Don't Look Up (2021)

[NotMySekrit2Tell]

5 hours ago, Racj82 said:

Practically every movie is bordering out two and a half hours now and that needs to stop. Most stories can be done in under two hours.

Disagree. I've seen 80-minute movies that were just a terrible time and seemed endless, and I've seen over-three-hour movies that I loved every minute of and wouldn't have wanted to lose anything from. Running time is just a number. It's what fills that time.   

I thought DLU used its time well. It had a lot of characters in the mix to do justice to, but it had a clear three-act structure. Act one: A comet's coming, and no one takes it seriously. Act two: Tech guru's grand plan, the co-opting of the Leo character, the exile of J-Law. Act three: Redemptions and oblivion. 

[Racj82]

2 hours ago, NotMySekrit2Tell said:

Disagree. I've seen 80-minute movies that were just a terrible time and seemed endless, and I've seen over-three-hour movies that I loved every minute of and wouldn't have wanted to lose anything from. Running time is just a number. It's what fills that time.   

I thought DLU used its time well. It had a lot of characters in the mix to do justice to, but it had a clear three-act structure. Act one: A comet's coming, and no one takes it seriously. Act two: Tech guru's grand plan, the co-opting of the Leo character, the exile of J-Law. Act three: Redemptions and oblivion. 

It's not just a number.

I'm also speaking in general terms not in absolutes. Everytime I see a running time for a big new movie now, for the most part, it is 2 hours plus. That's not the problem. The problem is that it often feels like it doesn't have to be. Those are the movies that I'm talking about. Whether a movie is 90 minutes or 3 hours, I just want it to feel like the time was used wisely. For me, there are several moments that could have used brevity or removal all together and made a much better paced movie. I'm all for people making the project how they want to make it. I just might not agree with all the choices.

[shapeshifter]

10 minutes ago, Racj82 said:

It's not just a number.

I'm also speaking in general terms not in absolutes. Everytime I see a running time for a big new movie now, for the most part, it is 2 hours plus. That's not the problem. The problem is that it often feels like it doesn't have to be. Those are the movies that I'm talking about. Whether a movie is 90 minutes or 3 hours, I just want it to feel like the time was used wisely. For me, there are several moments that could have used brevity or removal all together and made a much better paced movie. I'm all for people making the project how they want to make it. I just might not agree with all the choices.

I came away from this movie with the same sense of it having needed editing for length. In the past there have been later releases of movies of different lengths. For example, when shown on TV, there might be a notice on the screen about it having been edited for time. Or a DVD version might be a longer, Director's Cut. If DLU is ever released in an edited version, I would probably rewatch it—–in no small part to see if I like it better, but then I'd probably be complaining that they left in the wrong parts and cut parts they should have left in heh. I might have appreciated the movie more as it is if I'd already scene an edited down version. I respect the producers et al. for wanting it to be that long, but I'm not convinced it was the best version for me.

[Milburn Stone]

8 hours ago, Racj82 said:

It didn't make me sad or angry. I don't really watch things and let it affect my mental state. I'm also well aware of how much a cluster fuck a ELE would be. 

It really affected me, in exactly the way I believe Adam McKay wanted it to. It didn't make me sad or angry. It scared me sh*tless, at the same time it made me laugh out loud. Which is a really rare combination. I didn't want to confront how feckless humanity would be in the face of an Extinction Level Event, but the movie persuaded me we would be exactly that feckless. (And of course, you can apply Extinction Level Event to forms of government, like, oh, let's say, democracy.) We needed to watch a short "palate cleanser" after the movie for fear that we'd never fall asleep otherwise. (Which of course, ironically, is exactly the sort of thing the movie said humanity would do.)

[Simon Boccanegra]

10 minutes ago, Milburn Stone said:

but the movie persuaded me we would be exactly that feckless.

