-
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen Rating:
PG13 — for intense disaster sequences and some language-
Language:
Eng Studio:
Sony PicturesUPC:
043396275171Year of Release:
2009Item Number:
COL027517Release Date:
03/02/2010Genre:
Sci-Fi Disaster Film –
Science Fiction –
Thriller
Format:
DVD
MOVIE DESCRIPTION:
Disaster movie maven Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow) crafts this apocalyptic sci-fi thriller following the prophecy stated by the ancient Mayan calendar, which says that the world will come to an end on December 21, 2012. When a global cataclysm thrusts the world into chaos, divorced writer and father Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) joins the race to ensure that humankind is not completely wiped out. Chiwetel Ejiofor, Danny Glover, Amanda Peet, Thandie Newton, and Oliver Platt round out the cast of this end-of-the-world thriller co-scripted by the director and his 10,000 B.C. writer/composer, Harald Kloser. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
DVD FEATURES:
- Region: 1
- Number of Discs: 1
- Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
- Screen: Color
- Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
- Features:
- Deleted Scenes
- Alternate Ending
- Roland Emmerich: The Master of the Modern Epic
- Commentary with Writer/Director Roland Emmerich and Co-Writer Harald Kloser
- "Time For Miracles" Music Video by Adam Lambert
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Cast:
John Cusack - Jackson Curtis
Amanda Peet - Kate Curtis
Chiwetel Ejiofor - Adrian Helmsley
Amanda Peet - Kate
Oliver Platt - Carl Anheuser
Tom McCarthy - Gordon
Thomas McCarthy - Gordon
Danny Glover - President Wilson
Liam James - Noah Curtis
Morgan Lily - Lilly Curtis
Zlatko Buric - Yuri Karpov
Beatrice Rosen - Tamara
Alexandre Haussmann - Alec
Philippe Haussmann - Oleg
Johann Urb - Sasha
John Billingsley - Professor West
Chin Han - Lin Pang
Osric Chau - Nima
Chang Tseng - Grandfather Sonam
Lisa Lu - Grandmother Sonam
Blu Mankuma - Harry Helmsley
George Segal - Tony Delgado
Stephen McHattie - Captain Michaels
Patrick Bauchau - Roland Picard
Jimi Mistry - Dr. Satnam Tsurutani
Ryan McDonald - Scotty
Merrilyn Gann - German Chancellor
Henry O - Lama Rinpoche
Patrick Gilmore - Ark Communications Officer
Dean Marshall - Ark Communications Officer
Ronald Selmour - Ark Boarding Officer
Viv Leacock - Ark Boarding Officer
Chris Boyd - Ark Boarding Officer
Donna Yamamoto - Ark Science Officer
Doron Bell Jr. - Ark Science Officer
David Orth - AF1 Lieutenant
Lyndall Grant - Governor
Jason Diablo - Ark Tech Officer
Ty Olsson - AF1 Officer
Zinaid Memisevic - President Sergey Makarenko
Vincent Cheng - Chinese Colonel
Igor Morozov - Russian Interpreter
B.J. Harrison - Woman Comforting Child
Dominic Zamprogna - Paramedic
Karin Konoval - Sally - President's Secretary
Mary Gillis - Jackson's Neighbor
Rick Tae - Megaphone Officer
Parm Soor - Saudi Prince
Gerard Plunkett - Isaacs - MI6 Officer
Paul Tryl - Zultan
Andrei Kovski - Zultan's Trainer
Val Cole - News Reporter - Tikal
Eve Harlow - Cashier
Sean Tyson - Interrogating Officer
Leonard Tenisci - Italian Prime Minister
Michael Buffer - Boxing Announcer
Daren Herbert - Ship Waiter
Craig Stanghetta - Vegas Rescue Worker
Mateen Devji - Ajit - age 5
Qayam Devji - Ajit - age 9
Jody Thompson - CNN Anchor
Tanya Champoux - Mrs. Birnbaum
Frank C. Turner - Preacher
Kinua McWatt - Yoko Delgatto
Laara Sadiq - British Newscaster
Gillian Barber - Curise Ship Lady
Candus Churchill - Curise Ship Lady
Beverley Elliott - Curise Ship Lady
Agam Darshi - Aparna
Raj Lal - Gurdeep
Pesi Daruwalla - Dr. Lokesh
Jacob Blair - AF1 Steward
Jay Williams - AF1 Steward
Scott Miller - Ark Naval Officer
Anna Mae Routledge - Ark Naval Officer
John Stewart - Pilot
Ryan Cook - Surfer
Brandon Haas - Surfer
Eddie Hassell - Surfer
Betty Phillips - Elderly Driver
Georgina Hegedos - Elderly Driver
Luis Javier - Vegas Tow Truck Driver
Dean Redman - Vegas Fireman
Gordon Lai - Security Commander
Leo Chiang - Chinese Soldier
Elizabeth Richard - Queen Elizabeth
Mark Docherty - Field Reporter - Tikal
Mark Oliver - Fundraiser Security
Kyle Riefsnyder - Cho Ming Platform Officer
John Mee - Angry Billionaire
Andrew Moxham - Policeman
Alexandra Castillo - Paris Reporter
George Trochta - American Ark Steward
Farouk A. Afify - Saudi Senior Security
Shaun Wilson - US Army Worker
Leigh Burrows - US Army Worker
Alex Zahara - Ark Bridge Crew
Thomas Parkinson - Ark Bridge Crew
Geoff Gustafson - Ark Bridge CrewDirector:
Roland EmmerichProducer:
Mark Gordon, Harald Kloser, Larry FrancoScreenwriter:
Roland Emmerich, Harald KloserCinematographer:
Dean SemlerComposer (Music Score):
Harald Kloser, Thomas WanderEditor:
David Brenner, Peter S. ElliottProduction Designer:
Barry ChusidArt Director:
Ross Dempster, Dan Hermansen, Kendelle ElliottSupervising Art Director:
Don MacAulayCo-producer:
Volker Engel, Marc Weigert, Aaron BoydAssociate Producer:
Kirstin WinklerExecutive Producer:
Roland Emmerich, Ute Emmerich, Michael WimerSet Designer:
Peter Stratford, Jay Mitchell, Nancy Brown, Douglas A. Girling, John Burke, Peter Ochotta, David ClarkeCostume Designer:
Shay CunliffeSet Decorator:
Elizabeth WilcoxSound/Sound Designer:
Paul N.J. OttossonMakeup:
Gitte Axen, Taylor RobertsFirst Assistant Director:
Tommy GormleyCasting:
