Volcano (1997)

As much as I love the craggy face and dour demeanour of Tommy Lee Jones, I have never looked at him onscreen and thought "that man needs to be a blockbuster star". That isn't to say that I don't like seeing him in films, and he's been great in some blockbuster fare, but he just doesn't feel like the kind of person who would be comfortable carrying a major event movie on his shoulders. Volcano proves that.

The plot is silly. A volcano starts to rise up in the middle of Los Angeles, causing the kind of mayhem that you would expect. Jones plays Mike Roark, the director of the city's Office of Emergency Management (which you get some information about in the opening scenes), and he's about to have one hell of an emergency to try and manage. Anne Heche is Dr. Amy Barnes, a seismologist who spends most of the movie giving people warnings that they tend to ignore until the volcano makes it impossible. And Mike is supposed to be spending time with his young daughter, Kelly (Gaby Hoffmann), of course, which gives us one more main character to watch being put in lava-centric peril.

The only writing credit for Jerome Armstrong, and one of the worst writing credits for Billy Ray, Volcano is, from my recollection, the weaker of the two major volcano movies released in 1997. Even when it is getting some things right, the earlier scenes of people discovering unexpected issues with heat building up under some L.A. streets, it's simply not as good as dozens of other natural disaster movies that I could recommend. The biggest problem is that the central idea never feels plausible, despite everyone involved having to keep a straight face. It also doesn't help when the script makes a clumsy attempt to show how working together on this emergency can  . . . ummmmm . . . end racism?!?!?

Director Mick Jackson seems uninterested in the material, or maybe he's just not able to get the best out of it. That wouldn't be surprising, considering his filmography (although it should be noted that this is the man who helmed Threads, a TV movie often hailed as one of the bleakest and most terrifying TV movies ever made), but perhaps the fault can be shared between Jackson and those who gave him the job. There's nothing else that he's done that makes him seem like the right choice for a blockbuster like this.

I'd love to praise the cast, but I can't. None of them can overcome the horrible script, which also forces in some romantic longing between Jones and Heche in scenes that are truly cringe-inducing. Having said that, Jones still has a presence, as ever, and is very watchable in the moments that don't completely undermine him by forcing him into the box-ticking gruff hero moments. Heche is saddled with being the brains and exposition except whenever she needs to just stand back and look on at Jones being all heroic. Hoffmann is there to be kept safe, and nothing more. The supporting cast does have some treats, with Don Cheadle having some fun, and small roles for people like Keith David, John Carroll Lynch, Richard Schiff, and a decent selection of "where do I know them from again?" faces. I also have to praise Marcello Thedford, mainly because of his ability to tolerate some of the worst writing in scenes that show him helping out emergency workers who wouldn't necessarily be so ready to help him out if the roles were reversed.

I was trying to think of other things I might lightly praise, be it the score from Alan Silvestri of the cinematography by Theo van de Sande, but there's nothing. The special effects are generally okay, for the time, but it's a spectacle movie without enough proper spectacle, which wouldn't be so bad if it also had other stuff going on. It doesn't.

3/10

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L.A. Story (1991)

The funny thing about L.A. Story is that I always quite liked it when I saw it back in the early '90s, but a lot of it was unfamiliar to me. Whether L.A.-centric or just soaked in the nuances of modern Americana, this comedy depicted an alien world. That's what it was always supposed to do. There are wonderful modern fairytale elements blended in there, but it's mainly a look at a strange culture/subculture/way of life. Funnily, and some might say depressingly, enough . . . . . . . . . . . . none of it seems so strange any more. None of it seems so absolutely American and/or Los Angelean. Hell, I now know more about the different flavours and types of coffees sold at Starbucks and Costa then I ever thought I would. I hate myself for that fact, but I usually hate myself while enjoying a medium caramel latte. To go.

Steve Martin plays Harris K. Telemacher, a resident of L.A. and a minor celebrity thanks to his whacky weather reports. He takes a lot of the stranger aspects of L.A. in his stride, but is also able to look around him and remember how bizarre his city is. The differences between his world and the world outwith L.A. are highlighted when he meets Sara McDowel (Victoria Tennant), an English newspaper reporter and also spends some time the the young and carefree SanDeE* (Sarah Jessica Parker).

Mick Jackson directs this sun-bathed slice of surreal-tinged comedy from a script written by Martin, and both men do their best by the material. The majority of the film is little more than observational comedy shoehorned into movie form, but it works brilliantly. The other main element, involving Martin receiving advice from a wise freeway sign, may be too ridiculous for some to enjoy but fair play to Martin for using it as something that turns the tone of the whole movie from one that could have been mean and sour to something playful and affectionate.

The cast is overflowing with great choices. While I've never been the biggest fan of Tennant, she's good enough in her role here. Martin is great, as always, and Sarah Jessica Parker gives a spirited and lovely performance. It's so good that I actually had to look back over that sentence after putting the words spirited and lovely so close to her name. Richard E. Grant is enjoyable enough, and Marilu Henner, Frances Fisher, Kevin Pollak and Susan Forristal all do well. Cameos from Patrick Stewart, Rick Moranis, Woody Harrelson and Chevy Chase also add to the fun.

L.A. Story allows people to laugh at L.A. and its many quirks, but it also makes an effort to remind viewers that magic CAN happen there. It might just be movie magic, but magic is magic.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/L-A-Story-Blu-Ray-DVD-Combo/dp/B0082X0XF4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1376570881&sr=8-2&keywords=l.a.+story