Seriously enjoyed Don't Look Up.
Satire at it's best. Extremely relevant. I saw the middle first, then the beginning then fell asleep, finally saw the end today. It was absolutely brilliant.
Don’t forget to watch right to the end of the credits…
We watched it last night and it had more genuine lols than I’ve experienced in a film in ages. I subsequently read some reviews which were quite mixed, describing it as a slight clumsy, hand-wringy, overwrought etc. but my wife and I loved it. So much of the satire was laser-accurate and all the funnier/more tragic for it.
> Don’t forget to watch right to the end of the credits…
By chance, I did exactly this 😀
It was good wasn't it
I thought it was excellent, although despite the laughs I was ultimately left unsettled and a bit depressed by it. Which I suppose was the point.
I found it (as well as being acutely hilarious) to be weirdly cathartic. I don't know why satire does this to me.
But https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/dec/27/look-away-why-star-studded-com...
...
Haha. I do occasionally read the Guardian but that review seems to be written by a humourless killjoy or at least someone having a bad day.
Saw it last night. Very enjoyable but I also fell asleep somewhere in the middle for about 10 minutes.
I don't usually do that. Plot or wine? Not sure
Same critic who described Dune as "very large and very empty".
Another critic described it as a feature length SNL sketch which seems closer to the mark to me.
> Another critic described it as a feature length SNL sketch which seems closer to the mark to me.
...as in it was American satire. I'd say the comparison dies there. I thought it was as nuanced as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory but acerbically relevant to today! I can't extoll the virtues of this film enough!!!!
And there you have it; 4 exclamation marks. The ultimate accolade (5 and you're certifiably insane!)
“Five exclamation marks, the sure sign of an insane mind.” ~ Terry Pratchett
I thought it was great too, and I was left wondering what the Guardian reviewer was expecting. It was a bit like saying that Spinal Tap was rubbish because it wouldn't appeal to a classical music enthusiast.
Surely the Guardian is aware of the irony in the Guardian accusing anyone or anything of 'smug superiority'?
Just finished watching this. I really enjoyed it.
It almost kept the other half awake the whole way thru... that's high praise indeed!
> Saw it last night. Very enjoyable but I also fell asleep somewhere in the middle for about 10 minutes.
Last night I managed to walk my 1 year old granddaughter to sleep, with the TV controller within easy reach so I lay down on the bed carefully with her on my chest, started to watch it and really enjoyed it, then she woke up after 30 minutes and wouldn't go to sleep again until the early hours... So I tried to watch it again. Fell asleep and woke up to see the LAST BLOODY SCENE.
I've just managed to watch it through uninterrupted. Very good! But yeah, make sure you watch it to the very end, after the credits. 😂
> Saw it last night. Very enjoyable but I also fell asleep somewhere in the middle for about 10 minutes.
> I don't usually do that. Plot or wine? Not sure
It is a bit boring. It's long and it's made in the modern, bland, slick Netflix style.
That said, I agree wholeheartedly with the viewpoint, and it documents the pathetic state of our culture pretty well. 6/10
> ...as in it was American satire. I'd say the comparison dies there.
The writer and director was the head writer of Saturday Night Live so there's probably more to it than that! Nice try though.
It wasn't unenjoyable by any means. I loved the general gag but most of the rest of the film laid it on a bit thick for my taste.
Den of Geek has an interesting piece on who the characters are based on in real life.
I found myself trying to guess throughout the film but not being American I missed quite a few, like the newscasters.
I don't know if it's been mentioned on here, but a wee bit before Christmas Toby Young wrote an article for the Mail online (no link, soz) praising Boris Johnson for resisting the scientists' calls for greater restrictions.
The headline was: "At last, Boris has placed his trust in the common sense of the British people, not the Cassandras in lab coats."
Oops - bit of a giveaway. I guess he must have been thinking of the boy who cried wolf, but as any fule no (and as any fool who's actually mentioning her in print should know), Cassandra was cursed to be able to accurately predict the future but never to have anyone believe her prophesies.
Overall I thought it was okay but I didn't ever laugh out loud (more like some chuckles here and there).
