ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

All in all, this is one hell of a movie.

When you compare it to schmaltzy soap operas with less impressive special effects like Earthquake (1974), this one is a white-knuckle thrill ride — from the awesome helicopter rescue Dwayne Johnson makes just eight minutes into the movie, right up to the scene where a wave the size of Mt. Everest gives free car washes to all the folks on the Golden Gate Bridge.

One very appealing aspect of the plot is the non-stop mobility of the main characters. Wayne Johnson and Carla Gugino travel by helicopter, pickup truck, airplane, speedboat, and ummm . . . (darn, there was one more. What was that last one?)

Oh, right! Tandem parachute!

(Skydiving while tightly strapped to Carla Gugino is now at the top of my bucket list.)

Personally I think the cause of all the shakin' was Miss Gugino. She's definitely a 10 . . . on the Richter scale.


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The special effects are so good they would have sent audiences screaming from the theater four decades ago (or taking cover under the seats), and the movie could have advertised itself as —

"Filmed on location at an actual natural disaster!"

Here's a fun idea for a drinking game. While watching this movie with a group of friends, everybody takes a drink each time you see a running woman who is not wearing a bra. The last person still conscience wins the game.

If you make it to the first hour, you must have a very high tolerance for alcohol.


____________________ San Andreas - trailer


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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A great movie with several interesting trivia comments on IMDB.

Enjoy!
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An earthquake on the west coast of California at 9.6 wouldn't cause a tsunami on the same coast. If it caused a tsunami at all it would be across the Pacific.

Note from me: Yeah, that great tsunami scene is a serious error in the science of the story, but it sure looked good. However, if the west coast earthquake triggered another one a few miles out to sea and the ocean floor dropped down dramatically (like the quake that caused the tsunami in Japan), the tsunami in this movie would have occurred.

Having said that, consider this next item!

It is possible for a Nevada quake to trigger an L.A. quake, and for an L.A. quake to trigger a San Francisco quake. The 1992 Landers earthquake, a 7.3 in California's Mojave Desert, triggered a 5.3 quake in Nevada the next day. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake triggered magnitude 5 earthquakes the next day in Santa Monica, Oregon, and Nevada.

Note from me: So, the tsunami could be explained.

Dwayne Johnson and Carla Gugino also starred in the remake of Race to Witch Mountain (2009).

Note from me: Well, well . . . I think I'll get this one from Netflix and take a look at it.

After a devastating earthquake in Nepal in April 2015, the film's marketing campaign was adjusted to include information about how to help relief efforts and to give guidance on how to prepare for natural disasters (e.g. a link to the site prepareandhelp.com was added to the newest trailers)

Note from me: An admirable example of Hollywood using it's influence on the public to provide important emergency information.

If the earthquakes were above a 6.1 then AT&T stadium would have much more damage than shown in the movie.

Note from me: I can't help but wonder how the author of this item could be so sure about this. Wouldn't the stadium be built to withstand earthquakes even better than the tall buildings we see survive the initial shocks of the quake?

I mean, it's lower than those tall buildings, and it's built to house many thousands of people in close proximity when a quake suddenly hits the area. Wouldn't that mean the stadium would be the most earthquake-proof structure in the whole city?
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Gord Green]

AND the georgous Carla Gugino also starred as Sally Jupiter in WATCHMEN. The only film to feature Leonard Cohen's song Hallelujah in the right context!

[Custer]

Ahh, the golden age Silk Spectre... they surely knew how to make superheroine costumes in those days!

So "San Andreas" was an all-out action movie? And there was me thinking they just stood around arguing as to whose fault it all was...

[Bud Brewster]

[Bud Brewster]

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If you love this movie, you'll like this video which gives us a glimpse of the various composites needed to make several of the complex FX shots.

I love way they included dramatic music which underscored the dramatic scenes being shown from the movie. An awesome video, guys!

Damn, I'd LOVE to do this for a living. This kind of stuff is in my blood!

_San Andreas - VFX Breakdown by Scanline VFX (2015)


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[The Spike]

It's CGI destruction time as Dwayne Johnson battles earthquakes and a tsunami to go rescue his daughter - with estranged wife in tow of course.

Disaster films are easy to kick because very rarely they are nothing more than candy carnage with a trite screenplay and cheese laden dialogue. Such is the case with San Andreas. In essence this is a remake of Roland Emmerich's 2012, only this is the shorter version with the time span that 2012 should have had. This does exactly what the marketing department promised it would, namely lots of crash bang and wallop, but just like Emmerich's behemoth it gets boring entering the final third, the writing just not good enough to hold interest once the noise and destruction dies down before the big finale arrives. Suspense is absent, emotional investment in characters is null and void, while there are no worthwhile surprises in store. But on the plus side Johnson is a likable guy and he carries us through till the end of what is a fun movie if expectation levels are appropriately set at dumb popcorn fodder. 6/10
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The quality of mercy is not strnen.