In the Heights review

Is this 2021 flick a worthy adaptation of the Broadway musical it's based off, or is it no better than the infamous 2019 rendition of Cats before it? Time to find out as we take a look at:

I've been appreciative of songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda since I first got a taste of his work in 2016's Moana, which blossomed into full-on fandom following my listening to the album (and later seeing the recording of the play itself on Disney+) for the beloved smash-hit musical Hamilton (which had introduced mainstream audiences to Miranda in the first place). As such, the fact that In the Heights was based off a 2005 musical that'd also been the brainchild of Miranda and which he was involved in as a producer caught my attention & interest. Having finally seen it, I'm more than happy to say this is yet another hit from Miranda and co; let's find out what makes it deserving of such praise!

 

In the Heights follows young bodega owner Usnavi de la Vega, who’s been saving up the money he makes at the shop his late parents started in the Washington Heights community of New York; he hopes to accrue enough to one day return to his parents’ home country of the Dominican Republic and revitalize the store his dad ran there (prior to coming to the U.S.). However, Usnavi is far from the only one with dreams pertaining to the future, as his old friend Nina, having recently returned home from Stanford University, is conflicted over continuing her college education, while fashionista Vanessa (whom Usnavi has an infatuation for) seeks to finally move out of Washington Heights and to the downtown part(s) of New York in order to follow her dreams in fashion design (to name a few individuals). Will these (and other) characters be able to fulfill their dreams, or will life end up throwing them a curveball (as what often happens in reality)?

One area I have to give the filmmakers credit for is assembling a cast of lesser-known actors and actresses for this project, especially given that the powers at Warner Bros. could’ve easily pushed for a cast of big-name stars; heck, out of the main cast, only 3 names initially stood out to me: Anthony Ramos (who'd previously collaborated with Lin-Manuel Miranda on Hamilton as both Philip Hamilton and John Laurens), Corey Hawkins (aka Dr. Houston Brooks in 2017's Kong: Skull Island), and Jimmy Smits (aka Senator Bail Organa in the Star Wars prequel trilogy). It wasn't until the middle of watching the movie itself that it was brought to my attention that Stephanie Beatriz (who would go on to work with Miranda again in Walt Disney Animation Studios' Encanto as the voice of main protagonist Mirabel Madrigal) was also in this movie (albeit in a supporting role)! Miranda himself even makes a recurring cameo as a local piraguero salesman, and I thought he stole the show whenever he showed up simply by virtue of Miranda playing him, bringing the same spirited fluidity to his portion of the film's musical numbers that he contributed to his prior role as the title character of Hamilton! Besides Miranda, the rest of the principal cast do a commendable job in playing their characters, and the enjoyment they're having is palpable in their onscreen performances, which in turn helps to keep viewers invested in the characters' stories throughout In the Heights' 2-hour, 23-minute runtime!

 

Being an adaptation of a pre-existing musical, it's practically a given that the songs from the source material would show up in this film, and I am pleased to say that they make up arguably the best facet of the entire movie, with the main highlights for me being the opening song titled, you guessed it, "In the Heights", as well as "96,000" and "Blackout". The musical numbers manage to be both captivating and entertaining, with engaging beats accompanying the songs along with wordplay (lyrically speaking) that has Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical fingerprints all over it; one of arguably the most noteworthy instances of this songwriting has to be part of the first third of "96,000": "As for you, Mr. Frodo of the Shire - 96 Gs ain't enough to retire!" 

While the lyrics and background beats accompanying them practically guarantee a good time when it comes to listening to the songs, they're bolstered by director Jon M. Chu's (best known for helming 2018's Crazy Rich Asians) creative visuals; for instance, during the first 3rd of the song, viewers are treated to Usnavi, Benny, Sonny, and 'Graffiti Pete' conjuring up such imaginary sights as an elongated Pinnochio-esque nose, a lasso, and even a Star Wars lightsaber (complete with the igniting and deactivating sound effects associated with the iconic weapon), all of which correspond to lyrics sung by the characters. Later in the same song, Chu even treats viewers to an underwater view of the dancing pool-goers, providing a neat visual perspective of the festivities unfolding. In addition to fun visuals like those described, I have to give major kudos to dance choreographer Christopher Scott (who previously worked on the show So You Think You Can Dance), as he managed to produce dance sequences that succeed in being engaging entertainment without detracting from the songs they’re accompanying. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s songwriting, combined with Chu’s directing and Scott’s choreography, ensure that if there’s anything to watch In the Heights for, it’s the musical number sequences!

