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observation notes: 2012 Ice Age

This latest release from The Asylum is an apocalyptic, ripped-from-the-headlines thriller from the brilliant pens of Paul Sinor and Victoria Dadi, the team behind last year's Airline Disaster.

When a volcano in scenic Iceland goes kablooey, it collapses an ice shelf and releases a tremendous glacier that starts on a collision course with the East Coast of the United States, the harbinger of a new ice age that one family - lead by actors Julie McCullough ("Growing Pains") and Patrick Labyorteaux ("JAG") - must try to stay ahead of.

First off, in all fairness, I should admit my love for polar apocalypse films. I think the ice age is something we as modern humans have zero capacity to plan for or fight against, so to see characters accurately struggle against such odds is always fascinating, to me, at least. 2012 Ice Age does not fail; apocalyptic thriller, family drama, FX bonanza. The script is solid as ice, the direction by the mysterious "Travis Fort" is above par and the performances sell it all.

Patrick Labyorteuax as the father/scientist at the center of the film plays the role with a duality of dedication - half to his job, half to his family, each half greater than most men's wholes. He's undeniably likable, universally relatable and just plain fun to root for. I wasn't a "JAG" watcher, but I was a big fan of Labyorteaux's as a teen - he's in two of my favorite movies ever, Summer School and Heathers - so it was awesome to not only see him again, but to see that he's still as awesome as ever.

Julie McCullough, lovely as she was twenty years ago on "Growing Pains," as Labyorteaux's estranged wife and informed-thus-concerned mother is sassy, confident, concerned and coyly radiant. She's still got a smile that could charm a buzzard off a fresh kill, and she still knows how to use it. To see her in this dramatic setting was a revelation, and hopefully the start of great things to come.

Other notables include Nick Afanasiev and Katie Wilson as the couple's teenage children, and the great Gerald Webb as another traveler.
 

The real star here - not to take away from the human performers - is the film's visual FX; from the volcano eruption to the encroaching glacier to the polar ramifications, this is easily the best-looking Asylum film, FX-wise, to date. Bar none. I often speak of how The Asylum's production values have shot through the roof since Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus, and this is the best representation of that hypothesis to date.

The script is sound, scientifically and emotionally. Sinor and Dadi - as they did with Airline Disaster - do a spectacular job of balancing the technical with the human, crafting a disaster epic with an intimate heart. I never felt for an instant that our response - militarily - to the impending ice age was far-fetched or contrived. The film's realism, in fact, is part of what endeared it to me so. When the science is sound, the enjoyability is infinite.

And as for the direction, by the mysterious Travis Fort, all I can say is the typing equivalent of one, lone man in a crowd of thousands standing up and starting the applause an entire crowd reverberates. This film is great looking, well paced, gripping, thrilling, frightening, and gut-wrenching, exactly as it should be. Whoever directed this, he directed his ass off, and has earned my sincere kudos.

Overall, whatever your disaster film peccadillo - ice age, alien invasion, pandemic, war, global warming etc - if you enjoy the struggle of American average-joes against impossible, cataclysmic scenarios, then there is absolutely nothing you won't love about 2012 Ice Age. No smoke-blowing, no ass-kissing, no-sycophanting: this is a rad film, no matter which studio made it; human, horrifying, spectacular and captivating. B-movie gold, as far as I'm concerned. Gold, I say!

2012 Ice Age is on DVD THIS VERY MOMENT in retail establishments, video stores (if u can find them), those lame kiosk things and, of course, Netflix. There's no reason you should still be reading this. Go get 2012 Ice Age right now. NOW!

"Let's melt this ice!"

21 comments:

  1. Great to know! My Blu-ray is on its way!

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  2. Once again, I wish to thank you for your kind and flattering comments about Paul Sinor and myself.

    -Victoria Dadi

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  3. the worst film I have ever seen by far. everyone involved should be ashamed of themselves. the film was so bad I actually thought there was something wrong with the TV. pathetic.

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  4. Amazing, how can someone write a review like this haha. You really must like crap movies. Well it's kind of fun to make it a sport to find all the things that are not right. Believe me, that it so much easier than to find something that is actually right in this movie. It was the worst movie that I've seen ever. Bad actors, bad lines, bad continuation, everything bad bad bad. They got a 2,4 om IMDb, for me it's only worth a 1.0, just because it's actually made.

