San Andreas (2015)

[NoWillToResist]

I didn't see a thread for this movie, so I hope it's ok to start one?

 

Just saw it and loved it.

Yes, there are the standard cliches, but it's still really enjoyable.

 

The disaster stuff was off the charts fantastic, IMO.

 

It was also nice to see the women doing stuff and being useful rather than just in need of saving all the time.

 

I would totally see it again.

[MartinKSmith]

Might be going to see this on Sunday. Where does it rank on the disaster movie scale?

[NoWillToResist]

If you're like me and just enjoy seeing skyscrapers fall, a giant wave fucking shit up, things getting swallowed up by the earth, and general mayhem and chaos, I'd say it's pretty damned excellent. Paul Giamatti lends a nice bit of gravitas to the whole thing too.

 

The eye rolling cliche moments are there but I think they are eclipsed by the disaster aspects enough that they don't linger in my mind; they didn't ruin the movie for me. There are also lots of scenes which focus on the characters which don't feel totally forced and trite, which was nice to see. The Rock's daughter is a looker for sure, but she's also decent, smart, resourceful and brave. Too many times I find that the hero's kids are  useless as fuck, spoiled assholes, or smug know-it-alls. She was none of the above.

 

I did find myself kind of laughing at the fact that The Rock's character has a job in the rescue/service field and yet, when disaster hit, he was basically all "fuck that shit. Imma find and rescue my family!" It's strangely heroic yet selfish...

Edited May 30, 2015 by NoWillToResist

[DesiJF]

I saw this one today as well, and I loved it.  It marched right along and I didn't look at my watch once.

 

I have to laugh at the negative reviews it's getting because, according to the reviews, the dialogue was bad.  This is a disaster movie!  People don't go to see it for the sparkling dialogue, at least I don't.  I go to see these movies for the disaster stuff, and that was stupendous.

 

As with all movies, there were parts I just had to hand-wave away...like driving a power boat through water filled with all that debris.  I'd think that would do a number on the motor's props, but hey, what do I know. Really, the only time I felt like rolling my eyes was at end  with the swelling music and the flag unfurling.  Other than that, I had a great time.

[thuganomics85]

I saw it this morning.  I'm still a bit mixed on it, but I want to say that I overall liked it.  I do agree about this:

 

 

I did find myself kind of laughing at the fact that The Rock's character has a job in the rescue/service field and yet, when disaster hit, he was basically all "fuck that shit. Imma find and rescue my family!" It's strangely heroic yet selfish...

Yeah, that was amusing.  But this does go along with one of those things I have to kind of hand-wave about disaster films especially: pretty much everyone is dying left and right, and yet I'm suppose to be invested in this certain group, just because the film is following them.  Never mind the massive body-count: The Rock gets his family back!

 

Speaking of family, I know I'm setting the bar low, but I'm frankly thrilled that they actually had the married couple be played the actors who are close in age.  Hell, Carla Gugino is actually a couple of months older then The Rock, which probably still freaks out some Hollywood executives.  Most films probably would have had Alexandra Daddario as the wife instead.  Speaking of which, as gorgeous as she is, I did find it amusing that I was suppose to believe her character is eighteen.  Yeah, I can maybe buy mid-twenties, but eighteen was pushing it.  Still, I ain't going to complain over seeing her on the big screen.

 

Paul Giamatti gets credit for managing to basically make scientific exposition (which I'm sure was mainly bullshit), and making it not as boring and even amusing at times.  Wished we got more of the Archie Panjabi character.

 

Liked seeing all the famailar faces like Art Parkinson (Rickon Stark!), Colton Haynes (Roy Harper!), Will Yun Lee, and the amusing Kylie Minogue cameo.

 

I was kind of disappointed that Ioan Gruffudd turned out to be the typical, cowardly boyfriend, who shows himself to be unworthy to compete against the lead.  Plus, his American accent alone automatically takes away half of his charm, I think.

[Danny Franks]

Speaking of family, I know I'm setting the bar low, but I'm frankly thrilled that they actually had the married couple be played the actors who are close in age.  Hell, Carla Gugino is actually a couple of months older then The Rock, which probably still freaks out some Hollywood executives.  Most films probably would have had Alexandra Daddario as the wife instead.  Speaking of which, as gorgeous as she is, I did find it amusing that I was suppose to believe her character is eighteen.  Yeah, I can maybe buy mid-twenties, but eighteen was pushing it.  Still, I ain't going to complain over seeing her on the big screen.

 

I was thinking the same thing, here. When I first saw the cast, I assumed Alexandra Daddario (who is one of the most beautiful women in the world) would be The Rock's love interest, because Hollywood. But her playing his daughter and Carla Gugino playing his wife (she was also his love interest in Escape To Witch Mountain) was perhaps a little surprising. Not least because it's asking The Rock to cop to being old enough to have an adult daughter. Not a whole lot of action stars would be too chuffed about that, but I've always found him to be surprisingly without ego. He was the same in his wrestling days, never seeming to feel like he had to protect his 'spot' and win all the time.

 

Of course, in real life, Dwayne could probably get a date with Ms. Daddario, if he fancied it.

 

I've not seen this movie yet, but I will do. I do like a bit of disaster porn, when it's done well, and I like Dwayne Johnson too. He'll never win any awards, but he's an engaging, fun presence.

[NoWillToResist]

Speaking of family, I know I'm setting the bar low, but I'm frankly thrilled that they actually had the married couple be played the actors who are close in age. 

 

I appreciated that too! How sad that it's such a novel thing to see that it's worthy to be noted by several different people!