 

Despite underperforming during its theatrical run (which could arguably be blamed on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as well as the decision to release the movie on HBO Max at the same time as in theaters), In the Heights is yet another triumph for Lin-Manuel Miranda as well as Jon M. Chu, as it has an uplifting narrative about finding appreciation for your community and the people in it, enjoyable characters who aren’t difficult to root for, and enthralling musical numbers that reinforce why Miranda is such a beloved artist and why Chu is a director who deserves more attention from mainstream audiences. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that I strongly recommend checking this flick out, especially if you’re a fan of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s work; just sit back and prepare to have a heck of a time “In Washington Heights”!

Spider-Man: No Way Home review

Does this third installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU for short)-based series of Spider-Man films finish the divisive trilogy on a high note, or is it no better than the likes of Spider-Man 3 or The Amazing Spider-Man 2 before it? Time to find out as we take a look at:

Happy (late) New Year's everyone! This may be an unpopular opinion, but I've managed to find quite the enjoyment in the Marvel Studios-produced Spider-Man solo films; 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming was one of my top favorite films of 2017 and while I thought 2019's Far From Home was something of a downgrade, I nonetheless was able to find multiple things to like about it. As such, I was excited for No Way Home, a feeling that was exacerbated who-knows-how much when previews confirmed online rumors that villains from the Sam Raimi and Marc Webb-directed Spider-Man film series would be returning to the big screen for this movie; this, combined with rumors/leaks that Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield (the two actors who previously played the webslinger on the big screen) could be making their triumphant returns made this arguably my most anticipated film since Avengers: Endgame! Having finally seen it, I can say No Way Home is a heck of a ride that's definitely worth seeing on the big screen! Let's go into depth as to why this is!

Spider-Man: No Way Home takes place practically immediately following the events of 2019's Spider-Man: Far From Home, as the sociopathic illusionist Mysterio has posthumously not only framed Spider-Man for the former's terrorist activities from the previous movie, but also revealed the wall-crawler's secret identity as Peter Parker to the entire world. With his life, as well as those of his loved ones, turned completely on its head, Peter turns to fellow hero Dr. Stephen Strange for a means of undoing the damage Mysterio has done. However, thanks to some imprudent input from Peter, the spell Strange was preparing to wipe knowledge of Peter's secret identity from everyone's minds ends up going wrong, resulting in several villains from the Sam Raimi and Marc Webb Spider-Man movies ending up in the MCU. Can Spider-Man round up these invasive foes with help from close friends Ned and MJ, or will getting things back to normal not be as straightforward as initially thought?

Despite the sheer number of characters involved in this multiverse extravaganza, this movie, like numerous previous Marvel Studios productions, thankfully manages to avoid becoming bogged down by its proverbial baggage, giving most of its characters enough time to avoid coming off as living 'filler' while progressing the main narrative and subplots in a way that feels rather organic. In addition, the majority of the cast members do solid-to-excellent jobs portraying their characters, whether they be Alfred Molina playing Doc Ock for the first time since the beloved Spider-Man 2, Jamie Foxx as Electro (who is handled considerably better here than in his debut movie, 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2) Zendaya as Michelle Jones, aka MJ, Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds, Marisa Tomei as Aunt May, or Benedict Cumberbatch (aka Smaug in The Hobbit movies) as Dr. Strange. However, there are some actors who stand out more than others, namely Willem Dafoe, aka Gill in Pixar’s Finding Nemo and Vulko in the DCEU film Aquaman, who makes his triumphant return as the iconic Spider-Man foe known as the Green Goblin (real name: Norman Osborn).

Suffice to say, Dafoe jumps back into the role as if almost two decades never even passed since he first played the character (back in 2002’s Spider-Man)! One of, if not the most, impressive facet about this role reprisal is that Dafoe only agreed to play the Goblin once again if he’d be allowed to do the character’s stunts and action sequences himself, all while being 66 years old (by the time the film was released)! This passion and dedication is most certainly to be appreciated, and it shows in the finished film, as Dafoe is just as, if not more, chilling (yet engaging) than he was in Sam Raimi’s original Spider-Man trilogy. This is in part thanks to the fact that Dafoe's face is unobscured by any mask/helmet for a majority of his screentime. Although I personally wish Green Goblin’s helmet was shown/used onscreen longer than what we got (for instance, it could’ve been incorporated into the more comic-accurate look he gains later in the film, such as what's depicted in these artworks), No Way Home shows viewers that you don't need the leering, inhuman visage provided by the helmet to invoke chills or general unease in viewers, as Dafoe being unmasked allows him to completely cut loose on an array of unsettling facial expressions that effortlessly illustrate the kind of sadistic and ‘ax-crazy’ maniac the Goblin is. As someone who considers this villain to be one of my top favorite cinematic Spider-Man antagonists (in terms of the webhead’s previous movies), it was a real treat having Willem Dafoe back as the character, and while he once again did well as Norman Osborn, Dafoe stole the show as the Green Goblin, and has rightfully earned his place up there with the likes of Loki, Killmonger, and Thanos as one of the MCU’s best villains to date!

