The latest trailer available on the ILDM YouTube channel… 70′s trailers are great fun!
Archive for January, 2011
Film Trailer: Airport
Posted in Airport with tags airport, disaster movie, film, Film Trailer, movie, trailer on January 30, 2011 by Higher Plain MusicFilm Review: Aftershock / Tangshan Dadizhen
Posted in Aftershock with tags Aftershock, chen li, chinese movie, daoming chen, disaster, disaster movie, drama, earthquake, fan xu, jin chen, jingchu zhang, movie, subtitled, Tangshan dadizhen on January 23, 2011 by Higher Plain Music
I’m loving the fact that we’re finally getting a flurry of Eastern disaster movies flying across to the European pond. “Aftershock” was a massive success in its homeland China and deserves every accolaide thrown at it. A harrowing tale that takes disaster movies into a much more realistic and serious emotional journey – Aftershock breaks the mould.
The Premise
After a massive Earthquake tears a family of four to shreads, we watch the effects one decision has left on everyone for the next thirty years.
The Disasters Faced
Earthquakes, falling buildings, big concrete slabs, the lack of a sat nav in the afterlife and one armed cyclists.
The Execution
The earthquake takes place just a few minutes into the film and is all over in the first twenty however its effects resonate throughout this epic. This movie is much more geared to towards to emotional drama that sees a mother have to choose which child to save and which to leave to die. Upon choosing her son, leaving her daughter for dead, the two embark on a taut life together in mourning and pressured love. The son can never live up to the extra responsibility to honour his sister and father and the mother is utterly lost in guilt and mourning for her loved ones. Unknown to her, her daughter is not dead and heard the entire ordeal and so spends her life in fostering and never quite feeling good enough. The acting is superb and the script’s translation although clumsy in a few spots really makes for a powerful drama as all their lives intercross but never quite meet. It’s on these performances and the good pacing as we fastforward in ten year intervals to see how their lives are still broken that the film wins you over.
The Effects
The Earthquake is over quite quickly but is very well done with that slightly drawn CGI style that seems to permiate all eastern disaster movies these days. It works nicely and the sets of destruction after and rebuilding are brutal. There are some thoughtful long shots however of neverending body counts and fires for memorial that bring home the scale that are great touches too.
Why It’s Worth Watching
Aftershock is an emotional drama first and foremost and the actors are fantastic. The story will see you rooting for everyone as they sink further and further into despair as you hope for their reunion. Yes the disaster elements are there and they do a great job for providing such a brutal backdrop but this is one for the tissue box!
Best Death
Only one named character dies in the earthquake but best death goes to the daughters foster mum (Jin Chen) for her emotional and regretful death bed speech.
Favourite Character
This is a real dilemma but I think the daughter Fang is the one you’re most emotional attached to and so when you see all that she’s been through, you can forgive most of her mistakes although Mr Wang, the foster father should be present in everyones family!
Weirdest Moment
If your not wrapped up in the story, possibly seeing poor Mum (Fan Xu) scream crying at everyone for a good ten minutes may leave you unsettled! I personally was right with her! Also, damn her selfish mother for trying to take her son away too – she was evil!
Conclusion
If you’ve come for special effects and big budget action sequences you’ll be sorely dissapointed. Aftershock is an emotional rollercoaster that spans decades and countless mountains to climb. It’s quite unlike any other disaster movie I’ve watched to date and should find itself a place on everyones DVD shelf. Superb.
Film Review: Death Wave
Posted in Death Wave with tags Death Wave, disaster movie, film, flick, movie review, Review, subtitles, thai film, thailand, tsunami 2022 on January 21, 2011 by Higher Plain Music
Thailand gets into the disaster movie mix with their 2009 film which saw its UK release two weeks ago. It’s confusing, strangely edited and has missing words in the subtitles but all in all, is still quite watchable although its eclipsed by more competent and lavish Eastern disaster movies.
The Premise
With the clumsiest naturist message ever put to film, humans have basically stressed the Earth into wreaking havoc by unleashing a tidal wave on Thailand. Eek!
The Disasters Faced
Confused acting, scream inducing flashbacks, tidal waves, big statues and a race against time to save the CGI dolphin!
The Execution
Death Wave is certainly the first Thai film I’ve seen and with its modest $4 million budget, we know that effects will not be fantastic. What we don’t realise is that we will get some of the most heavy handed environmentalist messages ever committed to film in a script thats more wooden than Jake the Peg’s extra leg. Maybe the Thai language is more poetic than the subtitles relay across but between that the the scientists wandering around discussing off screen disasters as a matter of coffee break talk, nothing really flows nor adds up properly. The other strange production choice is the constantly moving, shaking, amatuerish camerawork designed to make everything look edgey. It makes everything look quite annoying instead. Just. Stay. Still. The third problem with the film really is the running time – its too short! At 90 minutes, normally you can squeeze everything in, but here the movie jumps around from pillar to post and too many characters blur from not having their stories either set up properly or pay off at all. Two main characters have a great heart felt cry about their parents they lost in the 2004 Tsunami (the film takes place in 2022) and sets them up to be protagonists but all they do is splash about a bit afterwards. Maybe the running time is not the root of the problem, but more of a redirection of some of the airtime away from all the science and placed back with the characters. The end result leaves you cold for all the characters as you haven’t got to know the ones dominating the screen.
