Latest / Off The Shelf With Phil and Dave- A Movie Review Podcast / 1997's Volcano

Transcript

1997's Volcano · Off The Shelf With Phil and Dave- A Movie Review Podcast

0:01
Hello and welcome to Off the Shelf with Phil and Dave, the
0:06
movie talk show where each week one of us takes a movie off our
0:08
shelf, presents it to the other, and discusses it at length.
0:18
This week we are coming off of Daves Shelf, 1997's Volcano
0:23
starring Tommy Lee Jones and Anne Hache, written by Jerome
0:26
Armstrong and Billy Ray, and directed by I'm sorry, Mick
0:29
Jackson. I've been waiting.
0:35
All week for that. It is directed by Mick Jackson,
0:38
who you may recall in the archives that we discussed
0:40
briefly as he directed LA story. OK Steve Martin.
0:44
So he's clearly an LA guy. That's right.
0:46
Clearly, clearly he's like, nobody makes movies about LA
0:49
unless you live in LA. That's.
0:50
Right. Not like this guy.
0:52
So here we are, David Rack on the couch.
0:53
Happy New Year. You too.
0:56
Ready to tackle 26 with absolutely vim, vigor and
0:59
vitality? Absolutely get your geritol.
1:03
Here we are, David, as always. How are you doing?
1:06
Maybe most importantly, why this movie end?
1:09
Why now? Valid question.
1:11
I'm doing great. You're looking great.
1:13
I feel good. Back from my adventures.
1:15
Of course. Globe trotting, Dave.
1:17
Yeah. Never would have thought a
1:19
million years I'd make my way to New Zealand and Australia.
1:23
Shocking. Very shocking.
1:25
And let me tell you, it's a lot more green over there.
1:28
Yeah. And over here, especially this
1:29
time of year, I did not miss this weather.
1:32
I bet not. Oh my gosh.
1:33
And apparently didn't even know it was going to be snowing on
1:35
January. Whatever.
1:36
When you came back, yo, come on. No idea.
1:39
I'm not packing a jacket. I'm not taking up the space.
1:42
No way I could bring home souvenirs for everybody.
1:45
Yeah, I have to tell you what, you got me beautiful.
1:48
I thought you'd like it. You don't know what it is
1:51
because you know I forgot it. But there is something for you
1:53
in my possession. I will bring it to you next
1:55
time. Can't wait.
1:56
You can wait. I can, and so can the audience.
1:59
That's right. So obviously this trip inspired
2:01
me clearly to bring out some movies related to where I went,
2:06
which again was New Zealand. In Australia, it's still weird
2:09
even saying. That crazy, isn't it?
2:11
Four flights. Seven flights.
2:12
I think we counted it last week, I think it was 7, and there was
2:15
no love in the airport, none anywhere.
2:17
No love on the couch either, no. No Asians on the couch either.
2:21
No, they're all in the airport. They love to travel and there's
2:24
nothing wrong with that. It's not racist because I like
2:27
them. I like them supportive.
2:30
Keeps the tourism business going.
2:32
Absolutely same. Absolutely.
2:34
Big dollars. And one of the thing New Zealand
2:37
is doing is living on top of some volcanoes, active or
2:42
otherwise. OK.
2:44
That's the end. That's the into this one.
2:46
I already had about 5-6 movies I already knew I was going to do
2:49
before I even got there. Wow, I love the preparedness.
2:53
This one was a surprise to me and it wasn't until I was about
2:57
3 or 4 days into our trip like oh wow, there's a lot of volcano
3:00
history here. Gotcha.
3:02
Hot Springs. I enjoyed that.
3:04
Everybody looks that would be 9° buddy.
3:06
OK. Hot.
3:08
And actually, in 2019, I'm not sure the name of the specific
3:13
volcano, let's not get bogged down in details.
3:16
But tourists would go and get really close.
3:19
And it erupted. Wow.
3:20
And 20 people died. So I watched the Netflix special
3:24
where I was staying with her friends.
3:27
So heartbreaking to travel around the world.
3:28
Yeah, watching TV Sleep funny story because I don't have
3:34
Netflix. Uh, we watched P Diddy Wow, The
3:37
reckoning. Yikes.
3:38
My wife was into it. She's like, yeah, watch.
3:40
It she is a freak. We bought some Lube, what have
3:44
you. I went gay have.
3:46
A freak off right there. Right then and there.
3:50
And the other thing I watched was this documentary say that,
3:54
right? Did I no documentary watch the
3:57
couple and that was one of them. OK, So that's sparked my desire
4:01
to bring in 2026 with an eruption.
4:04
Fantastic, fantastic. Going to go from the real life
4:07
stakes, yeah, to a completely fabricated made yeah.
4:10
Yeah, and I had seen it once before and maybe a second time.
4:13
Bits and pieces on TV. Better be careful because in a
4:16
couple of years if you if you change your story, claim
4:20
otherwise. I don't think I gave it my full
4:23
attention when it first came out.
4:25
I don't know how I felt about it.
4:28
I'm thinking I imagine it's a probably a pretty good movie.
4:30
Like how could you go wrong with Lava?
4:32
Right. No one's ever gone wrong with.
4:34
Lava. Unless it's lava life.
4:36
So welcome. It's pretty right?
4:39
Yeah, a lot of success. Alright.
4:40
Did you? Yeah, that's a minor success.
4:42
But this is not the that's the After Hours podcast, right?
4:47
And. Behind the paywall.
4:49
You want those. Details.
4:52
And thus this episode is born. Fantastic.
4:54
Here we are today. And what is your history with
4:57
this movie? There's gotta be something.
4:59
The cover art, anything. You may have not seen it, but
5:01
you must have something because you worked at a video store.
5:05
Well done. Not a 1997.
5:06
Sorry I wasn't clear on. That want to be clear, I
5:08
remember that this was on the black box.
5:11
Yeah, I remember watching the trailer very frequently.
5:15
The coast is toast because those things, when the movies aren't
5:17
playing, it's just trailers. Yeah.
5:19
OK. And then the movie will.
5:20
Start with no, never had a black box or blue box.
5:24
So I never saw the movie. I knew that the coast is toast.
5:27
He didn't know that. And that's it.
5:29
I knew Tommy Lee Jones was running at some point.
5:32
Yeah. And then he was in it.
5:33
Who in 979899 was someone? I paid attention.
5:37
To yeah, she had a small window of some big hits.
5:41
Well, I don't know if it's really.
5:42
Kind of peaking with the mix. Six days, 7 nights.
5:45
Yeah, I was thinking Psycho in 1999.
5:48
OK, but 6 Days, Seven Nights with Harrison Ford was the peak.
5:50
I went to the movie in the theatre.
5:51
I hated it. I didn't like her in it.
5:54
So it's a bad movie, I think strictly visual.
5:56
That's fair. You're honest.
5:57
Yeah. So that's all I really knew
5:58
about the movie. And I obviously hadn't watched
6:00
it in the entire time that's been around.
6:02
So I didn't know anything going in.
6:03
OK, Good. And other than the 14,000
6:06
trailers that you have, lots of trailers.
6:07
Yeah. Yeah, Yeah.
6:08
Now I couldn't even have put that together.
6:10
Remember, the coast is toast because that's just a catchy,
6:12
catchy rhymes. But in watching the movie, there
6:15
were a couple of scenes where I was like, that's from the
6:17
trailer. I was like, I know that moment.
6:19
I know that. Moment it all.
6:20
Clicked in yeah, but I hate to tell you, I kind of liked it.
6:23
Really. Yeah, yeah.
6:25
Yeah, we'll. Get into this specifics, but
6:27
what the hell Yeah, it's not great, but there's yeah, there's
6:30
things about what it is there's. Things about it that I found
6:32
more enjoyable than I really would have anticipated.
6:34
Yeah, we'll get into the particulars.
6:35
Obviously. It's one of those things, right?
6:37
Like a sports movie or something.
6:38
Do you like it for what it is? Right.
6:39
It's a disaster movie in that playing field.
6:42
Is it good? You don't have to compare it to
6:44
Casablanca. Of course not.
6:45
That's the key, you know, I try and do better with that and sort
6:48
of look at it from that context. You've come a long way.
6:51
But yeah, so in that field I was like, this does some of that
6:55
stuff pretty well, this. Is therapy for you like the five
6:57
years you've had to watch my caliber of movies?
7:00
Right. It's warm me down basically.
7:02
I think it's important to know, though, that it came out the
7:05
same year as Dante's Peak. That's true, Yes, it was another
7:07
one of those. Yeah, and that I've seen a
7:09
couple of times, Pierce Pierce and Linda Hamilton.
7:12
I believe I had the DVD where it was 2 movies in one and it was
7:17
the. Flipper Yeah, one side.
7:19
This one side. The other, I think it was these
7:21
two movies. Yeah.
7:23
Must have been, I was going to say Day After Tomorrow, but that
7:25
came out years later, much later, like 6 or so years.
7:28
Yeah. I don't think I looked for it.
7:30
Garage sale someone. I mean, come on.
7:32
It's 2 for one, right? For one.
7:33
I didn't price it. It's 2 for one.
7:34
I should have. Yeah.
7:36
Missed opportunity. Yeah.
7:38
Maybe you can get him back on the phone.
7:39
But I thought Dante's Peak was an avalanche movie, otherwise I
7:43
probably would have picked it because I think I liked it more.
7:46
Interesting. OK.
