Where did my (2012) brain cells go ...

[dong20]

I just (forced myself - and I almost needed physical restraint) to sit through 2012.

There's bad, disastrously bad, catastrophically bad, biblically bad and then, there's this movie.

Thank heavens I didn't pay ... at least not financially. I feel embarrassed for the cast.

So, it will undoubtably rake it in at the box office ...

 

[ManlyBanisters]

Aw shit, man - why did you have to say it was beyond biblically bad?? Now I have to go see it.

I'll bet, though, that it is EVEN WORSE, dubbed into French :biggrin:

 

[dong20]

I'll bet, though, that it is EVEN WORSE, dubbed into French :biggrin:

The only thing that could make it worse, would be to watch it again.

Now, where is my home root canal kit ...

Read ...

 

[2322]

This stuff just boils my brain.

Why not just fucking ask the Maya themselves? They're still around and they know very well what their prophecies mean.

Maybe it's because 2012 isn't as dramatic as Hollywood would like. Here's a film being produced about the Maya themselves, with actual Mayans in it, and they're very happy to tell anyone who will listen what 2012's all about.

 

[dong20]

This stuff just boils my brain.

You should watch it then, it's a sure fire method to quell all (meaningful) brain activity.

I feel sorry for the monks - screwed by the Chinese ... again.

 

[Gillette]

Umm, perhaps we've missed the point of an action movie.

It's not for education. It's not for Oscar grade acting, writing or even costume design.

The point of an action film is action and 2012 has gobs of it with impressive special effects and touch of cute dialogue here and there.

I doubt this film was ever intended to be absorbed on any intellectual level. It's just meant to be seen. And for scale of special effects alone it is definitely worth seeing.

If we're going to discuss a disaster film trying to be more than it really is let's talk "Titanic".

 

[2322]

Some disaster films do an amazing job of being more than they should be and when they are, they make some of the best films ever. I think it a shame that most people, including studios and directors themselves, consider it a throw away genre.

In my book of great disaster films I include:

Old San Francisco (1927)
San Francisco (1936)
The Good Earth (1937) Beautiful film from Buck's novel. Freund's cinematography is lovely.
Last Days of Pompeii (1937)
Hurricane (1937) The special effects are still amazing
The Rains Came (1939)
When Worlds Collide (1951)
War of the Worlds (1953)
Godzilla (1954)
The High and the Mighty (1954)
A Night to Remember (1958)
On the Beach (1959)
Fail Safe (1964)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Poseidon Adventure (1972)
Soylent Green (1973)
Towering Inferno (1974)
The Hindenburg (1975)
China Syndrome (1979)
Mad Max (1979)
The Road Warrior (1981)
The Terminator (1984)
The Day After (1984)
Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
T2 (1991)
Titanic (1997)
Deep Impact (1998)
9/11 (2002)

Each of these is a good movie with a story that uses disaster as a metaphor or a lesson about the hubris of humanity; sometimes both. The special effects, if there are any, serve to enhance the story, not overwhelm it.

 

[dong20]

Umm, perhaps we've missed the point of an action movie.

It's not for education. It's not for Oscar grade acting, writing or even costume design.

The point of an action film is action and 2012 has gobs of it with impressive special effects and touch of cute dialogue here and there.

I doubt this film was ever intended to be absorbed on any intellectual level. It's just meant to be seen. And for scale of special effects alone it is definitely worth seeing.

If we're going to discuss a disaster film trying to be more than it really is let's talk "Titanic".

Au Contraire ...it's just this fails on so many levels that it doesn't even meet the low benchmark set by Titanic for even residual credibility.

The effects are mostly (but not entirely) good, in parts very good - I will give them that but (and I know this sounds a bit crazy) they're simply not capable of negating the very implausibility of events we (as viewers) know they're representing.

Add the rushed and contrived pastiche of set piece micro disasters, the laundry list of stereotyped and cliched characters, and the barf inducing ('Cape of Good Hope') ending - it was just too much.

I can suspend belief as well as anyone (well, perhaps not anyone) but this was cringeworthy. I didn't expect intellectual stimualtion, I expected bad, just not this bad! So, I suppose one might argue it surpassed my expectations!

Still, it's nice to see Africa coming out ahead in an American movie, that almost never happens. Of course, this is just my opinion ... the agreement of others is entirely optional!

I hope those who see it, enjoy it.