 

I'd already forgotten about the TWO American flag moments at the end of the movie. I hadn't realized how much I'd appreciated the lack of "America! FUCK YEAH!" throughout the film. Guess no disaster movie would be complete without reminding the audience that Americans are resilient and are fighters. Or something. Just in case we hadn't paid attention to the film we'd just paid to watch. Ahem.

 

I was also annoyed that the Asian scientist basically died because some mother apparently ran off to safety without her daughter. I scoffed when Giamatti's character was all "he died for this!" and I was all "uh, actually no. He'd have been fine if not for that kid."

 

The dialogue was often cringe-worthy but I didn't feel that it bogged the movie down. When Ray was fueling the airplane and he and his almost-ex took the opportunity to talk about their marriage etc., I started off rolling my eyes, but dammit, by the end of their conversation, I had actually teared up a bit!

 

I was kind of disappointed that Ioan Gruffudd turned out to be the typical, cowardly boyfriend, who shows himself to be unworthy to compete against the lead.  .

 

Looking back, I found his character to be kind of interesting though. He reminded me of the fake out at the beginning with the girl whose car got pushed off the road by a rock slide. There were two fake outs (taking her eyes off the road twice - for water and her phone) which we were supposed to think would lead to her getting into a crash and it didn't happen. And then, BLAM, rocks out of the blue.

 

I found similar fake outs with the mom's new boyfriend. He wasn't a dick when he met Ray. He wasn't a dick to Blake when they were alone (quite the opposite in fact). He didn't ditch her the moment she was stuck in the car and he actively tried to help. He didn't just run out on her when he realized HE couldn't save her either; he went to the security guard and truly went to obtain help for her. Hell, I even excused him leaving the building after part of the ceiling fell on him because he seemed in shock and kind of out of it. I was actually ready to continue thinking that he was a generally decent guy until he pulled that guy on the street out of his safe place so that he could take it for himself. But you know what, even that was self-preservation. Not everyone can be a hero, you know? At least he wasn't outright a dick because that always pisses me off...like, why would the ex of the hero want a total dick?

 

That said, I did love the movie's use of its one allowed F bomb. Emma leaving this message on Riddick's voice mail cracked me up: "You left my daughter?!?! If you're not already dead, I will fucking kill you."

 

I appreciated that the death of their other daughter was what caused the Ray/Emma marriage to fall apart. I found that very realistic and makes it easier to understand them reconciling.

 

But I did find that, objectively, Ray ended up looking pretty bad whenever I saw a police officer or other official down on the ground among the people, trying to help them, and there's Ray barreling past them, only focused on his almost-ex and daughter. Is it understandable? Of course. I was just surprised because normally the main hero dude is above reproach or at least torn on his choices, but Ray didn't seem to experience any twinges of conscience as he flies/choppers/drives/runs/pilots past people in need, only looking for two specific people in an entire county of victims. Had he just been some pencil-pushed, I'd get it, but since he'd dedicated his life to a profession which helps people in crisis, it did bother me a bit more than usual that he could apparently just turn it off and ignore the suffering around him.

 

I did like that Blake was realistically savvy and resourceful. She wasn't infallible; she needed help/rescuing now and then, but she wasn't a completely useless plot device. I liked that Olly (?) pointed out to Ben that they were probably safer with her than just going with the crowd.

 

I have no idea how they filmed Blake drowning. That shit looked very real and I was mildly traumatized by it. I still was yelling at Ray to keep pulling at the debris rather than hovering there to watch her drown, but whatever. The Rock did a good job at showing his grief-fueled strength. I think she was also not breathing for too long to have suffered no ill effects, but that's super nitpicky of me. :)

 

I also didn't understand the whole situation with Ben/Olly/their parents. Was the family on a holiday? And if so, why would Ben go on a job interview in another country? Or had Ben traveled there FOR the interview and his family decided to tag along and make it a family trip after the interview was over?

Edited May 30, 2015 by NoWillToResist

[thuganomics85]

Interesting point about the boyfriend.  That might have been what got me: I was liking that he seemed to be a decent fellow at first (being respectful with Ray, trying to bond with Blake), so him suddenly becoming a coward when the shit hit the fan, disappointed me. Even then, I was hoping they might go with a redemption path of some kind (I was sure he was destined to die), but then he tossed that one guy into the dust wave, and I knew that option was off the table.  But I guess it's true that some people would freak out like that, if this ever happened to them.  Still, the way they shot his final "fate", I kind of got the sense I was suppose to laugh/cheer at it, so I don't think the character really was suppose to be much more then a brief obstacle.

 

At the same time, yeah, I really just have to hand-wave Ray not doing his job, and just doing what he can to save his family.  True, there was that one scene where he was helping the people hide underneath the stadium, but not exactly employee of the month for this disaster.  But, again, I get that I'm suppose to root for this family in general, and I could buy that he would do it, especially what happened to their other daughter.

 

 

I have no idea how they filmed Blake drowning. That shit looked very real and I was mildly traumatized by it

Yeah, that was hard to watch, but actually a pretty good scene (probably one of the best.)  Most drowning in films, the victim just tends to fade away.  But here, she was convulsing, jerking her body around, and really seemed to be in pain.  Good choice from the director and good work from Alexandra Daddario.  Dwayne Johnson sold his reaction shot too, and I could easily buy that giving him the typical "Hulk strength!", to suddenly move the obstacle, that he was struggling with at first.

 

 

I also didn't understand the whole situation with Ben/Olly/their parents. Was the family on a holiday? And if so, why would Ben go on a job interview in another country? Or had Ben traveled there FOR the interview and his family decided to tag along and make it a family trip after the interview was over?

