The Globe and Mail

2012 (opened yesterday)

• Director

  Roland Emmerich ( Independence Day , Godzilla , The Day After Tomorrow )

• Cast

  John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Danny Glover, Oliver Platt

• Apocalyptic cause

  Massive shifts in the Earth's crust lead to earthquakes, volcanoes and tidal waves, all in keeping with Mayan prophecy.

• Synopsis

  John Cusack plays a writer who gets inside information about the impending disaster, and tries to get his family out of Los Angeles to possible safety on the other side of the planet. Emmerich directs a script based on the story of Noah's Ark, but without a part for God. The result is pure pop spectacle, featuring repeated scenes of vehicles narrowly escaping yawning chasms or firebombs.

• Ethical dilemma

  Are some people worth more than others?

Viggo Mortensen, left, and Kodi Smit-McPhee in The Road.

The Road (Nov. 27)

• Director

  John Hillcoat ( The Proposition )

• Cast

  Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron, Kodi Smit-McPhee

• Apocalyptic cause

  An unidentified cataclysm, possibly nuclear, plunges the world into darkness and cold, eliminating most life on Earth.

• Synopsis

  The script, adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Cormac McCarthy, is a bleak tale of humanity down to its last pathetic rags and morsels. Surrounded by devastation and gangs of cannibals, a father (Mortensen) and son attempt to make their way to the sea in the hope of meeting other “good people” while “carrying the fire” of civilization.

• Ethical dilemma

  When the world's gone to hell, is it rational to try to be moral, or should you just commit suicide?

Liam Lacey on The Road

Watch Globe film critic Liam Lacey's 60-second video reviews.

View »

Ethan Hawke, left, stars in Daybreakers.

Daybreakers (Jan. 8)

• Directors

  Australian brothers Michael and Peter Spierig

• Cast

  Ethan Hawke, Sam Neill, Willem Dafoe

• Apocalyptic cause

  A plague has put vampires in charge of society, but their greedy, unsustainable corporate-hunting practices have almost destroyed the food supply.

• Synopsis

  This is a different kind of vampire movie, and owes something to the allegorical sci-fi films of the 1950s. We get the exploding heads and grisly blood-tapping, but in essence this is an environmental film about poor management of the food supply. Edward (Hawke) is a vampire blood researcher who may be on the verge of solving his species' food crisis, but he has also discovered a group of rogue humans, led by a man named Elvis (Dafoe), who have a more revolutionary solution.

• Ethical dilemma

  Short-term gain or long-term survival?

Liam Lacey on Daybreakers

Watch Globe film critic Liam Lacey's 60-second video reviews.

View »

Paul Bettany stars in Screen Gems' supernatural action thriller Legion.

Legion (Jan. 22)

• Director

  Scott Stewart

• Cast

  Paul Bettany, Dennis Quaid, Adrianne Palicki

• Apocalyptic cause

  According to the trailer, God has become tired of “all our BS” and decides to exterminate humanity by sending his angels – insect-like humanoids with extendable limbs and expandable jaws – to kill us.

• Synopsis

  Archangel Michael (Bettany) goes rogue, rips off his halo and wings, and grabs a machine gun to defend a group of denizens at a diner in the desert. Apparently, the waitress (Palicki) is pregnant with the Messiah.

• Ethical dilemma

  Trust in the Lord or reach for your M-16?