Of course, this is still a Spider-Man movie, and Tom Holland is once again on point as the title character, with his passion for playing the iconic hero arguably on full display throughout No Way Home. While Holland still nails Spider-Man's energetic aura with little effort and seems almost equally at home bringing Peter Parker (who, to put it simply, is put through the wringer over the course of the film) to life, in this movie, he's given more opportunities, at least compared to his previous solo outings, to showcase his emotional range as an actor 

WARNING: SPOILERS! with two key scenes being the death of Aunt May and the final confrontation with the Green Goblin. In the first scene, Holland conveys Peter's alarm and emotional devastation to an impressive degree, to the point that viewers can readily 'buy' how distraught the young hero is by the end of the scene. When it comes to the climactic showdown, on the other hand, Holland manages to leave little doubt as to just how incensed Peter/Spider-Man is at the Goblin for the latter's role in the untimely demise of Aunt May, especially when the webslinger gains the advantage in the one-on-one throwdown and attempts to use the Goblin's own glider to put a permanent end to the depraved lunatic. As Peter’s older Raimi-verse counterpart attempts to stop the former from delivering the killing blow to the Goblin, Holland manages to depict his character’s vengeful fury (in terms of facial expressions) in a way that feels very palpable. END SPOILERS 

In general, Tom Holland did an impressive job as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, and I consider myself incredibly excited to see where he goes next as the wallcrawling superhero! 

Finally, it’s time to discuss one of the worst-kept secrets in recent Hollywood history: The return of Tobey Maguire (pictured in the first photo) and Andrew Garfield (in the second photo), both of Tom Holland’s successors as Spider-Man, on the big screen as their respective versions of the webslinger!

It’s safe to say that the two of them and their time onscreen comprise among the best parts of the entire movie, in part due to the nostalgia of seeing them as their incarnations of Spider-Man once again, as well as (and perhaps more significantly) them and their younger MCU counterpart all sharing the same screen! Like with the aforementioned Willem Dafoe, Maguire and Garfield slip back into their roles with little-to-no discernible effort and one could argue it's clear they aren't 'here' (for lack of a better term) just for the paycheck, which Tom Holland himself corroborated in an interview following No Way Home's release, in which he described Maguire as "Really excited to be back. You could tell it really meant a lot to him. Him putting the suit on again. Us getting back together. It was awesome.” Regarding Garfield, Holland added, “I think this film was his way of making peace with Spider-Man. It was such a privilege to work with him. I know that it meant a lot to him.” If that wasn't enough, according to one of the screenwriters behind No Way Home, Chris McKenna, Garfield and Maguire, "Had great ideas that really elevated everything we were going for and added layers and an arc and we really actually started honing into the idea that these two guys were really helping Tom’s Peter on his journey to becoming who he ends up becoming. There’s a crucial, moral moment that they help him get through in the climax of the movie. So much of that was brought by Tobey and Andrew’s ideas and shaping of what they thought their characters could bring to this story.” It's difficult not to feel appreciative of just how passionate Maguire and Garfield clearly are about their roles, which makes their returns all the more enthralling! While both previous Spider-Man actors are great individually, it's how they bounce off each other and Tom Holland where they really shine! The onscreen relationship between the 3 Spider-Men is fun to watch in multiple ways, whilst also being meaningful as well as endearing/wholesome (e.g., when Garfield's Peter positively compares his Raimi and MCU variants to having brothers). The fact that the filmmakers were able to acknowledge the 'multiple Spider-Men pointing at each other' meme not once, but twice during the Spider-Men's time onscreen together and in a way that didn't feel forced is just icing on the cake! I'd argue the dynamic of the Spider-Men is comparable to that of seeing the Avengers interacting with one another for the first time back in the original Avengers film from 2012 in terms of how surreal, yet engaging, it is!

