Yes, I’m watching the latest earthquake disaster movie. God, I love watching landmarks bite the big one. What’s wrong with me?
It has all the usual elements, government not wanting to create a panic, the plucky, misunderstood scientist who will get to say “I told you so!”, scenes of mass panic, and so on.
Anyone else want to confess?
It’s like 24 meets every disaster movie ever made.
My favourite scene was at the beginning when a bike courier is attempting to out run the collapsing Space Needle.
Nice choo-choo train. Not.
When is the plucky scientist going to say “I told you so”?
Doesn’t anyone have a cell phone?
This is California; where are all the looters?
I certainly am not! I’m recording it and will watch it all next weekend at one shot and skip the commericals.
It’s not bad enough I got sucked into watching this movie on NBC (Nothing But Commercials…) but it appears it’s a two-parter. sigh
But if they prevent “the big one”, we won’t get to see stuff go boom!
Anyways, it’s a nice warmup to “The Day After Tomorrow”. Now that’s a disaster movie.
Okay, I confess, I watched it…but then, I have a wicked weakness for disaster films, end-of-the-world flicks, etc.
It’s actually a little better than I thought it was gonna be. Because when…
…the opening chasm chased the train, swallowing up just the roadbed and tracks and even following the damn thing around curves, and then stopped after the train got sucked into the bowels of the earth…
…I thought the show was going to be a lot suckier than it really was.
That 24-style camera stuff gives me a massive headache.
I watched 10.5 for a few minutes, but, well, I thought it was bad. It seemed like a giant masturbatory explosion fest. Plus, having read reviews that pointed out that the producers cared not a whip about such things as science and geology…
Then I watched more of it. Then more! Finally the headache prevailed. Too much zooming and shaky camera.
So, what’d I miss?
ZJ
Aside from the bad writing and mediocre (at best) acting, apparently the people responsible for this thing not only know absolutely NOTHING about earthquakes, but don’t WANT to know. I can see them, sitting in their nice little meeting room talking about the script, with their hands over their ears yelling “I’m not listening! You can’t make me listen!” when somebody points out the total completely IMPOSSIBILITY of this crap happening.
It was bad enough to be entertaining, actually. But oh, it’s bad.
Nothing, Zjestika, not a damn thing, except they’re going to
stop the big one by dropping nukes into the San Andreas Fault
That had to be about the most trite and predictable piece of trash I’ve watched in far too long. We were saying the dialogue along with the characters, predicting everything that was going to happen, and generally laughing our butts off at the nonexistent science and plot holes large enough to drive that disappearing choo-choo train through.
I cannot wait for part 2. 
Thanks, Mama Tiger. I feel better now, not so…alone.
Hello, my name is Baker, and I’m a Disaster Fan
Yeah, it’s bad. Really, really bad. Fortunately, it crosses that line into the “so bad it’s good” area. I had a nice mental episode of MST3K playing the entire time. 
The only way I’ll really be dissatisfied is if Prissy Asthmatic Princess Britney doesn’t fall into a crevice, straight into the Earth’s core.
Actually, I thought that was a nice touch. Very much a homage to 70’s disaster flicks (Errr…since I’ve never seen 24, I’m assuming you’re talking about the multi-frame screening).
The zoom-happy cinematography was annoying, tho.
That was freaking hilarious.
I especially loved how whenever the Spunky, Nonconformist Female Geologist was attempting to convince her Narrow-Minded Male Counterparts of her Radical New Theory, there was a chorus of grumbling in the background. You could distinctly hear things like, “This is ridiculous!” “What a waste of time!” I kept flashing back to that episode of the Simpsons where Lisa was proposing her theory about bullies to a group of scientists, and one guy says, “Let’s not listen!”
I also liked when the Spunky Female Governor Lady (all the women in this show are Spunky) gave her Rousing Speech To Lift The Hearts of The Masses, and the press gave her a standing ovation. That got a genuine guffaw out of me.
Instead of guffawing, I yelled “Oh, come on!” at the TV. You’ve lost touch with your family? Oh, if only we could be as strong, intelligent and zoom-and-pan-worthy as you, Ms Governor!
So, how boring was the earthquake research/disaster prep job before today?
Enthusiastic new-hire: So, what’s MY job?
Bored boss: Sit in front of this flat-panel monitor. When our room starts shaking (because it shakes every time there is an earthquake, anywhere dontchaknow) you yell out the ever-increasing earthquake magnitude.
Enthusiastic new-hire: What if there’s no earthquake?
Bored boss: Shaddup kid. Just sit there until there is one.
How bad can it get tomorrow night?
That was car-wreck bad. So bad I had to watch, at least the first 20 minutes or so. It was great to see some 1950s Special Effects again. I half-expected Godzilla to take a walk through downtown Seattle. It was that bad.
The train…OMyGod, the train. Funniest sequence I have seen in forever!
Rumor has it that it doesn’t work!
I’m watching it right now!
Dad is sinking into the earth in his SUV… oh! He broke out the sunroof!
Woo Hoo!
I love trashy TV.
(Gentlemen, can I get a moment of appreciation for Kim Delany (sp?) and her tight jeans? YOW!)
Hmm… dead coyote… WTF?
Oh! I posted in the other thread before seeing this one.
Yes! My husband and I were doing that too. Such as, after the 3rd quake somone says “How big will the next one will be?” and we both yelled out “10.5!!!”. Sheesh! Don’t they know what movie they’re in??
What a little dip she is!
I do like Rebecca Jenkins as the Governor of California though. I love that they got a Canadian actress to do it. See, you CAN succeed in America! This is her most high-profile role in America, and I hope it does good things for her. I’ve liked her as a singer since 1984, when she sang backup for Jane Siberry (she has a lovely voice and she also has her own albums out.) and I’ve liked her as an actress since she was in Bob Roberts (as his assistant). I’ve met her too, and she’s very nice.
I felt the threat of tears when she was thinking about her family after the question at the press conference, but remembering that the asshole/whiny bitch I’d seen earlier were her family, I got over it. Then I rolled my eyes when the press gave her a standing ovation.
I missed the first 20 minutes. Sorry Seattle!
Best line from a movie that I’ve seen this week:
(err… I suppose I ought to put it in a spoiler box, just in case someone hasn’t seen it yet…)
[spoiler] When they are discussing using NUCLEAR weapons to ‘fuse the fault line to prevent the big one’ one scientist pipes up and says something to the effect of “You realize that we might have to deal with radiation and fallout…?”
Radiation and fallout? With nukes? Ya think?
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
I love this movie! Can’t wait for tomorrow…[/spoiler]
Bad Science & Plot Holes I can take… bad dialogue & acting I cannot…
Spunky Female Governor Lady (try saying that in a Jerry Lewis voice) promises to personally supervise the rescue of every individual lost in the quakes! :rolleyes:
THEN THE QUESTION- “Haven’t you lost contact with your own family?”… and I swear the Twilight Zone slo-mo camera work was a bad parody of Jesus’s arrest & Peter’s slashing out from THE PASSION.
And the President tells the FEMA head to “be the whatever I appointed you to be” when he admits ignoring the San Francisco quake warning instead of taking his head!