And now, ABC Action Weather.
Good evening, let's a quick look at our national forecast.
Lots of exciting activity this week, so make sure to dress appropriately for this wild
summer weather we're expecting.
Geologists and James Bond enthusiasts are warning of a possible volcanic event near
the caldera outside Dante's Peak Wyoming, so we'll have to keep an eye on that.
Meanwhile, we've got some bad news for your folks on the west coast, as an abundance of
seismology readings indicate a possible shift in the San Andreas fault.
So don't forget to stop drop and roll!
-- what's that?
That's not for Earthquakes?
Well, at least you'll be prepared either way.
If we take a look at the 5-day forecast you'll that not much of that matters as the Leo-Biederman
comet is still perilously close to annihilating all life on the planet.
That's coming up on Wednesday, but we've got some great high temperatures for you before
then!
That's what's going on around the country, and this is Movie Night!
Hello and welcome to Movie Night, in-depth reviews in less than five minutes.
I'm your host, Jonathan Paula.
Over the last six years I've reviewed a lot of disaster movies on the show - probably
because I've always had a soft-spot for seeing American cities destroyed by acts of nature
and/or alien invasions.
So tonight we'll take a look at three more of these films, beginning with "Dante's Peak."
In between James Bond pictures, Pierce Brosnan fond the time to star in this big-budget adventure
film director by Roger Donaldson, which was released in February of 1997.
The PG-13 rated spectacle was produced on a budget of $116 million, and managed to earn
back $178-million - but was unfortunately bested later that year by another volcano-based
picture.
The 109-minute story follows Brosnan as a volcanologist who is deployed to a small mountain
town to investigate the possibility of an impeding eruption.
And spoiler alert...
it does.
As expected, Pierce is up to the task as the concerned, yet heroic scientist, who remarks
on his own shortcomings, "I've always been better at feeling out volcanoes than people
and politics."
He also exhibits a charming romantic side opposite the headstrong and always capable
Linda Hamilton.
Elizabeth Hoffman, Charles Hallahan, and a few other familiar faces round out the supporting
cast with somewhat believable performances, at least once you consider the hectic environment
they find themselves in.
As the elderly grandma however, Hoffman is particularly annoying at how dumb and stubborn
her decisions are... opting to leap into a boiling lake for no other reason than to burn
alive in the water.
Following an intense opening prologue that sees our hero's car drive through practically
every obstacle, the movie settles into a tired narrative where none of the townsfolk take
the expert seriously.
After what seems like forever the slow romantic story finally steps aside for the action to
begin in earnest.
This second-half is what saves the disaster film from being well, a disaster.
The events that unfold remain somewhat scientifically accurate, but are no less ridiculous - and
of course, the family dog manages to survive all of the lethal events.
This was the 90s after all.
James Newton Howard's bombastic score sets a strong undercurrent for the picture's constantly
building tension.
The combination of practical effects, impressive model work, and computer imagery results in
some truly horrific and effective visuals... but repeated use of obviously faked window
reflections were unnecessary, and frequently took me out of the moment.
Filmed on-location in Wallace, Idaho, which stands in for the fictional town of Dante's
Peak - Donaldson fills the wide Super 35 frame with beautiful shots of the Pacific northwest.
A bit more serious than its 1997 counterpart, "Volcano", this picture suffers from its lack
of action.
But when you get past the slow start, and predictable plot points, it provides for some
exciting drama set against a pseudo-scientific catastrophic backdrop.
For fans of Pierce Brosnan, or the disaster genre, "Dante's Peak" highlights a fascinating
disaster with believable excitement.
I thought it was pretty COOL.
Next up, "Deep Impact".
The first of two asteroid-themed movies released in the summer of 1998, this science-fiction
disaster film from director Mimi Leder was the less successful of the pair, but still
managed to gross a respectable $350 million against its $80 million dollar budget.
With a 7-mile-wide comet barreling towards Earth, only those allowed in specialized fallout
shelters will survive - unless of course, a team of American astronauts can destroy
the threat first.
Although scientifically plausible, the film is infused with melodramatic clichés and
cheesy dialogue.
The PG-13 rated story also features a bevy of B-listers, including Elijah Wood, James
Cromwell, Jon Favreau, Richard Schiff, Denise Crosby, Kurtwood Smith, Mike O'Malley, Blair
Underwood, Mary McCormack, and Robert Duvall.
This large ensemble is familiar and decently talented, but none have the screen presence
or recognition to really carry a blockbuster like this, least of all the movie's lead,
Téa Leoni.
Not only is she a bit too young for the news reporter character she's portraying, she scuttles
through the proceedings like she's constantly being caught-off guard.
In addition to being perpetually rattled, the rigid bowl-haircut isn't doing her any
favors either.
As the President Of The United States however, Morgan Freeman is easily the best actor here
by a longshot, anchoring the picture with much needed gravitas.
Defeated after the latest realization of bad news, he roles up his sleeves and addresses
the nation, "If the world does go on, it will not go on for everyone."
Duvall, meanwhile is badly utilized as a grumpy astronaut from the Apollo era, constantly
and awkwardly complaining about his irrelevance to his younger NASA collogues.
Portraying the nation's best and bravest explorers as petty jerks with a grudge against their
own idol is an absurd characterization.
But that's not their only thread that fails to ring true, later, when Duvall proposes
a solution that would result in certain death for all involved, the incredulity and surprise
from the other astronauts makes no sense whatsoever.
The entire planet is about to be vaporized, and they've spent the last six-months in a
tiny capsule outrunning a monster comet, and it never once occurred to them they might
die?
Sacrificing yourself to save all of mankind is not a decision anyone in NASA would need
more than a nanosecond to think about, let alone foolishly argue against.
