Saturday night was family movie night in the Dooley household and, being that the youngest was off on a sleepover, we decided to tackle something a little darker than our usual family fare. The timing was perfect for a good old-fashioned disaster movie and we selected ‘The Day After Tomorrow,’ which I really enjoyed the first time around, despite it having received pretty shoddy reviews. Here’s the trailer.
The second time around I enjoyed it even more! I’m not usually a fan of CGI. I often feel it is overdone and overused, but the effects in this film are fantastic. Scenes of Los Angeles being decimated by giant tornadoes, New York City being flooded by a giant tsunami, and then the whole northern hemisphere being flash frozen were just tremendous. The terrific cast did a great job with the sometimes clunky dialogue. The plot strains credulity at times, but if you can manage to suspend your disbelief (and I had no problem) then this movie is gripping from start to finish. My eleven year old son agrees!
Some of my very favorite scenes, though, are the quieter ones. The three doomed men at a weather station in Scotland as they resignedly share their last bottle of whiskey. The astronauts in the space station, unable only to watch as Earth is battered by the gigantic storms. The frozen face of the brave police officer who made the wrong decision. The scenes of terrified Americans illegally crossing the Rio Grande into Mexico to save themselves. The book nerd who is determined to save a Gutenberg Bible from the New York City library, where so much of the action takes place.
One scene in particular really struck a chord with the Dooley family. At one point, our hero, played by Dennis Quaid, is briefing the President. He draws a line across a map of the United States, stating those states south of the line need to be evacuated 
south of the border. The states north of the line? There is nothing that can be done for them. They’re about to be plunged into the next ice age and there is not a damn thing that can be done to save those people. The Dooley Family gasped – we were north of the line! We’d been abandoned to die…or survive IF we could.
After the movie was over we all had a good chat and formulated out survival plan,
which, if I may say so, was very sensible and do-able. So, if the next ice age takes over your part of the world, there’s a place in upstate New York where you will be welcome. You’ll be happy to know that the Dooleys all decided we would retain our basic humanity and not resort to eating people, so rest assured, you won’t end up as a roast dinner.
I do so love a good disaster movie. Did you enjoy ‘The Day After Tomorrow?’ Or do you have another fave disaster movie?
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Diane Dooley is the author of Blue Galaxy and Blue Nebula from Carina Press, Mako’s Bounty from Decadent Publishing, and That Night from Wild Rose Press. They’re also available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and all the usual e-book stores.
She writes horror, science fiction and romance, short stories, novellas and novels. She also Facebooks, blogs and tweets.
Contact – Infinite Futures 
I love The Day After Tomorrow, too! I’m also fond of Deep Impact.
I once threw a Disaster Party, at which we watched both movies (and one more, I think, though my memory is fuzzy…) and paired the films with classic disaster drinks: Hurricanes and Mudslides. Probably not recommended for a family night, but lots of fun.
I also tend to love the classic disaster movies: The Towering Inferno, The Poseidon Adventure, Airport, and my favorite, Juggernaut.
That sounds like my kind of party, Alison!
I generally like ALL disaster movies (except maybe for some of the too cheesy SyFy Channel ones. I loved Dennis Quaid in this and also Jake Gyllenhal. Glad to hear you guys came up with a disaster plan if the climate shifts tonight!
Well, we’re used to living in the frozen north so our plan was based on experience. Thanks for stopping by, Veronica.
Really enjoyed The Day After Tomorrow. There’s something primal about a well-made disaster (really SURVIVAL) movie that always grabs me by the throat. It’s guess it’s the “What would you do?” scenarios, especially the ones where there’s really no escape. Towering Inferno is full of those. Dante’s Peak. Alive. Poseidon Adventure. Deep Impact. And the ultimate for me–Titanic!
Yes, the scenarios. One of the best parts of the movie was the lengthy discussion afterwards.
Thanks for the disaster movie recommendations, everyone!