Michael Giacchino, who produced the scores for the previous 2 MCU Spider-Man movies, returns as composer for No Way Home, and while he did a satisfactory job, the score for this movie felt like something of wasted potential; Giacchino's theme for the MCU Spider-Man is still good and suits this incarnation of the webslinger (special notice going to the new renditions the theme gets this time around), but there are multiple instances where Giacchino could've made more use of musical themes originating from the previous pre-MCU Spider-Man films (given the presence of characters from the earlier continuities); granted, there are instances of pre-existing themes being used, such as a soft reprise of a portion of Doc Ock's Spider-Man 2 leitmotif following his arrival, a few notes of Electro's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 theme seconds before he attacks the webslinger, or a very poignant version of the "Responsibility" theme from the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy (originated by Danny Elfman) that's heard at one point during the climax (to avoid going too far into spoiler 'territory'), but otherwise, it's hard to name any particularly memorable pieces of music from this movie. Several 'moments of awesome' in No Way Home could've been amplified if musical pieces such as Sandman's Spider-Man 3 leitmotif or the more bombastic parts of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's respective Spider-Man themes were incorporated into the appropriate scenes; then again, I haven't taken the time to listen to the majority of the soundtrack by itself, so maybe my mind will eventually be changed in the near future!

If you've comes to see this movie just for the action sequences, you're in luck, because Spider-Man: No Way Home manages to deliver in this regard! From Spidey and Doc Ock's first showdown on a bridge, to the webhead's encounter with Electro and Sandman, to a faceoff with Dr. Strange outside of the Sanctum Sanctorum and spilling into the Mirror Dimension, this film has quite the variety of set pieces. However, the real highlights have to be the condo throwdown with Green Goblin (which comes off as more gritty in contrast to the showdowns with the main villains of the previous two MCU Spider-Man flicks) and the climax at the Statue of Liberty, which serves as something of dream fulfillment for longtime Spider-Man fans thanks to the presence of all 3 Spider-Men, along with, of course, villains from the previous 2 cinematic iterations of the wallcrawler! While the sequences succeed at being entertaining, and both Green Goblin confrontations have the most noteworthy choreography (to the point that some on social media have favorably compared some of Tom Holland's Peter's moves to those seen in the 2018 Marvel's Spider-Man PS4 video game), I personally wish the filmmakers took a page from Captain America: The Winter Soldier's book and included one additional face-off with the Green Goblin earlier in the movie, when the latter had his full Raimi-trilogy getup on (as pictured above). That way, we could have at least 1 fight between him and Spider-Man with both parties masked up (in contrast to the battles we got); besides, I kind of feel we could've gotten more in the way of screentime of the Goblin using his iconic glider in battle, so an early match between him and Spidey could've 'scratched' this 'itch'. Then again, this is more of a personal preference on my part, so 'your mileage may vary' (as the saying goes) regarding this critique. On another note, while the Doc Ock bridge fight wasn't bad by any means, I nonetheless feel as though there was some room for improvement regarding how part of the battle was shot (specifically, after Spider-Man deploys his Iron Spider armor's 4 pincers) as the portion involving Spider-Man's pincers being used against Doc Ock's signature mechanical arms could've been shot better to allow viewers to more clearly make out the fight choreography unfolding for that part of the skirmish. In addition, the Lizard (hailing from the Marc Webb-directed Amazing Spider-Man movies) could've had a sequence to shine, since otherwise, all he has in terms of action screentime is the climax at the Statue of Liberty, where he has to share the limelight with the rest of the major characters, thus reducing the amount of time he has to leave his 'mark'. Finally, as much of a delight as the finale may be, I can't help but feel somewhat irked by the number of times the Spider-Men's masks are removed/left off (to the point that it feels almost gratuitous), especially when it comes to Tom Holland's Peter's final 1-on-1 with the Green Goblin (which I'd also argue could've been a tad bit longer, e.g., the length of the first half of the final duel from the original 2002 Spider-Man). This may be yet another nitpick, but I feel as though it'd have been sufficient if the amount of time the Spider-Men spent masked up was equal to (or slightly greater than) the time spent unmasked during the climax. Gripes/nitpicks aside, Spider-Man: No Way Home succeeds in continuing the Marvel Studios tradition of delivering enjoyable action for viewers of all walks of life!

