DISASTER!!!!

Oh, disaster movies. Most of the time, they are pretty awful, right? But if the world is on a collision course for doom in 2012, maybe we should study up. Consider these disaster flicks (in more ways than one) integral pieces of education on how to survive volcanoes, asteroids, monsters, terrorists and biological traumas. There will be a test – the end of the world.

“Dante’s Peak” (1997) – Unexpectedly educational, as we learn that it is just not the hot lava from the volcano, but the ensuing mudslides, ash clouds, and acid lakes that will kill you.

“Deep Impact” (1998) – The “we’re all fucked, let’s just deal with it” method was appealing. Morgan Freeman as President? Sign us up. To a lonely little fat kids who no one liked, it also presented our best chance to ever get with a Helen Hunt clone like Leelee Sobieski: a giant meteorite. Elijah Wood and Sobieski: “You are the future of the human race now. We’re going to need you to have sex. A lot.”

“Children of Men” (2006) – Alfonso Cuaron’s amazing film considers how life would deteriorate if mankind could no longer give birth. Clive Owen and Michael Caine are brilliant in this shocking thriller that ends with a beautiful extended tracking shot comparable to the one in “Goodfellas.”

“Cloverfield” (2008) – After the initial hype died down, this stands up as a genuinely unique and wonderfully executed monster movie. That is, if you didn’t puke your guts out from the motion sickness.

“United 93” (2006) – Paul Greengrass’ masterpiece of a film gets to the root of America’s most devastating tragedy by remaining an unbiased portrait of human emotion and motivation. One of the most realistic films we’ve ever seen and probably the best movie that will ever be made about 9/11.

“Twister” (1996) – Remember in the ‘90s when Bill Paxton was a leading man and Helen Hunt still looked human? This one made storm-chasing sexy and also taught us that you could survive F5’s with a belt and a great attitude.

“Wall-E” (2007) – Not the first title that comes to mind when thinking disaster movie, but Earth is desolate with only one charming robot left on the planet. Who could imagine such a charming and intelligent film could come from that?

“Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” (1964) – Nukes!

“The Perfect Storm” (2000) – One of few on this list that features some decent character-based content, but it’s hard to remember anything but those damn giant waves.

“28 Days Later” (2002) – This list wouldn’t be complete without the inclusion of a film that explores how plague could destroy humanity. In this case, the plague is the Rage Virus, which turns people into rabid zombies, and a small band of survivors must make their way out of an eerie, desolate, trash-littered London.

What do YOU think?