April WebsterDepartment Head Makeup:
Thomas Nellen, Connie ParkerUnderwater Photography:
Pete RomanoStunts Coordinator:
John Stoneham Jr.Supervising Sound Editor:
Paul N.J. OttossonSpecial Effects Supervisor:
Mike VezinaScript Supervisor:
Kimi WebberSecond Assistant Director:
David K. ArnoldProperties Master:
Wayne McLaughlinUnit Production Manager:
Michael MaloneDepartment Head Hair:
Sanna SeppanenSpecial Effects Coordinator:
Cameron WaldbauerVisual Effects Producer:
Josh R. Jaggars
REVIEW:
- A hulking spectacle of surreal destruction, Roland Emmerich's 2012 is a theme-park ride masquerading as a motion picture -- the only things missing are an exclamation mark in the title and multiplex seat-jostlers to give us a good jolt when the action gets especially intense. Were Irwin Allen still alive today, he'd no doubt marvel at Emmerich's impressive ability to dispatch more people in ten seconds of screen time than Jason Voorhees did in the entire original Friday the 13th film series (albeit much less creatively, of course). You can almost imagine a bulky old clamshell VHS case for 2012 on the shelf of your local video store, its title rendered in a cold, bold giant font over images of a globe cracking in half, and small, sweaty action headshots of all the stars lining the bottom of the box. Like his predecessor in mayhem, Emmerich knows what buttons to push in order to get a rise out of us. Yet despite -- or perhaps because of -- the fact that 2012 presents the ne plus ultra of bummer scenarios, this trip to the end of the world can't quite help but feel like an amalgamation of every disaster script ever written.
The end of the world gets under way when an Indian scientist receives evidence of the largest solar eruption in the history of humankind, and that eruption launches a new breed of neutrinos directly into the planet's core. These powerful neutrinos are acting like millions of little microwaves, heating up the planet until the crust begins to crack and all hell breaks loose. As genius scientist Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) keeps President Thomas Wilson (Danny Glover) abreast of developments, Jackson Curtis (John Cusack), a divorced, down-on-his-luck author, heads into Yellowstone National Park on a camping trip with his son, Noah (Liam James), and daughter, Lilly (Morgan Lily). Before long the ground is splitting open all around, sending Jackson on a mad dash to save his family as the U.S. government offers salvation to the highest bidders. Thanks to the fanaticism of a conspiracy-theory radio show host (Woody Harrelson), Jackson is able to get his hands on a map detailing the location of several arks that have been constructed to ensure the survival of the human race. But those arks are halfway across the world, and as the earth continues to crumble and the poles begin to shift, reaching China in time to make the final boarding call is going to be no simple task.
Let's save space and just be honest. If you paid good money to see 2012, odds are you're not looking for high human drama -- you just want to live out your fantasy of watching the world fall apart without the risk of grievous bodily harm and all the other awkward complications that go with experiencing the apocalypse firsthand. In that respect, Emmerich and his immensely talented team of special-effects artists have succeeded amicably; the apocalypse itself becomes something like the ultimate movie villain as our harried cast of survivors dodge one sensory-shattering catastrophe after another, and everyone does a commendable job of projecting sheer terror when the moment calls for it. The prospect of making a "fun" disaster movie for a post-9/11 society is something of a thankless job, but Emmerich isn't concerned with re-opening old wounds, and the early scenes of California crumbling are thoroughly cartoonish in their shameless excess. To be fair, he and co-screenwriter Harald Kloser do inject a sliver of social commentary in the final 15 minutes of the film, but by that point it comes off as somewhat disingenuous -- a stealthy means of freeing up the previous 143 for sheer end-of-the-world overload.
The main problems with 2012 are bloat and repetition; in their compulsion to connect every dot in the story, Emmerich and Kloser put off the inevitable for far too long, and by the third time we witness an airplane zooming down the runway and narrowly averting disaster, our stomachs stay firmly planted in our torsos rather than jutting up into our throats. But when the pacing begins to falter, it's the film's talented cast that keeps us flailing on the hook. Though the characters are nearly all cliche -- the power-hungry government guy, the heroic everyman, and the benevolent scientist, just to name a few -- Cusack, Ejiofor, Oliver Platt, and Zlatko Buric manage to make them engaging and enjoyable. 2012 is junk-food cinema of the highest order: it satisfies your craving for something ridiculous and unhealthy, and makes no claims of having any nutritional value whatsoever. It may not rot your teeth, but there is the risk that upon exiting the theater you might have a few less ounces of grey matter than when you entered. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
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2012




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