When it comes to visual effects, there's not too much to say about No Way Home that deviates from Marvel's usual standards of impressive (albeit not perfect) VFX work that enables fantastical elements from the comics to be brought to life on the silver screen, with the standout visuals being Spider-Man's signature web-swinging as well as how the Mirror Dimension that first appeared in 2016's Doctor Strange is once again realized in all its trippy and psychedelic glory for Strange's chase/fight with Spidey! However, the unsung highlight in terms of visuals for this movie is definitely the de-aging effects utilized on Willem Dafoe's Norman Osborn/Green Goblin and Alfred Molina's Doc Ock to make them appear virtually identical to how they previously looked in Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 (respectively). It's pretty difficult to tell that any digital effects have been applied to Molina and Dafoe's faces unless one takes an extremely close look, which is testament as to how Marvel Studios have mastered the art of this type of visual trickery (which was previously used in films such as the Ant-Man duology and Captain Marvel). Suffice to say, kudos to the VFX wizards at Marvel Studios and Sony for creating such seamless illusions of Dafoe and Molina's likenesses from the Raimi films, among several other digital creations for this film!

In general, I'd say Spider-Man: No Way Home is not just one of the top movies of 2021, but is also a heck of a triumph for Marvel Studios; not only did they manage to win over numerous viewers who may not have been the biggest MCU Spider-Man fans beforehand, but the filmmakers managed to do so through a well-paced and enthralling narrative that actually does the almost universally-despised "One More Day" comic storyline better than the source material, a likable and compelling array of characters brought to life by a seriously talented cast, well-written and engaging character interactions, commendable visual effects, and action that's arguably the definition of crowd-pleasing. I definitely recommend checking this movie out ASAP, but suggest familiarizing oneself with all 3 cinematic incarnations of Spider-Man beforehand (in some capacity); the film arguably serves as something of a celebration of the webslinger's nearly 2 decades of big-screen exploits, so the more familiar one is with the Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland flicks, the more rewarding the experience will be when watching No Way Home!

San Andreas (2015) analysis/essay

Welcome to the last of my disaster movie analyses! We're wrapping up this 'mini-series' of sorts with an in-depth essay on: 

I would argue that Brad Peyton’s 2015 blockbuster San Andreas, in addition to serving as something of a celebration of knowing what to do when disaster strikes, is, more importantly, a showcase of just how important it is to surround yourself with and/or defer to people who know more than oneself. This is because the knowledge such individuals possess can frequently provide one with a greater chance of survival when a natural disaster, such as the earthquakes that happen throughout the film, occurs. I would also argue that not being around or knowing someone with greater expertise than yourself is far more likely to get oneself or others seriously hurt, or in worst-case scenario, killed, during crises such as what is depicted onscreen.

For instance, when the first ‘main’ earthquake begins to wreak havoc in Los Angeles, California, main protagonist Ray Gaines instructs his estranged wife Emma, who has informed him of the situation, to make her way to the roof of the Tate Weston building she’s currently in. What Ray tells Emma to do proves to be the wisest course of action, as it better enables the former, who is in a helicopter, to spot Emma and get her to safety. Conversely, the large majority of people who ill-advisedly try to get to the ground floor of the building instead of following Emma to the roof (so as to not risk being in the structure when it collapses) are inferred to have met unpleasant ends when the Tate Weston finally comes crashing down. Later on, after Ray and Emma have parachuted into the AT&T baseball stadium in San Francisco, another quake begins causing chaos in their immediate vicinity. At first, most of the people around them begin either fleeing in random directions or fruitlessly huddling around parked cars (even as a building before them shows clear signs of being about to collapse), but Ray directs as many of these people as he can to get out of the street and to the side of the AT&T stadium; this ultimately saves the lives of those who heed his directions when heavy debris eventually crumbles to the ground. Additionally, during the climax, Ray notices the bay waters are receding to an abnormal degree, which he identifies as a sign that a tsunami is coming. Instead of trying in vain to outrun the titanic surge of water (as at least two boats can be seen attempting to do in a wide shot of the tsunami wave approaching San Francisco), Ray uses the boat he and Emma have commandeered to get over the forming wave before it peaks, which saves them both from being caught in the subsequent destruction instigated by the tsunami. An article by ScienceDirect pertaining to being prepared for earthquakes establishes that, “Most people will not directly experience a large damaging earthquake in their lifetimes. They instead need to rely on experience of small earthquakes, experience of different disasters, adverse life experiences (e.g. accidents), or vicarious experience.” (Becker et al.) While it is not made explicitly clear onscreen if Ray has had prior experience with earthquakes during his time as part of the Los Angeles Fire Department (let alone anything on the scale of what’s seen in San Andreas), his efficiency at the beginning of the film during the rescue of a young landslide victim, Natalie, suggests to viewers that Ray has dealt with a large variety of perilous circumstances as a member of the department, thus lining up with what the ScienceDirect article details. It is ultimately this experience Ray has obtained that enables him and Emma (who is shown to defer to his judgment) to survive the devastation wrought by the San Andreas Fault.

