The Science Fiction Review Movies 2012 (2009) Directed by Roland Emmerich

2012 (2009) Directed by Roland Emmerich

2012 bluray

Last weekend my wife and I watched 2012 with a couple of friends. We planned on making some chocolate martinis, and I have to say they definitely improved the movie watching experience. About a quarter of the way through the movie we were wondering when the introduction of new characters was going to end. Most of them are empty with no depth whatsoever. I can’t tell you anything about the main character’s ex-wife other than she divorced him and is now with a plastic surgeon. Don’t bother watching this if you are expecting a gripping story.

There are many other disaster movies with better plot, character development, and humor. Independence Day comes to mind. Anyway, after we realized we were watching a bad movie, we decided to figure out how to make the best of it. Eventually we decided to take a drink when someone narrowly avoided death. This required us to stop the movie twice to make more martinis. As for the plot, basically the solar flares in 2012 are supposed to destabilize the Earth’s core. The crust will shift and there will be floods, volcanoes, and earthquakes. People secretly go around gathering investment money in the amount of $1,000,000,000 Euro for “tickets” aboard what turn out to be modern day Noah’s Arks. For those interesting in the martini recipe, see below.

Measurements are in ounces or each measure is approximately 2/3 of a standard shot glass.

2.0 creme de cocoa (whatever is cheapest)
1.5 Godiva chocolate liquer (brand is important)
1.0 vanilla vodka (any brand, we’ve used Svedka and Smirnoff before)
splash (.5) half and half

I typically double the recipe and it will just barely fit into a cocktail shaker depending on how much ice you use. I like doing that because it makes the measurements easy: 4, 3, 2, 1. Each batch makes 3-4 servings depending on how generous you are with the portions. The ingredients aren’t cheap but you can make quite a lot of drinks. Please post your thoughts in the comments if you’ve tried the recipe!

4 thoughts on “2012 (2009) Directed by Roland Emmerich”

  1. You forgot to mention that we had the extra pleasure of watching this movie with a geologist, who frequently informed us when things were less than plausible, geology-wise. And those martinis are amazing!

  2. I’d have to give 4 stars to the drink and about .8 stars for the movie. Your review is spot on!

  3. I haven’t watched that one yet (I will though), but every single movie from that guy makes me feel depressed about the upcoming Foundation series screenplay 😐

    bottoms up!

  4. This was one of the worst movies I’ve seen in a while. The kind that stick with you. Nothing got cut from this movie. Every idea along the lines of, “Hey I know, they could be like, trying to take off and then the runway is crumbling and they’re like ‘Aaahh!’ and then everyone’s like ‘oh man we just made!'” – is put in the movie. Sometimes more than once. I’m pretty sure my 2-year-old son, who is fond of crashing his Thomas the Tank Engine trains into each other whilst shouting, “No brakes!” could have written this script with equal or greater outcome.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Please prove you are a human * Time limit is exhausted. Please reload the CAPTCHA.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Post

Blade Runner – Director’s Cut DVD (1997) Directed by Ridley ScottBlade Runner – Director’s Cut DVD (1997) Directed by Ridley Scott

Blade Runner Director's Cut 1997 DVD Cover

Today marks the release of Blade Runner – The Final Cut, directed by Ridley Scott. Blade Runner is loosely based on the novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” by Phillip K. Dick. Blade Runner has been one of my favorite Sci-Fi movies since I saw the original Director’s Cut at a friend’s house while in high school. He and his brother insisted that it was the only version worth watching. Consequently, I have never seen the original theatrical release with the happy ending and Deckard’s voiceover narration. From what I’ve read, the studio executives were the main influence for those changes.

To commemorate the release of The Final Cut, which I hope to review sometime soon, I will share my thoughts on the Director’s Cut DVD released back in 1997. I had only seen Blade Runner on VHS back in 1995, and was anxious to see it in the higher resolution and sound quality that DVD had to offer. The video is of poor resolution and visibly shakes slightly, which is annoying. The soundtrack is in just 2 channels, failing to utilize the 5.1 Dolby Digital that DVD offered. I’ve watched it several times over on DVD, and again this weekend, and every time the poor transfer sticks out like a sore thumb. This was one of the first DVD releases, so was barebones with no extra features other than a chapter selection. (more…)

Snowtrooper meet Luke Skywalker, time to die!Snowtrooper meet Luke Skywalker, time to die!

The Empire Strikes Back snow trooper

Snowtrooper action figure

I had the opportunity to meet a couple “online” friends this past weekend. I’ve talked to these guys for several years through various online games, instant messaging, Ventrilo/TeamSpeak, and e-mail. Meeting them was a very interesting and enjoyable experience. BrainAlien, a guy I’ve known online since 1999, gave me a Snowtrooper action figure. He knows I’m a huge Star Wars fan, so I really appreciate it. If I ever find my Luke Skywalker in X-Wing suit, I’ll have to have a little battle to relive some childhood moments.

Thanks BrainAlien!

How do you make sense of A New Hope after watching the Star Wars prequels?How do you make sense of A New Hope after watching the Star Wars prequels?

I’ve been huge Star Wars fan since childhood, but was a bit disappointed overall with some of the inconsistencies that cropped up when the prequels were released.  Keith Martin helps make sense of it all. He ties the prequels together with Star Wars: A New Hope (later to be called Episode IV) in his post “A New Sith, or Revenge of the Hope.” It is packed full of insights, some of which I’ve seen tossed around here and there, but he also adds a bit of humor in just the right places.

If we accept all the Star Wars films as the same canon (as it seems we must) then a lot that happens in the original films has to be reinterpreted in the light of the prequels. As we now know, the rebel Alliance was founded by Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Bail Organa. What can readily be deduced is that their first recruit, who soon became their top field agent, was R2-D2.

Check out the full post over at Keith’s live journal page: