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A Masterpiece!

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Volcano (1997)Factual errorsWhen Roark asks Amy to find Kelly, he gives her Kelly's picture but not her name. How would she know who she was looking for?In the humvee when Roark found out wherethe lava was going to erupt he said, "my god, thats where Kelly is." And as Amy is in the humvee with him she heard that name and would know his daughters name.

Volcano is one of those rare 90s disaster movies. It could have been better, but it is what it is. The acting is well-done, the ash raining down looks realistic, however some volcano eruption scenes are clearly taken from documentary footage and simply added into this flick, special effects in the 90s wasn't as advanced as it is today so it makes sense why some of the scenes look so cheap.It's a good thing that Volcano isn't a CGI-fest, because they would not be able to pull that off, the story's main focus is more on the characters.Volcano has a positive trait, it shows teamwork / a city working together in the midst of danger.The directing and dialogue is great. Volcano is better than a lot of disaster movies of today.

Australian Free-to-air TV is in such a poor state that this movie was the best thing I could find tonight. This cliché-ridden piece seemed to have been written by 'my film student nephew' who 'has Final Draft on his computer' with the visual effects done by his mate who owns a pirated copy of After Effects. That's not to say that this film doesn't have its virtues. With a little extra modern day post-production this could be an excellent comedy instead of just an accidental one. Just have Mel Brooks tweak the script (not too much!), then CGI replace Tommy Lee Jones with Rick Moranis, give Anne Heche the voice of Joan Rivers and call it 'Lava Balls'.

A Beautiful day in L.A., it's business as usual; we are introduced to Mike and Kelly Roark. Mike ( Tommy Lee Jones)is head of the O.E.M.- Office of Emergency Management. Kelly( Gaby Hoffman) is his 13 yr.old daughter; and Mike is very overprotective of her. When a 4.9 earthquake happens just outside of Palmdale, Mike calls a babysitter( his neighbor) to watch her. He has to go into work and doesn't want to leave her alone. He feels she is too young, doesn't know what to do, and has a tendency to panic in an emergency. Meanwhile the quake has messed up the underground rail system in L.A.. Stan( John Carroll Lynch) is head of the M.T.A.. While working they are standing around taking bets on the epicenter, whoever wins gets the cash pile. Mike also works with Emmitt Reese(Don Chelde), who is an eager beaver who wants Mike's job badly; and Gator( Michael Rispoli) who thinks Reese wants his job. When an explosion happens while 7 DWP(Dept. Water and Power) workers are down underground, all but one is killed. Theories start to arise that maybe a new fault system has developed. Mike goes to the scene of the explosion and the first thing that comes to his mind is a massive steam explosion. When the only surviving victim arrives at the hospital, it's ruled out steam didn't burn the victim. It was something containing sulfur and other gases that have. When Gator and Mike decide to investigate below the storm drain, they are baffled. Roark decides it's time to talk to other O.E.M. members and city officials to get a scientist involved. As Mike and Gator leave activity begins to arise in La Brea Tar Pits.The next day at the O.E.M. office Stan brings in Dr. Amy Barnes( AnneHeche) from the California Geological Institute(C.G.I.). She and Mike go to MacArthur Park to the tar pits. Dr. Barnes and her colleague, Rachel(Laurie Lathem) have been taking temperature readings of the lake. They both discover temperature has increased 6 degrees in 12 hours. She explains to Mike the only thing that can contribute that is a major geological event. She begins to explain to him it could be a fissure that has opened, creating lava. Mike brushes it off, a Volcano in L.A. no way. Barnes and Rachel decide they have to investigate more below, like early in the morning when their is little security. The next morning they start their investigation; meanwhile tremors keep happening. Barnes and Rachel find samples of sulfur, Magnesium, as well as other gases. Rachel goes further down, and finds a opening so she begins to take samples. It's about 6 a.m., and a stronger earthquake comes again. When this happens Rachel and Barnes are still down in the tunnel; and the ground opens up. The ground opens wider swallowing Rachel, Barnes tries to save her; but it's too late. Once Rachel is taken a lava flow is seen. Mike is called in, and takes his daughter with him. At this point L.A. is completely dark, and in a sea of ash. Mike is trying to comfort his daughter while all this is going on. The city is on fire, and Roark is administering first aid to the victims caught in it's wrath. While Roark is bandaging people up, he is on the phone to police Lt. Fox(Kieth David). Mike turns around and notices that his daughter is out of the car in trouble. He runs to his daughter rescuing her, he then notices that Amy Barnes has shown up. All of a sudden it is the calm before the storm; it gets really quiet. Then lava bombs and lava spew out of the tar pits taking with it everything. Barnes and Roark help get this man out of the way by using a F.D. ladder truck. It is complete chaos, Mike Roark, Amy Barnes, and O.E.M. decide to send all casualties to Cedars Sinai Hospital. It is the only hospital not in the path of this flow. Roark talks to all emergency officials, and decides to come up with a plan to stop it. The plan is with K-Rails( Concrete Highway) dividers. They will place them in a horseshoe patter to stop the flow, with the help of tons of pool water to cool the lava. The plan works, but Dr. Barnes discovers that the flow is going to turn. The worst is yet to come and Roark thinks it's over.Barnes discovers a new threat while investigating below the subway system. She call Roark, tell him about it. A bigger Explosion is about to blow on Wilshire and West. Barnes and Roark discover a massive lava flow underneath that is headed toward Ceaders Sinai. To stop this disaster Barnes, Roark and O.E.M. devise a new plan. They call in a demolition team to construct a dam, by blowing a building. When they blow the building a trench is formed just in time; leading the lava out to the Pacific. This film is non-stop action from beginning to end. The cast is excellent, especially Anne Heche and Tommy Lee Jones. The special effects are superb and no one needed to call George Lucas in on it. I would recommend this thriller to anyone, it's a non-stop thrill ride from 1997.