I do like Adam McKay however. The Big Short I thought was one of the better satirical American movies made in the last few years. But I don't know... Don't Look Up felt a bit ham-fisted. I mean, I agree with pretty much everything in the movie but it didn't make me laugh out loud sadly.
I enjoyed it - and yes, you do have to watch past the credits!!!!
Sadly, far too close to real life to be really funny.
It was certainly an enjoyable couple of hours but seriously depressing. People may call it satire but it just showed how far down the social media hell hole we've gone. I was all rather true to life for my liking and we can but hope for a giant comet to see us all off.
Also- why didn't the vile tech billionaire get his comeuppance?
People only link to the Guardian because it's free.
Also quite a lot of the time because it's Marina Hyde.
> Also- why didn't the vile tech billionaire get his comeuppance?
did you fall asleep before the end too? 😄
Seemed to me that he had landed on a lovely habitable planet and most of the new arrivals would have survived, killed and eaten the local wildlife and defended themselves as required.
In other words they were the only surviving humans who'd arrived on a new Earth. Sounds like a win to me although hopefully the bronco things could pick them off first...
I thought the finish of that scene made it quite clear that the fate of the first person was going to be the same for the rest of them, but obviously it was more ambiguous than I considered.
Possible spoiler for those who watch credits....
No, I assumed that once POTUS had received the Rod Hull treatment, the rest were to follow.
Really enjoyed it! Kept the wife and I engaged for 2 plus hours which some films struggle to these days.
On a tangent, have you read Seveneves? Similar plot and an excellent read in my humble opinion.
> In reply to Arms Cliff;
> Possible spoiler for those who watch credits....
> No, I assumed that once POTUS had received the Rod Hull treatment, the rest were to follow.
I assumed exactly the same.
I found this overlong but a great satire with most of the targets recognisable in recent (mainly American but also South African) history.
I enjoyed the acting. Mark Rylance and Cate Blanchett were so good I didn't recognise them, and it was nice to see Himesh Patel again after Yesterday.
> I enjoyed the acting. Mark Rylance and Cate Blanchett were so good I didn't recognise them, and it was nice to see Himesh Patel again after Yesterday.
I knew Mark Rylance was in it but I wasn't immediately sure that I was seeing him! Quite a funny character. Extremely sinister....
I watched this last night and thought it was great. Someone upthread described it as a feature length SNL sketch and I think that's not an unfair description, but also not a bad thing. There's nothing subtle about it, but it still hits home. It's frightening and depressing to think how close to that reality we are.
Two 50 odd yrs old peeps watched it and were pissing themselves the whole way through. I gave up being Cassandra 15 years ago. Very, very funny, and very, very depressing. They should fire a DVD of it into space.
Thanks for alerting me Rob - I probably wouldn't have watched otherwise.
And the last last scene (not the velociraptors) made me snigger because... spoilers.
But Meryil Streep's got a nice arse
I only clocked it now you've mentioned it in my memory because I was more focused on the tatt. But yes, I suppose she has.
> I knew Mark Rylance was in it but I wasn't immediately sure that I was seeing him! Quite a funny character. Extremely sinister....
Thoroughly enjoyed the movie, and laughed out loud throughout. Thought Blanchett was superb, as usual. Thanks for the tips to watch till the very very end (ie after the Bronteroc)... But did anyone else find Mark Rylance's tech tyrant weirdly reminiscent of DJ Smashie, as played by Paul Whitehouse back in the 90s?
Exactly! It took a bit to realise that it wasn't Whitehouse but our finest living actor.
> But did anyone else find Mark Rylance's tech tyrant weirdly reminiscent of DJ Smashie, as played by Paul Whitehouse back in the 90s?
Not until you mentioned it, but bloody hell... Yes. Would have been great if he'd mentioned doing a something for charidee...
Rylance was fantastic. Perfect blithering air-head spod. Cognitive dissonance remembering his Thomas More!
Oh, wow. Yes. I was wondering where I'd seen the character before.
Great casting throughout. I loved the way Meryl Streep enters and I naturally expect her to be the serious intelligent one, and she turns out to be Donald Trump.
But who was Cate Blanchett? I didn't spot her. Not that I ever know who anyone is mind.