The thought that came into my mind when I finished watching this movie (and by the way, "Hi, Milburn!") is that it may not be a perfect movie, it may not even be a great movie in some important ways, but it's exactly the movie we deserve in 2021-22.

I had liked The Big Short less than most of the smart people had, and Vice not at all, so I was surprised by how well this one (with its mixed reviews) landed for me. I was even moved during the "last supper." 

[Racj82]

5 hours ago, Milburn Stone said:

It really affected me, in exactly the way I believe Adam McKay wanted it to. It didn't make me sad or angry. It scared me sh*tless, at the same time it made me laugh out loud. Which is a really rare combination. I didn't want to confront how feckless humanity would be in the face of an Extinction Level Event, but the movie persuaded me we would be exactly that feckless. (And of course, you can apply Extinction Level Event to forms of government, like, oh, let's say, democracy.) We needed to watch a short "palate cleanser" after the movie for fear that we'd never fall asleep otherwise. (Which of course, ironically, is exactly the sort of thing the movie said humanity would do.)

Well, for me, it didn't. It was a movie. That's just how I took it. I know this is a somewhat dark satire of what could truly happen in a event like this. That's just me though. I also never need palate cleansers or have trouble sleeping because I watched something. I may sound like some sort of monster. It's not that. Separating my own reality from entertainment is pretty easy. I have enough going on to weigh me down. I don't let outside things do that.

[chessiegal]

 

19 hours ago, Racj82 said:

I enjoyed it.

We enjoyed it too. I thought it was good satire.

[Bastet]

This was simultaneously amusing and depressing.  I didn't find it quite blistering enough, it felt a bit rushed and had abrupt tonal shifts, Timothee Chalamet's character added precisely nothing, and I thought DiCaprio's performance of Prof. Mindy's big redemption moment on The Daily Rip wasn't what it should have been, but I'm still glad I watched it.

The post-credits bit with Jason as the last man on Earth, still living his social media life ("don't forget to like and subscribe") and not knowing his mom forgot him, was a nice touch. 

I think my favorite was the sequence showing what everyone was doing as the world came to an end, especially that Patriot News was still proclaiming some bizarre side show (topless somethings) as what everyone is talking about and Ron Perlman shooting at the comet, declaring "You'll never take me alive". 

There were a lot of great little touches, too, like the disclaimer at the end of Mindy's FEMA-BASH ad for the hotline.

It just didn't really come together for me, the total result being a solid "okay".

[shapeshifter]

4 minutes ago, Bastet said:

The post-credits bit with Jason as the last man on Earth, still living his social media life ("don't forget to like and subscribe") and not knowing his mom forgot him, was a nice touch. 

I guess I missed this👆? Maybe I'll go back and watch that part.
But agreeing with your take on the film of:

5 minutes ago, Bastet said:

This was simultaneously amusing and depressing.  I didn't find it quite blistering enough, it felt a bit rushed and had abrupt tonal shifts, Timothee Chalamet's character added precisely nothing, and I thought DiCaprio's performance of Prof. Mindy's big redemption moment on The Daily Rip wasn't what it should have been, but I'm still glad I watched it . . .
It just didn't really come together for me, the total result being a solid "okay".

I'm not going to rewatch the whole thing, or even pause in my FFing to the end to rewatch other parts.
But if a daughter is visiting and wants to watch, I will.

 

[Raja]

I guess Netflix is built for post credits sequences. They gave the countdown for the switch to a promo and i turned it off. 

[Simon Boccanegra]

5 hours ago, Bastet said:

Timothee Chalamet's character added precisely nothing

Chalamet has kind of worn thin with me in the years since Call Me By Your Name, as I've seen him do very similar things in other contexts ("Timothée with a drug problem," "Timothée as a Woody Allen protagonist," "Timothée in 19th-century dress," "Timothée in space"), but here I thought McKay wrote him a nice part that he was right for. Yule and his friends reminded Kate at her lowest point that some people had been listening to her, and his spirituality (on the rooftop and at the "last supper") was something not duplicated by the others.

