Le Jour de l'apocalypse

Pretty average for a sci-fi channel movie, though the humor level is a little higher, and the presence of Brad Dourif, Neil Grayston (Fargo from "Eureka") and Greg Grunberg (from "Heroes", who rises far above the material) makes it much more watchable.

The earth is being bombarded by plasma balls, which fry people and stuff, but that's only the beginning. A far greater threat will destroy the earth unless our intrepid geeky movie line-quoting video store clerks can save the day (oddly, the most unbelievable part of the movie is that there's still an open video store in existence). The special effects are not bad, and the acting, apart from a few really noticeable Canadian accents, isn't bad either.

End of the World (2013)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

SyFy film has a couple video store clerks (and one of their wives) having to put their knowledge of disaster movies to the ultimate test when the end of the world approaches. When some sort of mysterious explosions start dropping from the skies, the three head off to find an expert (Brad Dourif) who is locked up in a mental hospital. I'll give END OF THE WORLD credit for at least trying to do something different but unfortunately it really doesn't add up to much. The biggest problem with this movie is the low-budget, which just doesn't really allow it to be taken that serious. I think with a higher budget and a re-write of the screenplay then we might have had something much better. As is, the film has some interesting moments and a couple good performances but that's it. One good thing is the constant references to other science fiction movies, which was somewhat fun for film buffs. I also enjoyed the performances for the most part. Caroline Cave is good in the role of the wife and we also get nice work from Greg Grunberg and Neil Grayston. I also enjoyed seeing Dourif who goes wildly over-the-top but in a fun way. The special effects are pretty much what you'd expect from a low-budget film like this but they were still much better than what you typical see on SyFy. Back to the problems, the screenplay just isn't strong enough to make us believe the situation these characters are in. Not once did I buy into the "end of the world" and there's really not any drama or suspense anywhere. I know this is mostly a comedy about these two video store clerks but we needed something else.

Owen Stokes (Greg Grunberg) owns a video store. Suddenly, the world is bombarded by balls of electromagnetic energy. The boys are prepared for every movie apocalypse contingent. Owen's girlfriend Selena arrives with douche Max. Owen and his employee Steve Palmer go to get Steve's mother. The group tries to find Dr. Walter Brown (Brad Dourif) who is locked up in a mental institution. He just might be the only one who can save the world.

It starts with a functional idea. The special effects are mostly low budget sci-fi TV level. Most of the humor don't work. The jokes are mostly half-hearted movie references. It's Armageddon with no budget and not as funny. It's functional for the first half but it wears out its welcome. It would work better if the movie kept it small but it insists on going full Armageddon.

Accidentally watched this instead of worlds end, took a while to realize but carried on cos it was kinda fun. It's a bit generic and predictable, but that didn't stop it being entertaining.

A Syfy Channel original TV movie starring Greg Grunberg who apparently was in the once-popular TV series Heroes. He's kinda funny, trying to make a joke for everything in this disaster of a disaster movie. He and his buddy reference tons of real movies, particularly disaster flicks which they know backwards and forwards. Everything they know about surviving disasters they've gotten from those movies which has even turned them into end of the world preppers ready for any end of the world scenario. And of course that saves the world here. Oh no, is that a spoiler? Who cares, it's a crap movie that really does nothing but suck.

3.6 / 10 stars

--Zoooma, a Kat Pirate Screener