The Core [Blu-ray]

Getting to the middle of things
I've noticed that a lot of people have blasted this DVD for lacking in scientific veracity. Well, gosh, although I slept through Geology 101 in college, I'll bet there are little more than kernels of truth in what the story contends about the Earth's electromagnetic field. However, I must ask the obvious $60,000 question to the vociferous critics of this movie: WHAT did you expect, exactly?

If you want a natural disaster movie that isn't happy-go-lucky where everyone goes on a suicide mission and miracuously all come back, then this one is worth a look. If you want a film with some eye-candy special effects, then look no further!

There have been a few movies / cartoons in the past where an inventer would create a machine with a giant drill at the front end. This contraption would take he and his crew to the center of the Earth, or at least far down.

In the present story the method of drilling is updated: the ship uses lasers to blow its way through the Earth's mantle...

Here's my Kung-Fu!
So most people didn't like this movie, huh? Too bad. I liked it. A lot. Of course it's not a great movie, but it's entertaining. Who would go to see this movie expecting a great lesson in filmmaking? Anyone who does that is wrong from the start. If you see the trailer, you know this is a movie to watch while eating popcorn and just putting your brain on pause. It's far-fetched, it can get unbelievable at times, but who cares?

If you've seen the trailer, you know what's this about. After a constant use and abuse of a sysmic underground weapon, the core of the earth gets damaged and it just stops spinning. This causes the atmosphere to become thinner and it's easier for the UV rays to hit the earth. Birds lose their sense of navigation and the constant EM pulses stop clocks and pacemakers. In one great sequence, a NASA shuttle re-entering the atmosphere deviates unintenionally and crashes in Los Angeles. And the worst is about to happen.

That's when Dr. Josh Keyes (Aaron Eckhart)...

Entertaining as long as you check your science at the door
If you want to bring hard science to this party, you might as well stay home; The Core is just about the most unrealistic and unscientific Armageddon movie I've ever seen. It is also riddled with all the clichés you would expect to find in a movie of this sort. Despite these faults, however, it can be an exciting ride if you decide to just go along with the storyline. There is just something about this film that drew me in, although I am hard pressed to explain it. Maybe it's the Jules Verne lover in my soul that enjoyed revisiting the center of the earth, although I hate to think what Verne would have thought of The Core. Journey to the Center of the Earth is actually more believable than this special effects-laden thriller.

The opening scenes of this film are just fantastic, as the unusual camera perspectives we first see, when about three dozen people suddenly fall over dead in one localized area, instantly dip your toes into surreality; this scene doesn't even...

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