"I can't believe they killed Charlton Heston."

Here there be SPOILERS.  You have been warned.

You may know by now that I dig disaster movies.  I don't know why.  It was originally just The Poseidon Adventure for the most part, and I was fairly lukewarm on the others.  Now, I'm really starting to appreciate all of them.  It's an absurd formula really, but it's pretty damn entertaining.   You take some serious starpower, pick a disaster, insert a love triangle, add some truly ferocious weather, toss in a heaping spoonful of medical problems of the most dramatic variety, and finish it off with a madman (maybe a bomber, that's the easy call), and stir.  Also: having George Kennedy in the mix helps.

Anyway, I just watched Earthquake yesterday while I was folding clothes.  Talk about a disaster, that's the laundry situation in a house with 4 chaps, one of whom is an infant.  So folding the clothes can be kinda like climbing a mountain in my house, and watching Earthquake during this woeful struggle seemed rather appropriate.

And now we get to the title of this blog, the comment I have made to my wife entirely too many times in the hours since.  I can't believe they killed Charlton Heston.  This is really bothering me, and the whole thing was entirely too foolish (yet enjoyable) for such dismay.  Seriously, I've looked over at Kristen at least five times since and said "I can't believe they killed Charlton Heston."  Kristen could care less.  She doesn't understand.  She has seen Planet of the Apes, and that's about as deep as her understanding of Charlton Heston runs.

Forget politics, Charlton Heston was cinematic royalty.  I consider myself a big fan, and he was the best thing about Earthquake.  Okay, maybe George Kennedy was the best thing about Earthquake, but hell, it's a disaster movie.  Facing off against George Kennedy in a disaster movie is madness.  Regardless, Heston was perfect, and the character was well-conceived.  His dilemmas were compelling and he weathered the storm/earthquake with true American grit.  A great actor in a great role, and damn it, they killed the son of a bitch at the end.

I can't believe they killed Charlton Heston.

The Airport Series

I have a confession to make.  I really like disaster movies.  The Poseidon Adventure is clearly the best of the lot, but I also have a lot of love for the Airport series.  I know they're terrible--seriously, the line between the Airport pictures and Airplane! and it's equally hilarious sequel is a fine line indeed.  Still, there's something about those abusrdities that I cherish.  Airport '75 is surely my favorite, yeah, Lancaster is a legend, but he's no Charlton Heston.  Of course, this comes from a guy who loves The Omega Man, so take it for what's worth.

Oh, about The Omega Man--if you look at it as a strict adaptation of Matheson's novel I Am Legend, it's a total jive-turkey.  If you look at it as something unique that was loosely based on Matheson's text, it's a hell of a good time and one of Heston's best.  That's my take, anyway.