> Rylance was fantastic. Perfect blithering air-head spod. Cognitive dissonance remembering his Thomas More!
Cromwell wasn't it? Or did he also play more?
> But who was Cate Blanchett? I didn't spot her. Not that I ever know who anyone is mind.
Exactly. Some very good acting in this film.
Utter brain fart. You're right.
First thing I'd actually seen Rylance in so it sticks in my mind 😊
> But who was Cate Blanchett? I didn't spot her. Not that I ever know who anyone is mind.
The ‘airhead’ blonde tv anchor
Loved it - so did my wife!
We both LOL - a lot.
Brian Cox liked it and saw parallels with his experiences https://metro.co.uk/2021/12/23/brian-cox-slammed-by-mp-after-warning-astero...
He played a lot more....
Watched it the other night.Thought it was boring and very predictable.Disapppointed..
"The parallels between the president’s reaction to an asteroid hitting the planet and many politicians actual reaction to the world being under threat from a pandemic is alarming, to say the least."
The Metro there missing the point everso slightly.
"Scientist frustrated by politicians not getting it", says newspaper that doesn't get it.
If it hadn't been for Covid arriving on the world this film would have been over the top.
However after watching the film and a few YouTubes afterwards, I learned that the director had to make the film more OTT simply because Covid made the script look too close to the weirdness of a Covid world.
I thought the film was great.
> But who was Cate Blanchett? I didn't spot her. Not that I ever know who anyone is mind.
Blonde femme fatale TV anchor. She and Tyler Perry were brilliant at portraying the worst of air headed chat TV. Ron Perlman's turn was brilliant, I am still sniggering at him singing 'banjo on my knee' in the Space Shuttle.
I can see where the critics are coming from, but all in I thought it was a very good and darkly enjoyable film.
> Great casting throughout. I loved the way Meryl Streep enters and I naturally expect her to be the serious intelligent one, and she turns out to be Donald Trump.
Sarah Palin, I think. And it might have happened if McCain had beaten Obama and then died in office...
> Ron Perlman's turn was brilliant, I am still sniggering at him singing 'banjo on my knee' in the Space Shuttle.
haha. I liked the awkwardness of the ground crew listening to his broadcast, and saying "um, he's of a different generation"
> Not until you mentioned it, but bloody hell... Yes. Would have been great if he'd mentioned doing a something for charidee...
He probably does, just doesn't like to talk about it mate. Not arf.
> He probably does, just doesn't like to talk about it mate. Not arf.
With a liddle bitta Bachman Turner Overdrive too.
"lets rock"
It’s nothing to do with Covid!!!!. It’s a climate change black comedy
Bit harsh. Lemming didn't say that exactly. (Unlike the Metro - see that link above.)
Speaking of links, here's another Guardian one. George Monbiot this time:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/04/dont-look-up-life-of-...
> It’s nothing to do with Covid!!!!. It’s a climate change black comedy
??? My take was as Lemming said, originally written about climate change, but ended up having lots of covid overtones. How could a satirical apocalypse movie made in 2021 not refer to the pandemic?
It was my daughter who pointed that out to me, this is from Wikipedia
Don't Look Up is a 2021 American satirical black comedy written, produced, and directed by Adam McKay and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence as two astronomers attempting to warn humanity about an approaching comet that will destroy human civilization. The comet is an allegory for climate change and the film is a satire of government and media indifference to the climate crisis
I cannot say fairer than that!!!!
> It’s nothing to do with Covid!!!!. It’s a climate change black comedy
Allegorically it’s pretty board…. One might say the plot predicted the politicisation of further issues based on climate change, as covid shows.
As films go, very much in the mould of Idiocracy I thought, except taking itself more seriously.
For anyone interested, one of my favourite "youtube influencers" offers a philosophical review here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkF1OcfPt84&ab_channel=CarefreeWanderin...
Great movie, really enjoyed it. Good acting, story, everything, what's not to like IMO
I met someone last week who actually described herself as an influencer.
It was hard to keep a straight face.
> The ‘airhead’ blonde tv anchor
Until we find out later in the movie she actually has several masters degrees.