Maybe I exaggerated a little. Both Dante's Peak and Volcano came out in the summer 1997 so I decided to review them both. That's a weird Hollywood thing, putting similar plots out the same year. Seems there are just no new ideas.... or some people are just flat out lazy.
Pierce Brosnan plays a famous volcano scientist studying the explosive mountains. He notices some strange readings from a peak with a town at its feet. The mayor, Linda Hamilton, doesn't want to panic people during the height of their tourist season.
So the mountain begins to blow it's top and we see lots of running and screaming and Brosnan and Hamilton and her kids go try and rescue their grandma. They get stuck and have to drive across lava. Yea, like that's gonna happen.
It's reasonably entertaining, despite the plot problems. Bandon has the DVD and North Bend and Coos Bay have VHS copies.
IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118928/
Buy the DVD from Amazon:
Dante's Peak
So when I said the other one had plot issues, get this.. a volcano erupts in the middle of downtown Los Angeles. But wait, there's more. Our hero, Tommy Lee Jones, makes a path for lava to flow to the sea. Everyone in the cast plays it straight, like this is really happening.
Anne Heche co-stars as a scientist gal. Despite the GROSS unlikeliness of this whole scenario.. it's a more entertaining film than Dante's Peak. It's especially interesting watching the lava flow past landmarks.
If you like disaster films, grab some popcorn and make it a double feature night. Bandon and Coos Bay have DVD copies and North Bend, Lakeside and Myrtle Point have VHS tapes.
IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120461/
Buy the DVD from Amazon:
Volcano
1 comment:
These are Hollywood's overblown exaggeration of volcano movies with big name actors.
In 1981, St. Helens was released shortly after the real Mt. St. Helens catastrophic eruption on May 18, 1980. The movie was mostly filmed around Bend, Oregon, which explains why most of the pre-eruption Mt. St. Helens was actually Mt. Bachelor. At least they were in the right mountain range.
Post a Comment