2012

1 2012 - $65,000,000
2 A Christmas Carol (2009) $22,325,000 ($63,289,000)
3 The Men Who Stare at Goats $6,200,000 ($23,376,000)
4 Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire $6,090,000 ($8,915,000)
5 Michael Jackson’s This Is It $5,100,000 ($68,211,000)
6 The Fourth Kind $4,744,000 ($20,588,000)
7 Couples Retreat $4,253,000 ($102,133,000)
8 Paranormal Activity $4,200,000 ($103,847,000)
9 Law Abiding Citizen $3,932,000 ($67,326,000)
10 The Box $3,185,000 ($13,206,000)

2012, a summer movie plunked down in the middle of November is the prefect antidote to all the Christmas ghosts, Men-goat relations, and Michael Jackson documentaries. You want a movie you can have a good time at while the world gets destroyed...This Is It. Yes, 2012 is completely empty spectacle, but it’s spectacle nonetheless. Plus, you don’t have to worry about whether or not characters you love will die or live since you don’t give a whit about the characters anyway.

As the ads have been hammering you with, 2012 was written/directed by that purveyor of onscreen destruction, Roland Emmerich, who makes blowing shit up a way of life with the entertainingly stupid Independence Day and the just plain stupid The Day After Tomorrow (ask Jake Gyllenhaal anything about this movie and watch his face wince with embarrassment). The less said about Godzilla the better. Last year Emmerich released the laughably dull Razzie nominated 10,000 BC and thankfully, 2012 is a massive step up. While a lot of 2012 is laughable, it is rarely dull because if you’re not being wowed by the special effects, you’re smirking at the hokey “human” interaction.

If only real destruction were this diverting.  read more »

Japanese trailer for 2012. Preview shows all new footage from the film with added dialogue.

Never before has a date in history been so significant to so many cultures, so many religions, scientists, and governments. A global cataclysm brings an end to the world and tells of the heroic struggle of the survivors.

Directed by Roland Emmerich.

Starring: John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Chiwetel Ejiofor

Release Date: November 13, 2009