Calvin’s Hub

My wife and I are always a fan of disaster movies and for the past years there’s a scarce number of good films depicting catastrophes. The last good one I think was The Day After Tomorrow back in 2004. When I showed her the trailer for 2012, she immediately told me that we should see it… and that we did last Saturday.

Having the same producer (Roland Emmerich) as The Day After Tomorrow, I was expecting a great ride for this movie. And we weren’t disappointed. As Roger Ebert said, “2012 is the mother of of all disaster movies.”, and I couldn’t agree more.

Briefly on the plot. 2009, scientists discover that the earth’s core is heating up in an alarming rate and they’re expecting a great disaster in three years time as the Mayan’s have predicted. Leaders from different nations have united and devised a contingency to keep the human race alive for rebuilding after the disaster.

I’m not going to dwell much on the acting because admittedly, they somewhat suck. Still, they are required to sell the movie so the list of stars include John Cusack as the novelist with unbelievable luck and his ex-wife Amanda Peet. Danny Glover as the US president and Thandie Newton as his daughter. Chiwitel Ejiofor (because getting Will Smith will put it over the budget?) as Dr. Adrian Helmsley, the chief science advisor.

The most enjoyable character for me would have to be Woody Harrelson as Charlie, the doomsayer wacko that nobody would believe. His antics and especially his flash presentation were really amusing.

Now on the effects! I don’t know what’s wrong with me but I find it highly entertaining seeing the earth destroyed in such magnitude and plausibility. Hahaha. Eiffel Tower, check. Washington Monument, check. St. Peter’s Church, check. I think 70% of the 2 and a half hours runtime is spent on destroying our planet. Mmmm.

To really enjoy the movie, you have to relax and don’t think too much. There are a lot of plot holes and unbelievable narrow escapes but that makes the movie enjoyable. The cheesy dialogues reminds me of Titanic to add some color to the movie and is forgivable.

If you’re curious about the credibility of 2012, check out the site 2012: The End of The World? to see what the believers and skeptics have to say about it.

Verdict: 4 out of 5 stars. Just because it’s one of the most entertaining movies I’ve seen in quite a while.

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Just want to rant about SM Mall of Asia’s cinemas here. I hate how non New Moon moviegoers have to fall in the ridiculously long line of New Moon fans to get their tickets. They should have a dedicated ticket booth of their own.

For the price of P200 at Cinema 3, the viewing angle sucks. The lower level is too flat for those sitting at the back to enjoy. I’m tall but I still have to sit up straight to see the subtitles on the screen.

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Filed under: Movies and TV