Dante's Peak (1997)

While Dante's Peak may be a film remembered more fondly than Volcano nowadays, it's worth noting that it was . . . also viewed a bit more fondly by many people back in 1997, the year or the competing volcano blockbusters. It also made more money in cinemas. Basically, Dante's Peak was to Volcano what Armageddon was to Deep Impact (although I would argue that the latter at least had some critics praising it for the more serious approach to the material).

Pierce Brosnan is Harry Dalton, the volcanologist who ends up in the small town of Dante's Peak. Linda Hamilton is Rachel Wando, the mayor, and also mother to a boy and a girl (played by Jeremy Foley and Jamie Renée Smith, respectively). It seems clear to Harry that something bad is going to happen in Dante's Peak very soon, but he struggled to get others to agree with him. To paraphrase another, much better, film: "You say tectonic plate disturbance and people go huh, what, but you yell volcanic eruption and you've got a panic on your hands on the fourth of July."

Written by Leslie Bohem, this is very standard disaster movie stuff. Our hero is shown in an opening sequence being devastated and scarred by a big event that viewers will know is due to recur before the end credits roll, the supporting characters are often given just enough screentime to make their potential demise at least slightly saddening, and everything is set up to allow some impressive special effects to dominate most of the third act.

I was going to say that it's not the most typical film from director Roger Donaldson, but a brief reminder of his filmography has shown me that there is no typical film from him. He's happily jumped around various genres throughout his career, and Dante's Peak shows him very comfortable to lean into the expected tropes of this particular sub-genre, helped by two leads who are happy to coast by on their charm and chemistry until they have to take a back seat to the VFX.

Despite his Bond schedule, Brosnan did well to deliver a decent selection of memorable star turns throughout the latter half of the 1990s, and this is right up there with the best of them. It's nowhere near his best film, nor is it near his best acting, but he holds your attention well as both Bohem and Donaldson try their best to build tension before allowing their volcano to erupt. Hamilton works brilliantly with her leading man, and she's able to portray her mayor character as someone who is also a busy single mother without it all seeming too patronising and cringe-inducing. Smith and Foley have to be tolerable until they're put in peril, which they do, and enjoyable turns come from Elizabeth Hoffman, Charles Hallahan, Grant Heslov, and Peter Jason, among others.

There are better disaster movies, if that's what you're in the mood for, but I cannot think of any better volcano movies. We might get something superior further down the line, but for now . . . this is the best you can hope for. It's silly, it's predictable, I doubt much of the movie science holds up under scrutiny, but it's enjoyably cheesy blockbuster entertainment.

6/10

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Prime Time: The Map That Leads To You (2025)

Although The Map That Leads To You is based on a novel by Joseph Monninger, you'd be forgiven for thinking it was based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks. There are attractive leads, romance blossoming after an inauspicious start, and a secret that could make or break the potential future of the relationship. So, yeah, it's a "Nicholas Sparks movie" in all but name, essentially.

Madelyn Cline is Heather, a young woman on a holiday to Europe with her two friends (Connie, played by Sofia Wylie, and Amy, played by Madison Thompson) before she's due to head home, where she will start her career in the world of banking.  She meets Jack (KJ Apa) on a train, and we know he'll become a main character because he's the kind of free spirit who climbs to the overhead luggage racks in order to try sleeping during this part of the journey. Connie ends up getting on with Raef (Orlando Norman), who is a friend of Jack, and it's not long until Heather is won over by Jack's charm. 

Adapted into screenplay form by Vera Herbert and Les Bohem,  two writers who have a decent bit of variety in their respective filmographies, this is very comfortable and predictable stuff. It's aimed squarely at those who want something romantic to watch, presents everything through a filter of glorious sunshine and idealism, and there are enough moments throughout to make you smile in between the manipulative moments that try to make you leak slightly from your eyes.

Cline and Apa are perfectly fine leads, with the latter having the benefit of playing the more fun and livelier of the two characters, and they're matched by Wylie, Thompson, and Norman, all defined by their youthfulness and looks ahead of any really deep characterisation. Josh Lucas has a couple of scenes, required to do nothing more than play the concerned father, and he's not bad either. The locations are the real star though, in specific terms and as a reminder of the beauty of a world that far too few people have the time to truly appreciate, with the exception of that one annual holiday when we often want nothing more than relaxation and some tanning time.

Director Lasse Hallström may not put any unique stamp on things, but he approaches the material with the skill and finesse that he has had throughout his lengthy film career. I would recommend at least half a dozen other movies from him ahead of this one, but none of them would necessarily hit the exact same sweet spot that this hits for those in the mood for glossy romance. Mind you, that's only because I would be unlikely to recommend either Dear John or Safe Haven (both based on, yep, novels by Nicholas Sparks) ahead of the likes of Chocolat, My Life As A Dog, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, and a few others.

