements that impressed me the most - the slow-burn and the "real" twist ending."THE ASCENT" (director's cut) really has a great intense build up to a great twist ending, that I never anticipated. I was so impressed how the director allowed the film, and the story, evolve at a very natural, and unforced pace.After the screening, there was a Q&A. And that's when I learned all about the "OTHER VERSION" of the film that was put out briefly by REGENT ENTERTAINMENT... Be aware, if you have seen the REGENT VERSION of "THE ASCENT" then you have not even come close to seeing the REAL VERSION, by the director Steven James Creazzo, of "THE ASCENT."I hope someone releases that version of "THE ASCENT" someday.

I recently had the opportunity of attending a screening of the new film, "The Ascent," by writer/director Steven Creazzo and producer Kerry Wallum. And I was pleasantly surprised.In some ways, the director was definitely trying to reach beyond the budget he appeared to have. Which was most likely less than 1M. In my opinion, the settings/locations were not entirely vast enough to tell the story they were telling. Such a dangerous mountain, with such a deadly history, should have been more dangerous looking than it was. I'm not sure where they shot this film, but it didn't appear to be very mountainous. Some of the terrain was really cool, and there are some cliff/climbing scenes, but not enough in my opinion. That aside, the reason this film, and story work so well is the emotional journey of the lead character, Emily Wilks.Emily, played by Josie Davis, is the center of the film. It's not an "action film" at all, but more the journey of a person who is so broken she makes choices that will forever change her life. And not in the greatest of ways. I was truly taken by Josie Davis' performance. I remember her from years ago, in "Charles in Charge," and I was really blown away by her focused and passionate performance in this film.William McNamara plays the "slightly crazy" villain, Joel. And I mean he's really a bit crazy, but in that cool, creepy way. Yeah, he creeped me out.Courtney Gains, from so many great films, was really wonderful as Andrew. And I must say, kinda under used in my opinion. For me, Courtney Gains and Josie Davis shared one of the best scenes in the film.Other featured cast members are; William Duffy, Joe Estevez, Anne Griffin, and the great ("Sweep the Leg") Martin Kove, from the original, and one and only "The Karate Kid." To summarize the story. "The Ascent" takes us on a journey of a great mislead. We think one story is happening, when really, an entire other story had been happening right in front of our eyes. On its surface, it is a story of a mountaineer who takes a group of novice climbers up a dangerous mountain. Or it's a story of a mountaineer who is forced to take a group of thieves to a buried treasure in gold. Or it's a story of how far a person will go to avenge a loved one... For me, it was all these things.I really loved this film. Good acting. Good pacing. It had a nice slow burn. And most of all, fleshed out main characters. Indeed, some of the secondary characters needed a bit more, but I was taken with Emily, Josie Davis' character, I didn't much care. And note a great, small scene, with Martin Kove and Anne Griffin.I hope this film comes out on DVD, or airs on cable, soon. I recommend "The Ascent" to anyone looking to rent/watch a good film, with a real story, and real emotions, that really entertained me.I also hope the film is given the proper technical completion, as the cut I saw still needed its score, sound, and color grading to be completed.I give "The Ascent" two thumbs up, and I look forward to the sequel.

I watched this late one night while staying at a hotel in Vientiane, Laos. Needless to say, there wasn't much else on to watch. It played on Star Movies - a Fox movie network and a subsidiary of News Corporation.I have to say I do indeed have a lot of respect for independent writer-director-producers of film (the budget was approx. $1.5M), but this movie just doesn't work. It says in the 'Fun Facts' that this movie was to be shot in Alaska. However, it was shot near Austin, Texas - and suffers as a result as the mountains shown on screen don't match the ferocity in which the characters speak and act around them, at times laughably so. Hence, the movie would've been better if the setting at least matched the story - or brought a twink of an eyebrow at least.What follows is quite a trite plot, notwithstanding the problems with the setting. It centers around Emily (Josie Davis), a mountain-climber guide, and her emotional struggles a year after her fiancé's unfortunate early demise. As it happens, she is meant to take a crew of people up a deadly mountain on the one-year anniversary of her fiancé's death. Surprise! They are the naughty outlaws that are responsible for his death. While climbing the mountain (hiking is more like it - there would be no possible need for a guide), they take her hostage and force her to take them to some gold that she and her fiancé had previously found. What follows is at best an illogical and clichéd-to-the-max story - filled with flat and uninspired over-acting and dopey dialogue. It is one of those movies that is so bad, it's fun to watch and laugh at. However, on this budget, I think they did somewhat of a good job.Ergo, I give it a more-than-fair three stars.

Some mild spoilers.I caught the last half of this on TV last night, and seeing there wasn't a single review here on IMDb, thought I would scribble a few words.Well I can't believe this was actually released - the acting is poor & hammy, the dialogue stilted and the 'action' scenes completely unbelievable.With such an obvious small budget, the director has been too adventurous - far better to have concentrated on character dialogue rather than such poor 'adventure' scenes. With TV shows such as '24' and 'Dexter' managing to be fun & exciting, as well as reasonably realistic, there really doesn't seem to be a place for this type of movie any more. Cave scene - the interior is obviously fake cement 'rock' and there are no wide shots at all.2 characters fall over a cliff, and are then shown hanging by their fingertips, somehow *beneath* an overhang, on an obvious climbing-wall !1 character gets stabbed in the stomach, apparently so badly that his bandages get blood-soaked every few minutes, but he hardly experiences any pain and is able to carry on OK, albeit with a limp !Some characters are killed, and there is no emotion or tension at all in the survivors.After trekking & struggling across some quite rugged terrain, there is suddenly a path with a guide rail !1/10, with a bonus point for "so bad, it's good".