In contrast, Emma’s boyfriend, Daniel Riddick, serves as a more blatant example of how not being with/knowing anyone who comprehends more than you when it comes to dealing with something on the level of an earthquake can be detrimental not only to your own well-being, but to that of others. For example, when Ray’s daughter Blake gets trapped in the car she and Daniel tried and failed to escape in, Daniel leaves Blake stuck and merely informs a single security guard (who would likely be ill-equipped for such a scenario) about Blake’s dilemma. However, before they can do anything, a piece of the ceiling comes falling to the ground, with Daniel narrowly avoiding getting crushed. Rather than try to recruit anyone else who could be helpful in rescuing Blake, such as a concerned Ben Taylor, Daniel instead resorts to self-preservation, making his way out of the building; this would’ve left Blake to face a grim end had it not been for Ben and his little brother Olie finding and liberating her from the car just moments before the roof of the vehicle gets caved in by debris. Later on, after California has been ravaged to a substantial degree, Daniel and the crowd of people he’s with find themselves in the path of a large dust cloud that’s been produced by the collapsing of a nearby building. Rather than try to find an empty spot in which to take refuge from the oncoming wave, Daniel throws a pedestrian from the part of a structure he’s holding on to in order to claim it for himself; while Daniel survives thanks to this action, it also results in the man whose spot he took becoming one of many civilians who literally get blown away when the cloud of dust finally hits them. If Daniel had someone more knowledgeable (regarding how to address this sudden danger) with him whom he could turn to, a way for him to survive the dust cloud without causing an innocent person to get killed could have potentially been found.

On the other hand, like her father, Ray, Blake herself displays multiple instances of knowing how to approach the challenges encountered by her as well as Ben and Olie. Firstly, after the three of them have escaped from the parking garage Blake had previously been trapped in, she finds out from Ben that no cell phones are working; as such, in order to contact her parents to let them know she’s now safe, Blake has Olie find an electronics store in the book on San Francisco he carries with him. Upon reaching the store, Blake declares, “Anything running on electricity isn’t gonna work, so we have to find a rotary or a push button phone.” After Olie succeeds in finding a push button phone, Blake locates a landline for the device, finally enabling her to get in touch with her parents (and receive instructions from Ray on where to meet, Coit Tower). Had it not been for Blake’s knowledge in this scene, there’s a good chance Ben and Olie would have next to no idea of what to look for specifically in the electronics shop. A short time later, the trio come across a fire truck on their way to Coit Tower; Blake is the first to begin searching through the vehicle’s side components for a supply box, as she establishes that it’ll contain items the three of them can utilize. After Olie finds the box in question, the first thing Blake searches for and retrieves is a walkie-talkie; she explains to Olie, “Every city has a tactical channel that first responders use to communicate on. We can listen in and we can see what’s going on.” Obtaining the walkie-talkie ultimately proves to be beneficial for the triad, as it enables them to learn about the tsunami heading their way in the film’s climax. Later in the second act, when an additional quake occurs, Blake rushes herself and Olie next to an empty car, crouching behind the vehicle with their backs turned to the buildings behind them; Blake also holds Olie close to her, which lowers the chances of the latter getting hit by any debris. Ben, on the other hand, assumes a fetal position nearby a building with multiple glass windows, covering his face with his hands. While this strategy does prevent him from suffering any injuries to his head or face, it leaves the lower half of his body somewhat exposed, which results in Ben getting a piece of glass gruesomely embedded in his left leg after the windows above him shatter due to the earthquake. Fortunately for Ben, after the tremors cease, Blake succeeds in carefully removing the shard, using some of her apparel as an improvised tourniquet in order to stop the bleeding. Had Blake not been there to use her know-how to get the glass out of Ben’s leg, he would’ve been much worse off, as prior to removing the glass fragment, Blake states that, “If you try walking with it, it could cause more damage.” If Blake hadn’t met Ben and Olie during San Andreas’ first act, it’s quite feasible none of them would have made it out of the entire calamity alive, something that Ben himself acknowledges at the end of the movie, stating, “It was more like, she was there for us.”