The Effects
The effects range in extremes. The floodest sets are fantastic but the CGI is sometimes really awful – such as the dolphin (why oh why) and CGI smoke which is actually just black blobs! The actual wave iitself isn’t so bad thankfully and there’s some good work done there. It’s interesting however that the film uses stock footage from 2004 for character flashbacks to the real tsunami. I’m sure it could spark a debate on whether or not its too soon.
Why It’s Worth Watching
Aside from it being Thailand’s first entry into the disaster foray, the last twenty minutes where the wave hits does entertain with its craziness. The fact that Thailand was caught in 2004′s awful tradegy adds weight to the film itself and its quite surprising how blatently environmentalist the film is. The themes are not just that we’ve killed the planet on a large scale, but the main undercurrent story is about the commercialization of Thailand’s coast and how they’re portrayed in this film is very cut and dry. Obviously vote Green party!
Best Death
Not one character dies on screen although one death is alluded to but again, in the confused delivery of the film I’m not even sure he died. Poor old Doctor! That beard was legendary…
Favourite Character
It has the be the Prime Minister. Could you see your leader flying around in an air rescue copter lifting school children to safety? Ah… we can but dream!
Weirdest Moment
There are a few. Mr Dolphin takes the biscuit – its the most random plot device to get someone else to cry. However most random moment award goes to the doctor whom from nowhere goes vigilante and electro-stuns his assistant so he can go down to the sea lab without her. Where did this magical device appear from!? There’s a whole lot of random in this film!
Conclusion
Rushed, misguided and rough around the edges, Death Wave is a strange film. It has historical importance but is so heavily stilted in its angered delivery its actually offputting to watch. However persevere because there’s some good entertainment to be had with Death Wave, but it certainly doesn’t hit the top Eastern disaster movies for me at all.
Film Review: Killer Flood: The Day the Dam Broke
Posted in Killer Flood: The Day the Dam Broke with tags bruce boxleitner, christopher kreisa, disaster movie, film, joe lando, killer flood, mathew ewald, michelle green, movie, Review on January 11, 2011 by Higher Plain Music
You’ve got to love minatures. In the mid to late 90′s when CGI was still relatively expensive, made for TV disaster movies used minatures to destroy “large” sets. In some ways I prefer this method to some of the sheer paint-not-photoshop CGI that some films get these days. However not much destruction takes place in Killer Flood until the very end anyway but this disaster movie plays its aces with a collection of capable actors enjoying their hammy roles and therefore passes the time well.
The Premise
Someone hired an offspring from The Tower Inferno and got them to build a dam whilst cutting as many costs as possible and then paying off everyone who knew. That a clever thing to do then since it’s bound to collapse sooner or later! The wonder that is Karma is strong in this one…
The Disasters Faced
Water, wheels, C4, flying nuts and bolts and Michelle Greene running the risk of getting blisters in her high heels running along for a good five minutes inches ahead of a wave of water.
The Execution
Killer Flood wastes no time at all killing someone off immediately (token coloured person) and then setting off killing anyone vaguely bad. While the deaths are predictable and the plot is flimsy it all does what’s needed to set up for a big finale. However in order to survive the 80 odd minutes before the dam collapses we have some very capable actors keeping us amused. Joe Lando laps up his role as a bad-goodie-rubbish-father-spyglass lead and Michelle Greene does her dramas very well indeed – even if most of her acting is her superimposed running around everywhere! Bruce Boxleitner is the man you know will die at some point and just guessing when the evil doer gets his comeuppance provides quite a bit of entertainment. Mathew Ewald as the son is very convincing and easily matches the big names here and is one of the most impressive child actors in a disaster movie I’ve seen for a while.
As a result of a decent cast, the movies “its going to burst” … “no its not” conflict ticks along nicely. When the carnage does hit which is mainly in the last fifteen minutes, its just helerious and so make sure all your popcorn is eaten by then as you will choke at the liberties taken!
The Effects
As mentioned earlier, miniatures are order of the day and the problem with that is that what is really a trickle in real life is suddenly amplified to be a tidal wave and it just never quite looks right. The flooded sets in the dam are great and some of the destruction shots look fun but more of having a giggle at instead of being gripped to your seat.
Why It’s Worth Watching
Michelle Greene nearly drowing in a dumpster with a pooch for the men? Check! Joe Lando running around wet for the ladies? Check! Family drama, idiot baddie, over the top extras? Got them all. Good suff!