My interpretation was that originally it was just going to be Ben going for an interview, but the family just decided to make it a holiday, so Olly tagged along with him.  It sounded like the boyfriend's company was suppose to be a big deal, so that's why Ben was willing to go to the States to do it (I guess they don't believe in Skype interviews?)  I was actually confused about the family part. Where his parents in the States too or did Ben just take Olly?  We didn't hear anything about them at the very end.  They didn't seem broken up or anything, so I guess it worked out.  

[AndreaK1041]

My husband and I are generally snooty moviegoers, but every time we have seen a commercial for this we have said San Andreas!!!! in loud excited tough guy voices. I'm glad you seemed to enjoy it. I think we will love it - we live near the fault (yes you can actually see it when it runs through fields and stuff) and seeing a cruise ship in Chinatown never fails to amuse me in the trailer.

[Rick Kitchen]

I was really expecting the boyfriend to have been building homes in a fault zone and have the houses collapse on top of their new owners, so it was refreshing that that didn't happen.

 

It is really unlikely that a quake in San Francisco can be felt on the East Coast.  Though the earthquake in New Madrid, Missouri in 1812 caused church bells to ring on the East Coast.

 

The scene at the end where they rose up into the air and showed the San Francisco Peninsula turned into an island was kind of scary.

[MrsRafaelBarba]

This looks like a remake of The 2012, starring The Rock.

[Bruinsfan]

That said, I did love the movie's use of its one allowed F bomb. Emma leaving this message on Riddick's voice mail cracked me up: "You left my daughter?!?! If you're not already dead, I will fucking kill you."

That was my Hell Yeah! moment of the movie, not any of the rescues. I just wish they'd shown Daniel checking his voicemail and hearing it before his death by karmic container ship.

 

Speaking of, what the hell were people doing still on the Golden Gate Bridge hours after an earthquake that left San Francisco in shambles with aftershocks happening all the time? I know my first instinct sure wouldn't be fleeing the city via a fragile suspension bridge that could have me as much as a mile and a half from safety during the crossing.

 

It is really unlikely that a quake in San Francisco can be felt on the East Coast.  Though the earthquake in New Madrid, Missouri in 1812 caused church bells to ring on the East Coast.

They've estimated the New Madrid Earthquakes to have a top magnitude of 8.1. The big quake in the movie was a 9.6, roughly 180 times as energetic (though spread over a much larger volume of rock, so not proportionately more intense in any one place). I think they'd have felt it on the East Coast, though it probably couldn't do any damage that far away.

[Enero]

As with all movies, there were parts I just had to hand-wave away...like driving a power boat through water filled with all that debris.  I'd think that would do a number on the motor's props, but hey, what do I know.

 

This. Or the moment that they were miraculously able to drive the boat over a tsunami wave and still manage to miss that cargo ship that they nearly crashed head on into and the containers that were flying off it. SMH. Only in the movies. LOL.

 

Still I enjoyed it very much! As have been said by others, though it had many of the clichés of disasters movies the clichés worked within the story and were more about insight into the characters than plot. There was no one that was unrealistically idiotic. Even though the boyfriend's actions were cowardly, I thought they were realistic. The daughter being so smart and self sufficient was refreshing and once again, realistic. It made sense that she'd know all that she knew, with her father working for fire rescue. I absolutely believed that the Ray would teach his daughter everything he knew about how to survive in a disaster.

 

I liked how Ben thought through rescuing Blake from the car, very smart and quick thinking. I thought with it being mentioned that he had a career in engineering that it would come more into play in the movie, but surprisingly it didn't.

 

The actual disaster shots were great as well. I think the scariest moment in the movie for me (besides the daughter drowning) was the first scenes of the movie when the girl was stuck on the side of that cliff. Talk about unbelievable and scary and dangerous, not just for her but of course the rescue workers.

 

Anyway, fun movie!

Edited May 31, 2015 by Enero

[NoWillToResist]

 I kind of got the sense I was suppose to laugh/cheer at it, so I don't think the character really was suppose to be much more then a brief obstacle.

 

No matter the disaster movie, whichever couple is estranged, will be reunited by the end. The new love of the ex's life is always toast. And usually they're assholes so that the audience doesn't feel conflicted, which is why I was so surprised about Riddick being decent for so long. But to be completely honest, I can't even hate him for his one selfish action which led to him being saved and that other guy dying in his place. Self-preservation is a powerful force. I'd like to think I wouldn't be selfish but when push came to shove and it was down to me or another person? Not sure I could say with certainty that I'd take the high road, y'know?

 

 

My interpretation was that originally it was just going to be Ben going for an interview, but the family just decided to make it a holiday, so Olly tagged along with him.  It sounded like the boyfriend's company was suppose to be a big deal, so that's why Ben was willing to go to the States to do it (I guess they don't believe in Skype interviews?)  I was actually confused about the family part. Where his parents in the States too or did Ben just take Olly?  We didn't hear anything about them at the very end.  They didn't seem broken up or anything, so I guess it worked out.

 

Well, when Blake reached her parents by land line, she offered the phone to Ben to call his family to let them know he and Olly were safe, so I'm thinking that maybe the parents were in another part of the area, outside the danger zone and that's why the boys weren't worried about them? I just don't get why he'd bring his brother to his job interview (though watching Olly hit on Blake FOR Ben greatly amused me). Why didn't Ben just have Olly wait  at their hotel until the interview was over?

