Well it was a leading role in a big budget studio film, even credited ahead of Hilary Swank, so that has to count for something.
"The Core": A Damn Fine, Fun Underrated Flick
- Thread starter Gaith
- Start date
Well it was a leading role in a big budget studio film, even credited ahead of Hilary Swank, so that has to count for something.
I wouldn't describe Alien or Pitch Black as disaster movies, but rather horror.
Personally, I enjoyed The Core more than Armageddon. Armageddon had better sfx, but it was WAY too melodramatic for my taste. Sure the science was crap, but the science is pretty much ALWAYS crap in big budget scifi. Warp drive, anyone?
It kept me entertained for a couple hours, and that's all I expected
I still remember the ads for the movie running on TBBS.
The main thing I remember about seeing that movie on TV is the guy at the end going nuts screaming about whales.
The use of "unobtanium" in a movie annoys me, since it goes beyond even the normal level of laziness for dumb science in movies. Not only are the writers inventing a substance that can do whatever the plot demands-- they aren't even bothering to come up with a name for it!
The use of "unobtanium" in a movie annoys me, since it goes beyond even the normal level of laziness for dumb science in movies. Not only are the writers inventing a substance that can do whatever the plot demands-- they aren't even bothering to come up with a name for it!
All I remember is the ludicrous space shuttle landing sequence, and the death of...
I can't say I remember much else, although if the OP wants to claim that there aren't any better cast disaster movies out there, I could easily point to just about every movie Irwin Allen produced (or directed). Just look at The Poseidon Adventure or The Towering Inferno or The Swarm.
Stanley Tucci...which is a pretty amusing scene, as he realizes the absurdity of what he's doing and the inevitability of his fate.
Well to be fair, they were pretty self-aware of it in The Core. I think Eckhart's character even had a laugh about it. Avatar, on the other hand...
Uh, flame much?
I haven't seen Alien (I know, I know), though I admit that that's a pretty strong cast. But Armageddon's Willis, Thornton and Tyler (who's pretty and likable, and a decent enough actress, but not a great one like Swank) don't top all the acting power in The Core, especially when you take away a few Affleck points. Ditto Pitch Black. And I didn't say The Core was the best or even best-acted genre movie, only that I couldn't think of a cast with as much combined acting talent.
And yes, "Unobtanium" is played for a laugh here.
You mean the anti-hero won.
Braz says the material's official name has like 23 (or 27?) syllables. He just calls it unobtanium for short and as a joke.
As for the film itself, scientifically it's as dumb as the rocks they dive through, but if it's on, I watch it because it's a fun, entertaining flick.
Hey, even H. G. Wells invented substances when he needed them. Remember "cavorite"?
(Which drove Jules Verne crazy as I recall.)
I dunno, the whole "unobatanium" thing is just dumb. Why not say it's a new steel alloy mixture or some really-strong sunthetic diamond or come up with something. "Science-Fiction" is, you know, supposed to have an ounceor two of "science" in it. But to just make up a magical material that can do whatever it wants, "Oh it can with stand incredible pressures, it's really strong, it melts at incredibly high temperatures not found naturally on earth and, oh, it can turn that pressure and heat energy into electricity to power itself although for some reason we're not going to hook it up this way. Yep, I invented this material all on my own. I also invented a super-laser. Aren't I an awesome, broke, disheveled scientist working in an abandoned airbase in the desert?"
I mean, the best they could come up with was "unobtanium" to protect the ship on the way to the core? They didn't even try to have it make sense. Oh! And if a piece of the ship becomes fractured the whole thing is in jeopardy. This is really bad if, say, the third pod is damaged and the two pods behind it aren't. This would be like getting a dent in your rear-fender causing risk for the front fender on the otherside to fall off! Ugh, the movie is fun but a lot of it is contrived and the movie just chucks McGuffins at you like the evil spawn of George Lucas and Michael Bay.
I mean, the best they could come up with was "unobtanium" to protect the ship on the way to the core? They didn't even try to have it make sense. Oh! And if a piece of the ship becomes fractured the whole thing is in jeopardy. This is really bad if, say, the third pod is damaged and the two pods behind it aren't.
This would be like getting a dent in your rear-fender causing risk for the front fender on the otherside to fall off! Ugh, the movie is fun but a lot of it is contrived and the movie just chucks McGuffins at you like the evil spawn of George Lucas and Michael Bay.
^^ The guy was just making it for his own private purposes, and he's got a sense of humor, so he gives it a goofy name, and the audience has a laugh. Not sure what the big deal is...
As for the pods, it would hardly be believable if a middle section were jettisoned and then the ends met up, considering the speeds at which they were traveling the whole time. But then it does make sense that the pods furthest away from the command module would be ejected first.
As for getting power from the outside, I'll give you that, but the dramatic challenge it posed was worth the technical weirdness.
As for the pods, it would hardly be believable if a middle section were jettisoned and then the ends met up, considering the speeds at which they were traveling the whole time. But then it does make sense that the pods furthest away from the command module would be ejected first.
As for getting power from the outside, I'll give you that, but the dramatic challenge it posed was worth the technical weirdness.
Watching some scenes again with the commentary, I'm gonna go ahead and say that yes, it is the best-acted disaster movie that I know of, and very possibly the best-acted disaster flick ever. Evidence: the seen where Eckhart blows up at Swank, the debate over Plans B and C and the drawing straws sequence. If there's a disaster flick with better performances than that, I'd be happy to hear of it.
You should. Can't hurt to watch it just once.
It never fails to amuse me when someone compares a bad movie to other bad movies and proclaim it to be TOTALLY AWESOME! If I had a pile of cat shit and compared it to a pile of dog shit, a pile of elephant shit, and a pile of horse shit, guess what? THEY ARE ALL STILL PILES OF SHIT!
Having said that, I do enjoy movies like The Core, which I thought was OK. I wouldn't pay money to see it at the theater, but if if came on HBO or something and I had nothing to do, I could enjoy it for what it is. Those movies you listed, though, just really annoy the hell out of me, they are so thoroughly and unredeemingly stupid that I can't sit through them.