[Bastet]

Oh, see, I hated that out of the blue prayer at the end.  I kind of like the liquor store scene for, as you said, showing her she wasn't that crazy lady in the internet memes to everyone.  But her hanging around with him afterward was just a waste of film to me.

Edited January 14, 2022 by Bastet

[shapeshifter]

29 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Oh, see, I hated that out of the blue prayer at the end.  I kind of like the liquor store scene for, as you said, showing her she wasn't that crazy lady in the internet memes to everyone.  But her hanging around with him afterward did was just a waste of film to me.

Like most of the film, the end prayer scene was poorly executed–—assuming it’s purpose was to make a distinction between those who follow religious pomp because it’s fashionable or gets them votes or a well-paying position, and those who pray privately in moments of desperation–—or something like that.

[NotMySekrit2Tell]

I loved Kate having somebody there with her at the end after her experience with journalism douche.

Here's a new YouTube video of Meryl improvising presidential phone calls.

Edited January 14, 2022 by NotMySekrit2Tell

[SlovakPrincess]

The Chalamet character bothered me a lot, and having thought about it more (too much, because I'm crazy LOL), I'm starting to understand why.  

At first I thought he annoyed me because he's the obvious Surprisingly Soulful Stoner trope (Keanu Reeves did it way better in Parenthood).  But given how obvious the movie is about every facet of US culture, and the character that represents them  -- celebrity culture is vacuous (Ariana / the guy who makes the disaster movie but won't take sides), media is cutthroat and revenue-obsessed (Blanchett / Perry / "New York Herald"), politicians are corrupt (Streep / Hill), government bureaucrats are self-serving (general with the snacks / NASA lady), big corporations are all-powerful and evil (BASH), scientists/experts are ultimately powerless (Mindy / Kate / Oglethorpe) --  I really started to wonder who Yule was supposed to represent.  

Chalamet is presented as a good guy: the movie likes him and wants us to like him.  I assume he represents disaffected young adults, quite understandably turned off by politics, society, etc. and just trying to do his own thing, and we are not to blame him for being checked out, focused on skating, smoking and stealing alcohol with his buddies.  But if he does represent a slice of society, like the rest of the characters, it's a fairly large slice ...  so isn't he at least part of the problem?  He is over 18 and part of the public that helped to produce evil President Meryl Streep, used / bought BASH products, and clicked on more articles about Ariana than the comet.  He initially thought the Kate-freaking-out meme was kinda funny and expresses doubt in the comet crisis until the comet is literally right over his head, and even after seeing this simply prays and continues to be weirdly zen about the apocalypse.  Conversely, he could be part of the solution, if the movie seemed to believe in solutions, but we don't see him working the phones or even present when Kate / Oglethorpe / Mindy are trying to get other countries to nuke the comet.  He's basically unbothered by the crisis but gives the prayer at the end, as otherwise non-religious characters nod along appreciatively -- ultimately presenting him as a character of wisdom. 

This movie is made to trouble you, and it should ...  but I think it troubled me for a lot of the wrong reasons, as the filmmakers have indicated they want to motivate people but it actually seems to send a demoralizing message.  "DO look up!" the movie says.  But then what?  Because it also seems to say "you can't beat the corruption, even if you try -- may as well emotionally distance yourself and check out, like Yule."  

Edited January 14, 2022 by SlovakPrincess

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 12/27/2021 at 8:56 AM, Chaos Theory said:

What I meant to say is "No one I know but me has seen idiocracy but half of the internet considers it brilliant."  

Among the very few accomplishments in my life is that I saw Idiocracy in a theater when it first came out.  Even stayed up for a 9:30 showing, which is actually probably more impressive.

[Milburn Stone]

2 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Among the very few accomplishments in my life is that I saw Idiocracy in a theater when it first came out. 

Me too. Went downtown special to see it!