 

The hubby and I are still talking about this movie, which I think is a good sign. Morbidly, I would like to know what the death toll was. I mean, the news stations at the end were going on about how thousands of lives were saved due to Giamatti's "early" warning to everyone, but...millions died, no?

 

This looks like a remake of The 2012, starring The Rock.

 

If given the choice between John Cusack/Amanda Peet and Dwayne Johnson/Carla Gugino, I will pick the latter every single time and twice on the weekend. It's not even a competition, IMO. This cast was roughly a billion times better than 2012's.

 

And on a more fact-based tangent: I have a question. When the tremors hit CalTech, Giamatti's character, the earthquake expert, hid under a desk, which is kind of the standard move. However, later in the movie, when Ray and Emma parachute into the stadium (loved that whole thing, BTW...she was scared as fuck but sucked it up, put on a brave face and went with it...hell, that was the case for MOST of the shit they had to do, bless her), he tells her and a bunch of civilians to tuck up against the side of the stadium. When they all survive the tremor, he tells the girl he rescued "get up against something stable...triangle of life". I had heard about this theory years ago; that instead of hiding UNDER something, you hide BESIDE something stable...the theory being that something which falls onto it will break over the object and create a small triangular safe zone beside it. So, why wasn't Giamatti's character doing this?

 

Equally, I call a bit of shenanigans on the fact that the stadium wall didn't shift and just crumble (and thus crush them) like every other damned building in San Francisco. Why was the stadium so much more stable?

 

I did appreciate that the film's science breakthrough came at the same time as the shit hit the fan. I get a bit tired of disaster flicks where the scientists are doing their damndest to get the politicians and whatnot to get ready because x event is COMING and they get shut down until it's too late (Hi, Day After Tomorrow. I'm looking at you - though I still love you). So I found it refreshing that there wasn't any of that; instead, once Giamatti realizes what's happening, he manages to get word out to people with a little help. Which reminds me, I so loved him barreling into the Media Arts room bellowing: "Ok, who wants an A on an independent study RIGHT NOW?" :D

 

I re-watched the trailer last night and forgot one of my favourite effects: the aerial shots (because, bless them, there were more than one, IIRC) of whole segments of the landscape heaving up and then dropping down. So awesome. Fuck. I want to see the movie again...

Edited May 31, 2015 by NoWillToResist

[spaceytraci1208]

Fuck that lady in the beginning who abandoned her kid. Of course she conveniently shows up all grateful to retrieve her daughter after someone gave his life to save her. Reminded me of the scene in The Avengers:Age of Ultron when Hawkeye saved someone's kid and the parent was safely on the ship pretending to look for him (I think it was a little boy, anyway)

[NoWillToResist]

Fuck that lady in the beginning who abandoned her kid. Of course she conveniently shows up all grateful to retrieve her daughter after someone gave his life to save her.

 

Yeah. I can understand that maybe they got separated during the rush to get off the bridge and I would have been ok if we'd seen some frantic woman at the edge of the crowd of people, being held back from going back onto the bridge to look for her kid. But I didn't see that. I only saw Giamatti's character out front, looking for his COWORKER. Meanwhile a MOTHER is calmly standing back there in the safety of the crowd? What was her thought process? "Well, kids are resilient and she knows how to swim. I'm sure we'll meet up later."?? Like, what the hell, lady?

 

Also, was there a reason the kid couldn't run? Dude was CARRYING HER, which would have slowed him down.

Edited May 31, 2015 by NoWillToResist

[JBC344]

I also enjoyed the drowning scene, which was incredibly realistic.  Very few movies will have the victim jerk back and forth as the brain loses oxygen.  Very well down.

 

This was actually one of my favorite scene but when Ben was at a crossroads to follow Blake or take his brother and go with the population.  I thought that was so realistic for him to really look at the situation and wonder what was best for his brother and not think about this great girl he just met. 

 

I interpreted that Ben took Ollie with him to San Francisco while he was interviewing, which allowed their parents to take a vacation alone.  When Ben and Ollie called their family I assumed they were calling them on vacation or at "home" outside of the United States.

[galax-arena]

was there a reason the kid couldn't run? Dude was CARRYING HER, which would have slowed him down.

Running alongside the kid possibly would have slowed him down even more, considering how much slower she'd run compared to him. He'd probably end up dragging her. Add on to that the fact that she'd have to be nimble enough to dodge the fissures and debris on the ground. Better just to carry her. 

When Ben and Ollie called their family I assumed they were calling them on vacation or at "home" outside of the United States.

This was the impression that I got too, although I don't remember exactly what Ben said. 

 

Anyway, I loved this movie. Fun disaster flick. Saw it with my parents. Afterwards, they said how the movie didn't seem very serious. Well, no shit, Mom and Dad, that's the point! I didn't go to see a serious and grimdark disaster movie, I went to see a popcorn blockbuster. They were also down on the Rock's acting talents, so I had to come to his defense there too lol. No, he probably won't be winning any acting awards anytime soon, but that man has charm to spare. He's just plain fun to watch on screen. 

 

It was a bit weird that they cast a completely white girl to play his daughter, though. I know that multiracial people's looks can run the gamut, and sometimes they can completely pass for white, but a lot of the times Hollywood just uses that as a convenient excuse to cast 100% white people in those roles. (See: Aloha.) 

 

ETA: Okay, so all this time I thought that Will Yun Lee's character name was Tim Park, but it's actually Kim Park? That's a pretty strange name to give a Korean character, since it's known as a surname. I suppose I can fanwank that it's short for Kimball or Kimberly lol. 

