FINAL DESTINATION 3 (2006)

The series hit the wall a little with this one. Instead of an airplane crash or an awesome highway pile up, we get a lame looking roller coaster crash. On the bright side, the girl who has the premonition and saves everybody is hot. I guess they learned their lesson when they killed off the hottest girl at the beginning of the second film. Anyway, she sees everybody dying and freaks out. Other people miss the ride because of her freakout, which ends up saving their lives.  Naturally, Death comes looking for them.

Everything you would expect happens.  The deaths are amusing, but the entire thing kinda was not as much fun as Part 2. Maybe that's just me or maybe it's because there was only two main characters whereas in Part 2 the entire group hung out a lot together at the same time and it kept you guessing as to who was going to die next. This time around the two leads went around visiting people right about the time that they died. That's weak and leads to zero suspense. But whatever, it's still a entertaining watch and Mary Elizabeth Winstead is nice to look at.

Worth a viewing, but it's nothing to get overly excited about. Oh yea, here's the topless chick at the tanning salon.

Part 1 - Final Destination (2000)
Part 2 - Final Destination 2 (2003)
Part 4 - The Final Destination (2009)
Part 5 - Final Destination 5 (2011)

Fate of the two survivors from Part 2.

FINAL DESTINATION 2 (2003)

This is one of those rare situations where the sequel is actually better than the original.  Not that the original was bad, I thought it was really good, but part 2 is just better. 

Instead of an airplane disaster, this time it's massive highway pile-up that was so badass, I actually watched this movie twice in the theater just to see that scene again. Anyway, this chick saves a random group of strangers by jamming up the entrance ramp and now Death is all pissed off...or maybe the story is even deeper than that.

An engaging story is nice, but we're mainly here for the kills and FD2 fucking delivers! Some of the best of the entire series actually. I can't decide which one is my favorite, but the dentist office one is great and really funny. One of the things that makes Part 2 so successful is the ground rules are already laid and it just gets straight to the action and never really lets up for the entire movie. A fun ride from beginning to end (especially during that first hour), hilarious kills, fast pace, some tits, minor blood/gore and in my opinion the best entry in the entire series. Check it out!

Part 1 - Final Destination (2000)
Part 3 - Final Destination 3 (2006)
Part 4 - The Final Destination (2009)
Part 5 - Final Destination 5 (2011)

FINAL DESTINATION (2000)

Right as he and his fellow students board an airplane headed for France, high school student Alex has an intense vision of the plane exploding and killing everybody. He wakes from the vision and when he sees some of the minor things in the vision coming true, he freaks the fuck out and runs off the plane like a 1990's daytime talk show guest who just found out his girlfriend is pregnant with his neighbors dogs 3rd cousin. A few people go with him (not all voluntarily) and as they stand at the terminal arguing, the plane takes off and explodes into a million pieces. Alex's vision has thrown a monkey wrench in "Death's design" and they are all suppose to be dead, but they're not. So now Death has to correct the books, but I don't think he likes correcting the books because when he comes for you it seems to always be in brutal, disgusting and sometimes elaborate ways.

The idea for this movie is brilliant and in 2000 it was a breath of fresh air in a genre that was kinda stagnate with poo-poo like THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, STIGMATA, HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL and I STILL KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER stinking up the New Release Horror section at the neighborhood video stores. I mean, it's still not a hardcore horror movie, but it's a great guilty pleasure. The best part is the elaborate lengths that Death goes to get his kills. At moments, especially later on in the series, it's almost like Death grew up watching Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner cartoons and that's where he got all of his ideas. It's great! The biggest crowd pleaser in this installment has to be the bus.

I understand this film was targeted to the teenage crowd, but I think the film would have been even better if the kills had been bumped up a few notches on the gore meter. Also, some nudity would have been nice.

Definitely worth checking out.

Part 2 - Final Destination 2 (2003)
Part 3 - Final Destination 3 (2006)
Part 4 - The Final Destination (2009)
Part 5 - Final Destination 5 (2011)

VOLCANO (1997)

You like volcanoes? You like the sound of Tommy Lee Jones' voice barking orders nonstop? You like humans coming together and being heroic as fuck?  Well, have I got the film for you!

Some strange stuff is going on in downtown Los Angeles...lake temperature up, underground workers mysteriously getting burned to death, dogs and cats living together, etc. The scientists try to warn them, but they just won't listen!!! So the next morning, the city's disaster management guy, Tommy Lee Jones, is driving to work when suddenly lava starts spewing out of the La Brea Tar Pits. Being the quick thinker that he is, Jones jumps out of his whip and starts saving lives. Emergency crew show up and eventually they get the situation under control only to discover that a quick moving lava flow is using an underground train tunnel and headed straight for the city's major hospital.

If you don't take it too seriously, it's a good movie to laugh at.  Dated special effects, forced emotional music, zero character depth, made-for-TV feel, hilarious dialogue, acting that borders on overacting, good pace, daughter that might just be the most helpless character in disaster movie history.  The opening build-up portion was easily the best part of the movie.  Unfortunately, it was too short.

VOLCANO is a fun guilty pleasure.

VOLCANO drinking game: anytime somebody does something heroic, anytime somebody says "Oh my God" or the like, every time Tommy Lee Jones yells out an order, every time the firemen aim their fire hoses towards the middle of the lava flow instead of the leading edge, every time something doesn't melt when the lava hits it (streetlight poles are a good example), every time a dog barks at the lava and every time Tommy Lee Jones's daughter just stands there frozen like a brain dead idiot.