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  • Canister X Movie Review #128: 2012 (2009)

    2012

    2012
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    2012
    Written by Roland Emmerich and Harald Kloser
    Directed by Roland Emmerich
    Runtime 158 min.
    4.5 out of 5

    The Mayans warned us thousands of years ago that 2012 would mark the end of the world as we know it.

    They were right.

    We just didn’t listen.

    Jackson Curtis (John Cusack), separated dad and small-time novelist, goes for the ride of his life when him and his family are caught up in the end of the world in the year 2012.

    Dr. Satnam Tsurutani (Jimi Mistry) stumbled onto the truth of what was really happening to the Earth back in 2009. He showed his friend and colleague Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who in turn told Carl Anheuser (Oliver Platt), who in turn told the President (Danny Glover). Plans were made. Research done. Even some advancements were made . . . but all for naught.

    Catching wind from lunatic conspiracy theorist and radio broadcaster Charlie Frost (Woody Harrelson) that all the rich folks in the world plus those who would create the perfect gene pool were to be held up in a series of arks ’til the disasters ran their course, Jackson Curtis takes his family on an adventure to head them off and get onboard themselves.

    Disaster after gigantic natural disaster ensues and the Curtis family narrowly escapes with their lives, that is, until they find the arks somewhere in China and learn that the powers that be have other plans in mind for humanity’s survival.

    If there was any one word that I would use to describe this film, it would be “big.” Actually, not just “big,” but “BIG!!!!” HUGE! COLLASSAL! GIGANTIC and UTTERLY MASSIVE!

    At the time of this review, this movie is still in the theatre. It definitely is a must-see-at-the-theatre movie. You need that big screen and surround sound to do it justice.

    Everything is big scale in this one: the collapsing buildings, the giant earthquakes, the mountains crumbling, land folding over itself and falling a zillion feet to the Earth’s core, the tsunamis, the dust clouds—the list is endless, and everything is done HUGE. The whole time I was just sitting there with my mouth hanging open going, “Whoa . . . whoa . . .”

    Sure, there are a few convenient plot devices and a few impossible odds are overcome, but I went into this thing expecting a popcorn blockbuster with over-the-top special effects and that is exactly what I got. I left the theatre with a huge smile on my face.

    Though I personally don’t buy into the world ending in 2012, this is still one worth seeing.

    Go see it. You’ll love it. Good times for all.

    Love end-of-the-world stuff? Then BLOOD OF THE DEAD might be up your alley!


  • Canister X Movie Review #28: Defendor (2009)

    Defendor (2009)

    Defendor
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    Defendor (2009)
    Written by Peter Stebbings
    Directed by Peter Stebbings
    Runtime 101 min.
    4.5 out of 5

    Arthur Poppington (Woody Harrelson) has a secret: when night rises upon the city, he takes to the streets as Defendor, a lone avenger on the hunt for the ever-elusive Captain Industry. Unfortunately for Arthur, he’s mildly retarded and the line between right and wrong sometimes blurs. Though he means well, sometimes he gets in over his head, especially when his search for Captain Industry takes him into the city’s underworld of drugs, guns and prostitution.

    After saving the life of prostitute and drug-addict Kat Debrofkowitz (Kat Dennings), Arthur takes her in and, though at first exploited by her for money, the two eventually bond and he accomplishes one of his first objectives he had since donning the Defendor uniform: helping those who need it most.

    Being a lifelong superhero fan, there are a few things, to me, that define a good superhero movie and Defendor had more than one of those things. It touched me on that very human level of seeing a sincere human being trying to make a difference regardless of what other people thought of him. Fear of man is one of the things I think holds people back from doing the right thing in real life. To at least see that attribute on the screen means a lot to me because it proves that people are still thinking about it even if it’s just in a movie.

    The trailer for this flick makes it come across as more of a superhero spoof than a serious movie, and this was most definitely a serious movie. Sure, there were some funny moments, but this movie wasn’t about that, but instead was about a man who saw something wrong and did the best he could with what he knew how to do.

    And he did. He showed us who Captain Industry really was: the villain that all of us have in each of our cities, the one comprised of drugs, guns and illegal sex that has ruined countless lives yet for some reason authorities refuse to do something about.

    This movie makes me think of the real life superheroes that are out there, those real men and women who don guises of other personas and do what they can to help us. Lots of people mock them. Lots of people mocked Defendor, but when all is said and done, they, like Defendor, do the right thing and try to right a world full of wrongs, bring hope to those who need it, and set an example that we should all follow.

    Defendor is a fantastic movie and I’m really glad Peter Stebbings went ahead and made this flick.

    Fight back.

    Recommended.