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"'2012' Takes Tearful People Past World's Withering!"

By Ramesh C. Reddy
Publisher

DVD Released on March 02, 2010

'2012' (2009)

Source: http://www.imdb.com.
The movie is rated PG-13  for intense disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, etc.  The run time is 158 min.

Main Cast:
John Cusack - Jackson Curtis
Amanda Peet - Kate Curtis
Chiwetel Ejiofor - Adrian Helmsley
Danny Glover - President Thomas Wilson

PLOT SYNOPSIS:
2012 is about the end of the world and how a remnant of people try to save themselves and others from it’s destruction.

CONTENT REVIEW:
2012 is packed with destructions such as earth quakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and addresses issues such as sacrifice, humanity’s frailty, and the end of the world.

PLOT REVIEW:
2012 is an edge of the seat and end of the world thriller that does an excellent job in making humanity reflect on their own life not knowing when and where the destruction would come from. It brings wonderfully to light the importance of John 3:16 and reveals many biblical connections if you look for them.

RECOMMENDATION:
Highly Recommended

What I liked about the 2012: (Spoiler Alert)

1. I loved seeing signs ‘Repent the End is near’ and John 3:16
2. I loved seeing the president read from Psalm 23
3. I loved an Ark being built to protect the inhabitants from the flood.
4. I loved the question, “Can anyone really do a selfless act to save another’s life?”
5. I loved the statement, ‘I thought we had more time’
6. I loved how one man took a stand for humanity.
7. I loved how the president wanted the people to know what was about to happen so mothers can comfort their children and father’s can ask forgiveness of their daughters.

What I did not like about 2012: (Spoiler Alert)
1. I did not like that they predicted 2012 to be the end of the world based on the Mayan calendar.

Point 1: ‘Repent the End is near’ and John 3:16
People who held those signs knew they could not save themselves but needed outside intervention to save them. They were not even concerned as much about their physical life as much as their spiritual well-being. My favorite was the sign John 3:16 because it stated, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have Everlasting Life!” and Acts 3:19-23 which states, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. For Moses said, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from among his people.”

Point 2: ‘The President of the U.S read from Psalm 23!
When the times were rough and there was no hope, the president turned to the best place he could, to the Word of God in Psalm 23: “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want….”

Point 3: Ark being built to protect the inhabitants from the flood.
This reminded me of the story of Noah’s Ark and how Noah gathered all the animals to the ark including his family to save them from the flood that was going to happen.

“And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood. Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground, male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah. And after the seven days the floodwaters came on the earth.” (Genesis 7:7-10, NIV)

Point 4: Can anyone do a selfless act to save another’s life?
In the movie we see one man after making the sign of the crucifix, he sacrifices his life to save others. This reminded me of what Jesus Christ did for us. Jesus Christ became the sacrificial Lamb of God to save us from eternal destruction. Jesus did that while we were still sinners.

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” (Romans 5:6-11, NIV)

Point 5: ‘I thought we had more time!’
I love this quote because it reminds me of how many times we think we have more time to do this and that so we procrastinate until the time ends. In the same way, people think they have all this time to enjoy life and come to Jesus later. They are not ready to give their lives to Jesus right away because they want to enjoy what they see as the good things of life. The problem here is that none of us know when the end for us will come. People can be alive one moment and gone another. We cannot afford to play Russian roulette with our souls. Now is the time of Salvation. We need to remember John 3:16, Acts 3:19, and Romans 5 for starters and give our lives to Christ remembering, Hebrews 9:26b-28: “But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”

Point 6: One man took a stand for humanity!
It reminded me of Jesus as the Son of Man who took a stand for humanity’s souls. Jesus did not want humanity to die so He became our sacrificial lamb to provide a way out. Those who turn to Jesus are saved because Jesus became the initiator of Salvation.

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens. Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16)

Point 7: ‘The president wanted the people to know what was about to happen so mothers can comfort their children and father’s can ask forgiveness of their daughters.’

I loved this because it reminded me of a Bible verse from Corinthians about what we go through so we can comfort others.

“[The God of All Comfort] Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

What I did not like about 2012:

Point 1: I did not like that they predicted 2012 to be the end of the world based on the Mayan calendar.

I did not like that because I believe in the Word of God revealed to us in the Bible and Jesus clearly spoke about the end of the world and reminded us not to focus on a particular date.

In Matthew 24 we learn, "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Matthew 24:36-44, NIV)
 

Questions to Ponder I:

1. What should the message of a sign from John 3:16 personally mean to you?

2. Why do people hold signs for other people to repent when the end is about to come?

3. What do we learn about President Thomas Wilson’s faith based on his actions?

4. Why do you think God’s idea of the Ark was implemented by others in this movie especially in a communist country like China?

5. What were the selfless acts we saw in this movie and which of them reminds you of what Christ did?

6. In what areas should the thought, “I thought had more time’ move us into action without procrastinating? In what areas did this thought move people into action and when will you do the same?

7. What is your relationship between your father and mother? What is your relationship with Father God?

Questions to Ponder II:
1. What character in the movie do you most identify with and why?

2. What character in the movie do you least identity with and why?

3. What did you like most about the movie?

4. What did you least like about the movie?

5. What questions does this movie raise in your mind and how have you resolved them? What can God's Word reveal to you based on your questions raised from the movie?

6. What did you take away from this movie?

7. In what ways can this movie be an evangelistic tool to talk about Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God? Please cite examples from the movie!

Express Your View

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REVIEWS OF DVD RELEASES OF 2008:

22. "Dark Knight' Kindles Joker's Judgment, Justifying Satan's Sinister Soul Search" /July 18, 2008 / Dec 09, 2008

21. "Get Smart' Sagaciously Saves People Publicly" / June 20, 2008 / Nov 04, 2008

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19. "'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' Surprisingly Sagged!" / May 22, 2008 / Oct 14, 2008

18. "'Iron Man's' Machine Suit Saves  Citizens Carefully!' / May 02, 2008 / Sept 30, 2008

17. "'Bucket List' Lovingly Leaves Life Laudable!" /  Jan 11, 2008 / June 10, 2008

16. "Flawless' Forgoes Forgiveness For Foes" / March 28, 2008 / June 03, 2008

15.  "Semi Pro' Portrays Sacrificial Success" / Feb 29, 2008 / June 03, 2008

14. "Meet the Spartans' Sends Malignant Message!" / Jan 25, 2008 / June 03, 2008

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12. "National Treasure 2' Tests Truth Through Time!" / Dec 21, 2007 / May 20, 2008

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4. "One Missed Call' Causes Evil's Eruption!" / Jan 04, 2008 / April 22, 2008

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12. Hostage (2005) /March 11, 2005 / June 21, 2005
11. Hitch (2005)  /Feb 11, 2005 / June 14, 2005
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9. Swimming Upstream (2003) / Feb 27, 2003 / May 31, 05
8. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith / May 19, 2005 / Nov 01, 2005
7. xXx: State of the Union (2005) / April 29, 2005 /  July 26, 2005
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5. In Good Company (2005) / January 14, 2005 / May 10, 2005
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REVIEW OF DVD RELEASES OF 2004:

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DVD RELEASES OF 2003:

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DVD RELEASES OF 2001:

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