We went to the movies...

We started this new thing with the boys - a behavior chart where they get points for good behaviors and for doing their chores on time. The points they earn in a day dictate how much tv/computer/playstation they get, and if they get enough points over the course of the week, they get to go along on a family outing, if they choose to do so.

Last week, the weekly prize was going out to the movies, and we went to see 2012. Knowing that Franco has had 'end of the world' issues in the past ( he's been terrified with Christian imagery of the Anti-Christ), we talked about the story behind the movie some before hand, and I let them know that in my opinion, the whole 2012/end of the world thing is a load of hooey.

Anyway - the movie. OK, the movie is cliche ridden and has a ridiculous plot and so many completely implausible scenes it's not even funny. But on the other hand, the acting was all pretty good - and let's face it, you only go to a disaster flick for awesome disaster, right? And this had some AWESOME disaster going on! The effects were great, imo (if not often a bit unbelievable) and that's what it's all about. The kids LOVED it. David is a sucker for special effects, and here it is a week later and he's STILL talking about it. Also - we watched in English with subtitles, so it made both kids get some reading done, and helped them with learning English. They can both recite lines from the movie in English! After only one viewing!! That's freaking amazing to me - what is it about guys that they manage to memorize movie lines like that?

And anything that can have both my boys interested for over 2 hours, sitting there wide eyed and jaws dropped, literally on the edge of their seats - that's a winner in my book.

I'd recommend this movie for pre-teens, as long as they're old enoughto know the difference between movies and reality, they'll love this movie. Although there's a LOT of death (like, most of the people in the world) there's no blood and nothing gruesome to see. There are some pretty intense scenes, but nothing extraordinarily violent.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Why are we so attracted to disaster movies like 2012 (crunchgear.com)
• NASA Debunks 2012: Phew, The World Won't End After All (mashable.com)