Unmessy ItalianBy John DeSando, WCBE's "It's Movie Time," "Cinema Classics," and "On the Marquee"
"When they tell you not to panic... that's when you run!" Jackson Curtis (John Cusack)
Because these holidays are potential disasters for many, I suggest they see 2012 for their annual torture, putting off the gods of mishap for another year by experiencing vicariously. And this film delivers all the calamity of a hot Italian family feast without the mess.
Speaking of hot, the core of the earth is boiling over from too much sun, spots that is, and John Cusack, in a role usually reserved for Nick Cage's bank account, plays a writer fated to save the world from earthquakes, tsunamis, and Woody Harrelson.
It's all good fun, actually witty in parts, with alternating state-of-the art CGI and cheesy process shots.
The only real disaster of 2012 is the 157 minutes. Otherwise enjoy someone else's family misfortune this year.
"Today we are one family." President Wilson (Danny Glover)
John DeSando teaches film at Franklin University and co-hosts WCBE 90.5's It's Movie Time, Cinema Classics, and On the Marquee, which can be heard streaming at http://publicbroadcasting.net/wcbe/ppr/index.shtml and on demand at http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wcbe/arts.artsmain Contact him at JDeSando@Columbus.RR.com