Movies: How much does Poseidon suck?

Whatever Floats Your Boat... Poseidon

If you're wondering why I actually paid $10 and sat through Poseidon -- I have a valid excuse. It was chosen, along with brunch at the fabulously ghetto Hometown Buffet, by my mother-in-law for her Mother's Day excursion. I was expecting her to choose Mission Impossible 3 (and dreading the thought of spending two hours staring at Psycho Alien Cruise) so when she revealed that she'd already seen that one and wanted to check out Poseidon, I was actually relieved. And Josh Lucas is pretty hot -- so, there's that...

First let me get the obvious out of the way-- it was a cheesy, absurd, pointless remake. But you probably already knew that. Overall, I think the critics' negative reactions were a bit too harsh, because looking at it objectively I think it will satisfy the type of audience that goes to these big-budget disaster movies. The special effects were realistic and frightning, especially if you've ever gone on a cruise. And it does manage to create a decent level of suspense--if you can forget for one second that the non-expendable characters will undoubtedly survive the most perilous situations by way of some ridiculously convenient plot line. The fact that one of the bigger stars in the movie sacrifices their life to save the others (gag) didn't surprise me-- but the one thing I was disturbed by was that the hispanic characters seem to be the only expendable ones... *plot spoiler ahead* Why did the waiter and his undocumented stow-away both have to die? And yet the old guy who was on the verge of suicide anyways survived? (Seriously, Richard Dreyfuss is getting REALLY OLD- he should have gone down with the ship)

P.S. I'm currently listening to The Da Vinci Code audiobook...and it's quite an engaging thriller! I resisted it for a long time -- "best sellers" evoke the same reaction as cheesy blockbuster movies -- but I am hooked. It's not the most literary novel, but there's something about the new wave of loosely-historical fiction that I absolutely love. I guess it's my guilty pleasure...Last summer I read The Historian and couldn't put it down. With Da Vinci on the brain I can't help but gleefully anticipate Ron Howard's upcoming film adaptation (can't go wrong with Tom Hanks, right?). To my dismay, it appears the critics have already panned the movie...