7:47
But having said that. The beginning of the year,
7:49
buddy, we got. A long way to go you.
7:51
Know we could get up to Dante's Peak.
7:52
But I, I, I think I needed to see Volcano because I don't
7:57
remember if I liked it or not. And this podcast is about
8:00
movies. Yeah, usually.
8:03
Yes, most of the times. Here and there, not so much.
8:05
Yeah, someone murdered in space, what have you.
8:09
Murdered in the. Jacuzzi ways to solve but yeah,
8:13
so it comes in pairs just like the Sith Deep Impact Armageddon
8:17
the year later actually. So maybe at the end we can put
8:21
it in there somewhere. And how you felt about it was a
8:23
disaster movie. You obviously can't compare it
8:25
to Dante's because you haven't seen it never.
8:27
So have to do that maybe in the fall, not anytime soon.
8:30
Gotcha. So now that I got your initial
8:31
thoughts and I've said I wanted to say said your piece, that's
8:34
see what IMDb wanted to say. Yeah, or even IMDb.
8:38
Yeah, let it go. I'm just going to move on this
8:41
point if anyone still listening. But here we are with the first
8:46
synopsis of 2026 and lately we've been sort of analyzing
8:51
them a little bit. If it works, is it giving the
8:54
right amount of information? Is it entices?
8:56
It excites. And I haven't read it yet, so.
8:59
Here it comes a. Volcano erupts in downtown Los
9:02
Angeles, and a city official and a seismologist try to stop the
9:08
inevitable flow through the city.
9:10
That's it in a nutshell. I mean, I suspect that these
9:12
disaster movies are actually the easiest ones to summarize.
9:15
I think so, because that's exactly what happens.
9:18
They're getting off easy on that.
9:19
One movie about a volcano, it erupts.
9:20
What happens? So by default it's a win win.
9:23
Good way to start the year. Yeah, but I think if you're
9:26
interested in what could happen, the fact that he uses downtown
9:29
Los Angeles and gets into the city, you're thinking, OK, well,
9:32
there's going to be some disaster.
9:33
Like the real real pain points. Problematic.
9:37
It's big population. That's right.
9:39
So you can get excited about that, I think.
9:40
I think so. Dante's Peak is a more
9:42
traditional volcano I think. I don't know anything.
9:45
About you don't. You don't.
9:46
And I mean, it's a peak. This has no peak.
9:48
There's no peak, no peak. And bringing it into a big city
9:53
offers something. I think so.
9:55
Potentially it's important. I think when you look at things
9:58
like Pearl Harbor, Armageddon, Deep Impact, to a certain
10:01
extent, nobody cares about what's happening day after
10:04
tomorrow. Nothing.
10:05
These are all great picks off my show.
10:08
There's nothing that necessarily like it.
10:10
It has to happen in a big metropolis, I think, in order to
10:14
resonate. And also, I think it's important
10:15
to choose places with iconography.
10:17
As you know, the movie, this one opens over the titles.
10:22
Yeah, which as we talked about, that's part of the movie.
10:24
Get me into the moment. And what this movie does is it
10:27
shows us landmarks all throughout Los Angeles.
10:30
I assumed as much you've been to.
10:31
LA been there. I have not.
10:34
In fact, one of the things that shows amidst all of the
10:37
highlights, as it were of LA and all the hustle and bustle and
10:40
whatever else, as a guy that has been there, like you said, I
10:43
went to the Academy Museum. OK, Yeah, on beautiful builder
10:48
in Fairfax, and that's the one that looks like breathtaking
10:51
labeled as Macy's. May have been that back in 97
10:54
because it's mostly recently been renovated into the Academy
10:57
Museum, but it's got what looks like almost like film canisters
11:00
in the middle. Oh, yeah.
11:02
So if you recognize that, it's also where they catch the lava
11:04
later, that's at that same intersection.
11:06
So it's really quite common. Buddy, I've been to Sydney,
11:09
Australia. You wanna talk about building
11:11
structures? Let me tell you one thing about
11:13
it, please. The Opera House on the outside,
11:15
gorgeous. Inside, not so great, really.
11:18
Just seats. Very underwhelming.
11:19
Yeah, I'm sure it vibes when there's people there.
11:23
I enjoyed the tour of the submarine much better would be
11:26
in a sub in the battleship. OK and the old boat from like
11:29
the 1800s that was a lot more enjoyable.
11:32
On the inside, OK, but on the outside you know.
11:35
Yeah, I mean, it's unparalleled from the.
11:37
Outside 100%. Parallels, but I suspect, yeah,
11:39
seeing a show that the opera is probably a little more energy
11:42
to, I think. You're doing the now.
11:43
I see you now. You don't.
11:45
That Magic Show 1. Hugh Jackman.
11:47
Hugh Jackman's on that. Now you see me.
11:49
No. No, no.
11:51
Woody Harrelson. Woody Harrelson, Yeah.
11:53
Are you sure he was not in that? He was in the Prestige.
11:56
He played a magician that. There you go.
11:58
Yeah, You can see the mistake I made for movie and had no idea
12:01
about. Thanks for trying to save me.
12:04
But yeah, so I like to tell sequence.
12:06
I like that it shows you LA because again, we're trying to
12:08
set up stakes. We're trying to show what the
12:10
consequence of this action is gonna take.
12:13
Movie 10. One, and these are all places
12:15
that like New York, we know, we've seen it in other movies,
12:18
we've seen it in other TV shows, we've seen it around Eiffel
12:20
Tower in Paris, or we go Statue of Liberty or the Hollywood
12:23
sign, whatever else. You're like, OK, I see it, let's
12:25
destroy it basically exactly in these kinds of movies.
12:28
So I like that. And then luckily for us, it
12:31
explains something that none of us, I don't think would have any
12:34
idea about, which is the OEM. Yeah, well, yeah.
12:37
Luckily, it came right on the screen.
12:38
I'm thinking to myself, this movie is predicated on Tommy Lee
12:42
Jones character being an OEM. And I thought, I don't know what
12:46
that is. And clearly they know that
12:48
nobody watching this movie would know what that is because
12:51
there's so much writing, like so much of the title card.
12:54
Here's why Tommy Lee Jones is the lead actor or character in
12:57
this story, because otherwise there's nothing in the movie
13:01
from that moment on that tell us why this guy has the authority
13:05
to just boss people around. Yeah, if someone said the mayor
13:08
is going to tell you to do something, you're like, yeah,
13:10
the mayor's got some control or the president is going to tell
13:13
you to do something. Like yeah, President got the
13:14
Ohio dot E dot M, but the O dot. E dot M in downtown Los Angeles.
13:19
I don't know that you would have paid me $1000.
13:21
I don't know what I've said. Oh, yeah.
13:23
They're the ones that navigate all the different departments
13:26
to. I just wouldn't have known.
13:27
That and it's also important because it sets up the other
13:29
players too and basically put them all in one room together
13:32
yeah exactly and how they all interact right.
13:34
So the water stand, the man, right?
13:36
Like yeah, all these different components.
13:38
So I'm glad that they have that text is good.
13:41
And if you're on your phone watching this and you don't get
13:43
that text on screen, That's right.
13:46
I just buy it cause it's time Lee.
13:47
Jones, he's definitely a guy that is in charge.
13:49
I certainly proved that couple years prior with the Fugitive.
13:52
Exactly. Samuel Gerard, you got her.
13:55
What this division does, this organization that's disaster
14:00
related, and that's what happens at 9:14 AM, Yeah.
14:05
We get something that LA is rather familiar with.
14:08
The one memory I have of it is the San Francisco Giants.
14:12
Oakland days, Oakland A's. Yeah.
14:14
I don't know. It's maybe because I love
14:16
baseball, but I remember that as a kid, this would have been 94.
14:19
Yeah. In around there.
14:20
Yeah. Yeah.
14:21
That's when the Expos were around.
14:22
Yeah, it was crazy. I remember that.
14:23
I've seen footage and there's a movie, Wes Craven's New
14:26
Nightmare, which we would have covered had you chosen a
14:29
different path. Oh, damn it.
14:31
That was shot in and around 94 and in Los Angeles, and they
14:36
took footage just from the street because of the earthquake
14:38
was so damaging. So yeah, that.
14:40
Same. Pretty big on the Richter scale.
14:42
Yes, I think that was a 7 or an 8.
14:44
I believe it was in that seven region.
14:46
Yeah, yeah. Luckily this was only a 4.9.
14:49
If you're a betting man, Las Palmas, no big deal.
14:51
Palmdale, Palmdale, that's where it was.
14:53
That's what I put in my mind, Stan, taking bets and Speaking
14:57
of those bets, we really get a player by player very quick.
15:01
Yeah, yeah. Here's the introduction of,
15:04
well, let's start with Tommy Lee Jones, of course.
15:06
I think we have to ease the lead.
15:08
Here, he's on vacation. And let me tell you, he is not a
15:11
good yawner when he he's at home with his daughter.
15:15
He's making the eggs, which we all love.
15:18
But that yawn was totally fake. It was not an act.
15:21
Yeah, I know, but I need to buy the yawn.
15:24
Yeah, I was out pretty early. You get the yawn, right?
15:28
I just kidding. You know how I love Tommy Jones?
15:31
Of course. But I did.
15:32
I just jot that down as my first note of this movie.
15:35
The fake critical mindset, David, you got to shake it,
15:38
shake it, shake it. And then we get the introduction
15:42
of his daughter, Gabby Hoffman. Kelly.
15:45
Where do we know her from? Uncle Block.
