Ice Quake

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source: Ice Quake

The plot is ok though you will have to accept lots of loop holes and try not to think too much. Just accept it is a straightforward no deep thinking kind of movie to easily pass time. Acting is so so. The father is too nonchalant in a disaster situation even if he may be putting a front to calm his kids. I think the 2 children acted more believably. The ending is very rushed and not believable at all. One man saves the whole situation kind of thing. You wonder where's all the back up and army when it's time for the big ending. The ice mountain scenery is very nice especially with a touch of Christmas feel. Don't watch unless you run out of movies or watch if you just don't want to think too much.

One day, there will be a disaster movie that doesn't involve a family we could care less about with cliched characters and hideous acting. This is the type of film where I don't feel the need to even mention the actors because I probably will never see them in anything again outside of the always dependable Victor Garber) and I am very tired about the Trope of a family trying to remain together in a serious situation where the Earth is threatening to swallow them up. We've seen this since "Volcano" and "Dante's Peak" (one of the few of these that I can actually watch over and over again without cringing), and it was shoved down our throats in "The Day after Tomorrow" and "2012". At least those to me are guilty pleasures because of their ridiculousness, but this one, a Sci-Fi TV movie on par with the hideous mock busters released usually directly to video by Asylum, the worst production company ever to make films. I had to suffer through the entire thing just to see how it unfolded, but it was tough. You've got the mother who treats her husband like a kid, the two kids who are disrespectful to their father, and plenty of vocal fry from the daughter. An impressive scene of the earth cracking and sudden snow geysers does give me some hope, but these scenes are few and far between, with a lot of the action surrounding on the family element. You can clearly see the blue screen when the family is running as the big quake hits. It's proof that the old Hollywood way of special effects was much better than the new technology.

Why do all these disaster movies ignore the real science? There are so many university graduates, who for a few hundred units of their local currency, would sit down and proof read these piles of crap and correct all the factual mistakes. It would still leave plenty of room for artistic license and would definitely make for a better story.

Im in the middle of watching it. The people in this movie are so stupid they deserve to die (but of course they won't) first they leave the area where the avalanche was (the first place the team looks for them, since they called the team from the cabin) then they leave the area where the chopper went down (their last known location) THEN they send a GPS signal and leave the area where they sent the signal from only to stop and 'dig in' a short time later somewhere else on the mountain when the storm hit! Also, it's predictable. I knew they would do all those things, and I knew who was going to live and not live. So far I've been correct every time. However, it's not as bad as other movies I have seen, just predictable and difficult to believe that a geologist who has been working in Alaska on the mountain would have no idea of basic survival skills and tactics. I mean, the first thing you learn if you are lost, is stay where you are, especially if someone knows where you are!

Geysers of ice are erupting in Alaska near the city of Fairbanks. They seem to be moving, and if not stopped could cause great peril for the families on Christmas. I could make lots of complaints about this film (and will shortly). But I want to say that despite all the bad things, it was still enjoyable and used far less CGI than typically seen in a SyFy film. I appreciate that they seem to know the film will be cheesy and try not to make it more than it is. I see too many films that take themselves seriously and just end up being boring (most recent example -- "Don't Let Him In"). This one is a fun movie. That being said, it has some questionable aspects. You have a father far too young to be the parent of a teenager. You have methane gas causing people to die just by touching it. You have Alaska, on Christmas Eve, with bright green grass. Methane apparently does not dissipate after causing cracks to the surface and can be directed by explosions... As far as preparation, Brendan Fehr explains, "We have about two weeks max and usually about a week before the whole thing gets rolling." So it is a very quick process from landing a role to filming. So you have to give a little bit of credit to Fehr and co-stars for picking up the characters quickly, knowing the lines, working against events that are not really there... and not getting paid much to do it. I would still recommend this... to a point. It is not award-winning, it is not the best film of the year (or even the month). But it is a good party movie. This is the kind of film you can enjoy with a friend, a beer and a pizza. You do not have to pay close attention to grasp the plot. And sometimes that is okay.

After 20 minutes or so, I was ready to take the DVD out. It picked up slightly so I watched to the anticlimactic end. Unbelievable science and situations. Totally predictable, although I don't remember what happened to some of the soldiers. I must admit what kept my attention most (I couldn't take my eyes off it) was the colonel's drooping American flag patch. It seemed at any moment as if might fall off. Compare it to the female non-com's flag which was totally squared away. Didn't any of the crew notice that damned thing? The family also built an ice shelter above ground. I doubt they could do that with out any tools other than their hands (which would have quickly frozen). Compared to the below ground ice shelter as built by Tom Berenger's character in "Shoot to Kill", I think the Webster family would have been in a hurt locker.

ICE QUAKE is an extraordinarily poor SyFy Channel disaster movie that sees a river of liquid methane causing the very landscape to split and shift in Alaska. Inevitably, a scientist and his family happen to be caught up in the natural disaster and must fight to survive nature's onslaught. So far so ordinary for the SyFy Channel, but this one is exceptionally poor compared to most of their movies in this sub-genre. There's not one distinguished cast member here, just a bunch of no-name actors giving boring performances. The characters are underwritten to the point of non-existence and there's way too much crying and screaming going on. The entire narrative consists of repetitive scenes of people trying to flee when the ground splits and cracks open to emit clouds of boiling methane. The CGI effects are horrendous beyond belief and there's something mind-numbingly repetitive in the way the same incidents befall the same characters over and over again. Even fans of these low rent disaster flicks should avoid it...

Ice Quake is another SyFy Channel film so as always keep expectations low. Two geologists (one dressed as Santa) investigate tremors on a mountain when a deep crack appears with some shimmering effects indicating some kind of gas escaping which freezes one of the geologist jumping over the crack. The mountain is releasing sub zero methane gas via earthquakes which causes avalanches placing nearby towns in danger. Brendan Fehr is up in the mountains with his family looking for Christmas trees but ends up battling for survival as ice geysers spew and quakes occur unleashing avalanches leading him to deal with various problems. Victor Garber lends respectability as the Colonel trying to locate Fehr. Its a rather poor film, quickly shot, below average special effects and some bad science.