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  5. Only after having seen the movie (may scenes can only be taken in fast forward) and then reading this review, you realize this is not meant seriously. The film is so bad you can only write about this ironically, even though the movies doe not even deserve that. Yes, it is that bad, and one should speak out the plain truth and not hide it.
    You don't believe me?
    Go get 2012 Ice Age right now. NOW! GO! WASTE YOUR MONEY AND 91 MINUTES OF YOUR LIFE.

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  6. I'll say I laughed my way through this film cause its so awful that its fun!

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  7. The Asylum can and should and will be laughing all the way to the bank at the bad comments that some people post about this film because it is listed as The #7 Most Popular Movies Of 2011 Released on DVD!! Thats how much fans bought and rented it... Considering how low budget this film was and considering that most movies on the list had larger budgets, the Fact that 2012 Ice Age is #7 out of thousands of movies on that Most Popular Movies Of 2011 Released On DVD... 2012 Ice Age, made by The Asylum, is a Massive Hit Movie. Fans are indeed Committed to loving this movie regardless of the comments of the haters... Goes to show: 'haters' leave absurdly mean comments... 'lovers' bought and rented 2012 Ice Age and made it the #7 Most Popular movie in 2011 released on DVD :)

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  8. here's the IMdB link of The Most Popular Movies released on DVD in 2011... 2012 Ice Age is #7... Great for you at The Asylum... hope you make more massive hits like this one.
    http://www.imdb.com/search/title?sort=moviemeter%2Casc&title_type=video&year=2011%2C2011

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  9. Ya know what, how can this guy live with himself after reviewing a film this bad, the story is stupid, acting very poor and sfx look live they've been done on power director, I've never heard of this film or the actors, so as far as I'm concerned I'm impartial, but you have miss piggys boyfriend playing a pathetic role of the dad, and the 1st time you see the mum you think she should be in hospital she looks that ill , not on a film set.

    Anyway so a massive shelf breaks off and heads straight for America, so what do the USA government do? shoot missiles at it from f16's... They might as well just try and take out the sun while there at it! I mean how stupid do they think ppl are? Did they expect the audience to all just stand up and shout " Wooo hooo, yeeeah" bag there heads against the nearest wall and then get a sudden urge to rape a family member?

    No 7 best film of last year?... My ARSE it is, like I say Im not a movie hater like other ppl on here say about honest opinions I'd never heard of this film, but unless this guy who gave a review of it had a stroke half way through and thought they where watching 2012 or day after tomorrow, they have no excuse, they just lied or were bought off, or just love films with bad acting, bad story, and bad dialogue

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  10. Call me a hater I guess, but how can you seriously even think this movie was good in ANY way....Glad I didnt see it in theaters I would have demanded my money back. THIS MOVIE IS THE WORST I HAVE SEEN IN A WHILE!!!

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  11. So horrendous in every way! Sub zero and no gloves needed.

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  12. I remember watching this and laughing to myself when they passed the same street from another part. I recognized the 250$fine sign they passed from before.

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  13. Good acting, good story, excellent special effects.

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  14. Good acting, good story, excellent special effects.

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  15. Pretty sure this was meant to be a Comedy film. It's pathetic excuse to be a movie made in the 20th century is halarious. The original Star Wars had better fx

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  16. I would like to know who funded this bomber,
    I have some lunar property for sale, it would probably cost less than this film did to produce.
    Really if I had invested in this crap I would have to kill all involved, its that bad.
    It looks like it was filmed in my basement.
    My son's grade 5 film and theater group has done better.

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  17. I liked the plot of movie, but the script and acting was extremely bad. In my opinion, the actors were trying too hard. The effects were horrible. If they spent a little more time on all this the movie would have been better than what it.

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  18. This movie is bad and you should feel bad !!!!

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  19. Lol, very funny review. The "special effects" remind me of the thunderbirds some 30 years ago.

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  20. It's the shittiest movie i have ever seen. And if a film critic can bring good comments about this piece of shit, maybe he's blind and/or retarded. Like nelson in the movie

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  21. this movie is so bad that after some point it's funny to see the awful acting, plot, inconsistencies and terrible fx.

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