15:47
Yeah. And Field of Dreams.
15:49
Yeah, that's right. Yes.
15:51
And I know her most recently from the Springsteen movie,
15:54
which sucks. That's too bad.
15:55
I'm sorry to hear you're a big fan.
15:56
Big fan but that movie is terrible.
15:57
I hate it. Maybe make a?
15:58
Bon Jovi movie could be another New Jersey boy.
16:01
Yeah, that'll be better. And they made Jersey Boys, which
16:04
is another terrible movie that Clint Eastwood directed.
16:06
I'm still watching Jersey Shore. Yeah.
16:08
And the final season. Yeah.
16:09
Suki. Yeah, that's all I know.
16:11
Yeah, boobs. Boobs.
16:14
So all I know about the show, that's all I ever want to know
16:16
about. That show.
16:17
That's right. But yeah, we do get the
16:19
introduction of the cast of characters, so we get that
16:20
relationship. You always going to have a kid
16:22
involved in these types of movies?
16:24
Yeah, of course. Someone in danger.
16:26
And we have Stan, as you mentioned.
16:29
From Fargo fame, yes. Yeah, absolutely.
16:31
From Zodiac as well. He's very good.
16:32
In that Fargo, that's him to me. Yeah, He's been in a lot of
16:35
stuff. Yeah.
16:36
And he's not in Fargo that much. No.
16:37
But he's left an impact. He's with your gal.
16:40
Yeah, Frances Mcdormand, Absolutely.
16:42
Shelfie Award winner? Yes, hot off the press.
16:47
Yeah, so stand the man. And then we have Emmett.
16:49
Emmett Sure, Tommy Jones, right hand man Don Cheadle, who we
16:52
love. Yeah, Ann Hesh.
16:54
Yes, she's a seismologist. Geologist.
16:56
She's introduced as someone with confidence.
16:59
Yeah, right. She can go on camera.
17:01
Yeah, she's got your friend. Cannot, cannot and should
17:04
definitely not be on camera ever again.
17:06
Wow. Kind of a silly conversation.
17:08
I don't really love that. But we do introduce to Anne
17:10
Hayes shoes someone in the know. We meet John Corbett, who's some
17:13
sort of impresario. He owns the big building.
17:16
Bit of a jerk. That's what I think.
17:18
She can definitely do better. Totally.
17:20
He's dating a doctor. They're thinking about making
17:23
the next step he wants are working away from gunshots.
17:26
Gunshots into tennis elbow. The doctor, obviously.
17:30
So we're just sending it up. None of these people have any
17:32
real character. They're mostly stereotypes.
17:35
Speaking of setting it up 97 in LA the relationship the cops
17:39
have with certain races during during that time we had
17:45
obviously OJ 93 ish. Yeah, 9495, something like that.
17:49
And then obviously I Rodney King and 293 somewhere in that
17:52
region. So it's definitely fraught,
17:53
yeah, to say the least. And they make some allusions to
17:55
that over the course of this setting up.
17:58
A couple of cops 1 little bit nicer than the other.
18:01
Absolutely. These are our cast of
18:03
characters, but ultimately none of them are going to matter.
18:05
The two that we really care about her not even care about,
18:07
the ones that we're really going to spend more time with, It's
18:09
going to be Tommy Lee Jones and it's going to be an hash, as it
18:11
should be. And then a little bit of Don
18:12
Cheadle, because he's running point.
18:14
We cut back to him often enough, but everybody else is really
18:18
just there to move some pieces. Around, yeah, yeah, he's second
18:20
in command, more or less, Absolutely.
18:22
And he's covering the vacation. He's on vacation, but he's not
18:25
actually on vacation. Let me ask you this question.
18:28
I have asked a question yet. Yes, you're due.
18:32
Did you feel that the relationship between father and
18:36
daughter was established enough? Did they spend enough time?
18:40
There. No, but it doesn't matter.
18:42
I don't think it does. I don't think it matters.
18:44
It's not there. And I think it's.
18:46
It doesn't matter because they're supposed to be a little
18:48
estranged. Yeah.
18:49
And he's looking for a babysitter.
18:50
He's trying to bail out of something.
18:51
She's got my favorite line in the whole movie, which is soon
18:54
after this. But.
18:55
But ultimately when things are heating up.
18:57
Is that a point? Yeah, intended or not.
18:59
He says I've got to go, and she says why?
19:02
And he says it's my responsibility.
19:04
And she says so am I. To me, it's the only bit of
19:08
heart in the movie. Yeah, this movie doesn't.
19:10
No, it's not like it needs it. But I like reality.
19:13
I like things that make some sense.
19:15
And a lot of times in these movies, things don't make sense.
19:17
Relationships. They're just there as pawns.
19:19
Like the stuff with Corbett and the doctor, that doesn't make
19:21
any sense to me. They had no chemistry.
19:23
There's no chemistry, none of it makes sense, it doesn't really
19:26
play a factor. At peace.
19:27
You just introduce him to fuck with later.
19:29
But you need a doctor, so let's add some drama to give us some
19:32
back story or whatever. I think it's useless.
19:35
I hate it. Gabby Hoffman and him don't have
19:38
a relationship is part of the story.
19:40
And then the fact that there's that line which adds a little
19:42
element of you're thinking big picture.
19:45
That's fine, but what about me down here?
19:48
Yeah. And I thought, well, this
19:49
grounds that relationship in a way that I think is important.
19:52
I think it's successful with creating that relationship.
19:56
I actually want to spend a little bit more time with it,
19:58
flush it out a little bit for it to feel a little bit more.
20:01
Yeah, for things that happen later on in the.
20:03
Movie I think that's totally fair where this movie fails and
20:06
it fails at a number of ways along the way even though I
20:09
loved it dude like it. But the things that it fails
20:12
that I think are those because I traditionally naturally movies
20:15
like this never service to me anyway successfully the
20:20
relationship pieces of it, whether it's Armageddon, the
20:23
wife and the kid watching the television when he comes back
20:27
Chip OK. That guy played by Will Patton,
20:30
hate it. I man, I hate it balling.
20:33
Yeah, there's something wrong with you.
20:37
Victor coming back, Sure. Your dad, the honor of like,
20:41
yeah, I can't even say it because I'm getting all
20:42
emotional here. To your credit, I mean,
20:44
obviously works for you, but it didn't with me.
20:47
I kind of rolled my eyes at that whole equation.
20:48
I don't think I've ever really felt that type of relationship
20:52
in these types of movies. Doesn't make it bad, it's just
20:55
movie making. But I didn't really care about
20:58
this relationship that much until that line that, to me
21:01
solidified a certain amount of it.
21:03
But then immediately she's sloughed off and she becomes a
21:05
babysitter somewhere. Else, I like that babysitter
21:08
thing because at the beginning of the movie she has a
21:11
babysitter. That's right.
21:12
Did you recognize the babysitter?
21:14
Susie, How could I not? The sues the.
21:16
Sues now her costuming was a lot less garish.
21:20
Is he in Curb Your Enthusiasm is but my gosh, just recognize.
21:24
Oh yeah. That's right, she's quite the
21:26
character. I haven't watched a lot of Curb,
21:27
surprisingly. Oh yeah, that is.
21:29
She's very animated, she's very loud.
21:31
Very loud, boisterous, very Olgar, going toe to toe with Mr.
21:35
David, I'm sure. Sicko, Funko, Larry David,
21:38
That's all you need. Another cameo.
21:40
Just while we're on the topic. Richard Schiff pops up OHS.
21:45
Playing a very similar character.
21:46
To JP Two, Yeah, yeah. Good role for it, I guess.
21:51
It's really funny because a couple years after this he's
21:53
Toby in The West Wing, and it's like such a completely different
21:56
character. Oh, he's got range, buddy.
21:58
Yeah, I love him, but I'm just like, wow, you're in this movie
22:01
just being annoying guy like you were in Jurassic Park.
22:04
I just don't understand they played an integral role in just
22:07
true that's. True.
22:08
But yeah, anyway, it's really nice to see him.
22:11
But he survived this one. I think he.
22:12
Doesn't get eaten by a dinosaur. That's for sure.
22:15
But what is happening? Ultimately, we've got these
22:17
characters, things are happening, but we're the first
22:19
real indication. We had the earthquake but didn't
22:22
really think much of it. But there's the LA, the big burn
22:25
up about 9 minutes OHT. You'll find the underground
22:28
work. Yeah, about 7 of.
22:30
Them. Yeah.
22:30
And then the big reveal, you see half of it basically like the
22:34
space I did. I thought that's good makeup
22:36
effect. And you wouldn't have guessed
22:38
it, but it turns out that Tommy Lee Jones was looking at 2 face
22:43
right right in, right in that moment.
22:45
Very curious, Astute. I didn't piece that together.
22:49
That's that's one of the best Batman movies ever made.
22:52
Batman Forever. Good call out buddy.
22:54
I thought you'd appreciate it, but I thought the effect was
22:58
really good and again set some stakes up and basically
23:00
introduces a reason for them to go underground.
23:03
Yeah, you make some curious now, I don't think he should go down
23:07
there in that getup garb. Yeah, that's not going to really
23:11
help you. Like these seven people that got
23:13
burned. You think a little layer of
23:15
gabardine is going to save you? Gortex is what?
23:20
Yeah, yeah, the good stuff. It wants to give you that false
23:24
sort of. OK.
23:25
His friend's gonna get it. Yes.
