ABCs at the Movies: The Doubles Round!

[oilgun]

Thanks Fran!

 Now, can someone please post a "Z"! 

[Fran]

From IMDb:  "ZOE'S DAY" is a short film directed by Rebecca Gwynne that chronicles what should have been a typical afternoon for seven-year-old Zoe, played by Ruby Jerins (ABC"s "Six Degrees"). Michael Kelly ("Invincible" and "Dawn of the Dead"), plays Zoe's devoted father Bill. Together Zoe and her dad romp through beautiful Park Slope, Brooklyn, on a whimsical journey of childhood wonder, only to discover that the world is not as simple as it seems.

http://www.bellarosefilms.com/largemovie.htm

[Fran]

How about a round of disaster movies? 
 

Real or imagined, of any intensity.
Usual rules apply.

[southendmd]

IMDb:  A man, crippled in an accident, returns to the woods after rehabilitation, certain that he'll not see Bigfoot again.

[Ellemeno]

From IMDb: Set against the gas tragedy in Bhopal, India in 1984, this human drama examines the irresponsible methods of large corporations and the effects of their actions on common people. The night of the tragedy, poison gas clouds from the Union Carbide factory enveloped an arc of over 20 square kilometers killing over 8,000 people in its immediate aftermath and causing multi-systemic injuries to over 500,000 residents. Lest the neighborhood community be "unduly alarmed", the siren in the factory had been switched off, adding to what would become an enduring disaster of immeasurable proportions. Adding insult to injury, researchers are finding that the future generations of the survivors will continue to suffer through chromosonal damage caused by the leak. This unforgettable story unravels through the eyes of a newlywed couple and their friends as they try to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of the catastrophe. Written by Christa Hamilton

[Fran]

A viewer comment from IMDb: 

Interesting story about a dying scientist who plans to tap the geothermal energy beneath the Earth's crust, with dire consequences. Andrews, Scott and Moore, as well as Alexander Knox, all give excellent performances. Special effects are superb and very believable. I remember seeing this on TV when I was a kid, and it scared me to DEATH. Seeing it again as an adult, it is not quite as scary, but is still fast-paced and entertaining. Sadly, it is not available on video to my knowledge. Perhaps someone at Paramount will read this and take the hint.

While the science is now dated, thanks to the discovery of plate tectonics (the Earth's crust is divided into may separate "plates", and therefore already has many "cracks"), the story is still entertaining. The interaction between Dr Sorenson (Andrews), an aging scientist trying for one last victory; his young wife Maggie (Scott), a scientist in her own right; and Dr Rampion (Moore), the project's geologist and an old flame of Maggie's to boot; works very well, even if it is a bit formulaic.

All in all it is a fun movie, and definitely worth the time to see it if you can. Paramount would do well to re-release it on video and especially widescreen DVD. How about it, guys?

[Lynne]

From Wikipedia:

Deluge (1933) was an apocalyptic science fiction film, released by RKO Radio Pictures, about a group of worldwide natural disasters which lead to the destruction of the earth.

The film is very loosely based on a novel by S. Fowler Wright, with the setting changed from England to the United States. A series of earthquakes destroy the Pacific coast of the United States, causing a massive tidal wave, which heads toward New York City. The wave leaves New York submerged in water and nearly all inhabitants of the city drown. This special effect sequence later inspired a scene in The Day After Tomorrow (2004).

The impressive effects were done by a team which later worked on the H. G. Wells-scripted film Things to Come (1936). For many years, Deluge was thought to be a lost film, but a print dubbed in Italian was found in a film archive in Italy in the late 1980s. Before the discovery, the only part of the film known to survive was the impressive footage of the tidal wave destroying New York City, which was used in the Republic serials Dick Tracy vs Crime Inc and King of the Rocket Men.

[memento]

From IMDB: A film director and a script writer (performed by Lars von Trier and Niels Vørsel themselves) write a screenplay, in which an epidemic spreads about the whole world. Like the protagonist they do not notice, that a real epidemic is developing around them.

[Fran]

A viewer comment from IMDb: 

A really wonderful cast and very talented technical crew wasted their valuable career time, and our equally valuable leisure time, by bothering to support this utterly predictable and plainly formulaic piece of commercial junk. The movie is based upon a really good and very topical idea but both the producers and the director simply applied the standard Hollywood "disaster movie" formula and thereby ruined any potential value from the production.

An unusually high tide and very strong gale conditions combine to produce a record high storm surge that overwhelms London and floods most of the Thames Valley. The plot centers around a heroic scientist (Tom Courtenay) who alerts the authorities of the danger and ultimately saves the day, a glamorous female police chief who runs the entire show and an embattled Deputy Prime Minister (David Suchet) who tries to look important.

But it's all so unreal that one feels like an extended tea break after just 30 minutes....

[Lynne]

From Wiki:

An aging, respected commander (Charlton Heston) is on his final submarine tour before his retirement. Surfaced and returning to port, the submarine, USS Neptune (possibly a Skate-class or Nautilus-class attack submarine), is struck by a Norwegian freighter in heavy fog, and sinks to a depth of 1,450 feet on canyon ledge above the ocean floor. A US Navy rescue force commanded by Stacy Keach arrives on scene, but Neptune is perched at an angle that does not allow the Navy's Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV) rescue submarine to complete its work.

==Thresher   ==