Edited May 31, 2015 by galax-arena

[Rick Kitchen]

 

Well, when Blake reached her parents by land line, she offered the phone to Ben to call his family to let them know he and Olly were safe, so I'm thinking that maybe the parents were in another part of the area, outside the danger zone and that's why the boys weren't worried about them?

 

I thought Ollie told Blake that their parents were on a cruise?

[Bruinsfan]

Too bad about the tsunami, then.

 

Ironically, Ben and Oliver might have been better off if they'd gone with the escaping crowds instead of Blake. Or at least chosen a different high rise to climb rather than Daniel's half-finished death trap building (seriously, did he also design the engine room from Galaxy Quest?).

[galax-arena]

After hearing about all the bullshit Archie Panjabi had to deal with on the set of The Good Wife, I was glad to see her in this movie, even if she only had a few minutes of screentime. (And she lived, yay!) Hope she goes on to bigger and better things. 

 

Also, I love seeing Giant Walls of Watery Doom. I think that's my favorite disaster movie trope. 

[NoWillToResist]

They were also down on the Rock's acting talents, so I had to come to his defense there too lol. No, he probably won't be winning any acting awards anytime soon, but that man has charm to spare. He's just plain fun to watch on screen.

 

I have an overly large fondness for that man. I think it's because he's this massive manly man, yet he's totally at ease being a complete dork (e.g. lip syncing to Taylor Swift). He also seems like a nice guy, which is...sadly refreshing in Hollywood.

 

Ironically, Ben and Oliver might have been better off if they'd gone with the escaping crowds instead of Blake. Or at least chosen a different high rise to climb rather than Daniel's half-finished death trap building (seriously, did he also design the engine room from Galaxy Quest?).

 

I was really confused about that building. I mean, if that's the building that is still being constructed, why is there office furniture wrapped in plastic on the levels they were on? Who the fuck does that? Furnishings are the LAST things to go in, no?

 

Also, I love seeing Giant Walls of Watery Doom. I think that's my favorite disaster movie trope. 

 

Ditto. Deep Impact, 2012, Day After Tomorrow and San Andreas. Find the common theme. ;)

 

It's funny because I would actually shit my pants if I ever saw a tsunami, but I am utterly fascinated by them. Same with tornadoes. Can't get enough of footage of those things.

[galax-arena]

I have to laugh at the negative reviews it's getting because, according to the reviews, the dialogue was bad.

LOL, this seems unfair when you consider how reviewers overlooked the corny-ass dialogue in Furious 7. I love love love the F&F series, but you'd get alcohol poisoning if you took a sip whenever Vin Diesel mentioned family. 

[TimetoShine]

I really enjoyed it. For the type of movie (disaster film) it was very satisfying. Also: The Rock has a gorgeous smile. I enjoyed that too.

[NoWillToResist]

 Also: The Rock has a gorgeous smile. I enjoyed that too.

 

...right? He is unfairly appealing. Inner and outer beauty, as far as I can tell.

 

Even though the movie was full of cheesy dialogue, there was one line which could have come off terribly, but it actually really affected me so kudos to Carla Gugino. When Ray was finally opening up about how he couldn't handle losing their daughter, her quiet but adamant "if you couldn't save her, no one could have" made me tear up. Her tone was just so full of earnest trust, respect and faith in him...it really got me. I was just so pleased to see a very understandable reason for the marriage to break up (death of a child) but for her to genuinely not hold him at all accountable was amazing. Another movie probably would have pulled some "You save people for a living, but you couldn't save our daughter!!??" crap.

 

I felt Ray and Emma had mature, believable chemistry. I was rooting for them. :D

[missbonnie]

I was entertained enough. I thought the special effects were very good, the plot was a little weak. Outside of the dumbest last line of a movie ever, I would give it a 7/10.

[jcin617]

Well, when Blake reached her parents by land line, she offered the phone to Ben to call his family to let them know he and Olly were safe, so I'm thinking that maybe the parents were in another part of the area, outside the danger zone and that's why the boys weren't worried about them?

 

I thought Ollie told Blake that their parents were on a cruise?

I think Ben mentioned it;  something about how they going on a cruise and he came for the interview and brought Ollie with him.  Maybe the cruise was leaving out of San Francisco, which would sort of explain why they were all there.   Except, you know, the tsunami.   Wouldn't the tsunami have spread outward from the quake though, not towards it?   e.g., Hawaii, Anchorage, etc. would be in trouble.

[NoWillToResist]

I think Ben mentioned it;  something about how they going on a cruise and he came for the interview and brought Ollie with him.  Maybe the cruise was leaving out of San Francisco, which would sort of explain why they were all there.   Except, you know, the tsunami.   Wouldn't the tsunami have spread outward from the quake though, not towards it?   e.g., Hawaii, Anchorage, etc. would be in trouble.

 

Somebody had to poop on the party, so yeah, the science wasn't really realistic. The tsunami was TOTAL bullshit, apparently. Land quakes can't trigger tsunamis, according to their expert. Booo!!!!  ;)

 

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind finding out what's fantasy and what isn't, but I don't think it makes sense to criticize a disaster movie for making shit up. Because really now, is anyone watching this shit for realism? :D 

 

I went to watch San Fransisco get its ass handed to it. And San Andreas delivered on that count many times over, as far as I'm concerned.

Edited June 4, 2015 by NoWillToResist

[AndreaK1041]

We went last night and it was generally very enjoyable. I find movies like this somehow better on TV which totally goes against the very excellent sound and effects. My favorite effect was the boats chasing the crest of the tsunami.