Sure, the scene adds some faux-tension, but in a movie that strives for realism, these
kinds of missteps are inexcusable.
The two-hour feature opens with an unnecessary prologue rife with fabricated drama - a frazzled
astronomer dies in a massive car wreck while attempting to alert the world of impending
doom - which only serves to misdirect the audience into thinking his discovery will
remain a mystery.
The next twenty-minutes are then wasted on a sitcom-style plot where rookie reporter
Leoni mistakes the "Extension Level Event" acronym she overheard as an affair involving
high-level officials.
The dramatic irony of this isn't made clear, so at first it feels irrelevant, and later
just pointless.
The limited visual effects work here is handled surprisingly well, especially during the final
act when the fate of humanity reaches its climax.
James Horner's string and piano-laden score seems more befitting a serious bio-pic than
a disaster epic though.
Not as flashy or action-packed as its counterpart, "Armageddon" this film still has a few moments
of human drama as each individual begins to face their final moments.
It is however rather unrealistic that Taxi cabs would still be servicing downtown Washington
a week before the end of the world.
A memorable and rewatchable experience about the America's response to the worst case scenario,
"Deep Impact" may not be the most entertaining film, but it's an emotional examination of
how we deal with the inevitable.
Now, here's some of your thoughts from the YouTube comments.
Most agreed this film was missing enough action to really stand-out as a strong disaster film.
We both rated it a SEVEN out of ten.
Finally tonight, the newest entry in this sub-genre, "San Andreas".
Released worldwide on May 29, 2015 this $100 million dollar action-adventure was directed
by Brad Peyton, and based on an original screenplay by Carlton Cuse.
When the "big one" finally cracks open the titular fault-line, a Los Angeles Fire Department
chopper pilot, played by Dwayne Johnson, must journey across the devastated state to save
his daughter, Alexandra Daddario.
Laying out the disastrous consequences, CalTech seismologist Paul Giamatti warns that the
impending quake will be so strong you'll, "feel it on the East Coast."
He doesn't get much screentime after the first act, but his pitch-perfect delivery easily
elevates the otherwise trite material.
The 114-minute film opens with some coy misdirection involving a distracted teen driver.
It's a clear signal that this picture isn't necessarily going to be as predictable as
you expect.
This scene segues into a riveting helicopter rescue sequence inside a narrow San Fernando
canyon, which unfortunately realigns the film to the traditional, and predictable style.
In the lead role, Johnson shows a remarkable amount of depth in the surprisingly well-written
role... welling up when confessing his guilt over the death of his other child.
His icy and distant relationship with his ex-wife, played by the beautiful bad-ass,
Carla Gugino is handled extremely well, but the whole, "mending a broken relationship
against the backdrop of major trauma" is a trope that's been done to death.
But it's worth pointing out that Carla is actually a year older than her WWE-co-star,
quite rarity in cinema these days.
When Gugino forcefully tells-off her cowardly boyfriend, it's easy to begin rooting for
her to succeed.
Following her breakout performance in HBO's "True Detective", it's obvious Daddario can
act... but it's still pretty clear what her secondary purpose is.
I swear, her fantastic cleavage jiggles around more than the Earth does.
Hugo Johnstone-Burt and Art Parkinson contribute fun performances to a love-interest / sidekick
style duo that accompany Alexandra through the chaos... and Kylie Minogue has a totally
useless cameo as an unnecessarily bitchy character.
But that's it, that's mostly the entire cast.
Instead of showcasing dozens of separate perspectives, Peyton keeps the picture tense by focusing
all the drama around one family - and their singular quest to reunite with one another.
Their emotional relationships aren't a shallow afterthought, but instead an integral part
of the story.
This is of course a big-budget disaster movie not a family drama - and thankfully, that's
where "San Andreas" really delivers.
From one heart-stopping set piece to the next, the entire PG-13 rated film is littered with
harrowing stunts, unreal visuals, and a terrific sound mix.
And although watching massive skyscrapers dissolve into a cloud of dust may invoke imagery
from 9/11... it's undeniably thrilling when the events are completely fictional.
It is a touch irksome that the Earth seems to shake whenever it's convenient to the plot,
always knocking our heroes down just as they seem to regain their footing.
This is not a film that shies away from the money shot; lingering on sweeping wide-angles
that showcase the city-wide devastation.
One such example is a brilliantly accomplished single-camera move that flies into a crumbling
high rise as Gugino attempts to escape to safety.
The claustrophobic and unbroken shot helps to really immerse the viewer inside the horror
of a 9.5 earthquake.
The music from Andrew Lockington includes loud anthems and horns perfectly befitting
a summer blockbuster.
This is a well-shot and suspenseful experience that combines familiar disaster elements in
a fresh and exciting way... plus, watching a massive tsunami approach the Golden Gate
Bridge might be my single favorite shot in any disaster film.
"San Andreas" is a non-stop nail-biter with compelling characters.
If you like simple and fun disaster movies, you can go wrong here, I thought it was GREAT.
Finally tonight, a look at what you're saying about movies currently playing in theaters.
If you see a new movie in theaters, Tweet your review with the #JPMN hashtag.
Next week, in honor of its 40th anniversary we'll be reviewing the granddaddy of all blockbusters,
"Jaws".
And since I can't review just one shark movie, we'll also take a look at "Deep Blue Sea"
and "Sharknado".
I'm sure you've seen these films, so please leave your reviews below, or vote in the polls.
If you'd like to watch more Movie Night videos, check out the "related reviews" on the right,
or SUBSCRIBE if you'd like to see more of this show in the future.
If you're feeling generous you can help support the show by visiting my Patreon page.
Once again, my name is Jonathan Paula, thank you for watching and listening.
Until next time, have a good Movie Night!