Movies
A remake of the 70s disaster film. From what I remember, it is pretty faithful to the original, only made with more modern means (and sporting a shorter runtime, which is always a plus). It's not the most memorable or spectacular film, but if you like a good disaster flick then it's pretty amusing. The Poseidon is a huge luxury cruise ship. On New Year's Eve, it is hit by a rogue wave, leaving it capsized in the middle of the ocean. There is still air trapped inside the vessel, but time is running out for the passengers who survived the first hit. The boat is slowly sinking and there's no outside help. Some B-list (or former A-list) actors make up most of the cast, but this film is more about the special effects and set pieces anyway. It's nothing you haven't seen before, and because the film is quite short the pacing is slick (no time for too much unnecessary drama along the way). Pretty decent.Read all
I remembered this as a rather serious take on the outbreak of a dangerous pandemic, clearly I was wrong. Petersen's film is a kitsch mix of action, deceit and just-in-time saves. It's really the battle of one asshole virologist against the American army, with the outbreak being little more than a footnote. The US is keeping a lethal virus strain behind closed doors, hoping to weaponize it when the time is right. A monkey shipped from Africa to the US is about to mess up their plans. It carries the virus and infects the people of Cedar Creek. Within no time, the little village is a hotbed for the virus. Hoffman is more than a little annoying, though part of that is just his character. The action scenes are too cheesy, the Hollywood bloat is considerable, and the second half is a bit of a disappointment. That said, the spread of the epidemic is well covered and COVID-19 still plaguing our planet does give this film an extra dimension. Not great, somewhat amusing.Read all
