The best part of every disaster movie is the opening montage depicting unrelated people boarding the boat that’s going to sink, the airplane that’s going to crash on a desert island, the tower that’s going to inferno, or the bus that’s going to be hijacked in an overly complicated scheme by a charismatic villain. These kinds of movies like to pretend that catastrophe is the great equalizer, uniting victims across class, race, and gender, but we all know that’s just pretend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rob Cohen’s 1996 Daylight<\/em> exemplifies the genre’s failings, notably the stock stereotypes (the sassy Caribbean woman, the guy who loves his sneakers, convicts in a prison bus, etc.), and that there’s always a macho Sylvester Stallone-type around to take charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Daylight<\/em> also earns major demerits for its pervasive anti-city-living propaganda. There’s no way that Amy Brenneman’s character, a struggling divorc\u00e9e living in a walkup rat trap studio, owns a car. This was clearly written for the tourist who happily dips their toes into Manhattan for a Broadway show, an overrated cupcake, and maybe The Met, but then turns right around and says “sure, it was nice to visit but I wouldn’t want to\u00a0live<\/em>\u00a0there…”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The best part of every disaster movie is the opening montage depicting unrelated people boarding the boat that’s going to sink, the airplane that’s going to crash on a desert island, the tower that’s going to inferno, or the bus that’s going to be hijacked in an overly complicated scheme by a charismatic villain. These […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5707,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,2],"tags":[1838,1937,956,1936],"class_list":["post-5706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2-stars","category-movies","tag-1838","tag-amy-brenneman","tag-rob-cohen","tag-sylvester-stallone"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/daylight.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa9lhB-1u2","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":371,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-wind-in-the-willows-mr-toads-wild-ride\/","url_meta":{"origin":5706,"position":0},"title":"Terry Jones’ The Wind in the Willows (Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride)","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"August 7, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"What's this? Mr. Toad's Wild Ride? A film written and directed by Terry Jones? I didn't know he made anything after Erik the Viking. Wait, and it stars Jones & Eric Idle? With cameos by John Cleese and Michael Palin? Why, it's practically a Monty Python movie... the only two\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "0 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"0 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/0-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mr. Toad's Wild Ride","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/08\/mr-toads-wild-ride-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/08\/mr-toads-wild-ride-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/08\/mr-toads-wild-ride-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/08\/mr-toads-wild-ride-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/08\/mr-toads-wild-ride-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2065,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/apocalypse-on-wheels-death-race\/","url_meta":{"origin":5706,"position":1},"title":"Apocalypse on Wheels: Death Race","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"November 21, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Paul W.S. Anderson's Death Race evidences a cynical, shallow, indiscriminate outrage at... everything. In this future dystopia, the U.S. economy collapsed in 2012, followed by soaring unemployment, crime, and incarceration. Echoing Rollerball and Running Man, professional sport has merged with the penal system, providing both televised entertainment and a justice\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "1 Star"","block_context":{"text":"1 Star","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/1-star\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/death-race.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/death-race.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/death-race.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/death-race.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/death-race.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5760,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/petrochemicals-munitions-and-aqua-cola-mad-max-fury-road\/","url_meta":{"origin":5706,"position":2},"title":"Petrochemicals, munitions, and Aqua-Cola: Mad Max: Fury Road","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"May 15, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"A dystopia ruled by three corporate fiefdoms: petrochemicals, munitions, and Aqua-Cola. A diseased and starving population terrorized by a religious army motivated by martyrdom. A decadent ruling class reliant upon the subjugation of women. Environmental collapse. Car culture run amok. It must be escapist summer blockbuster season! In case I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "5 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"5 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/5-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy in Mad Max: Fury Road","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/mad-max-fury-road.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/mad-max-fury-road.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/mad-max-fury-road.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/mad-max-fury-road.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/mad-max-fury-road.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":524,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-dork-report-for-december-6-2006\/","url_meta":{"origin":5706,"position":3},"title":"The Dork Report for December 6, 2006","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"December 6, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"A Doctor Who Magazine poll picks David Tennant as the best Doctor, above no less than legend Tom Baker! Spotted on Behind the Sofa, with whose own list I also cannot agree. Who are these people? For my (US) money, here are the best Doctors: Tom BakerChristopher EcclestonDavid TennantSylvester McCoyPeter\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Dork Report"","block_context":{"text":"The Dork Report","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/dork-report\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Dork Report","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5715,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-sour-overpowers-the-sweet-in-about-last-night\/","url_meta":{"origin":5706,"position":4},"title":"The sour overpowers the sweet in About Last Night…","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"August 24, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"??? Even though I think I have to casually give Edward Zwick's About Last Night... only three stars here, there's a lot to commend it. There's no high concept or clever hook to slap on the poster: no one falls in love with their maid or the magnate destroying their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "3 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Demi Moore, Rob Lowe, Jim Belushi in About Last Night","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/about-last-night.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/about-last-night.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/about-last-night.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/about-last-night.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/about-last-night.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":712,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/once\/","url_meta":{"origin":5706,"position":5},"title":"Glen Hansard and Mark\u00e9ta Irglov\u00e1 falling slowly in Once","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"March 21, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Now this is a musical (of sorts) I can get behind. 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