The end of the world has always been a subject of fascination for storytellers. The visceral nature of apocalyptic thinking makes for high stakes that bring out the very best and very worst of humanity. Some of these endings are loud and others are quiet, but all of them show us reflections of ourselves.

“The Midnight Sky” – directed by George Clooney, who also stars – is one of the quiet ones, a film that views the end of the world from a pair of very different perspectives. Adapted from Lily Brooks-Dalton’s excellent 2016 novel “Good Morning, Midnight,” it’s a story of isolation and desperation, a tale not of saving the world, but of accepting the fact that it cannot be saved.

Yet it also manages to be a hopeful story, one in which we see people doing what they believe to be best even as they accept the truth that their actions likely won’t matter in the end. Featuring some stylish visuals and compelling performances, “The Midnight Sky” shows us the different ways in which mankind chooses to escape the trappings of Earth by turning its gaze to the stars.

Clooney-helmed film fails to live up to potential

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Picking the 2012 Academy Awards

It's that time again; time for the Hollywood elite to roll out the red carpet and part themselves on the back. That's right - it's the Academy Awards.

As someone who spends a lot of time at the movies, this is one of my favorite times of the year. Awards such as the Oscars are great because they inspire conversation - who do you think will win, who do you think should win, which movies did you see, which movies did you like, which did you hate - and on and on and on.

So I'm once more putting my prognostication skills on the line. These are my picks for some of the big awards come Sunday night. Again, these aren't necessarily the people and films that I think should win. They're the ones I think will win. Sometimes, they're the same. More often, they're not.