Volcano (1997)

Tommy Lee Jones is in charge of disaster management in Los Angeles and Anne Heche is a Geologist and they are thrown together when under Los Angeles an undiscovered Volcano comes through in the middle of rush hour. They then have to join forces to see if using all of the resources at their finger tips they can save the city and the people they love. This is very much a big budget disaster film that would have normally been shown on SyFy but director Mick Jackson had some big name actors to work with and a half decent budget.

I enjoy this film, however it a disaster film, it has many points that are cheesy and predictable, from the racist policeman and the black man that bang heads, to Tommy Lee’s Daughter played by Gaby Hoffmann who you know is going to end up in trouble as that is where her character is always going to end up. The bomb experts at the end that make the ultimate sacrifice and then there are the comments about everybody looking the same. Clunky metaphors thrown in to a film that are not needed, it tries to be gritty but ultimately fails.

Now with all the complaining and whinging out of the way I think that there is still an element of enjoyment about this film, the characters are not overly developed and those you expect to survive do and there are enough deaths and injuries and people doing the right thing to make it an enjoyable enough disaster movie, I do understand what it is about and just enjoy it, overall a 7 out of 10 worth watching for me. 

Bird on a Wire (1990)

From director John Badham comes the romantic comedy starring Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn. Mel Gibson plays Rick Jarmin who was put in the witness protection programme years earlier and rumbled when his old flame Goldie Hawn recognises him. Then the chase ensues as the people he put in prison discover he is still about and they start chasing him and Goldie Hawn to pay him back for what he did. The bad guys are played by Bill Duke and Stephen Tobolowsky so comic and dark.

You follow them as they go on the run and Mel heads to all of the places that he has been posted and you get the picture of the perfect guy that everybody loves and that he is the most useful person most of the people he has ever worked with know. Which of course leads Goldie Hawn to forgive him and the films climax in the Zoo is actually quite exciting, there are a few good laughs and apart from thinking that how did Mel Gibson have enough time to be so good with so many people the characters and story are a lot of fun.

This film is funny, sweet and for me enjoyable, there are the usual flaws in films like this with a bit of believability but you can get over that and go with the action. You actually hope that it works out for them as they are likeable characters. This is above average for me as there is actually nothing to really dislike about the film so a comfortable 6 out of 10 for me.