Has this already been discussed? Don't Look Up on Netflix

[MercyA]

Anyone else watch and enjoy this? We laughed a lot and I was also reminded of what is truly important.

Here's a short teaser trailer. Don't watch the longer full trailer. Gives too much away. 

 

[prairiewindmomma]

I tried to bring it up a couple of weeks ago as the Zeitgeist of 2021….but not much discussion has happened about the movie.

[MercyA]

1 minute ago, prairiewindmomma said:

I tried to bring it up a couple of weeks ago as the Zeitgeist of 2021….but not much discussion has happened about the movie.

Thanks! I was sure someone must have...I think I even read that thread. Sorry my brain is so fuzzy. 

Anyway, consider watching it, peeps!

[KSera]

My dh showed me highlights after he watched it. Now all the "Don't Look Up" memes as omicron started surging make sense. It kind of sums up the last 5 years.

[BakersDozen]

This is what I posted on my FB about it (no spoilers but possibly one hint).
--------------

There have been few movies that have resulted in my sitting absolutely still, unable to move, unable to even speak at the end because of the intensity or message conveyed. This was one such movie. It was a good thing I was not on the treadmill or I might have gone flying off and hit the garage door behind me. As it was, I was on the bike and so was able to sob without fear of falling. I thought every scene in this movie was spectacularly done. Every conversation, every subtle and not so subtle message, every song's lyrics (did you all pick up on those??)...the entire thing was, imo, enough to make me cheer. And sob. And wonder why God has not ended the human race long before this. The final scene highlighting the symbols of society I watched four times in a row.

I wish I could use this movie with my high schoolers when we discuss Social Psychology and current history (don't worry, I won't!). I will beg my young adults to watch this movie at least once when it is quiet and there is no interruption. And I hope they will be as deeply affected as I am. This was a movie that makes me think about every aspect of my life and the society I live in. Nothing was missed as far as shallow, selfish, silly, or simply stupid. And the end...wow...just wow.

 

I know the movie was highlighting climate change but I feel it cast a much wider net than that and in a perfectly brilliant way. Regardless of what we believe about issues, are we balancing truth? Seeking out facts? Adding to the craziness? Missing the point? Avoiding what's important?

 

Anyway, I thought it was astonishing and is at the top of my favorite movie list. I honestly can't stand the thought of sitting through a full-length movie anymore (unless it is one of the three original Bourne movies, lol!) but this one I would. Just not while using the treadmill.

 

For those who know me well, yes, there is a lot of swearing in the movie. Yes, it bothered me. A lot. I guess I might swear in some of the same situations - no, I don't guess, I know for sure. It was a blunt and brutal portrayal of people. It was not comfortable to watch/listen to, but it's not supposed to be.

Edited January 10, 2022 by BakersDozen

[Frances]

 

1 hour ago, prairiewindmomma said:

I tried to bring it up a couple of weeks ago as the Zeitgeist of 2021….but not much discussion has happened about the movie.

I think I somehow missed that thread. 

[Grace Hopper]

18 minutes ago, BakersDozen said:

 

I know the movie was highlighting climate change but I feel it cast a much wider net than that and in a perfectly brilliant way. Regardless of what we believe about issues, are we balancing truth? Seeking out facts? Adding to the craziness? Missing the point? Avoiding what's important?

 

 

Yes! 

I loved it. I especially appreciated the lines of Timothee Chalamet’s character, Yule. And the actor playing the Jobs-Musk character was terrific in that role. As you said, there were so many details, I think it definitely bears a rewatch. 
 

I imagine there are many who will take offense and pan this film. That’s too bad but their bad reviews kind of prove a point, iykwim. 

[Melissa Louise]

I enjoyed it ( I like apocalyptic fiction/cinema). It wasn't a great movie, but it was amusing, and even (mildly) touching. 

What I thought was odd was that every review I read of it panned it. But every person I know who watched it, liked it. So maybe my circle is just not very cinematically sophisticated 🙂

I appreciated Mark Rylance's performance as the Musk-esque  character. He was great. Couldn't stop looking at Cate Blanchett's teeth! 

Actually, I was also super distracted working out whether they'd made Leo look really old, or Streep and Blanchett really young!  They did not match. 

JL was fun. 

If anyone wants a good end of the world trilogy after watching this, I can recommend The Last Policeman  by Ben Winters. 

And if you want to freak out over the end of the world, watch the movie Melancholia ( s*x, nudity, mental health warning) - it has the best end of world scene ever. 

 

[Melissa Louise]

*freak out - not in a derogatory way, just in a 'hey, maybe I really like end of the world movies' kind of way. 

[prairiewindmomma]

Ariana Grande is the celebrity singer. They really pulled together a number of high profile actors for the movie, which was a bit of a shock for me for a satire movie.

[prairiewindmomma]

14 minutes ago, Melissa Louise said:

*freak out - not in a derogatory way, just in a 'hey, maybe I really like end of the world movies' kind of way. 

Have you seen The Commons with Joanne Froggatt? It didn’t get a lot of play here in the US since it is a subscription show, but I was curious if it had wider distribution elsewhere. 