I thought the actual wiping out of SF in 100 ft (!!!) of seawater (actually a lot more given they had walked to higher ground) was pretty sad. I know they bypass the hundreds of thousands of casualties in disaster movies, but the water somehow bothered me more than the water and subsequent snow in 2012.

I'm a scientist so I like all the fakey science stuff a la 10.5. Every good disaster movie needs scientists, and I always enjoyed their scenes.

Was hoping more damage would come to ATT Park. Stupid Giants.

Edited June 4, 2015 by AndreaK1041

[NoWillToResist]

Was hoping more damage would come to ATT Park. Stupid Giants.

 

I assume that's the stadium? If so, yeah, I'd like to know why that structure was the only thing to survive the quakes.

 

It wasn't enough that the mum and dad parachuted into it (safe haven!); it had to withstand shocks/tremors which toppled the building across the street?!  How much did they pay to make that happen?

 

Probably held up against the damned tsunami too.

 

I'd like to know how/why Ray knew how to hot-wire both a car and a boat...

Edited June 4, 2015 by NoWillToResist

[Stuffy]

I'd be happy if Carla Gugino and The Rock kept making movies together. Not only disaster or adventure movies of course but just keep working together. The Rock is just a likable guy, and I've loved Carla since Karen Sisco. I'll give most anything she's in a try although those projects she does with her partner (boyfriend?) really do nothing for me.

Also like others said I just love that they're the same age.

Edited June 5, 2015 by Stuffy

[Empress1]

Speaking of which, as gorgeous as she is, I did find it amusing that I was suppose to believe her character is eighteen.  Yeah, I can maybe buy mid-twenties, but eighteen was pushing it.

There’s a shot where she hugs someone and they show the back of her head; I spotted a few grays (the actress is 29).

 

Hell, Carla Gugino is actually a couple of months older then The Rock, which probably still freaks out some Hollywood executives.

And at 43, they’re both old enough to have an 18-year-old daughter - you don't have to fanwank that they were teen parents because the actors are like 32. And I like that Carla Gugino is aging naturally. She has some wrinkles, a couple of age spots, and she's beautiful. 

 

I liked that Olly (?) pointed out to Ben that they were probably safer with her than just going with the crowd.

Right, and you want a disaster buddy in times like this anyway – and one that knows about rescue shit is even better. I was in NYC on 9/11 (college student) and it was my experience that you just wanted to be with people. And if I'm Ben, while I love my little brother, I'd want another grownup around.

 

Which reminds me, I so loved him barreling into the Media Arts room bellowing: "Ok, who wants an A on an independent study RIGHT NOW?" :D

I loved the moment before that when Archie Panjabi is like, “But all the signals are down!” and he’s like “Girl, please, this is Cal Tech.” I laughed.

 

I have an overly large fondness for that man. I think it's because he's this massive manly man, yet he's totally at ease being a complete dork (e.g. lip syncing to Taylor Swift). He also seems like a nice guy, which is...sadly refreshing in Hollywood.

I adore him. He seems super sweet and he’s not afraid to make fun of himself. Plus he seems like he’s truly grateful for his opportunities and not at all arrogant. And he is FINE AS FUCK.

 

It was a bit weird that they cast a completely white girl to play his daughter, though. I know that multiracial people's looks can run the gamut, and sometimes they can completely pass for white, but a lot of the times Hollywood just uses that as a convenient excuse to cast 100% white people in those roles. (See: Aloha.)

I had that thought too, but Daddario and Gugino have similar coloring so I could buy that she just takes after her. Though the actors who have played The Rock's kids in other movies have been a bit more ethnically ambiguous-looking.

 

I loved it! I didn't see it in 3D (I mixed up the times) and I might see it again so I can see all those disaster scenes in 3D. I also like the points you all raised about Ray. He's not a bad guy, I don't think. I think he did initially go to get help and then he seemed completely overwhelmed by the gravity of the situation - almost catatonic. And then he was just trying to make it, which is all any of them were doing. While I'm not sure that I would be actively harming people, I'm also not sure that I'd actively be stopping to save strangers either. I'd probably just run. I was reminded of Cedric the Entertainer's joke about running first and asking questions later.

[johntfs]

The main oddness for me was Alexandra Daddario as Dwayne's daughter.  Alexandra Daddario is a beautiful, 29 year old woman who looks like a beautiful woman in her late 20s.  It wasn't even a looks thing, either.  Alexandra just sort of carried herself much more like a woman than a girl.

[Sharpie66]

My dad and I just got back from seeing this. Once I committed to the cheese, I rolled with it and sort of enjoyed all the destruction as they hit every cliche known to the disaster genre. However, afterwards I had complaints about physics. Not actual physics--that went out the door right away--but the internal physics as established by the film. In particular, I am thinking about the fact that Giammati says in his opening lecture that the worst earthquakes lasted minutes each, and that the 9.5 in South America lasted 11 minutes. I was waiting for at least that final quake to last a long time, but...nope. And boy, did those buildings fall slowly and with very little corresponding debris. And I totally agree that a building still under construction would not have office equipment inside!

[methodwriter85]

 

Yeah, that was amusing.  But this does go along with one of those things I have to kind of hand-wave about disaster films especially: pretty much everyone is dying left and right, and yet I'm suppose to be invested in this certain group, just because the film is following them.  Never mind the massive body-count: The Rock gets his family back!

 

That's why I liked that one little bit, where they're going through flooded San Francisco, and you can see some people trying to rescue other people. Kind of a nice acknowledgment that it's not just the Rock experiencing this.