Finally, in addition to Ray and Blake Gaines, seismologist Dr. Lawrence Hayes has his ‘moments to shine’ in terms of making smart decisions when the earthquakes occur. For example, when the first of the quakes abruptly starts off, reporter Serena Johnson initially takes refuge in the doorway of an office, which would leave her vulnerable to falling debris; however, Hayes is quick to grab her by the hand and hurry her underneath a table whilst instructing everyone else present to, “Drop, cover, and hold on!” It is this course of action (which is repeated later when the second earthquake hits Caltech) that saves himself, Johnson, her cameraman Dylan, and two of Hayes’ students, Alexi and Phoebe, from possible injury or death. Additionally, following the conclusion of the first earthquake, Hayes’ group find themselves in need of a way to get a warning out to the rest of the people of California that the tectonic activity is anything but finished, but Johnson is quick to point out, “There’s no way to upload a signal.” While any other person facing this dilemma might’ve been at a loss for what to do next, Hayes is the one to recruit Caltech’s Media Lab students to hack into one of the media outlets so he and Johnson can broadcast a warning about the upcoming deadlier earthquake to not just Californians, but to the citizens of the rest of the United States; after all, in the broadcast, Hayes cautions, “It will be so big, that even though it’s happening here in California, you will feel it on the East Coast.” Had it not been for Hayes’ expertise and quick thinking, there’s a chance not all of the other four people with him (particularly Johnson and her cameraman) would have survived the whole ordeal or known how to get word out about the imminent, more dangerous earthquake.

According to a Journal of Education and Health Promotion article, “As emergencies and disasters, along with their destructive effects, are rising all over the world acquiring knowledge and its uses are regarded as the most effective way to prevent disasters or reduce its effects.” (Torani et al.) This is a statement that I found applicable to a sizable number of the characters in San Andreas, as their knowledge pertaining to how to handle the assorted disaster-based challenges they are confronted with proves to be invaluable in surviving the catastrophe as a whole. If it wasn’t for Ray, Blake, and Hayes’ savviness in navigating the earthquakes, tsunami, and the other challenges resulting from these natural disasters, several more innocent lives, such as those of Serena Johnson and the Taylor brothers, would have likely been lost. Daniel Riddick, however, is an exception to this, as his questionable actions led to Blake being put in serious danger as well as the death of the man Daniel threw aside to save his own skin, which could have been averted if he had someone with him who knew more than he did about how to manage the situations.

Works Cited

Becker, Julia S., et al. “The Role of Prior Experience in Informing and Motivating Earthquake Preparedness.” International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, vol. 22, June 2017, pp. 179–193., doi:10.1016/j.ijdrr.2017.03.006.

Peyton, Brad, director. San Andreas. Performance by Dwayne Johnson, Warner Bros. Pictures, 2015.

Torani, Sogand, et al. “The Importance of Education on Disasters and Emergencies: A Review Article.” Journal of Education and Health Promotion, vol. 8, 24 Apr. 2019, doi:10.4103/jehp.jehp_262_18.



Thank you for reading, and I'll see you all in my next review (yes, I'm returning to my usual reviews with this analysis series now concluded)!

2012 (2009) analysis

I would argue that Roland Emmerich’s 2012 is about the contrast between pragmatism and compassion, and which of these two viewpoints humanity should take up in times of crisis. The dichotomy between these two ideologies is notably represented through many of the film’s characters, particularly White House Chief of Staff Carl Anheuser (portrayed by Oliver Platt) and geologist Dr. Adrian Helmsley (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, who would go on to play Mordo in Marvel Studios' Doctor Strange), respectively.

For instance, after the key White House personnel arrive at the base in China where the arks meant to preserve the human race are located, Adrian notices that several of the people being let onto one of the arks are many of the world’s more powerful and wealthy individuals. He is quick to ask, “These people were chosen by geneticists?”, since Anheuser had previously established that, to select passengers for the arks, “We had geneticists determine the perfect gene pool we need to repopulate.” Anheuser responds that allowing these elites to buy passage onto the arks was necessary in order to raise the money needed to finance the structures’ construction in the first place. Although Adrian doesn’t approve of how morally ambiguous this method of fundraising is, Anheuser sees it as a means to an end (and thus pragmatic) for the sake of humanity’s survival.

