PodBill Just what I expected

Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Dan Harden Alive is an immensely horrific true story that had the potential to become an amazing film. This film is not that amazing film. It does alright, its good but could have been told in a different, and in my opinion, a much better way.The acting was a balance, it was good at times but terrible at other points, lines were delivered rather unenthusiastically or annoyingly overly dramatic by many, but there is also some good acting thrown in, most notably from Ethan Hawke who luckily becomes stronger and more involved as the film proceeds.The way in which the cannibalism issue was handled was impressive, and I would suspect was also realistic. The first time is obviously the worst, morals are questioned as the team make what is a very, very difficult choice to make that was conveyed extremely well in this film. But after the first time it becomes much easier and even casual to some characters which I would believe to be true.My problem with this film was it's tone. The story is about a group of friends and relatives whose plane crashes, killing some while the extreme weather conditions of the Andes slowly kills the others, and how the survivors had to resort to eating their loved ones to stay alive. This is a very dark, disturbing and traumatic true event and I was hoping would spawn a similarly gritty drama that I feel would have more accurately reflected the experience of the rugby team. I found this film to contain a large amount of 90's cheese and to find Disney in the credits probably explains that. The tone and story didn't go together at all, the cheesy film of a nightmarish event is the on screen equivalent of mixing oil with water in my opinion.Overall Alive is an alright film, it tells the story quite well it just has the wrong tone and feel for the most part. I would be very interested to see this film remade, as it is a tremendous event and I believe given a much darker tone, could give life to the film that I believe this true story deserves.

Adam Foidart You will be hard-pressed to find a more intense survival story than the one found in "Alive", which is even more impressive because it's all based on true events. I had heard a lot about this film, mostly about some of the more grisly details, but I was surprised to find how emotional and thrilling it was to watch nonetheless. The plot concerns a Uruguayan plane flying over the Andes. The passengers are rugby players in their early 20s and their coaches on their way to Chile. Suddenly, the plane crashes. The pilots are dead, the radio is useless, the supplies are scarce and it is very very cold. The survivors must find a way to survive against all odds, hoping that someone will find them in this frozen wasteland.If you've heard of this film, it's probably because of the cannibalism involved so I'm going to address that part first. Your instinct is probably to think that either the survivor situation turned into a "Lord of the Flies" type of thing where people started going crazy and eating each other, or that this is going to be something that borders on a horror film, with people's intestines being strung up over a fire like sausages. That isn't the case.Let me break down the scenario for you: The plane has crashed and there is very little food. People are eating a square of chocolate and a thimble of wine daily to make supplies last. Our heroes are scrambling to keep warm. People are dying from their injuries or from disease. Morale is way down and hope seems completely lost. Eventually, someone comes up with the idea of eating the bodies of those who have died. There's a big theme of religion in this film so some argue that once the soul leaves the body, there's nothing left but meat. Others argue (pretty sensibly) that it's an offense to the human body to even think of this. After some thought being put into it, some begin to relate the idea of giving up your flesh to save your friends as something akin to Jesus Christ telling his apostles that the bread they are eating at the last supper is his flesh, given up to save humanity. It's the most shocking part of the story, but it's not just a gimmick, it's a testament to the human will to survive.There's a lot more to this film than just the cannibalism, it really is a story about a group of being that refuse to give up hope. These are not soldiers on a mission that went wrong, or wildlife trackers used to doing whatever it takes to get back home, they're ordinary people. Surviving is about more than just finding food and shelter, it's about getting organized, keeping busy, finding ways to cope with the stress they're under. I liked seeing characters that were just as smart as me. Between the group of people there, you have some ingenious and creative minds that simply refuse to give up. Just on the level of ingenuity you have to applaud these people because you know a lot of people would have just given up.What's so exciting about the film is that these feel like real people. Usually in bad survival movies you always have one random lunatic thrown in the mix. A guy that wants to seize all the power for himself, that will go on a rampage and kill people he feels are "slowing down the group" or goes all rapist on the one female character because so many screenwriters feel the need to have a villain in the film. It isn't the case here. The enemy is despair and the mountain. The heroes are the survivors. It's a test of endurance, a battle of wits and a tremendous underdog story. The film juggles a lot of characters but you do feel like you get to know the key ones and you get a feel for the group as well. As the number of survivors dwindles I did get emotional about it. I sort of knew where the movie was going, but that didn't make it any less powerful to me.Initially I didn't have any problems with the film at all, but in retrospect I do have to surrender to the fact that despite the film being consistently exciting and kind of awe-inspiring. "Alive" doesn't really capture the full effect of the story. One might argue that it would be impossible to transfer the gravity of such an event into a 2-hour film, but if there's a flaw, that's it. Because these are actors that the director chose not to starve and because you can't really convey the utter despair you would feel after weeks of being stuck in the wreckage of a plane, surrounded by dead bodies it does feel like there is something missing. That said, it's as good as it's going to get The performances are solid, the special effects are terrific, there's real gravity in the situations. I found it to be thrilling, moving and fascinating to watch. The premise of "Alive" sounds ghoulish, but this is not a gimmicky exploitation movie, it's a stirring adventure and a drama whose story will stick with you. (On DVD, May 18, 2014)

g-bodyl Alive is an emotional harrowing film based off the real-life event of the fatal plane crash in the Andes Mountains which stranded sixteen survivors for 72 days. This film may have some issues (mainly involving editing and a little script issue), but there is no denying the personal affection we feel for the characters as they struggle to survive. For a 1993 film, this film has some good special effects as the plane crash was very convincing.Frank Marshall's film is about the fore-mentioned crash in the Andes and it talks about how these men survived in the harsh winter environment with nothing but chocolate and wine. Later on, the film goes on to mention the last resort effort in cannibalism to stay alive, which is really hard to watch even though this is what saved their lives.For a film that doesn't have a big-name cast, the acting was really good and they all added depth to their characters. The only familiar names are Ethan Hawke and Vincent Spano. I really valued Hawke's character, Nando because of his bravery as he went out to find civilization.Overall, Alive is a movie that does the unthinkable and effectively tells an unfilmable event into a harrowing, emotional story. This film has one of the best endings you'll ever see in film, and it will be difficult to hold back the tears while Aaron Neville's "Ave Maria," is performing. This film has great characterization and it's as if we went through the terrible ordeal with them. I rate this film 9/10.

southwest3210-156-400970 No Poseidon Adventure here! Just a gritty real-life disaster. How realistic CAN one make something as horrific as this, or, if one COULD make this as graphic and real as it was, who could bear seeing it? The Hollywood slightly glossed-over version is nasty enough. I cannot get the image out of my head of people getting sucked out of the back of the plane screaming during the crash. This was truly 50 days of hell for all involved, living with dead bodies of former friends, eating them, etc. The Hollywood version is far graphic enough. I could barely watch it as it was, as much for, if not more for, the reality and pain behind such events. I could easily see this as a great vehicle for someone like Hitchcock, who liked to play survivor egos against each other for great drama, ala "Liveboat". This director kept it more peaceful and amicable, though I can imagine there was far worse infighting during the actual event. Keep in mind these are not special forces landing on the Andes, but relatively pampered rich kids playing for a rugby team. All the more amazing they were able to survive this. This is def not a "Popcorn" movie, so leave your tub of buttered popcorn/nachos in the fridge and cabinet. One hell of a movie....and finally a unique plot and scenario...no superheros or explosions, just one crash....and a whole lot of aftermath..