OT: "Don't Look Up" on Netflix
No spoilers, and I apologize if this isn't thread-worthy, but I nearly died when this exchange happened:
Jonah Hill's Character: "I'm sorry, did you say Michigan State?"
Dr. Oglethorpe: "Exactly. They have an excellent astronomy department."
Jonah Hill's Character: "Come on, bro."
????
December 28th, 2021 at 5:57 AM ^
Not the best movie of the year, but it's a good watch that I will recommend to friends. It feels a little too spot on in terms of how accurately it sums up the know nothingness and willful ignorance of a large segment of the population. I thought it was funny, but it elicited chuckles more than laugh out loud guffaws.
December 28th, 2021 at 7:57 AM ^
December 28th, 2021 at 8:00 AM ^
A movie that's both fun and sobering at the same time.
Both sides of the political aisle will be convinced that they're the "Just Look Up" crowd.
December 28th, 2021 at 9:20 AM ^
I'm pretty sure the sides were clear, and the movie was mocking of only one of them.
Edit: corrected typo move to movie
December 28th, 2021 at 9:22 AM ^
I thought so, too. But that side will STILL find a way to convince themselves that they're the heroes of the story, not the heels.
December 28th, 2021 at 9:35 AM ^
Yes and no. My impression was the POTUS was a democrat. I think in many ways it was a satire of all politics.
It didn't work because only one side has aligned with Nationalism. So it's not possible to have a satire making fun of a nationalist group without it appearing one-sided because it's not relatable to both sides.
December 28th, 2021 at 11:35 AM ^
I get what you're saying - the framed pic of the POTUS hugging Bill Clinton definitely left that impression. And I think you're right that they were trying to spread the blame - and the relatability - around, which may not be an exactly accurate take on the current reality, but might be the only way to get a film like this produced.
December 28th, 2021 at 8:41 AM ^
Not sure if this thread will survive the political ban. We can do this, MGoBlog.
I rec the movie. Good watch.
I lol'd at that line as well. And before that he had forgotten her university calling it something else.
December 28th, 2021 at 8:48 AM ^
Watched it a few days ago. You can absolutely feel the political undertones throughout the movie and that just kind of sullied it for me. Don't care which side of the aisle you're making a mockery of. I get enough politics thrown into my face in my day-to-day life. The movie had a few laugh-worthy moments here and there but I don't remotely feel the need to go back and watch it again.
Felt way too much like they were trying to hammer you over the head with their message, and maybe that was the point and what they felt like they needed to do. But by midway through the movie I was bored. Which is a shame considering its a pretty star-studded cast.
December 28th, 2021 at 9:30 AM ^
From a cinephilia friend who provides annual breakdowns of the top movies from the year:
“Don’t Look UP” (* ½) is director/writer Adam McKay’s latest social satire, this time aimed at American politicians and social media, but unlike his pitch-perfect “The Big Short,” here things go badly awry. The film is a mess, not knowing whether it wants to be sophisticated satire, black comedy, deranged farce, or semi-serious drama. You find all four strands in a scattershot, “let’s see what sticks to the wall,” sort of way. There are many clever moments in the film, and I laughed out loud on many occasions, but the movie fails to cohere. I am reminded of the crazy comedies of years gone by (like, say, the “Hangover” films) where the writers and director just threw out what they hoped would be funny moments, knowing full well that only some of the comedy would hit the mark. The cast is absolutely amazing on paper, but not everyone is well cast. Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence, the two leads (playing scientists who discover that a comet is fast approaching Earth), do a fine job, but at the other end, Meryl Streep (as the ditz American President) and Jonah Hill (as her Chief of Staff) are nothing short of terrible (even beyond the fact that they were written that way). Cate Blanchette, wearing false teeth, is almost unrecognizable, although she crafts one of the more interesting characters, a sex-crazed television news personality. The film tries way too hard to make fairly obvious points about the weaknesses in our political and media complexes, and since not one single moment of the film is even slightly believable, one must ask what the object of the film is. [in theaters and on Netflix]
My personal opinion follows with the conclusion. A mildly entertaining watch; obvious implications are obvious.
December 28th, 2021 at 10:25 AM ^
I have no idea how anyone who is paying attention to our country could fail to see the parallels between the movie and the very real degradation of both our political discourse and the value our nation places in critical thinking skills.
The film is not only believable... we're watching direct analogs happen in real time.
December 28th, 2021 at 11:30 AM ^
I'm sorry, I think that's a crappy take. Nowhere in the review does your friend mention climate change, and the complete absence of collective awareness that major changes need to be happening now to avoid an extremely unpleasant future, which is the film's major point. Sure, politics and social media are a big part of why that awareness is so hard to achieve, but -just like in the movie - the data has been made widely available for a long time now, and still a lot of us want to keep things light, funny, and moronic, like the news show announcers in the movie, or like the first few posters here whose major takes on the film were about whether Jennifer Lawrence is hot or not.
The problem a film with this kind of message has, is how to make that serious message palatable. It's a very difficult job which I thought it did well through humor. The opening quote from Jack Handey set the tone, and the final scene with Jonah Hill finished it. But the main idea in the film is to get people to wake tf up and pay attention to the science that is and will be determining the quality of their existence on this planet, and I found it moving in that sense.
December 28th, 2021 at 2:26 PM ^
The review was not meant to be a take on how well the film executed the goal of getting out the message regarding the urgency to address climate change. It was meant to provide a critique of the film as a film. It's possible that you and he share different views on the need of the messaging, and thus, how bluntly stated it needed to be. Still, although I'm surprised to see a couple references about covid here and elsewhere, I thought it was plainly, if not painfully, obvious that the movie was about climate change and the need to act now. But aside from the roadblocks to addressing that message put up by our political and social media complexes, I don't think the movie attempted to persuade anyone to do anything other than open their eyes to the issue. This wasn't a persuasive piece to try and get you to take a side so much as it was to remind the viewer again that there was something to open your eyes to and to stop being hoodwinked by politicians with agendas and sensationalized news sources.
December 28th, 2021 at 9:49 AM ^
A pretty interesting allegory for Covid.
December 28th, 2021 at 11:02 AM ^
I think you could equally argue that it's a climate change allegory. The maga crowd uses a nearly identical rhetorical approach when talking about climate change and covid.
December 28th, 2021 at 9:50 AM ^
The guy who plays knockoff “Steve Jobs” reminded me of Skell from Ghost Recon Breakboint
December 28th, 2021 at 10:05 AM ^
Jonah Hill is awful
December 28th, 2021 at 11:08 AM ^
Considering he’s playing Don jr that makes sense. His opening scene with the incessant sniffing pretty much reveals who they’re aiming at with this one. That and the chants of “Don’t look up” that can’t really be discerned from the “Lock her up” refrain we were subjected to make the story pretty clear. Although they did make a clear effort to show that both sides suffer from group think. One group is clearly more dangerous in their intent.
December 28th, 2021 at 12:26 PM ^
Jonah Hill and Jennifer Lawrence interactions were the highlight of this movie. It was "meh" otherwise.
December 28th, 2021 at 1:40 PM ^
This movie sucked. Opportunity missed. It started well and could have gone in several more interesting directions. But it turned divisively political and became a lame commentary on climate change
December 29th, 2021 at 10:39 AM ^
I enjoyed the satirical view that 'spin' and social media plays in our world today. To me, it started to drag a bit in the last half and seemed to lose its way a bit. Started out fine, but ended poorly.