Best Death
For a Killer Flood, the death count is rather tame in this film but Chrisopher Kreisa’s death by a popping nut wins most random award!
Favourite Character
For once, I’ve got to hand it to the kid who displays more emotions in this film than a normal teenage does in a year.
Weirdest Moment
This award goes to the comical score. The opening theme actually sounds like it should be in a mischief comedy and it sounds so computerised orchestra (think early PlayStation 1 in places) that when it gets dramatic (with its comic overtones) it makes the poor effects on screen all the better.
Conclusion
It’s easy to bash Killer Flood but I certainly enjoyed it. Mindless but well acted and put together on what was obviously a budgetless project. One of the better late 90′s disaster movies to be made.
2010 in Review
Posted in Uncategorized with tags Site News on January 9, 2011 by Higher Plain MusicThe stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:
The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is doing awesome!.
Crunchy numbers
A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 5,700 times in 2010. That’s about 14 full 747s.
In 2010, there were 38 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 53 posts. There were 27 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 628kb. That’s about 2 pictures per month.
The busiest day of the year was May 30th with 103 views. The most popular post that day was Film Review: Diverted.
Where did they come from?
The top referring sites in 2010 were gizmodo.com, search.aol.com, exitofhumanity.blogspot.com, google.com, and en.wordpress.com.
Some visitors came searching, mostly for disaster movies, disaster movie, flood, impact film, and poseidon film.
Attractions in 2010
These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.
1
Film Review: Diverted March 2010
2
Film Review: Impact April 2010
2 comments
3
Film Review: On the Beach (2000) May 2010
2 comments
4
Film Review: Nature Unleashed: Avalanche April 2010
1 comment
5
Film Review – The Volcano Disaster (Nature Unleashed: Volcano)
Posted in The Volcano Disaster with tags antonella elia, chris william martin, disaster movie, film, film review, flick, joesph beattie, marnie alton, movie, movie review, Review, sara lane, the volcano disaster, tv movie, volcano on January 6, 2011 by Higher Plain Music
Some spooky goings on and lots of badly relooped dialogue make this disaster movie one of the most unique and perplexing of the lot. An instant buy for a dodgy disaster movie night then!
The Premise
After suffering the loss of his wife in a volcanic euruption, a man travels to her home town and discovers that not all is quite as it seems and more rumblings are coming!
The Diasasters Faced
Two volcanoes, lots of lava, baby dolls, evil dialogue relooping and a girl too hot to touch!
The Execution
Obviously a TV movie, The Volcano Disaster actually kicks off the first ten minutes with a large chunk of action and it passes itself off quite well. However after the death of the wife, everything takes a turn for the supernatural with the action moving to a small Italian town where a crazy girl taunts our main man’s every move by burning him with her hand, drawing circles with chalk and the horror – a hand delivered dead bat! While it then picks up for the last bit when all along she was trying to warn him of a volcano about to blow, she could have just said so and avoided all the drama!
What it does do though is set this film apart from any other disaster movie I’ve seen as it tries the suspense filled mystery approach to try and stir things up and while its quite predictable its a new mashup of genres that works to a degree but has been better done with Knowing who does suspense and mystery better. Where it does fall down is the Italian accents that have been relooped and the acting is so laughably stilted and everyone speaks perfect English! The combo of the two is almost as frightening as the story on screen.
The Effects
Effects range from some nicely intergrated stock footage to hammy CGI lava with some good set effects inbetween. However for a TV movie everything is quite impressive and this is because CGI has been used so sparcely, everything else while relatively small in scale actually is real and to this day I’d rather take that than any quick fix awful graphics time and time again. Well done Volcano Disaster! Also any film that see’s the decimation of a church the second after the monk speaks about how its everyones only sanctuary gets my vote!
Why It’s Worth Watching
Apart from the whole spooky-wooky side to disaster and watching an Italian teenage Jeffifer Connelly spend the entire film not talking at all but just running around and looking as “disturbed but pouty sexy” as possible, the Italian town looks beautiful and its a shame to see it burn in CGI lava! The acting is shameful in places but the story and pacing speed along quite happily. It’s also full of TONS of stupid errors to spot too such as holding hands to a dead girl while she’s getting electricuted or the date of the wifes death changing from weeks to months and back again.
Best Death
An unknown character is hit by a lava bomb and goes sailing through a shop window – double whammy!
Favourite Character
Antonio is so laughably stereotypical you can’t help but find him either grossly irratating or an over the top man come good.
Weirdest Moment
“Just because you can’t see the Moon it doesn’t mean its not up there!” Words of wisdom indeed.
Conclusion
Silly, random, full of moments that make you smile for all the reasons but thoroughly entertaining, The Volcano Disaster is good fun at everythings expense and is recommended for alternative disaster movie viewing. Easily one of better TV disaster movies I have seen to date.