This wasn't made for me. The fact that I didn't hate it is more to do with how easygoing I am when I sit down to watch any movie. It was nice to watch with my partner though, considering the many times she has had to sit there and tolerate movies that were much more in my wheelhouse, and sometimes you just want something that can play out while you have snuggles, whether those snuggles are with a partner, with a pet, or with a tub of your favourite ice cream.

5/10

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June-Claude Van Damme: Nowhere To Run (1993)

The funniest thing about revisiting the filmography of Jean-Claude Van Damme is finding out how others view his films, and also finding out that some of them weren't the popular hits that the younger version of me thought they were. Take this film, for example. I thought Nowhere To Run was an easy success for JCVD. It wasn't. It made money, but it didn't make lots and lots of money.

The plot sees Van Damme playing an escaped prisoner who ends up being in the right place at the right time for one single mother (Rosanna Arquette) who is being given a hard time by developers who want her to sell her home and stop getting in the way of a potential gold mine (metaphorically). Joss Ackland is the main baddie, but he uses Ted Levine to oversee the actual dirty work, and also makes use of a local law enforcement officer (Lonnie, played by Edward Blatchford).

Based on a script by Joe Eszterhas, Leslie Bohem, and Randy Feldman, Nowhere To Run is simply an updated riff on Shane, with extra moments that allow the leading man to either take his clothes off or ride about on a motorbike and look cool (or allow his stunt double to do that anyway, which is how it appears in a number of scenes). The pacing works well, despite this being far from the most action-heavy of Van Damme's movies from this time, and the characters are developed just enough beyond the paper-thin to help you care about how things pan out.

It helps that the cast all do a good job. As well as the two leads warming up to one another throughout, leading to some gratuitous nudity and sexy sex time, you get decent turns from Ackland and Blatchford, and a scene-stealing performance from Levine, who benefits the most from the script. You also get a couple of great child performances, from Kieran Culkin and Tiffany Taubman, both of whom latch on to Van Damme with an ease and innocence that kids can have within their first encounter with an adult they decide is okay by them.

Director Robert Harmon does decidedly okay work, but it's a shame that he didn't decide to shake things up a bit, either in terms of some more creative acton sequences or in terms of giving more time to character moments for Arquette and Levine, the former underserved and the latter having so much fun that viewers could have been rewarded by having more of him.

Nowhere To Run remains an enjoyable slice of entertainment, and Van Damme exudes enough charisma here to make it feel completely natural that the film was adapted to fit him into the lead role, but it's also very disposable, and ultimately easily forgettable.

6/10

The disc be here.
Americans can purchase it here.

House III: The Horror Show (1989)

Not really tied to the series by anything other than name, but I suppose you could really say the same thing about the second movie, House III: The Horror Show is an inferior rip-off of a number of Wes Craven movies (mainly Shocker but also anything starring a certain Freddy Krueger) that benefits from some watchable actors in the main roles.

Lance Henriksen is a cop with frayed nerves, all because of the time he spent tracking down and bringing to justice a nasty killer (played by the late, great Brion James). When the criminal is executed by electric chair he doesn't go quietly shuffling off the mortal coil. Henriksen begins to fear for his family and his sanity as he sees the killer taunting him from beyond the grave.

You know that all is not well when one of the writers (Allyn Warner) prefers to be listed under the old pseudonym Alan Smithee. Leslie Bohem doesn't hide, which shows either remarkable faith in the material, remarkable bravery or remarkable stupidity.

James Isaac directs and puts together an entertaining mess with no real scares but plenty of random, wild moments that should please fans of the surreal. Brion James pops up to do a comedy routine at one point, his face appears on a turkey and he does plenty of nasty things to Henriksen's family.

Speaking of that family. Rita Taggart plays the wife and is fine, Aron Eisenberg acts as if he was created in a lab in a test-tube tagged as "essence of 1980s teenager" but everything is made better by the presence of the effervescent Dedee Pfeiffer (who really deserved more movie roles aside from the likes of this dross and the fantastic Vamp). Fans of Lawrence Tierney may want to watch this but be warned that he gets a very small amount of screentime. Thankfully, Brion James is in almost every other scene and goes completely over the top with his performance, which is immensely entertaining, while Lance Henriksen is as watchable as usual in the lead role.

I'm sure that some people will love this movie, if only for the interactions between Lance Henriksen and Brion James, but I'm equally sure that some will absolutely hate it. Me, I land squarely in the middle.

5/10.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/House-Collection-the-DVD/dp/B0002IAQUO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1330213421&sr=8-3