23:28
And not his friend. Not.
23:29
Yeah. Somebody else will get a little
23:30
bit later. It's setting up.
23:31
Exactly. I really thought this scene was
23:33
very effective. I liked that thing.
23:35
Plastic. The melting plastic.
23:36
In the shoe. That smells really bad by the.
23:39
Way, yeah, they would have probably sensed it a little
23:40
earlier than they did, but I just thought that was a very
23:43
effective scene and it didn't take a lot to do.
23:47
You can hold the camera on them and I'm boiling up in the shoes.
23:49
Like I said, it's Oh yeah, it's really fucking hot.
23:52
Yeah, it's a little steamy down there.
23:55
Smells like sulfur. That's right.
23:57
Which gets him to say, give me a geologist, seismologist,
24:01
somebody. Somebody who knows things.
24:03
Yeah, and that's the introduction of an.
24:05
Hash, and you say Ann hash, I say Ann hesh, Tomato.
24:08
Tomato, as far as I know. She's not around to answer.
24:10
That's sad. She lived there later years, but
24:14
let's not talk Here's. Yeah, she's.
24:16
She's at her peak here. Yeah.
24:17
And she has to explain to Tommy Lee Jones what's happening.
24:21
The tectonic plates. And sometimes they shift and.
24:23
They Yeah, yeah, these things happen for a guy who did a
24:27
little bit of research. You watched the documentary?
24:30
Exactly. So I kind of know what happens
24:33
with these things, but I don't care in this type of movie how
24:37
accurate the science is. And I think you really
24:40
shouldn't. It just has to sort of make
24:43
sense. That's right.
24:44
Yeah, sell it to me, I'll believe.
24:45
You. Yeah, anytime you're dealing
24:47
with science, there's a few people in the world that can
24:49
understand the level of detail that some of these actual
24:52
realities would be For the layperson, moviegoer.
24:55
I don't think you need much, right?
24:57
Just buy in. And I felt the same way.
24:59
Plastic melts when it's hot. You just showed me that I get.
25:01
It and let me tell you, it smells for a long time.
25:04
My neighbor had a very small house fire.
25:07
It was a vacant house. They were about to sell it,
25:10
actually, insurance money. It is suspicious.
25:15
But the TV box melted and caused a fire.
25:19
And I actually, my neighbor who's beside that, invited me up
25:22
to look at it. And a month later, you can still
25:25
smell plastic. Wow.
25:26
Like. And it's a lot of damage.
25:28
Like. Yeah, no doubt.
25:28
Yeah. Crazy little shame.
25:30
Yeah. Look, I haven't had to deal with
25:31
that in my life. But he bought the place the
25:34
discount. Makes sense, but Ann Hash in
25:39
order for her to get to the bottom, she and her friend Rach
25:42
need to need to need to head down and check.
25:45
It out early. Very early, Very early before
25:47
anybody gets there. See what's?
25:49
Happening. She picked her up at 4:00 AM.
25:50
Yeah, it's good to know. It's good sometimes.
25:53
Our Lady Peace. The Canadian band absolutely
25:56
never been spoken of on this. Podcast ever before, probably
25:58
never again. What are your thoughts on this
26:00
scene? You're set up for steaks in this
26:04
environment Level up. Yeah, exactly.
26:06
And we're about half hour in so it's time to to step it up.
26:09
I thought it was sad. Yeah.
26:11
Tell me. Felt bad.
26:12
For a friend, yeah. You know, Yeah.
26:14
One thing that did stand out to me, they just reversed the
26:17
camera footage to have everything sucked back in.
26:20
They did a couple times in this movie, but you know, it's 97.
26:24
Sure. Gotta forgive it.
26:25
Yeah, that's what you. Do or not or not, because
26:27
there's a couple scenes later where I think the camera work
26:30
becomes. A little too shoddy.
26:32
Too gross? Yeah.
26:34
Too much slow mo. Too much like there's elements.
26:37
I don't know. This movie is directed
26:39
exceptionally well, but some of the things I think is done very.
26:42
Well, for a guy who directed LA Story, this is quite, yeah, it's
26:46
quite a shift in totally and requirements, I would say.
26:49
Not that he not say that he did not succeed on some.
26:51
Level, sure. Not saying overall it's good,
26:54
but when it sort of gets a little flashy, a little showy,
26:57
it's a little like you're trying to show off.
26:58
Here, but Anne got that person killed.
27:01
Basic, Rachel. As you said.
27:03
But she's expendable, I suppose. Yeah, she's built.
27:05
That's the best. Friend part Yeah, that's what it
27:07
is. You got to set up some.
27:08
You're going to kill Gabby Hoffman, so you're going to have
27:10
to kill somebody. And we met Rachel at the She's
27:12
service. So there you go.
27:13
Yeah, my question and things like that is always like, why is
27:17
a trained professional doing such silly positioning, like
27:21
having stood over the gap? Yeah, don't do that one leg on
27:25
each, right. Like there's there's ways that
27:27
you don't have to do that, but. Didn't read the safety pamphlet
27:29
exactly. But again, I don't care about
27:31
things like that. I thought overall was pretty
27:32
effective. We talked a little bit about
27:34
this and Shelfie winner Friday the 13th Part 4.
27:38
But if you remember when the guys getting killed at the end,
27:41
he's like, he's killing me. He's killing me.
27:43
And that echoing from the basement is a little more
27:45
terrifying than. Yeah, than anything else.
27:48
She in this like, I'm burning. It's burning me.
27:51
It's burning me. As she's reaching out to be
27:53
saved. I feel it's pretty effective.
27:56
I'm not, you know, like crying. I don't have the emotional
27:58
connection. But that reality, yeah, it's,
28:01
it's like terrifying. Hard to think about.
28:04
Exactly right. Whether the visuals meet that,
28:06
like in the moment or the movie itself.
28:09
But if you allow yourself to just get into the idea that this
28:12
is really happening, that's terrifying to be alive enough to
28:15
feel yourself burning alive. Like that's pretty fucked.
28:18
Up we'll get to something a little bit later that I think
28:21
displays it little bit more and somebody that.
28:24
Means a little. More, maybe barely. 2 cent
28:27
stamper. But yeah, so that that stuck out
28:30
to me as being kind of interesting to me.
28:43
What do you call those things on the road?
28:45
Manhole covers Manhole. Covers sewer drains.
28:48
Whatever. Yeah, yeah, sewer drain covers I
28:51
think is what I wrote down. They're all popping up.
28:54
So 1997 special effects, like we said in the previous scene,
29:00
we're doing OK here, not great. This next section when we get a
29:03
little bit of never. Yeah.
29:06
And steam, Yeah. And ash, actually.
29:08
Yeah, heavy on the ash. Yeah.
29:10
Love, Actually. I used to be a smoker, so I know
29:16
all about Larry. Yeah.
29:17
Flicking ash all over the ash. What I think about this scene is
29:21
I love this sequence. Oh, really?
29:24
Yeah. Like, it's wrong.
29:25
It's the only part of the movie that I was, like, really engaged
29:29
in the action part of it. Because this is what you're here
29:31
for, right? Give me the volcano and
29:35
character guy. Generally, right, But it's doing
29:37
what it needs to do. We're about 1/2 hour in, about
29:39
1/3 of the way. Give me something.
29:41
Didn't feel like it took long to get.
29:43
Here, not at all, not at all. So everything's like firing to
29:45
me on all cylinders. I love the practical effect of
29:49
it, some use of miniature. The fire effect I think is
29:52
really good. Yeah, I would agree.
29:54
Era fire manner are pinned into. The fire truck, you gotta get
29:57
the fireman involved at some point.
29:58
Absolutely. It's a lot of lot of fire.
30:01
Absolutely, Absolutely. Yeah, I would agree.
30:03
I think for 97 at this point anyways, in the movie, the
30:07
special effects as it were like this is I imagine a pretty big
30:11
budget movie. I don't have the numbers in
30:12
front of me, but we're not really at a CGI.
30:16
No, I mean it's post 93, which is always like that, that
30:19
Jurassic Park tectonic change. And there's a lot of CGI in this
30:22
movie, particularly around the lava and the fire, cause that's
30:25
difficult to duplicate in real life.
30:27
I suppose so. I thought that was real lava.
30:29
Not gonna lie, no, there's some of it that might be a construct,
30:32
but most of it is CGI. OK, good job.
30:34
Which at times works in his favor and other times, I think
30:37
totally fails, you know, social commentary around the looting.
30:41
Did you notice? I'm not sure if you caught on.
30:43
Yeah. When Anne Hayes puts this pack
30:46
down on the car and then as soon as she.
30:49
She puts the pack on the car, It's gone.
30:51
Something comes off, it takes, and she's like, she's red.
30:54
When I was at the airport, we had some downtime, right?
30:57
We're waiting for our next flight course connection.
30:59
You know how it goes. Yeah.
31:00
And there's this coffee place in the middle.
31:03
And this guy ordered 2 Cokes, sat him on a table, and someone
31:07
lifted them. Wow.
31:08
Right there. Right there.
31:09
At this point, we're past security.
31:11
Yeah, these are. Whoever took them has paid for a
31:13
ticket. Wow.
31:15
And I was looking around to see for 4 bucks, well, $8.
31:18
Yeah, exactly. And it put me a little bit on
31:21
edge, like just watch your backpack sort of things.
31:24
I'd hate to lose like a passport, Right.
31:26
And I'm looking around for suspects.
31:28
I think I I do. I do like playing it.
