2012 (PG-13) (2009)
The Mayans predicted it, but director/writer Roland Emmerich brought it to fruition on the big screen. Despite all of the possibilities that could have ended life as we know it on our planet, Emmerich chose a geothermal catastrophe with plenty of spectacular earthquakes, tidal waves, volcanoes and shifting surfaces.
    Since money was of little object — with a budget over $250 million — no computer-generated images were spared in the making of this film. Unlike disaster movies of the past, the focus was on no single aspect of destruction. The entire earth was trashed.
    In a plot easy to wrap around the GCI visuals, we follow author Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) and his blended family as they struggle to survive the unsurvivable.  Scientist Adrian Helmsey (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is another good guy who guides us through the destruction, disaster by disaster. Two families, one in India, one in China, allow us to grieve internationally. And, yes, there are plenty of wealthy bad guys and politicians who are willing to buy the rest of us out.
    The effects are topnotch and the story somewhat cheesy. Totally impossible and implausible adventures keep the viewers on the edge for 185 minutes. Interesting, but no Mayans are around at the end. Rating: 2