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Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Unstoppable (2010) in Movies

Jun 15, 2020  
Unstoppable (2010)
Unstoppable (2010)
2010 | Action, Drama, Mystery
7
6.3 (6 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Stop The Runaway Train Before Its Too Late
I have seen this movie about 6-7 times now. Each time i watch it, its a good time. The action, the drama and the suspense. Both Denzel and Chris do a excellent job in ths film which is inspired by true events.

The plot: When a massive, unmanned locomotive roars out of control, the threat is more ominous than just a derailment. The train is laden with toxic chemicals, and an accident would decimate human life and cause an environmental disaster. The only hope of bringing the train to a safe stop is in the hands of a veteran engineer (Denzel Washington) and a young conductor (Chris Pine), who must risk their lives to save those in the runaway's path. Inspired by true events.

Its a good movie.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated Earthquake (1974) in Movies

Mar 21, 2021 (Updated Mar 21, 2021)  
Earthquake (1974)
Earthquake (1974)
1974 | Action, Drama
6
6.8 (5 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Archetypal piece of mid-70s schlock hits all the usual disaster movie beats: slowish first half introduces various characters, attempts to drum up a sense of foreboding, then everything goes shaky and there are various subplots of people struggling amongst the rubble. A tone of rugged stoicism is usually predominant.

You can almost sense the modern blockbuster struggling to be born here - high concept, low credibility, lots of special effects, John Williams score - but the film is let down by some wobbly production values and questionable casting choices. (The subtext is surprisingly reactionary and morally inflexible, too.) All the bits which make it most entertaining nowadays - Marjoe Gortner as an unhinged national guardsman, Richard Rowntree's motorcycle daredevil, Walter Matthau's dancing drunk - are the parts which are the most camp and ridiculous. Sort of entertaining if you enjoy this kind of bombastic studio silliness.
  
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David McK (3557 KP) rated Daylight (1996) in Movies

Apr 11, 2021 (Updated Apr 11, 2021)  
Daylight (1996)
Daylight (1996)
1996 | Action, Drama
6
6.5 (4 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
1996 disaster movie with Sylvester Stallone (and an early role for Viggo Mortenson) as a disgraced Fire and Rescue chief, who has to help a disparate group of survivors escape from a collapsed tunnel 100 feet below the Hudson river following explosions which have sealed off said tunnel.

As such, this ticks all the boxes of the genre: race against time? Check. Trapped family group? Check. Feisty female companion? Check. Helpful red-out-by-family-group description of tunnel in early portions of movie? Check. Tragic past for hero? Check. Convicts who 'turn good' and help out? Check.

It even has a Chekhov's Gun, people!

(for those uninitiated: Chekov's Gun is a dramatic principle that states every element in a story must be necessary e.g. if a 'gun' is introduced in Act 1 it must go off in Act 3)
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated The Death of Grass in Books

Sep 5, 2019  
The Death of Grass
The Death of Grass
John Christopher | 1956 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
8.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
John Christopher's spin on John Wyndham's so-called 'cosy catastrophe' formula focuses on the catastrophe and forgets about the cosy. The book is not that bothered about about being overtly SF, either - there's something horribly mundane and plausible about the book's depiction of the spread of a crop virus, misfiring attempts to stop it, and the increasingly desperate measures taken by the authorities as the food simply runs out.

Particularly strong on characterisation and the impact of the disaster on the protagonist: initially a decent upper-middle-class chap, John Custance finds the survival of his family requires him to condone (and even commit) acts of betrayal, murder, and maybe even worse things. Powerful ideas, and Christopher's no-nonsense style lets them into the reader's mind where they linger uncomfortably. A fine book that deserves to be better known.