On the other hand, there are multiple small-scale examples of humanity’s aptitude for compassion that are showcased throughout the first two thirds of the movie. For example, when a gargantuan earthquake begins wreaking havoc on California, Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) hurriedly manages to usher his ex-wife Kate and their kids to his limo to get to safety. While he could have simply left Kate’s boyfriend Gordon to die in the unfolding chaos (considering the uneasy terms the two men were on at the time), Jackson instead makes sure he gets in the car as well before finally escaping the rapidly deteriorating neighborhood. Later on, after the Curtis family, Gordon, and Tamara are abandoned by Yuri Karpov (who’d bought passage onto one of the arks for himself and his sons), the Buddhist monk Nima is made aware of the group’s presence via his grandmother. While he could’ve just kept driving to rendezvous with his brother Tenzin, Nima, upon spotting Jackson, is compassionate enough to instead stop the truck and allow the latter and the rest of his group to hitch a ride to Nima and his grandparents’ meetup point with Tenzin. When the group finally reach the rendezvous point, Tenzin initially objects to letting Jackson and co. accompany his family. This reluctance is implied to come from a sense of pragmatism, like Anheuser, as Tenzin states to his grandmother that, “My plan will not work for so many”. However, his grandmother insists that their family take Jackson’s whole group with them, having previously stated, “We are all children of the earth” and Tenzin eventually relents.

On a more meaningful note, in the film’s climax, it’s revealed that a massive tsunami will hit the base in less than half an hour, far sooner than originally thought. Anheuser gets the other world leaders to launch the arks ahead of time, even though countless people have not been able to board yet. Adrian, in an impromptu address to the heads of state, implores the leaders not to leave the stranded crowd of people behind, declaring, “To be human means to care for each other and civilization means to work together to create a better life. If that’s true, then there’s nothing human and nothing civilized about what we’re doing here.” Anheuser, however, pushes for the more pragmatic approach to their dilemma, citing the restricted number of resources as well as limited time as justifications for not letting the people onboard. Adrian, however, asserts that, “Everybody out there has died in vain if we start our future with an act of cruelty.” As risky as letting the thousands of people on board proves to be, Adrian stands by his convictions out of a sense of compassion for these imperiled people.

The Day After Tomorrow (2004) analysis

Welcome back to part 3 of my disaster movie analyses! I apologize for the large amount of time since I previously uploaded, I've been preoccupied with a number of things (e.g., my family and I being out of town for a week, my classwork, etc.), but having finally completed the last of my assignments for my remaining college classes, expect my upload schedule to be significantly more consistent. With that being said, on to my analysis of:

One of the most critiqued facets of Roland Emmerich’s 2004 disaster epic The Day After Tomorrow has been, among other things, its perceived lack of scientific accuracy. While I agree with Andrew Weaver’s (a climatologist for the University of Victoria), assertion that a new ice age (like that which overtakes much of Earth’s northern hemisphere by the end of the film) as a result of climate change isn’t possible, I would argue the other calamities that befall various parts of the world throughout The Day After Tomorrow do a solid job of displaying to viewers the possible chaos that could be unleashed if humanity doesn’t start changing its ways (in the context of environmental impacts) in the very near future. This is helped by the fact that there have been multiple instances of weather anomalies occurring in unlikely places in the recent past, albeit not quite on the scale seen in the movie.

For instance, early in The Day After Tomorrow, multiple tornados befall Los Angeles, California, something unheard of in the state’s history. These twisters end up devastating the city to the point that when they finally dissipate, the municipality arguably looks more post-apocalyptic than anything. While the state of California has yet to experience a phenomenon like this in real life, it has recently been dealing with numerous wildfires, of which climate change has played a major factor through what Hayley Smith of the Los Angeles Times refers to as, “The recent heat dome that simmered over the Pacific Northwest.” According to Smith, “One study found that that deadly heat wave would have been virtually impossible without human-caused climate change adding a few extra degrees.”

As mentioned before, while it’s not very likely parts of the U.S. will become frozen wastelands due to climate change as seen in the film, it’s not completely out of the question for there to be colder-than-usual weather in normally warm parts of the world. This was best seen this past February when Texas, of all states, was subjected to a historic winter storm as a result of what an article by Earth.org refers to as, “A blast of cold air coming out of Canada”. This abnormal weather resulted in power failures throughout the state and the deaths of 210 people, according to a recent article from The New York Times. While arguably not anywhere near as bad as the New York death toll suggested in The Day After Tomorrow, the winter storm crisis in Texas and the more recent talk about a 'Code Red for humanity' are clear indicators that what befell Dennis Quaid and Jake Gyllenhaal’s characters and their cohorts could very well happen to our world (albeit on a smaller scale and in different forms compared to what's displayed onscreen) if humanity doesn’t do more to combat climate change ASAP.