 

I was disappointed at Ioan, but I liked that he wasn't a monstrous guy, just realistic.

 

Also, it was nice to see Colton Haynes in a little cameo.

Edited June 15, 2015 by methodwriter85

[nobodyyoucare]

 

And I totally agree that a building still under construction would not have office equipment inside!

I have seen buildings undergoing renovation or that were near completion in their construction have office equipment inside. Either it was left behind, or was moved in so when construction was complete the office wouldn't take so long to set up.   

[NoWillToResist]

I have seen buildings undergoing renovation or that were near completion in their construction have office equipment inside. Either it was left behind, or was moved in so when construction was complete the office wouldn't take so long to set up.   

 

The office chairs etc. were all wrapped in plastic and looked like they had basically just been delivered.

 

 I was under the very strong impression that the building was nowhere near complete enough to warrant furniture being moved in...

Edited June 17, 2015 by NoWillToResist

[AndreaK1041]

I was under the impression that the top half of the building didn't even exist yet with walls, etc!  Which is another thing: the furniture also bothered me, but you do not build a building from the ground up, you do the whole building worth of a thing (e.g. windows) and then move to the next.  That building had 10 floors of windows and the top 10 floors of just beams and stuff.  

[NoWillToResist]

I was under the impression that the top half of the building didn't even exist yet with walls, etc!  Which is another thing: the furniture also bothered me, but you do not build a building from the ground up, you do the whole building worth of a thing (e.g. windows) and then move to the next.  That building had 10 floors of windows and the top 10 floors of just beams and stuff.  

 

Yup. I re-watched this last night and the lower part of the building had glass and whatnot and the upper floors appeared to be exposed beams and the concrete elevator/stair column(s).

 

I actually really enjoyed my re-watch though. I didn't find the dialogue as cringe-worthy this time around and the disaster porn is still great.

 

I paid extra close attention to Ben and Olly's situation and it still didn't make much sense. They are from England. Parents are on a cruise (no clue where). Ben came here for a job interview and would tour the city with his brother afterward. I...don't even understand how those plans got made. Whatever.

 

I also call shenanigans on Blake having the satellite phone number of the chopper her dad happened to be flying that day. I'm also not sure how landlines were still functioning, what with all the heaving ground and cracks in the earth. And even without that complaint, how does the land line connect with the satellite?

 

The one thing which bugged me this time around was when the tsunami entered the city and hit Riddick's building. Blake was leading them to that building because it's tall, and that's fine. But, the thing isn't finished so it's not like she can go to the roof and have daddy pick them up there unless they shimmy up those beams. So, once the wave did its damage, I don't really understand why they didn't just get on something that floated and float the fuck out of there, rather than try to scale the inside of a sinking building.

 

This time around, I found myself thinking more about what was going to happen after the credits rolled. I mean, where do you even start in the rescue/rebuild operations? Every single skyscraper would have to be condemned but first you'd have to get all the water and dead bodies out of there. Ugh. I think I'd just put a barrier around the whole area and let Nature have at it. :D

[nobodyyoucare]

When it comes to Earthquakes or disasters landlines tend to function whereas cell phones do not. Cell phone towers require electricity and too many calls at once overwhelm the towers that are functional. Hence why sat phones tend to be issued to disaster and news crews. Also sat phones can be bought for 200 dollars brand new. The issue is that it is expensive to use them. That wouldn't be the helicopters sat phone that would be his sat phone hence why she would know the number.

 

You can call sat phones on landlines and vice versa same way you can cell phones. The landline call gets routed to a   facility that then sends the signal to the sat that then sends the signal to the sat phone or from a cell tower. There are sat phones that can use cell phone towers.

 

You may not know this but portable phones have been around a long time. Mobile phones for automobiles came out in the 1940s. Ones where you could use a dial to dial a number came out in the 1960s. 

[NoWillToResist]

When it comes to Earthquakes or disasters landlines tend to function whereas cell phones do not. Cell phone towers require electricity and too many calls at once overwhelm the towers that are functional. Hence why sat phones tend to be issued to disaster and news crews. Also sat phones can be bought for 200 dollars brand new. The issue is that it is expensive to use them. That wouldn't be the helicopters sat phone that would be his sat phone hence why she would know the number.

 

You can call sat phones on landlines and vice versa same way you can cell phones. The landline call gets routed to a   facility that then sends the signal to the sat that then sends the signal to the sat phone or from a cell tower. There are sat phones that can use cell phone towers.

 

 

Thanks for the detailed answers/explanations! I didn't know 'regular people' could get sat phones. I have literally only ever heard of them in relation to the military.

 

I'm still a little fuzzy on how the landline worked though. My understanding is that landlines work during power outages etc., because they don't run on electricity or require cell towers, but rather actual physical cables which are either in the ground or on poles. If that's the case, how could landlines still function with all the geological upheaval and/or poles falling down? Or is my understanding of landlines way the hell off? :)

[nobodyyoucare]

It depends upon how much destruction of the landline network takes place. Used to be any disaster and landlines due to the amount of people trying to call would not be useable. Since a lot of people have switched over to cell phones for their only phone landline network isn't so hard pressed and often is operable. Hence a lot of people keep a landline if they live in a disaster zone such as Hurricanes or Tornadoes. 

 

Landlines do have a small amount of electrical power going through them. For example I have a DSL system for internet. When the power fails since the DSL is going through a battery backup then to the pc a few days of the landline electricity can provide a small amount of power   to enable me to charge something for a few hours of use on a cell phone using either the batery backup with the pc being turned off and everything else attached, or the pc usb ports which are still providing a small amount of electricity. Being able to recharge my 3ds or cell phone was quite handy that week without power.

