Into the Storm (2014)

Genres

Action, Thriller

Director

Steven Quale

Country

USA

Cast

Richard Armitage, Sarah Wayne Callies, Matt Walsh, Max Deacon, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Nathan Kress, Arlen Escarpeta, Jeremy Sumpter, Lee Whittaker, Kyle Davis, Jon Reep, Scott Lawrence, David Drumm, Brandon Ruiter, Kron Moore

Storyline

In the span of a day, the entire town of Silverton is at the mercy of erratic and deadly cyclones, but the worst is yet to come as some storm trackers eventually predict.

Opinion

I had a thing for disaster movies when Into the Storm hit the theatres. I really wanted to see it but I somehow missed it. And I should have probably stayed away from it forever because it's a goddamn terrible movie.

The story is weak, it completely lacks originality and therefore is so predictable it's not even possible to spoil it, and there are so many plot holes you can make a Tennis racket out of it. Not to mention the three separate storylines, one more tedious, uninteresting and unengaging than the other. 

Which is pretty much what happens when you pair a weak storyline with terrible characters. It's not like I was expecting character development or anything, but usually, at least that's what I think, there has to be at least one character you like and root for in a disaster movie. Well, this is not the case. They are stupid, clichéed and annoying, and instead of caring for them, you'd actually want the tornadoes to get them.

Into the Storm is also the example of how a bad editing, a terrible script and an even worse direction affect the cast. I'm not very familiar with these actors, but I've seen Alycia Debnam-Carey in Fear the Walking Dead and she's good. Here, she is awful. Just like the rest of the movie, nonsense and terrible action included.

Cloverfield (2008)

Genre

Horror | Sci-Fi

Director

Matt Reeves

Country

USA

Cast

Michael Stahl-David, Odette Annable, T. J. Miller, Jessica Lucas, Lizzy Caplan, Mike Vogel, Ben Feldman, Billy Brown, Chris Mulkey, Brian Klugman, Theo Rossi

Storyline

During a surprise leaving party, the lights go out and the ground begins to shake. With explosions happening everywhere, the party-goers decide to leave the apartment. Accompanied by a hand-held video camera, Hud (T. J. Miller) manages to capture on film the terrifying incidents that occur.

Opinion

Waiting for "10 Cloverfield Lane" to be released, I caught the opportunity to rewatch "Cloverfield", and to my surprise I still enjoyed it, 8 years later and with my taste in movies completely changed.

Overall the film is entertaining, occasionally terrifying and delivers some thrills, even though it doesn't spare us some tedious moments.

The story isn't great, and it takes almost 25 minutes before the film gets interesting, 25 minutes of a useless party and wedding-style say "hi" to the guy who's leaving for Japan, but after that it's quite enjoyable, despite the lack of an actual storyline, and despite you already know how it's gonna end since the very beginning.

There is some nonsense going on like the idea of everyone still being on board to save one girl after one of the friends dies, but the film presents us in a realistic-ish way how we would react if we were in those people's place. The cliché of the superhero who saves the whole world in a rather far-fetched way is spared to us. Instead, the protagonists try in vain but in a rather likely way to save the people they love and to escape from the monster. For once, the protagonists have no clue what to do, and they are overwhelmed by panic and confusion ruling the city.

The CGI isn't as bad as many say, but isn't neither great. The monster is kind of cool even though I would have loved to know where did it come from. However, the analogy with terrorism is quite interesting.

I really don't know nor remember why I considered the whole hand-held camera thing like a huge deal back in 2008, but I was quite annoying by it now since the shaky camera doesn't really add anything to the plot, to the story, and only took away from the cool effects.

This Is the End (2013)

Genre

Comedy | Fantasy

Directors

Seth Rogen | Evan Goldberg

Country

USA

Cast

James Franco, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Michael Cera, Emma Watson, Mindy Kaling, David Krumholtz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Rihanna, Martin Starr, Paul Rudd, Channing Tatum, Kevin Hart, Aziz Ansari, Jason Segel, Jason Trost, Brandon Trost, Brian Huskey

Storyline

All Jay Baruchel expected coming to LA was a fun time with his old friend Seth Rogen., who invites him at James Franco's housewarming party. Suddenly, the Rapture hits and the Biblical Apocalypse has begun. Now, Jay, Seth, James, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson and Danny McBride must band together to attempt to survive the end of the world.

Opinion

A group of actors I love and Jonah Hill teamed up to play themselves. How on earth haven't I seen it before?

Brilliant, hilarious, and self-deprecating, This Is the End is the best stupid/demential disaster film I've ever seen.

Based on Jason Stone's short comedy Jay and Seth versus the Apocalypse, the idea behind this film is just brilliant. All the actors play exaggerated and parodistic versions of themselves, based on the characters they play in their films. And here we have a snob, self-centered James Franco, an effeminate Jonah Hill, an almost hypnotized-by-Franco Seth Rogen, a hypocritical Jay Baruchel, an annoying Danny McBride, and a brawny Craig Robinson. Michael Cera, the only one who plays against type, is so sick it's impossible not to like him - too bad he dies at the beginning of the Apocalypse. The actors' self-irony is truly admirable.

This is not just a demential comedy, but a tribute to friendship as well. Also, it shows that actors, or celebrities, are just like everybody else, and like everybody else they are weak and sinners, and none of them has an assured place in heaven, even if they seem like gods to fans.

The hilarious and dirty dialogue is entertaining, and even though the storyline is a little bit too ridiculous from time to time, I really enjoyed the way the apocalypse is shown. The film is plenty of memorable scenes, just think of Jonah Hill's exorcism, or the wonderful closing scene in heaven where everybody - including you - dances and sings to the Backstreet Boys' Everybody. 

Jay Baruchel said, "I don't wanna die at James Franco's house". Well, if it's going to be this hilarious, I wanna die at his house. However, I wouldn't recommend the vision if very religious.

Mention-Worthy Quotes

Danny McBride: Hermione just stole all of our shit. And Jay suggested that we rape her. I think the only reason he did that is because he knows he's about two minutes away from becoming the house bitch himself.

James Franco: Your mom's pussy was the canvas. Your dad's dick was the paintbrush. Boom. You're the art.
Jay Baruchel: Thanks, James Franco.

Danny McBride: You got white shit all over your mouth, Franco. You probably sucked somebody's dick. Jonah over here probably watched and jerked off.