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Reel Rock 11 quick review

Original Post
Mark E Dixon · · Possunt, nec posse videntur · Joined Nov 2007 · Points: 974

TLDR- Good but not great. Well worth seeing.

I may have the order off. If so, sorry.

First film- Young Guns. Kai Lightner and Ashima Shiraishi go to Norway. Plenty of backstory filled in.
Kai comes across as a wicked smart kid with a solid sense of what's truly important in life.
Ashima wants to be "the best climber in the world". I think she's got a long way to go to overshadow Messner, among others. Maybe she'll succeed, maybe she'll grow up a little, maybe she'll pull a Tori Allen and switch to a higher paying sport.

Second Film (IIRC)- Boys in the Bugs. Chronicles Matt Siegal and Will Stanhope's epic struggle with a compelling crack in the Bugaboos. Has a classic story line, beautiful setting, colorful characters and a happy ending.

Intermission

Third film- Brette. Reminiscent of the film Spice Girl about Hazel Findley from a few years ago. But leading E9 strikes me as more impressive than soloing 5.10, even if that 10 is in Patagonia. I'm sure Ms Harrington is a great person and may someday be a leading climber, but my overall impression was that this was a promotional video.

Fourth film- Rad Dad. A bio of expedition climber Mike Libecki. You never know whether a film accurately portrays what someone really is like. But if so, that might explain all the solo trips.
Film struck me as a shallow justification for the selfish practice of abandoning one's family to go off on expeditions. Kids are malleable, and can thrive in lots of different family settings. But the suggestion that all will be well as long as you frenetically volunteer for the PTA during those brief periods at home, that just seems self-serving to me.

Fifth film- Dodo's Delight. Expedition film about a trip by sail boat to Baffin Island. The joy of climbing and adventuring comes through in a natural unforced way. You'll find yourself humming the title tune as you leave the theater.

Climb Germany · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Mar 2015 · Points: 2,505

Thanks. Got tickets to see it in a few weeks.

Chad Volk · · Westminster, CO · Joined Apr 2007 · Points: 41

I'm still singing the Dodo's Delight!

MP · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2013 · Points: 2

Thanks for the review.

I saw a mike libeki slideshow in person... I was underwhelmed. Frankly, he just didn't seem like a very thoughtful person.

This may be, for the first time, a year that I don't see reel rock. As someone who looks at climbing content year round, the movies come off as 80% recycled material, 20% new material (usually for the sake of story - telling).

Best,
Matt

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

General Climbing
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