 

By law in the US in several states if you still have a landline you can 911 or make a collect call even if you have no phone service or phone number. Even in states that do not have such a law a number of carriers still provide this service. 

 

It all depends upon the landline network and the amount of destruction of said network but it is indeed possible that a landline call could make it out from such a disaster zone whereas a cell phone call would not. 

 

 

Regular people have been able to get sat phones for a long time. Its just expensive for the users hence most often gov't officials or business execs or news or disaster workers have them. The cost of the phone has gone down drastically but the cost of the calls is still expensive compared to cell or landline phones. Usually rates are 15 cents a minute. Of course gov't can often get a much lower rate then civilians. 

[Bruinsfan]

I'd imagine it's more than worth the cost when you're using it to call out of a disaster zone or when trapped on El Capitan or somesuch, though.

[ribboninthesky1]

So my holiday included a quartet of movies - this, Magic Mike, Jurassic World, and Terminator: Retcon. By FAR, I enjoyed this film the most, and I did not expect to.  The Rock isn't known for his acting chops, but I thought he did more with his character than Chris Pratt, Jai Courtney, or Jason Clarke with theirs (Magic Mike isn't action, so I'll leave it out).  Seeing all these films in a short time reminded me how important cast chemistry can be.  The story is likely to be threadbare, so the cast has to pick up the slack.  This film's cast is the only one that pulled it off.  It was this film that had me tearing up because I thought the daughter had been out too long to be alive.  The way Carla Gugino just broke down made me lose it.  

 

ETA: It was also sad to see people taken out by the tsunami, liked the older couple who saw it coming, and immediately clung to each other, knowing they were about to die. 

 

Of the three action-y films, I most appreciated how Blake and Emma were depicted.  They were each strong, resilient, smart, KIND (apparently women cannot be badass and kind?) and brave in their own ways without unnecessary posturing.  Again, I did not expect that from THIS film of the three I watched.   

 

It was a bit weird that they cast a completely white girl to play his daughter, though. I know that multiracial people's looks can run the gamut, and sometimes they can completely pass for white, but a lot of the times Hollywood just uses that as a convenient excuse to cast 100% white people in those roles.

 

 

 

Right? My sister and I had similar thoughts.  I mean, the Rock is biracial, but it's not like he's part-white as far as I know.  So why his daughter looked like there was nary a Samoan or black gene running through her veins was the most absurd thing about the film, which is saying a lot.  Carla Gugino looks Italian, if not Hispanic, depending on the angle.  I liked Blake a lot, but yeah, I'm calling shenanigans. 

Edited July 7, 2015 by ribboninthesky1

[Cobalt Stargazer]

 I mean, the Rock is biracial, but it's not like he's part-white as far as I know.  So why his daughter looked like there was nary a Samoan or black gene running through her veins was the most absurd thing about the film, which is saying a lot.  Carla Gugino looks Italian, if not Hispanic, depending on the angle.  I liked Blake a lot, but yeah, I'm calling shenanigans. 

 

Dwayne Johnson is bi-racial, yes. His Canada-born father is black, and his mother is of Samoan descent. FWIW, Alexandria Daddario is of English, Italian, Irish, German, and Hungarian ancestry, so while she is more white than anything else, that's a fair amount of ancestors who could be considered otherwise, so I don't know if that affects her or not. Carla Gugino's father is Italian, but her mother is of English-Irish descent, so there's that.

 

I really enjoyed this movie, particularly the lingering closeness between Ray and Emma. Sadly, it makes sense that marriages break up when a child dies, and Ray's efforts to save his remaining daughter, while questionable given the situation, also made total sense to me. I'll probably buy this when it comes out on DVD, because for a disaster movie, it had a fair amount of real heart.

[ribboninthesky1]

FWIW, Alexandria Daddario is of English, Italian, Irish, German, and Hungarian ancestry, so while she is more white than anything else, that's a fair amount of ancestors who could be considered otherwise, so I don't know if that affects her or not. 

 

Of English, Italian, Irish, German, and Hungarian, which would be considered anything other than white?

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Since its late and its been a long day, I'll answer the question seriously.

 

I believe Italians aren't necessarily* considered white, particularly Italians from Sicily due to the long-ago invasion by Muslims (Moors) from North Africa.

 

*I don't know if it really counts to split such a fine hair, and I'm not trying to say Daddario isn't white, but I don't know if I would have pegged Gugino as Italian either.

[MrsRafaelBarba]

When it comes to love interest or spouses for The Rock, tends to be ABB.

Anything

But

Black.

Like him, but it is what it is.

[Raja]

Of English, Italian, Irish, German, and Hungarian, which would be considered anything other than white?

That is a big can or worms and going back into history Slavs, Greeks and most people of the Mediterranean rim  were not "white" however where not subject to chattel slavery as those identified with a Black African ancestor. Many thought the overwhelmingly Catholic faith of the Italian population may be an added factor since the Irish were not "white" but then the French and Spanish were white. But then as you move forward, light skin Southern Asians, Arabs...and many others were White but now seem to be transitioning into peoples of color when we classify

[ribboninthesky1]

I figured the historical assessments of who was/was not considered white once upon a time would be the response to my question, but I wanted to ask anyway.  Because in the present, all of the above nationalities that was referenced and I inquired about would be considered white.     

 

When it comes to love interest or spouses for The Rock, tends to be ABB.


Anything

But

Black.


Like him, but it is what it is.

 

Agreed, but his offspring would be mixed race, and presumably look it.