Every season needs a blockbuster and this holiday does not disappoint. Friday, November 12, Roland Emmerich's latest apocalyptic action adventure outdoes all predecessors. For pure entertainment, it's worth the cash to see it on the big screen with popcorn and Jujubes for comfort.

Despite every predictable turn and twist and crash, I enjoyed the movie immensely. Upon leaving the theatre I asked another viewer his thoughts and he was less generous. "A bit ripped off. Two hours without anything original, except millions of dollars in Hollywood effects." I countered, "But that is the point! That is the human story. We've always been interested in big effects. It's human nature to expect the spectacular, that's why we always miss the supernatural."

The question of quality becomes dependent on which quality you are looking for. Excellence in entertainment rates this flick a double thumbs up. But if, like my colleague, you are after clues to intelligent life on this planet, you might be better off lying on your back and contemplating the stars.

Though only slightly alluded to, the Mayan Calendar's prophetic forecast of December 21, 2012 is the premise behind this enthralling orchestration of man and machine. The Mayans, skilled at observing and understanding the cosmos, drew up one of the most accurate calendars known to mankind. Their predictions were a fusion of scientific observation and spiritual insight. In addition to the the solar days we operate within, they decoded seasons of the universe by perceiving galactic days (our solar system orbiting the galaxy).

Mayan history begins 5,000 years ago with their race as descendant survivors of a global flood: a theme found in every ancient culture. According to their predictions, we are fast approaching a similar cyclic shift, only this one is of greater significance. It is the end of a 25,000-year galactic day, and the dawn of a new one.

The current galactic day is nearly over and ends with the winter solstice 2012.

As the planets in our solar system align with the sun, and the sun with the Milky Way, tremendous energy will be released across our planet. No one knows the consequences, but 2012 gives us the Hollywood predictions. Predictions which mysteriously resemble the plots to several past blockbusters. The bottom line, 2012 is pure adrenaline on the big screen but little else.

Rather than an exploration of possible human drama, we have a dramatization of modern humanity: all bang and no buck. No real currency. Modern living has eclipsed meaningful living and this movie is an ironic demonstration of how far we've fallen. The Mayans were able to uncover mysteries and predict actual occurrences well into the centuries ahead of them, not simply issuing cosmic weather forecasts, but discerning spiritual and technological shifts. They lived in complete union of faith and science, discerning signs of the times and times to come.

What we do is line up sequence after sequence of thrilling calamity as a catharsis for modern, meaning-deficient lifestyles.

After all the continents are shifted, poles reversed, capitols crumbled, the message of of it all is one trite and stereotypical of our times. It's clear as day when the Sistine Chapel begins to crumble and Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam is ripped in two between the outstretched hands of God and man. Its a reverse of the veil ripping to unleash the Holy of Holies. The message is simple: God cannot help you.

The feel-good ending of the story has the few hundred thousand survivors sailing off aboard their NASA style "Arks," holding each other close, and the viewer would not be surprised to hear a chorus of "We are the world, we are the children, we are the ones who make a brighter day, so let's start giving. There's a choice we're making, we're saving our own lives. It's true we'll make a brighter day, just you and me..."

If I sound a bit schizophrenic in my analysis, its truly a product of the culture we live in: the same reason we find ourselves jamming along to beat of a catchy pop song, yet ultimately disagreeing with its lyrical content, is the same that I enjoyed the thrill of a well-made, albeit fairly formulaic film, while cautioning that it has nothing substantial to add to dialogue on its premise. Its message ultimately reaches no higher than the head of a man and no deeper than your popcorn bucket.

There is nothing new under the sun, and neither is there under the Hollywood stars. Nevertheless, we're still doing some pretty creative things with the old stories we keep telling.