Dante’s Peak (1997)
In the late 90’s disaster movies seemed to come in pairs (see Armageddon/Deep Impact), and so 1997 brought us not one but two volcano movies. Dante’s Peak was the first one to hit theaters.
Category: Reviews
Knowing (2009)
I’m not sure that I really consider Knowing to be a proper disaster movie, but since it’s been discussed as such by several reviewers I guess I ought to mention it nevertheless. Director Alex Proyas does serve up a couple of interesting disaster scenes, but the whole affair is so glum it almost turns into self-parody.
Earthquake (1974)
It’s Charlton Heston versus a huge earthquake in this 1974 disaster movie classic.
Titanic (1997)
Though rarely referred to as a genre flick – and if so, most often categorized as a romance – the biggest movie in the world is nothing but a very, very expensive disaster movie. Yes, that would be James Cameron’s Titanic, which not only became the highest-grossing movie ever to date but also scooped the Oscars with 11 wins, giving Cameron himself opportunity to proclaim himself “king of the world”. Whatever you might think of this film – and as celebrated as it is it does have its detractors – you can’t argue with the craftsmanship.
Deep Impact (1998)
Deep Impact is “the other asteroid movie” of 1998, even though it was released before Armageddon. Sporting a smaller budget and a bigger cast, it is the more restrained of the two, though not necessarily a hugely superior picture. Personally, I do like this one better, even though it is severely underdeveloped in the disaster scene department.
Armageddon (1998)
A big hit at the box-office, Michael Bay’s Armageddon certainly doesn’t score many points for subtlety or realism. Nor is it very successful as a disaster movie.
Snakes on a Plane (2006)
Snakes on a Plane was massively hyped before its arrival, mainly due to its funny title. Having finally seen it, I’m kind of glad that I didn’t spend a bunch of money on seeing it in the cinema, since the actual movie is nowhere nere as fun as it ought to be.
When Worlds Collide (1951)
How about a bona fide Oscar winner? When Worlds Collide, produced by George Pal and directed by Rudolph Maté, who also made the classic noir D.O.A., won the special effects category at the 1952 Academy Awards. And there’s no doubt that the miniature work featured in the film’s climactic catastrophe sequence is the absolute highlight of this minor sci-fi classic.
Cloverfield (2008)
As a modernisation of the disaster movie genre, Cloverfield is interesting and thrilling, with quite a bit of spectacular destruction going on.
Destination: Infestation (2007)
Destination: Infestation is a Canadian made-for-TV ripoff of Snakes on a Plane, but with ants. It’s stupid. It’s crap. It’s fun if you’re drunk or just in the mood for something ridiculous.