Day After Tomorrow

[dslartoo]

Saw The Day After Tomorrow last night, and surprise, surprise, I loved it. I'm all about disaster movies, so when the previews promised a disaster movie with multiple KINDS of disasters, done by Roland Emmerich (he who proved with ID4 that big-budget summer films are definitely his thing), I vowed I had to see it soon.

The verdict: Overly predictable (you can see most plot points coming a mile away), average acting except for one or two standouts (Ian Holm, Jake Gyllenhaal, Emmy Rossum), cliched disaster-movie dialogue, cliched disaster-movie slow-motion shots of people trying to outrun various onrushing disasters, cliched disaster-movie situations, science that is so dramatically exaggerated as to be laughable, an overly dramatic score, and proselytizing about the global climate and humankind's responsibilities to Mother Earth that's about as subtle as a brick to the face.

But. Two words (and I am indebted to the amazingly talented pfarley for these two words):

STORM. PORN.

If you're like me, you're not going to this film because you want Oscar-worthy acting, or a tightly scripted plot, or surprises around every corner. You're going for the storm porn. And, baby, you will GET IT in this film. Some of the best effects work I have seen yet give us masses of whirling clouds, huge walls of wind-driven stormsurge, eerily sylphlike and amazingly destructive tornadoes, and of course flash-freezing ICY CLOUDS OF DOOM.

No, it won't win any Oscars, or any awards, and most critics will probably savage it. But who cares? It'll make millions, it's a fun mindless summer action film, and it's a good time.

Storm porn, baby.

-- END OF LINE --

Currently playing: Jonn Serrie -- Ixlandia. A bit more pop-oriented than some of Jonn's efforts, but still mellow and soothing.

Comments

[mpceccato.livejournal.com]

STORM. PORN.

Damn, whish I had thought of that. Did the manager at your theater crank the A/C all the way down to 32 degrees?

[dslartoo.livejournal.com]

They had it turned down pretty low, all right. I thought it was fine, but vill was shivering during most of the film. She wondered afterwards if it was a deliberate thing.

cheers,
Phil

[seismic.livejournal.com]

STORM. PORN.

Best. Description. Ever.

I neglected to mention when I posted about it, we had a front move through the evening I saw it. It dropped at least 15 degrees between the time I walked into the theatre and the time the movie let out. It hasn't risen much since. I'd be marginally disturbed if I wasn't intrigued by the possibility of Mother Nature having a really ironic sense of timing.

[dslartoo.livejournal.com]

Sounds a little bit like when I went to see "Dark City" several years ago. It's a really bad idea to see that film for the first time at night, by the way. You come out of the theater wondering if the sun will actually rise the next morning. :)

I wish I had thought of "storm porn" myself, because you're right: it is the best description ever. :)

cheers,
Phil

[dslartoo.livejournal.com]

Oh, and incidentally, you should check out pfarley's website Electric Sheep Web Comix (http://www.e-sheep.com/) (he's the one who came up with "storm porn", but it just occurred to me that you would probably really dig his stuff). I recommend starting with "The Guy I Almost Was" or "Overheard at the Rave" or "Delta Thrives", but all his stuff rocks.

cheers,
Phil