2012

Brendan got a loan of 2012 on Blue Ray a few weeks ago. I wasn't expecting much - I thought it would be another "The Day after Tomorrow", too serious and heavy, and full of stereotypes.

Well, 2012 couldn't be more different. Yes, it's a disaster movie, and yes, there is a cute American kid or two. And, OK, it's the end of the world as we know it, so there are plenty of serious and sad moments. And they can't seem to be able to kill off the American President, making the movie longer than it needs to be. (He does eventually die, so those scenes could have been cut without changing anything substantial, but I guess Danny Glover didn't come cheap, so they wanted to use up all his screen time).

It was great fun (apart from the millions - or is it billions? - of people dying). The action is fast-paced (except the scenes with the President of the United States, and a few other sub-plots, which should have been cut), John Cusack is brilliant in it, and the special effects are like I've never seen before (check out the video Blog to find out how it's all done). For me, the driving-out-of-L.A. action sequence alone makes the movie worth watching, warts and all.

It's not an intellectual movie, and there are some lame lines and silly moments, of course, but it doesn't take itself too seriously. And the director is not afraid to kill off a few central characters too, which is really unusual in Hollywood blockbusters nowadays, but then again, he is German (and also co-producer and co-writer). If you need good entertainment for the holiday season, you could do a lot worse than renting out 2012.