31:31
But for a guy that worked at an airport, do you go to security
31:35
and say I want to see the footage?
31:36
Or you just like I lost 8 bucks and let's move.
31:39
On you can on occasion less for the the stealing.
31:42
I haven't had too much experience.
31:43
Out of curiosity. But it is something that you can
31:46
do for sure. Yeah.
31:46
Because he could be doing it on a bigger scale and, like, you
31:50
need to get this guy. Yeah.
31:52
In airports in particular, everything is surveilled.
31:54
Yeah, right. Yeah.
31:55
That's what I figured, but is that a common occurrence?
31:58
Theft. Yeah.
31:59
In an airport, Like someone just going around stopping?
32:01
In my experience, no. Yeah.
32:02
I just thought it was odd because you've got past
32:04
security. You've paid $1000 for whatever,
32:07
wherever you're going, you're going to potentially risk
32:09
sacrificing your whole trip for a Coke.
32:11
Petty thieves don't typically fly anywhere.
32:13
Yeah. They're not even a thief in
32:15
general, they're just like opportunity.
32:16
I'll take that, opportunists. Yeah, like people who wouldn't
32:19
otherwise be that, like, would never steal a Coke in real life.
32:21
But like, oh, it's right here. Why not?
32:23
I can't get behind that mentality.
32:24
Me neither. I don't support.
32:25
It truth is, I took the Cokes. It was me.
32:28
I was thirsty. It's part.
32:29
Honey you spot me 10 bucks and go get.
32:32
Cokes, Let's see how it works. But anyways, let's get out of
32:37
the airport and back into Los Angeles.
32:39
LAX but does not doesn't play a role, thankfully.
32:43
No lovely airport. Though now you mentioned you're
32:47
liking this section of the movie.
32:49
I'm not sure how far that takes us to.
32:52
We do have a guy on a phone. Yes, yes, got it.
32:54
Relaying all this information that's happening.
32:57
My thought is this guy's going to die?
32:59
Yeah, I thought the same thing. I don't think he.
33:01
Does. No, I don't think so either.
33:02
Missed opportunity. I like it.
33:04
The fact that it was so obvious and it doesn't happen.
33:07
Yeah, let's suppose, because I think it happened in day after
33:09
tomorrow or. Something yeah, day after
33:10
tomorrow. The guy was literally on the
33:11
phone. He swept up or whatever else.
33:13
But yeah, Rachel already died. She was like, Oh yeah, we see
33:15
this coming and she gets taken care of.
33:17
This guy gets to. Live.
33:18
Lucky for him, we get a lot of glass everywhere.
33:20
Which reminds me, it's not a good movie.
33:23
Don't watch it, OK? There's a lot of extras in this
33:26
movie. A lot of firemen.
33:28
Yeah, cops. And they belonged.
33:29
They did a lot better than anybody in that glass movie.
33:32
And we really get our first sense of lava too, right.
33:35
That's true too. We're in the thing now.
33:36
I think lava time, lava time. We already went through the loss
33:41
of a couple of firemen to, let's not forget that.
33:43
No, I thought that was another pretty effective scene.
33:45
They're trapped in the truck and can't get to them.
33:48
Yeah, we have the doctor. Helping out?
33:50
Yeah, that's right. Yeah.
33:51
She finds the car. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
33:54
Someone's got a concussion, contusion, something or another.
33:57
And Gabby Hoffman, who jumps out of the car.
34:00
Yeah, bad call. Stay in the car.
34:03
Yeah, it gets a second degree, Second degree burn.
34:05
Not the worst, no, but it's bad enough.
34:08
It's bad enough. And obviously the doctors now
34:10
there. Oh, well, here's my card.
34:11
Right. It's again set things up at
34:13
Cedar Sinai. I love scenes where people
34:15
exchange business cards. Yeah, I have a soft you're gonna
34:17
love them lot for American Psycho.
34:20
Lot of that really good. It's a scene again, just setting
34:23
up this particular exchange, we have to split them up, yes,
34:26
because we don't want to deal with her at every.
34:28
Turn and I think it works. I think it may all make sense.
34:31
And it sets her up to be a babysitter.
34:33
Let's her do her thing. Gives her mark, yeah, and gets
34:36
Tommy Lee Jones away from having to drag his daughter around to
34:40
every. No one wants to do, nobody wants
34:42
to deal with. That shows the Doctor as being
34:45
some great humanitarian. Which she is, we've established
34:48
that she missed married. But overall, the action of this
34:52
sequence, I'm all over, I thought really well executed and
34:55
it takes us to a next level and we go back to the centre.
34:58
The O dot E dot M yeah, we're Cheetos kind of running the
35:02
show. Yes.
35:03
And they put the lava on display on the screen.
35:07
And I found his reaction a little underwhelming.
35:09
This is lava in LA He's like, do you see this shit on the TV?
35:13
Yeah. Yeah, it's pretty, pretty
35:14
impressive. It's pretty.
35:15
And I just thought it was a weird reaction to me.
35:17
It's weird to me that you mentioned that because later he
35:21
has a another moment that I think is excellent and it's I
35:25
think it might even be this one. I'm not positive, but when he
35:28
says can we right, He can't finish two sentences because
35:31
what he's seeing on the screen is too much for him.
35:33
I thought it was really good. I don't know.
35:35
I. Really liked it.
35:35
Maybe it's just the way his eyes were looking at it.
35:38
Like that's not a big deal. Yeah, OK.
35:39
Yeah. Maybe he's I acting needs a.
35:41
Little bit of work. Yeah.
35:43
I think Cheat on this movie is perfectly fine.
35:44
Yeah, as the guy, I don't like the hat, but at least make fun
35:47
of him for that. They should at least acknowledge
35:49
it. Also, this is the same year as
35:51
Boogie Nights and a couple of years after Devil in a Blue
35:53
Dress, where he steals the show and a year before Out of Sight,
35:58
so he's on the up. You could see charisma, you can
36:00
see charm, you can see performance in there.
36:02
Speaking of up, you want to look up because we got some lava
36:05
bombs coming down and Haitian character.
36:09
I'm going to say channel. Please get on board, follow your
36:12
lead. She she mentions Rachel would
36:14
have loved. This.
36:15
Yeah, yeah. I hate that she would have.
36:16
At least favorite. Line, you got killed, you know,
36:20
really, it was her idea. Sure sounds like it was a DDR
36:23
too. It feels like it's out of
36:23
nowhere. But she has good advice on lava
36:27
bombs. Just wait for it to come to you.
36:29
Wait and see where it's going to land first.
36:31
That's right, like a baseball. That's right, you can't run to
36:33
where you think it's going to go run.
36:35
To where it is exactly you get. It they try and deal with this
36:37
bus as an opportunity to try and corral the lava.
36:42
Good call, as much as I was really into the action of the
36:44
previous sequence. We know where to go it.
36:46
Down I really don't like. This is it, the saving of the
36:49
stranger. Is that a hobo?
36:50
I don't know. The guy that's just laying down
36:52
there and they feel like they have to save.
36:54
Their fighter or anybody? Definitely not firefighter.
36:56
So I didn't like that. Clearly a blue screen type of
36:58
vibe, all the mechanics of it, then hanging on all the things I
37:02
thought it was doing really well.
37:04
And I was like really engaged in that first piece.
37:06
This second one I was like, Oh yeah, OK.
37:08
I mean, what do you think about the lab itself?
37:11
I think at times it's very good, yeah.
37:13
And then other times I think it's very bad and we're going to
37:15
get to a very bad. Soon.
37:16
So you're gonna say inconsistent?
37:17
Yeah, I could put a word into your.
37:18
Mouth. Great, great observation.
37:20
Thank you. Alright, yeah.
37:22
So what I bring to the table buddy?
37:23
That's right, but they are trying to localize it.
37:28
And this is where we get the introduction, more or less, of
37:30
the black guy from Stanley Ave. Yes, the OJ jokes, the Rodney
37:34
King, and the white cop eventually arrests him.
37:36
He does now. I guess, as you mentioned
37:39
earlier, this is the world at the time.
37:41
Especially in LA. Yeah, it just, it's such an
37:43
obviously combustible situation and not to make any light of it,
37:46
but it feels so tacked on in this movie and the way that it
37:50
resolves itself. I just think it's one plot
37:52
thread that is unnecessary. Did you have any better feeling
37:55
about? It I was thinking to myself that
37:57
this played better in 97. Yeah, OK.
38:00
But I don't remember such a OneNote thing that stands out
38:05
now. Yeah, I don't know if it would
38:06
have backed them. Hard to say.
38:07
Yeah, maybe. I just think the movie doesn't
38:09
need this race relation stuff in there, even if it's real, and I
38:12
believe it is. Obviously, 100%, I don't know
38:15
the circumstances of the movie require it.
38:17
And then how it pays off, I don't really like either.
38:19
So I wonder because in Movies Now feels like sometimes they're
38:22
checking a box. Could be.
38:23
Yeah. And I wonder how we'll feel
38:25
about that movie from 2025. Revisiting that movie.
38:28
Yeah, sure. In 20 years to see how it plays
38:30
out. That's true.
38:31
When we record the podcast in 22 years, when we look back on you
38:35
have remembered this, remember these moments, it'll be in the
38:37
spreadsheet. So put a little note in there.
38:40
That's right. But I think performance wise, I
38:42
think everyone's playing it well.