[snickers]

On 12/26/2021 at 9:52 PM, Zonk said:

On 12/8/2021 at 7:14 PM, Avabelle said:

Is this the first comedy DiCaprio has ever done?

Comedy? This is barely even satire.

^LOL-well, Leo did win a Golden Globe for the Wolf of Wallstreet in the Comedy category, back when actors went to that LOL

 

I'm in the minority here, i quite liked this....but I also like Vice so....yeah, it was depressing, but at least for once we had a movie where someone didn't get a conscious at the last moment and saved the day.

 

 

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, snickers said:

I'm in the minority here, i quite liked this....but I also like Vice so....yeah, it was depressing, but at least for once we had a movie where someone didn't get a conscious at the last moment and saved the day

conscious  conscience   
But yes, I agree.

[snickers]

hahaha, yes, i used the spelling for being awake....my bad

 

[Simon Boccanegra]

5 hours ago, snickers said:

at least for once we had a movie where someone didn't get a conscience at the last moment and save the day.

The main character did get a conscience, but he couldn't save the day. 

Mindy (DiCaprio) had such a supportive family. Even when he was nobody special, they were so proud of him, watching him on television the first time he went on that morning show. That's one reason I liked the last-supper scene so much. 

Melanie Lynskey's big scene (the one with the thrown pill bottles) reminded me a little of Beatrice Straight's Oscar-winning performance in Network (famous for being the Oscar-winning performance with the shortest screen time: five minutes of a 121-minute film). In fact, Don't Look Up seems to be trying to be to the early 2020s what Network was to the mid-1970s.

[Pickles Aplenty]

Just watched it this afternoon.  I thought it was okay.  I thought the political satire was funny, but it also depressed the shit out of me.  I know that was the point, but goddamn.

More than anything, it reminded me of that Steve Carell/Keira Knightley movie, Seeking A Friend For the End of the World.  Anyone else remember that movie, or am I the only one who saw it?

[Anela]

 

[ursula]

On 12/26/2021 at 7:52 PM, Zonk said:

At the end it had a perfect ending and I don't mean the president being eaten by the brontoroc, although that was amazing, too. Guess the algorythm can predict what animal on another planet 22000 years in the future will eat you, but it was wrong about Dr. Mindy dying alone.

I read a theory on tvtropes that since the algorithm (algorythm? which is the right spelling?) started mining his data from 1996 or so, it missed the year when his wife cheated on him in college, and didn't factor that into its calculations (i.e. she would have a reason to forgive him).

 

On 1/2/2022 at 2:33 PM, SlovakPrincess said:

Now the idea that the government is secretly hiding these super advanced spaceships for billionaires and POTUS to escape earth ... but wouldn't plan ahead and take some young people to somehow populate the new planet ... a lot of silliness for a juvenile mid-credits joke.  

The pods had a 50% survival rate. It's possible that there were young people there. They just didn't make it. Also, I'm guessing if they had the technology to build pods that could survive 20K+ years, they probably had the technology for test tubes and incubation. 

 

On 12/26/2021 at 7:59 AM, absnow54 said:

The comments about the jobs the comet would provide definitely hit close to home.

When Russia/China decided to attempt to deflect the comet (after being cut out of the corporate deal) did the US bomb the launch site? Or was it just supposed to be a malfunction. I thought it was a strike, but then nobody talked about it again. Starting a war while the war was ending would have fit with the rest of the movies narrative, I’m surprised they didn’t squeeze that in. 

I love the fact that they never answered that definitely. Did it fail because of sabotage? Or were they just too late to prepare properly and it was a malfunction? In the end, it didn't matter. The world was f--ked anyway.

Also who else was left wondering if the Evil CEO didn't plan for the mission to fail anyway? After the first and good mission launch was aborted, he gave a grandiose speech about humanity stepping forward naked into a new world and mumbo jumbo interstellar intergalactic expansion... which was basically what happened in the post-credits film. Did he deliberately doom humanity to prove his algorythm right?