Well, this is it! Nice knowing you!
2012
Release date: Nov. 13, 2009
The end of the world is nigh! Why didn't we listen to the warnings in this trailer?
Southland Tales
Release date: Nov. 9, 2007
Patrick already did a great job of naming the best movies about the end of the world here, so half my job is done. This is his "favorite" (and probably the one example that best defines the) "ambitious failure" film, and it is ... fascinating. I'm not sure if this preview -- featuring the very awesome slow version of "Wave of Mutilation" by Pixies (featured prominently in Pump Up the Volume) -- is for the same movie, though. Regardless, the film is a study in big ideas, broad themes, interesting performances (by an eclectic cast of big names, has-beens and future will-bes), crazy expectations and, ultimately, epic letdowns. Everyone should see it and judge for themselves!
WALL-E
Release date: June 27, 2008
Directed by Andrew Stanton. Yes, THAT Andrew Stanton. I think this trailer has more words in it that the actual movie, and the first half of it is garbage (the preview, not the film -- what's with that cornball narration?). This movie proves that the end of the world ain't so bad ... provided you're a curious waste-collecting robot who falls in love with a floating orb. And really, who among us hasn't had THAT dream?
Planet of the Apes
Release date: April 3, 1968
Kind of a SPOILER to even include this film on a list like this. Oh well -- whaddayagonnado? No seriously, WHAT? "He can talk! He can talk! He can talk!" "I CAN SIIIIING!" Last thing ... I wouldn't mind be trapped in a cage with Linda Harrison (Nova [as in Casa ... nova?]). Yowza. THAT IS ALL.
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Release date: Jan. 29, 1964
The early 2000s were all about apocalypse movies (especially more recently, including Cabin in the Woods, Melancholia, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, The Road, I Am Legend, etc.), but that decade certainly didn't invent the genre. Here's a genuine end-of-days masterpiece from the 1960s, with one of the most iconic visuals ever to appear in cinema (mild SPOILER warning). One of JB's favorite movies, and for good reason -- a completely unique cold war black comedy that's also deeply serious. You'll laugh until you realize that, in 2012(!), bureaucracy, paranoia and military one-upmanship still dominate the political landscape. Sad face.
Waterworld
Release date: July 28, 1995
The movie opens with a man (K-Cost) drinking his own pee-pee. WHAT ELSE ABOUT THIS POST-APOCALYPTIC MOVIE DO YOU NEED TO KNOW? Oh, more? Then here, be my guest.
Miracle Mile
Release date: May 19, 1989
I've never seen this film, but now I want to! Because who doesn't love Goose? And Lt. Tasha Yar? And LA in the '80s? And the anxiety of waiting for a nuclear detonation? Do they make it? Was the phone call a hoax? Does love conquer all? Has anyone out there actually seen this?
Obviously, there are a bunch more movies I'm leaving out. What are some of your favorites? Respond quickly -- before you-know-what! And if you're around next week (you won't be), Merry Christmas!
Shaun of the Dead seems kind of like an end of the world scenario. And with that...
ReplyDeleteGentlemen, it's been an honor.
*picks up violin*