38:44
Yeah. I don't have any real issues
38:45
with performance character. Yes, but not performance
38:47
generally good. Like even John Carroll Lynch,
38:50
he's got his big moment coming up.
38:52
Is that Stan? Stan.
38:53
Ohhhhh. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
38:55
Here we are. Yeah, just get into it.
38:57
There's a few things to dissect. Here, Yeah.
39:00
So fundamentally, the character doesn't have a lot to work with,
39:04
right? We've established he's like,
39:05
well, that's their problem, not my problem.
39:07
My job is the trains. I'm a trained guy.
39:08
This is what happened. He's trying to quit smoking.
39:10
Yes. And he can't take the stress and
39:12
start smoking. Yes.
39:13
Classic. Like Emily Blunt and Looper.
39:16
Yeah, she didn't have the patch. No, I don't think.
39:19
No, no, he's got that. Yeah, I think the patch was big
39:21
back then. I think it is product placement.
39:23
Maybe it could be. At first I didn't know what it
39:26
was. I didn't either.
39:27
They cut himself shaving me. Yeah, I actually thought at
39:29
first he was chewing the gum all the time.
39:31
I thought it was like, well, you put the gum behind his ear to do
39:34
the thing and then, you know, like, and he has this piece of
39:37
paper so it's not on the skin or something.
39:38
I. Don't know, my thought actually
39:39
about the gum because there's a scene where there's a bunch of
39:41
gum underneath something. Yeah.
39:43
I asked myself, would child Phil chew that?
39:46
If you recall that episode, you would choose a used gum.
39:50
If you remember that you went on record.
39:51
Yeah, probably. If it was bubble gum, you know.
39:55
Yeah, You don't know. What's Nicorette?
39:56
Yeah, that's problematic for a child.
39:58
Absolutely, yeah. Start smoking, live a whole
40:00
different life. But yeah, so he's got his hero
40:03
moment here. He's trying to save his guy.
40:05
He's got a driver. This this subway has been
40:07
stalled heating up. Drivers into it earlier like we
40:11
know something's going to happen, of course, train.
40:13
And it should. That's the movie.
40:15
That's the type. This was one where I had a
40:17
really bad bad experience. Now are we talking effects wise
40:23
or just why is this happening? Well, I don't mind the fact that
40:27
it's happening, OK? Cause it's like, OK, you have
40:29
people be heroes. That's this kind of genre.
40:31
Yeah, but I questioned this one. This one is all bad.
40:34
My thought process. Is is that driver more valuable
40:38
than you? Like if you had to pick between
40:40
the two stands got a pretty big job.
40:41
This guy's just driving a train. Wow.
40:44
Shots fired. So I'm thinking, yeah, let this
40:47
one go. Yeah, Stan, value yourself more.
40:50
OK, Self love here buddy. You're trying to quit smoking.
40:53
You're a better man. Yeah.
40:55
You have a big job here. Bold future.
40:57
Absolutely. There's a fine line between self
40:59
sacrifice, yeah, and stupidity. Yeah, everything about this
41:02
sucks. I don't like the effects, in
41:04
particular the lava and the decision.
41:06
It's a hero moment, sure, but I think a little unnecessary.
41:10
Like you're saying the jumping into the.
41:12
Lava and he paused for a while. How did he?
41:14
Just do it just. Just go.
41:16
Don't wait to decrease your odds.
41:19
I mean, I would freeze in that of course.
41:21
You're terrified, but I actually think you would move very fast
41:23
in the terror would actually propel you forward faster than
41:26
where am I If you've made the commitment to go in that you're
41:29
in right. The only thing I did like about
41:32
it. Oh, OK.
41:34
It is not performance. I think he it overdoes.
41:36
I think the direction fails the the the scene.
41:39
Everything about it more or less sucks.
41:40
Except for one. Thing what is it?
41:42
One thing is that he dies screaming, but the screaming
41:45
ends before he sinks into the. Bottom.
41:47
I don't know. In another world, to me, I think
41:49
it's like you're jumping right and you're sinking into the
41:52
lava, which is what's happening. So he's dead before he sinks to
41:56
the bottom. But other movies I think would
41:58
stretch that out, right? Like kind of like we dealt with
42:01
at the beginning. I'm burning, I'm burning.
42:03
I'm. Burning I'm Yeah.
42:04
He's in there screaming and the camera holds on him as he
42:09
continues to sink. I like that the scream ends
42:11
before he dissolves. OK Because it's like he had a
42:15
heart attack. It's like he was like, oh shit,
42:16
I'm dead as I'm continuing to die.
42:19
I don't think he can have a heart attack when you're no
42:21
longer exists because it's gone. Now he's all hard.
42:24
He gave it away to. The yeah, yeah, he did.
42:27
That's what I'm saying. He's only had his knees anyway.
42:30
That's the only thing I liked about it.
42:31
But I hate his face. When he goes under like I think
42:33
performance everything about Elder then the scream I hate.
42:37
Yeah, that's one of the few scenes that I've remembered as
42:40
soon as it started happening, like I remember this from the
42:43
from watching it originally. I'm like, yeah.
42:45
But the next scene I actually think is really great, where
42:48
they start to. Let me check my notes with this
42:50
is this. Where they're trying to corral
42:52
the lava, Oh sure. In Fairfax, they're
42:55
bottlenecking it. They take the six foot high
42:57
beams from the streets, the buses, the fire trucks, all of
43:02
that. Building the blockade.
43:04
That's what I wrote down. Here it is.
43:05
Yeah, I loved that sequence. OK, I don't think there's
43:08
anything to love. I loved it.
43:10
I thought it was like, I wouldn't say emotional, but the
43:13
only emotion I felt in this movie was in this scene.
43:15
Is that when the black guy helped?
43:16
No, that part I didn't like. That part just felt like it's it
43:21
just felt like this is trophy fundamentally.
43:23
I agree. I like it, sure, but I just
43:24
think like this whole storyline I don't like the moment I liked
43:27
about that storyline is when the cop under arrests them.
43:32
That's the right term. Takes the handcuffs off and you
43:36
don't have to. Stay.
43:37
I suppose you need to thank you. Yeah.
43:39
No, no, just. Just go.
43:40
Yeah. You're wasting everybody's time
43:41
here. Yeah.
43:42
And then, yeah, comes around. What I don't like is at the end
43:44
of this sequence, this little. Yeah, you're a good man.
43:47
He's not. He's not a good man.
43:49
I don't know. Cut the shit.
43:50
He won't even look at him. He wouldn't even look at him.
43:52
Paul, arrest him to begin with. Now, he does send the guys out
43:55
to Stanley, right? That's his like, yeah, but he
43:57
won't even look at him when he does it.
43:58
So this is not a good man. You arrested a man
44:01
unnecessarily, kept him by your side for no good reason.
44:05
Good performance. Though.
44:06
I guess always racist, but I did feel some tension in that scene.
44:11
I really got a kick out of, like, I felt a little jolt.
44:15
Yeah. And I liked how excited they
44:17
were as to have won the battle. Premature though, yeah.
44:22
Totally. I was really excited to watch
44:23
this movie. I really got myself into a tizzy
44:28
with all of my experiences I was having.
44:29
Like, yeah, I really want to watch Volcano.
44:31
And I knew deep down I'm setting myself up for a disappointment.
44:35
But what I found is that this movie really isn't doing
44:37
anything wrong. It's doing everything this movie
44:40
should be doing. Yeah, sure, the special effects
44:42
aren't always up to snuff, but I'm not going to hold that
44:45
against it. 97 was probably great.
44:47
Yeah, right. Exactly.
44:48
Hindsight. And if not, it's ambitious, and
44:49
I can't hold that against it. And I like these moments.
44:54
The ash I think is that's a lot of ash.
44:59
That's what I want. It's a lot of ash.
45:00
They imported this ash from Asheville, Tennessee.
45:05
There. Yeah, yeah.
45:06
And I love Tommy Lee generally, and I think his performance in
45:09
this movie is pretty solid. Up to this point, anyways.
45:13
He's he's right in the pocket of the fugitive to me.
45:15
Yeah, I wish I would have a little bit more back story why
45:18
he wasn't in Missouri anymore. I think it was Missouri.
45:21
A story to why he's here now to add a little bit of Arc to his
45:25
character other than I'm just in charge, I'm Tommy Lee.
45:28
That all makes sense. Sure.
45:29
He's doing what his job, Yep, he's supposed to do and what the
45:33
text read on the screen. I would have liked to have
45:35
something happened in the Mississippi and maybe like a
45:38
redemption story like he. But then I thought, well, if he
45:41
screwed up where he was, this is probably a upgrade position that
45:47
wouldn't make sense. So.
45:49
I think ultimately if there is a redemption arc in the movie,
45:52
it's him and his daughter. You're right.
45:54
And I think ultimately the movie, it's not enough.
45:57
I guess it's not a movie about character.
45:59
Right, which we? Talked about earlier, they all
46:01
have a back story, but who gives a shit?
46:03
Like there's nothing wrong with that, but like doesn't matter in
46:06
the end of the day. Do I enjoy the movie or not?
46:07
Or like does it affect my appreciation?
46:09
I don't know, but I guess I was just in the mood for you.
46:12
Want a little more well-rounded other than what I should have
46:14
got and did get. Yeah, disaster.
46:17
Disaster movie. Exactly.
46:18
They did mention the animals, which drove me a little crazy.
46:22
Yeah. Well, this is like a whole
46:23
segment of the movie. This is all happening like, you
46:25
know, peak interest and, like, what about the animals?
