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!"
Keeping the 2012 Ice Age profiles rolling, it's time to turn the spotlight on the film's male lead, accomplished actor Patrick Labyorteaux.
A native Los Angelean, Labyorteaux (that's LAB-or-TOE) started acting at the ripe young age of nine, with an uncredited role in Mel Brooks' comedy classic Blazing Saddles. Credited or not, that's a baller debut. PL's first big break came in 1977 when he landed the role of "Andy Garvey" on the strangely-popular TV series "Little House on the Prairie." After 43 episodes, Patrick took a brief hiatus from acting, presumably to finish high school, and then in 1987 he returned to acting, this time on the silver screen. His first real film of note? The undisputed comedy classic and staple of my childhood, Summer School. I shit you not, I've seen this movie more than 50 times; hell, I've seen it three times this year already. PL played "Kevin," the gentle-souled football player who falls for a pregnant Shawnee Smith.
Up next for PL was a role in perhaps the only late-80's high-school film I've seen more than Summer School, Heathers, in which he played the lovably-dumb football-playing bully "Ram," who, thanks to an arranged double-suicide with his supposed lover spawned one of the greatest lines in cinema history: "I love my dead gay son!"
From there, PL performed in a number of notable films including Ski School (which re-teamed him with Summer School-alum Dean Cameron), Ghoulies 3 and 3 Ninjas, but it wasn't until a certain TV show came a'courting that PL finally got his well-deserved star-making turn.
For 10 years and 208 episodes PL portrayed Lt. Cmdr. Bud Roberts on the insanely popular Naval drama "JAG," on you grandpa's favorite network, alongside the erstwhile David James Elliott and the alluring Catherine Bell. "JAG" ended in 2005, and since then PL has continued to work steadily in television and film, including a role in the Jim Carrey vehicle Yes Man.
2012 Ice Age will mark the first time PL has anchored a disaster flick (though he did support in The Storm, a TV, James Van Der Beek thing), but if he can handle this genre as well as he's handled comedy, drama, action and horror in the past, I think come June 28th of this month we'll all be quite enthralled. Watch for yourself and find out.
I recognize that not all great films are made exclusively by The Asylum and that, in fact, there's a whole world of film outside these walls, some of which might actually interest Asylum fans - when they're not watching or re-watching Asylum films, of course. And, being as I'm only looking out for your viewing well-being, here's a peek at some other DVD releases this month which might satiate you between Asylum releases. But remember, as always, Sweet n' Low ain't sugar.
June 7th
Exorcismus
Green Lantern: Emerald Knights
Rubber
Slices of Life
Tortured
Universal Squadron
June 14th
Battle: Los Angeles
Chained
Chatroom
Fall Down Dead
Hall Pass
Kill the Irishman
Red Riding Hood
June 21st
Black Rat
Mega Python vs Gatoroid (!!!!!)
June 28th
2012 Ice Age
starring Patrick Labyorteaux & Julie McCullough
written by Victoria Dadi & Paul SInor
directed by Trey Stokes
Dawning
Norwegian Ninja
Sucker Punch
Warehouse 13: Season 2
Enjoy!
Over at The Asylum's site they've just posted a link to the first images from the set of 2012 Ice Age. The film, starring Julie ("Growing Pains") McCullough and Patrick (Heathers, Summer School, "JAG") Labyorteaux (both pictured), was written by Victoria Dadi and Paul Sinor (the team behind Airline Disaster) and is being directed by Trey Stokes (2010 Moby Dick). Only eight pics here, but they give a good sense of the look of the film - snowy - as well as highlight some supporting players like Kyle Morris,
Katie Wilson and Nick Afanasiev.
This one drops on DVD June 28, 2011, right in the dead of summer. Until then, enjoy the pics!
An exciting day here at Committed, as I'm just pleased as punch to see the creative details emerge for The Asylum's next project, 2012 Ice Age.
According to the link above, the film is to be written by Paul Sinor and Victoria Dadi, the same dynamic duo responsible for the wildly-popular Airline Disaster, and will be directed by none other than the captain of 2010 Moby Dick, the great Trey Stokes. Moby Dick, as faithful readers might recall, was my pick for best Asylum film of 2010, and as far as directors went, Stokes was a coin toss for me with Rachel Lee Goldenberg.
If MD's any indication, he's got a great eye, a masterful pacing ability and a real sense of story that should elevate this above other SyFy fare. I was hoping we'd get to see him helm another Asylum film, and I'm two-fold glad: one, that he's back so soon, and two, that it's a project I've been eagerly anticipating since it was announced at the end of last year. I'm a sucker for an awesome disaster film, and now that we're learning some of the talent involved, I think that's what we can expect. Dig the logline:
"When a volcanic eruption in Iceland sends a glacier hurtling toward North America, a family struggles to escape the onslaught of the coming ice age."
I like that they've tied it in to real events, the volcano in Iceland. Airline Disaster, you may recall, also had its ending rooted in real events, so it's nice to see Sinor and Dadi continue in that vein.
And as far as on-screen talent is concerned, The Asylum has managed to snag another couple of my favorites: Patrick Labyorteux of Heathers, Summer School and "JAG," fame (the films were two of my favorites growing up and the latter I would catch on occasion, though only hoping for a glimpse of Catherine Bell), and Julie McCullough, most-famous for "Growing Pains," and posing for a certain gentleman's magazine. Julie - I swear to god - I just wrote up in a Should-Stars I was going to post later this week. It was seeing her on the red carpet at the Mega Python vs Gatoroid premiere that jogged my memory; apparently her appearance there was not coincidental.
2012 Ice Age hits the streets June 28, 2011. Keep one eye glued here for any production updates, further casting information or stills!
