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Reviews
Dope (2015)
Outstanding! Universal theme..
Firstly I am not American, nor am I black, so I am not able to comment on some of the political innuendos that some of the reviewers gave. However, this film kept me glued to my seat. The theme is more universal than what people seem to think. I have experienced it myself. I have personally known an African guy from a very poor background that excelled at school, only to be expelled due to him trying to supplement his income to get into University. He sold weed to the more wealthy students at school, and as fate would have it, everyone that were his regular clients managed to get into top Universities and Colleges, where he basically ruined his future. Many people that live in poverty and crime ridden areas are so desperate to make a success of their lives that they sometimes do have to make decisions that are not considered moral or ethical by people who are not exposed to those struggles. Most middle class people (specifically here in South Africa, but I suspect that it is a universal theme in most of the world) are completely oblivious to the fact that there are so many youngsters that desperately want to escape poverty and want to make a success of their lives, by getting quality tertiary education. As the film indicated, their chances are much less to achieve that due to their background and the struggles they have to endure on a daily basis. I know quite a few individuals that succeeded and managed to lift themselves out of poverty and leave the crime ridden areas they grew up in. It is an inspiration to listen to their stories and how they sometimes had to cross what we consider ethical and moral lines in order to pay for their studies or get into proper colleges. In terms of the film - The soundtrack was brilliant, the acting was so sincere and the character development was outstanding. What I also loved about Dope was the constant humour that really helped to lighten up the actual serious theme that the film tries to convey to its audience. Although many will consider it a comedy, it actually (hopefully) will leave a lot of food for thought. The dark web stunt that was pulled in Dope, in my opinion, was actually a well crafted plan, and I applaud the threesome for coming up with that solution, as alternative strategies could have been devastating. I think it was an outstanding film!
Everest (2015)
Climbing Everest - Removed from my Bucket List
My summary above is actually just a joke. I will never even attempt an activity where you have a 25% chance of losing your life! Since the film is based on true events, I don't want to be too critical and harsh on the characters that lost their lives in this tragedy, but clearly instructions were ignored (Leave the summit by 14:00) and some basic precautions (oxygen tanks) seemed to have been completely missed. With all due respect, many of the people that died in this tragedy made the wrong decisions, an it cost them dearly. Many decisions were selfish in my opinion. Many did this because of their ego or wanting to prove something to themselves or their families etc. When the journalist asked why people want to reach the summit, none of the answers were really convincing to me.
What I liked about this film is obviously the cinematography and some solid acting. It also seems to follow the actual events quite closely. It did make me think much further than only Everest. Many of us are faced daily with decisions. Some are small and some are life changing. How we react to these challenges can change our lives forever. This has clearly been illustrated and confirmed in Everest.
I see that people mention that the first hour of the movie was boring. I actually really enjoyed to see what work and effort actually go into an expedition to the summit. It was really insightful. I do however now firmly believe that Everest has been conquered and I don't understand how people still want to take the risk to go up there.