46:27
And it cuts to a doctor dealing with, oh, yeah, whatever, OK,
46:31
whatever. No one needs that.
46:33
No one cares. But yeah, but we both know based
46:35
on the time on our watch, that this isn't the end.
46:39
Of course not. As an audience, we know that as
46:42
the characters, they think, oh, OK, good, we got it set for.
46:47
Anne Hache brings everybody down.
46:51
We're trying to have a good time.
46:53
Exactly cause she was checking something out this whole time
46:55
and then he steals a bike and they meet up.
46:58
And I like their relationship between the two generally.
47:00
That's another part I don't like.
47:02
Oh, I don't like it either, I'm just kidding.
47:05
Is there something specific or? Just overall fact that it's
47:08
there. But it doesn't get.
47:10
Sexual no, but they say earlier like oh, you like him or she
47:13
likes you. I don't know.
47:14
Just it just feels like kind of like the racist kind of
47:17
undercurrent. You're just cramming too much.
47:20
Ironically, from a guy that really likes a story, likes a
47:23
character. This movie doesn't need this
47:25
will they won't they thing they're kind of leaning on each
47:27
other now. Granted is minimal.
47:29
It is minimum. I didn't get that like going to
47:30
end up together even like even like 2 weeks later, like oh, we
47:34
spot them dating. Yeah, maybe.
47:35
It just felt like it could have gone there.
47:37
So maybe you're right, maybe I'm a little too sensitive.
47:39
To are sensitive and just generally speaking.
47:42
That felt a little tacked on. That's my only.
47:44
Issue. Well, they both don't want to
47:47
get each other hurt, so they send down the camera.
47:50
Yeah, smart move. Yeah, I love the scene.
47:53
I thought you would. Yeah, Why?
47:56
I just think it's just, it's a quick moment, but I like the
47:59
camera going down and watching the flames coming basically
48:02
like, yeah, we need to set up the next scene.
48:04
I think this does is as good as anything else.
48:06
I like the attention of it. The presentation, I thought are
48:08
really, really solid. Happy to hear it.
48:10
At this point they're at Wilshire and Western.
48:12
I think I wrote that down. So I knew where I was because I
48:16
haven't been to LA before. Very important, Very important.
48:19
There is a moment once they realize they're in trouble, and
48:22
it took me a while. Like, what is this movie from?
48:24
But he says Tommy Lee does. I don't know what to do.
48:27
Yeah, more or less. And I'm like, oh, this is a
48:30
character with some weakness, which we both enjoy.
48:33
But I've heard this before, and I almost had to look it up, but
48:36
I wanted to earn it. Sure, You know that.
48:39
Old fashioned way, yeah. And it was a nurse from Pearl
48:43
Harbor. That's right.
48:45
She's like, I don't know what to do.
48:46
And that's a more impactful moment than this.
48:49
But it was enough to remind me of that moment.
48:51
Like, oh, you don't know what to do here.
48:54
That's a problem. Yeah, so I've got it here.
48:57
Same note. Let me see.
48:59
Well, it reads here, he's stumped and he plays helpless.
49:02
Great. I don't know what to do.
49:03
Good. I thought his performance of
49:05
that scene. I've had the answers.
49:07
I've been the guy, the guy. I've done the blockade.
49:10
I did all the things. I've had an answer to everything
49:13
and now I've got nothing left. I I love that.
49:16
But we'll figure it. Out of course, but I like that
49:18
there is a vulnerability moment. We talk about Bruce Willis
49:20
movies or some of these other action heroes.
49:22
They don't allow themselves often to be vulnerable, to not
49:25
have the answer, to not know that's true solution to a
49:28
problem. And this is like 2 minutes after
49:30
Hurray, yeah, we're going to take this to the Pacific.
49:33
Don Cheadle is like, yes, I mean, that's a stroke of luck.
49:36
They're in the car and they have it all figured out.
49:39
Yes, but they look at the map and they realize that it's
49:41
blowing a different direction. Yeah, and I didn't get the
49:44
logistics of it, but it's not important.
49:46
No, I mean, it's important to the people of the hospital.
49:48
It's important. For you to know that I didn't
49:49
get it. Yeah, it's important for them
49:52
because that's where they've sent it.
49:54
That's where I sent them. Exactly.
49:55
That was a little heavy, that line, the last 15 minutes, or
50:00
maybe 15 of the last 30 minutes. I'm issues.
50:03
It's just like 3 or 4 things that I really have trouble with.
50:06
And part of it is Anne Hache has thus far been a voice of reason,
50:10
idea, action and suggestion. Like, yeah.
50:13
And then at the moment where things are peaking, she gets
50:17
sent off on an errand, Right. Go find my daughter.
50:20
So now she's reduced on some level to.
50:23
Yeah, it's a downgrade. Yeah, just going to fetch.
50:26
She basically saved the day. A little bit like a couple of
50:29
different. Times he didn't know what to do.
50:31
That's right, Right. And so he did.
50:33
That was a little disappointing. And the fact that Hoffman is now
50:36
babysitting at the hospital, I like kids.
50:38
I didn't. Like it.
50:39
The reason I liked it is because right at the beginning of the
50:42
movie is the throwback look. I don't need a babysitter
50:44
either. Mature and now.
50:46
She's Susie, so now she's given a role of responsibility and
50:50
she's been scared the whole time.
50:52
Dad, don't leave me. Dad, I can't be alone.
50:55
True. So now she's taking on that role
50:58
and that's her arc. Yeah.
50:59
Yeah, I don't like where it ends up ultimately, you know, that's
51:02
but the babysitting part I actually really enjoyed.
51:06
And they're playing rock, paper, scissors now.
51:08
This is a little bit of a cheesy line.
51:10
I think the kid says what? What beats lava?
51:13
It's my dad, I hope. Yeah.
51:16
A little cheesy? Yeah, a little.
51:17
Cheesy, she's 15, whatever, like. 1315 in real life not a
51:20
big deal. 2 year difference, I'm buying it.
51:23
Yeah, like it's a cute line for a cute moment, I suppose.
51:26
Just something about that storyline doesn't really
51:29
connect. But you made valid points that
51:31
kind of fits into that, so I'm willing to forgive it a little
51:33
bit. The next scene where the rich
51:35
guy is showing back up with the doctor, you know these people,
51:38
they don't even do. You I'm adding them.
51:41
What's wrong? This is an idiot.
51:42
Why don't you make up your mind? She's like I have or whatever,
51:45
Like it's just a waste to relevant.
51:47
I like her. She's great and she's doing
51:48
wonderful work. She's doing totally fine.
51:51
But she was supposed to watch Gabby.
51:52
That's right. She didn't do a good job there.
51:54
No, but she's doing the greater good.
51:55
The Corbett stuff. Luckily it's short, but that's
51:57
true. Yeah.
51:58
This is the scene where Cheadle gives the delivery, which I
52:01
love, which is basically he's watching the chaos ensuing at
52:05
the hospital and he just sort of looks up and he's got the head,
52:08
you know, he just some, some. He can't even finish the
52:12
sentence. And I thought to convey the
52:14
scope of something and you're off in the distance.
52:16
Right. We've seen it.
52:18
Ground Zero zeros level right, he's just watching on TV and to
52:21
have that like bigger picture revealed as it were, I really
52:24
thought that was a great performance in a really small
52:27
way. And that's I think what is
52:29
elevating this movie in particular is that there's a
52:31
couple of these little moments, Gabby with a couple of lines,
52:34
Richard shift, shift with a couple of lines, this guy
52:37
Cheadle with with a couple of moments that I'm.
52:40
Like Sky Cheadle Cheadle. That's fantastic.
52:43
But elevates these these moments when other things are not
52:46
working for me to salvage it brings it back up because the
52:49
action I'm down with. Waiting to hear from.
52:51
You about totally pretty effective stuff.
52:53
Good. I'm glad to hear it.
52:55
Except for. Except for the rest of the
52:58
movie. Yeah, really.
53:00
Like, the big thing is we're gonna blow up the building.
53:02
That's got to be, that's going to be the dance to be done, and
53:05
that's going to reroute. That's buddies building that you
53:07
remember Exactly. So it's a nice little
53:09
comeuppance, but who gives a shit, right?
53:10
Like he don't need that character to have that mean
53:13
anything. But the plan is to blow it up.
53:15
Yeah, need some dynamite, buddy. And a little jackhammering gets
53:18
right. You know, I thought about that
53:20
scene because I'm getting to the point where like, I'm done with
53:22
this, OK? I'm like, I haven't hated it,
53:24
sure, but what I wanted in the 1st place has been fulfilled to
53:28
the best it can be. I thought of George Costanza.
53:32
He's looking for his keys because he's not really wearing
53:37
any clothes. Indicate I should be
53:38
jackhammering picks it up and just, yeah, starts doing it.
53:41
So that's the connection. Pretty easily, yeah.
53:44
There's no. Like I think you need a license
53:45
for that I. Think you do.
53:47
Or at least you would think it would take more like power.
53:49
Power like, you know. George can do it.
53:51
Anybody. I guess that's true, but we
53:53
haven't talked about Kenneth David.
53:55
He's been hanging around. This is he.
53:58
I said Kenneth David didn't. I even wrote down Kenneth David.
54:01
That's embarrassing. I know him from something about
54:04
Mary. Sure, absolutely.
54:06
We know him from the thing of course playing.
54:07
Child. One of the last two survivors.
54:10
Was he was nothing? I don't know.
