Overview

again, the day after tomorrow was better than i anticipated. it is not really an action movie, more of a…scientific thriller? is that a new genre? the special effects were neat, and i definitely felt a sort of panic about the environment during and after.

Cast

i will always be rather infatuated with jake gyllenhaal, but this is probably only because he always plays sort of angsty/nerdy/misunderstood sorts of characters. his character, sam, is no different. he’s pining away for laura (the very-young-but-doesn’t-seem-it emmy rossum – next the young opera singer be seen in the lead in ‘the phantom of the opera’) and then is in agony when he can’t convince some survivors to listen to him, has a dysfunctional relationship with his dad…what’s not to love?

dennis quaid is rather impressive as sam’s dad, jack – a paleoclimatologist who spends more time traipsing around the arctic circle than paying attention to his family. i say he was impressive because…well, it’s a pretty generic role, seen previously in dante’s peak, volcano, independence day, etc. etc. ad nauseum. quaid manages to bring a bit of intensity to an otherwise completely uninteresting character.

emmy rossum was beautiful and winsome (i think that’s the right word to use here) and played a sort of ‘perfect’ girl which would be annoying except that she’s so darned nice. she’s smart, pretty, funny, generous, philanthropic, and speaks fluent french. watch out for those stray scraps of metal though – before you know it your best friends and bf-to-be will be fighting off escaped wolves on a russian ocean liner that’s come ashore in front of the manhattan library to get antibiotics you need to stay alive.

dash mihok plays jack’s sidekick (requisite comic relief with requisite crush on requisite female scientist), and i only mention him because he’s a cool guy and i liked him in ‘felicity.’

Tech

fx weren’t groundbreaking like the first time i saw ‘the matrix’ (i hadn’t even heard of it before i sat down in the theatre!), but were still cool. the shots of la being destroyed and the ginormous tidal wave were really great and frightening. other than that…nothing about the production really stood out. maybe emmy rossum’s great hats and coats? oh – and the library interior completely incased in ice and snow. beautiful!

In summary…

this is a fun disaster movie that i recommend you go see. i know everyone says this, but it will make you think about the environment. i point your attention to an article in this month’s popular science wherein the writer interviews several experts in fields relating to paleoclimatology, expecting them to dismiss the movie as total science fiction, and they all are basically like, ‘yeah. this could happen at any moment.’