Roland Emmerich's Next Special Effects Bonanza

Director and disaster movie specialist Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, 10,000 B.C.) is back. His newest project, 2012, comes out on November 13 and promises to offer us more of the same. The film will basically be about the end of the world, and the title refers to the Mayan belief that doomsday (and the end of their calendar) is December 21, 2012. One of this blogger's all-time favorite actors, John Cusack, will star. Amanda Peet (The Whole Nine Yards, Saving Silverman, The Ex) will play his wife. Chiwetel Ejiofor (Love Actually, American Gangster, Children of Men) will play the scientific advisor to the President. Woody Harrelson, Danny Glover, and Thandie Newton (Mission Impossible II, Crash, The Chronicles of Riddick) also star.

Viewers can expect some pretty bad dialogue, and pretty poor character development. But, in Emmerich's defense, those aren't the reasons that you go to an Emmerich film. He's not trying to win an Oscar. He's trying to entertain you. And we can bet that we'll get some pretty high class special effects of the world falling apart (and Cusack and company narrowly escaping doom). It should be some mindless fun for the whole family. Just don't expect anything Oscar worthy.

Here's the preview: