EARTHQUAKE

I'm gonna make this about movies. What else is new?

I had it all planned out. In fact, the reason we waited until today for this week’s Aerial Shot is because a bunch of us saw Monkey Man last night, and I wanted to hold off until seeing the new Dev Patel action movie before writing something up.

I was planning to do a double review with Monkey Man and La Chimera (a wonderful Italian fantasy adventure film I saw earlier in the week). And then … the world flipped on its axis or some tectonic plates shifted. I don’t really know how earthquakes work, but we got one in New York City.

This is all you’re going to hear about for the next 24 hours, so I figured I’d switch course and write about some of the best disaster movies out there. SEO comes first!

In case you’re wondering, I was sitting at my table futzing around on my laptop, as usual, when the earthquake struck. If the world ever ends, there’s a very good chance that I’ll be on Twitter scrolling, which is both bleak and truthful. It is what it is, I guess.

Anyway, here are five disaster recommendations because—maybe you haven’t heard about this yet—but the Big Apple had an earthquake.

Twister

It’s a classic for a reason. A loaded cast that features Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Jami Gertz, Cary Elwes, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Alan Ruck, Todd Field and Jeremy Davies chases storms. It’s fun, it has tornados, PSH is in it. What more could one want? And yes, maybe you want a new Twister. Unfortunately, that’s not coming anytime soo—wait! What’s this? Do we have Twisters on the horizon? You’re damn right we do.

Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones going up against natural disasters on the big screen? You’re damn right the movies are back.

Melancholia

One of my favorite movies ever, Melancholia is an end-of-the-world tragedy that is somehow more depressing and bleak than its premise. It’s essentially split into two sections focused on two sisters, Justine and Claire (played by Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg respectively), who happen to be at the former’s upscale wedding as the end of the world begins. Each section is about how the sisters come to grips with their lives ending and what they do in their final moments. That’s quite an ordeal but the film is beautifully shot, well-acted and also pretty damn funny considering what’s transpiring.

The Cabin in the Woods/The World’s End/This Is the End

All three of these movies, which came out between 2011-2013, are comedy-horror films that portray run-of-the-mill people having to reckon with disaster. The casts are all stellar from The Cabin in the Woods’ Chris Hemsworth, Kristen Connolly, Bradley Whitford and Richard Jenkins to The World’s End’s Simon Pegg and Nick Frost to This Is the End featuring every comedian you know of and also Emma Watson and Rihanna. Strong rec on all three if you’re looking for some laughs and despair.

Force Majeure

Maybe not as dire as the movies above, but the dark comedy Force Majeure is certainly a disaster movie of sorts. The Swedish film centers on a family that loses its way once an avalanche strikes and a father doesn’t protect his loved ones. The fallout from this small instance sets the table for the rest of the movie. It features quite a few marital spats and some of the funniest dialogue in recent memory.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire

You can’t watch the ending of Portrait of a Lady on Fire and tell me this isn’t a disaster movie.