54:12
We don't know, we'll never know. But yeah, great actor, great
54:15
voice, and he's fantastic. And Requiem for a Dream.
54:17
Funny, too, when he gets to be he's not Princess and the Frog.
54:21
The Disney movie plays the villains and he's very animated
54:23
and the guys like, why you getting mad at me?
54:25
He's like, well, because here, yeah, that's the right response.
54:28
Like they called that out because I was like, why are you
54:30
getting mad at this? Yeah, it sucks, but there's a
54:33
big. Role no One moment.
54:34
But it's nice to see him. Yeah, yeah.
54:36
Another thing I liked, again, emotional stakes.
54:38
It's tough to come by when you don't really know any of these
54:40
characters, but I thought the two guys in the Oh yeah
54:43
building, that's a nice moment. Yeah, it's.
54:45
Nice. Like are we sacrificing?
54:47
Is it worth, you know, whatever else?
54:48
Yeah, it's better than the. Train guy Agreed.
54:51
Yeah, but I like this. What I really don't like is the
54:54
kid. All of a sudden there's now a
54:55
kid in jeopardy. Where's the kid?
54:57
And he's wandering through the. Kitchen.
54:59
That part I don't mind. OK.
55:01
That's setting up the big moments.
55:03
Yeah, I hate it, but tell me why you like.
55:05
It well I hate the actual moment.
55:06
I don't mind the setup cause I I buy that this kid wanders off.
55:10
Kids do that. I think not.
55:12
I used to wander off all the time.
55:13
Not in the middle of a. Lava.
55:15
The kid doesn't know. What beats lava?
55:19
He assumed the dad. Took care of it.
55:21
You took care of it. You said your dad would take
55:23
care of it. I'm just going for a.
55:24
Stroll fine, I just there's enough jeopardy happening.
55:27
You don't want Double Jeopardy, Another great Time with Me Jones
55:31
movie that's coming off the shelf in 2028.
55:34
Oddly enough. Cancel that one in.
55:37
What I don't like Phillip is basically how it ends, like the
55:42
whole timely going for his daughter.
55:45
Yeah. That's the problem I have,
55:47
because she's just standing there.
55:50
She's found the kid. She's there.
55:52
He's running slow motion. So much slow motion this.
55:56
Movie now we haven't talked about the soundtrack there's
55:58
probably a reason why it's not a big part of this movie, but it
56:01
does that manipulation where it wants you to feel something and
56:04
you know how I feel about that generally not OK with it unless
56:07
it works in my favor that's. Right.
56:09
Unless it does Bruce. I like what it's trying to do.
56:13
It just doesn't make sense that he's running all that distance
56:17
to move her. 4 inches. 4 inches and she's just standing there.
56:22
No, I get your frozen and sure if it wasn't for the fact that
56:26
after all the rubble has come down they just pop up.
56:29
No big deal. That's fine.
56:31
Like it. It doesn't jive.
56:33
It doesn't jive. They needed to do a better job
56:36
of that, of that final moment. It just needed to be displayed
56:40
better because I want to feel like I love these characters.
56:43
I love the father daughter relationship.
56:46
They've done enough for me to invest in it and the music
56:49
swelling up, but it doesn't execute it quite right
56:53
unfortunately. I couldn't agree more.
56:55
I think you're bang on but I'll double up because the only thing
56:59
I hate more than that is what happens after this, which is
57:03
everybody is covered in ash. I like that part.
57:06
Of course. I think it's because it's coming
57:09
from the kid and kids are so innocent.
57:11
Of course they are, but again, we all know this.
57:14
Yeah, I know. And so to have a hat on a hat
57:17
and this sort of like hat rallying moment or something
57:20
like that, there's no more liberal guy than me.
57:22
I want everybody to be happy and healthy and like.
57:25
Cut all the bullshit. I'm surprised we get along.
57:27
I'm super conservative. But the idea that this one
57:31
innocent kid can look around, they're all the same.
57:34
We all look the same. We're all one.
57:36
At the end of this movie in particular, it feels like a
57:41
complete what the fuck? I get you.
57:44
And I've gone the other way and other movies and you've gone the
57:46
other way. Like we've had these roles sort
57:48
of reversed at times and it's really interesting.
57:50
What works and doesn't? Work depending on you and how
57:53
things seem heavy-handed and they are, but somehow you make
57:56
these allowances. And I don't know if it was the
57:58
look on Keith David's face with his realization, like, yeah,
58:02
you're right. I think for me it's innocence of
58:04
the kid. Yeah, that's it.
58:06
Like because kids just like. They don't see.
58:08
That look at everyone looks the same.
58:09
He's not talking about race. He's just making an observation.
58:12
Sure, but because of what the movie's been trying to do, it
58:16
fits a little bit too well. But so.
58:20
If I were in the both sides of it and I saw that happen, it
58:22
would warm my heart. But at the end of this movie in
58:24
particular, I think it's just hackneyed.
58:27
It just doesn't work for me at all, but bizarrely didn't ruin
58:32
the movie. That's good, because you don't
58:33
want to come all that way. No, for the last 12 seconds.
58:37
Exactly. Take it all away from you.
58:40
But Emma is going to take over and Tommy Lee is going to take
58:42
the vacation. The vacation as promised.
58:44
The day before this, but I believe they'll take this one.
58:47
Yeah. And then we find out that it's
58:49
still active. Yeah, for they just don't go
58:51
away. I mean they stay active.
58:53
Usually for hundreds of years. Something.
58:55
Absolutely. There's a lot of inactive ones,
58:56
it's good to know this. Information.
58:58
Absolutely. So I thought as a summary, I
59:01
like this movie way more than I thought I was going to
59:03
predominantly just the action sequences and really just the
59:07
kind of two of them. Yeah, yeah, well, they are, but
59:09
I thought they were the two major sources I thought
59:12
delivered a lot of bang for the buck.
59:14
I also may be part of it is I miss movies like this OHT
59:17
meaning like another disaster movie too heavy on the CGI or
59:21
yeah, there's something about the vibe of that mid 90s kind of
59:26
vibe of a movie. So watching it, there's a little
59:28
bit of God, movies in the 90s were just sometimes fun in a
59:33
weird way. And I think some of it is the
59:35
practical effect and some of it is just those elements and those
59:37
actors that I like and. They're not always spelling
59:40
everything out for you like they are now, like with.
59:43
This one you know well. Literally they did that bad
59:46
example example. But I liked it.
59:48
I I don't know that I've watched it again, but I went in
59:51
assuming, Oh, here it is one of these Dave movies off the top,
59:54
like we're out of the. Year and I knew that going in
59:56
I'm like I don't I don't not expecting you to like it but
59:58
we're doing it yeah and that's the deal so 2 at the end of it
1:00:01
be like I didn't hate it and in farts I really liked it.
1:00:04
If you found a Tupac in a DVD Ben somewhere with a movie that
1:00:09
you sort of liked, would you pick it up?
1:00:11
I'm talking like 6 bucks. Well, I mean, we have to be a
1:00:14
movie I really liked. Yeah.
1:00:15
Sure, but well, you would own that already.
1:00:17
They probably would you. You're just getting old
1:00:20
different. Bucks OK, No.
1:00:22
Fair enough, Phil, I I was left with not feeling much of
1:00:26
anything. Hmm.
1:00:27
Of the. Movie.
1:00:28
That's your, That's your usual thing.
1:00:31
Nothing. Feel nothing.
1:00:32
Christmas movies I feel nothing. Romantic comedy, I feel.
1:00:35
Nothing. I hate myself a lot for this
1:00:37
movie and it's not a terrible movie.
1:00:39
It's a 5 or a six. We don't expect that.
1:00:42
The extra storyline, spending time on that.
1:00:45
I guess I just wanted to be kind of swept away by the awe of the
1:00:50
disaster. Like it's such a big thing and
1:00:53
that's where my head was like I want big.
1:00:55
I'm like, oh, and like, oh, this isn't really much, but there
1:00:59
wasn't really anything wrong. Good performances and I think if
1:01:03
I recall, I'd like Dante's Peak. OK, and that's the direct like
1:01:08
side by side comparison. I might watch that soonish just
1:01:14
while this is fresh in my mind. Put it in the back pocket, as it
1:01:17
were, what drew me into that movie.
1:01:20
Because. I was that deliver what you
1:01:21
wanted out of. This one better, I think.
1:01:23
And again, if I'm picking between Pierce and Tommy Lee,
1:01:27
I'm picking Tommy Lee 100% seven days out of the week.
1:01:30
So it's not that. So I don't know, I'm curious.
1:01:33
So I'll probably do that and I'll let you know how that goes.
1:01:35
Fantastic. Well you audience let us know
1:01:38
what your thoughts on are. Episode is here.
1:01:40
Join us on the Facebook page. Joins on the Instagram page.
1:01:43
Please leave comments. Rate the podcast on your
1:01:46
podcaster. Of choice.
1:01:47
Helpful. Yeah, it'd be helpful, we should
1:01:48
say at the beginning of the episode.
1:01:50
You don't even listen. Actually, five stars is probably
1:01:51
easier to get the. Beginning at the end.
1:01:54
As always, we appreciate you listening and join us next
1:01:57
weekend. In the interim, of course, share
1:01:59
the podcast with any Angelinos. There you go.
1:02:02
Good idea. There's lots of them so.
1:02:05
We've got a fraction of the. Engines, take that.
1:02:08
Goodnight. Goodnight.