[Melissa Louise]

18 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Have you seen The Commons with Joanne Froggatt? It didn’t get a lot of play here in the US since it is a subscription show, but I was curious if it had wider distribution elsewhere. 

Yes! A friend of ours was in it!

I loved it, and was hoping there would be a second series. Gotta say, the climate stuff barely seemed futuristic, sadly. 

 

[MercyA]

58 minutes ago, Melissa Louise said:

Couldn't stop looking at Cate Blanchett's teeth! 

THANK YOU. I couldn't figure out why she looked so very different. Solved! 🙂 

[Melissa Louise]

1 minute ago, MercyA said:

THANK YOU. I couldn't figure out why she looked so very different. Solved! 🙂 

I think the Streep character has them too. 

[Pawz4me]

DH started watching it a few nights ago but didn't make it very long. I guess 45 minutes or so. To say he wasn't impressed would be a huge understatement. And I pretty much agree with him. I knew it was supposed to be over-the-top satire, so I did find it a little amusing in that regard. He didn't know that, and even when I explained it he still wasn't impressed. Now I'm not a TV/movie watcher at all and find 99.99 percent of non-documentary stuff worthless. He watches a lot of stuff, but . . it just wasn't for him. Neither of us keeps up with pop culture, so we had no idea the pop star (or others) were anything other than actors. But I don't think that would have made any difference.

[lmrich]

We really enjoyed it, and we loved having good discussions with our adult children about it. 

[Faith-manor]

We thought it illustrated very aptly the inertia and stupidity of the plights of both the pandemic and climate change. I would definitely, if subbing at the high school right now for a science or social science class, take a week to go through it 40 minutes per day with 15 for discussing that portion, until we had it done on day 4 and then assign them an essay or something to research on the topic onto being back on day 5 and then go through as many of those aloud in class as we can manage. I figure that if movies are.what the elementary school is doing most to the day because they do not have enough teachers, then I could do that with a legitimate lesson plan based around it. They would probably remember more of that then the rote memorization of definitions in life science and biology classes that passes for "science literacy" in that district these days.

[Idalou]

7 hours ago, Melissa Louise said:

I enjoyed it ( I like apocalyptic fiction/cinema). It wasn't a great movie, but it was amusing, and even (mildly) touching. 

What I thought was odd was that every review I read of it panned it. But every person I know who watched it, liked it. So maybe my circle is just not very cinematically sophisticated 🙂

I appreciated Mark Rylance's performance as the Musk-esque  character. He was great. Couldn't stop looking at Cate Blanchett's teeth! 

Actually, I was also super distracted working out whether they'd made Leo look really old, or Streep and Blanchett really young!  They did not match. 

JL was fun. 

If anyone wants a good end of the world trilogy after watching this, I can recommend The Last Policeman  by Ben Winters. 

And if you want to freak out over the end of the world, watch the movie Melancholia ( s*x, nudity, mental health warning) - it has the best end of world scene ever. 

 

Hmmm...I'm fairly certain it was not written to be amusing.

I appreciated how absurd the characters were. It was rough on both sides, or however you want to define them, from the politicians to the celebrity singer. The media portrayal hopefully struck a few of the real life ones in the face, though I doubt it. The media that panned it seemed to have done exactly what the movie writers predicted, just ask David Sirota.

I do not think the writers cared at all how we rate the movie, as long as we get the message.

Edited January 10, 2022 by Idalou

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I didn't know it was satire when I began watching it but soon caught on, thank goodness. I enjoyed it but the night I watched it I was doped up on cold medicine and copious amounts of  honey lemon tea. I began watching about midnight or 1am, can't remember which, and remained awake long enough to finish it. I enjoyed the characterization and casting; really enjoyed the casting.

I need to watch it again to pick up on some of the nuances.

Edited January 10, 2022 by Granny_Weatherwax

[YaelAldrich]

My DH watched it and said he would love to write an academic paper about it. So I decided to watch it last night. The further I got into the film I started to have a sinking feeling, almost a panic attack about it. And I'm not that kind of person. But very admittedly I feel I am under a ton of stress about life with covid, a relative in hospice, daughter who can't go to school because of lack of covid restrictions in her school, etc, etc.  But I forced myself to finish the film. I should have had a couple of hefty shots of bourbon (not really a drinker) so I would be able to slough off the feelings of doom. In a way I'd like to watch it when my life isn't so messed up because of humanity because I think it would be a fun ride. But as my life stands today? Pass the Buffalo Trace please!

[elegantlion]

We watched it this week. Nervous laughter and head nodding through it all. It just feels like a great movie to epitomize our modern age, albeit my faith in the larger society is pretty low in the last few months. 

[Grace Hopper]

1 hour ago, Faith-manor said:

We thought it illustrated very aptly the inertia and stupidity of the plights of both the pandemic and climate change. I would definitely, if subbing at the high school right now for a science or social science class, take a week to go through it 40 minutes per day with 15 for discussing that portion, until we had it done on day 4 and then assign them an essay or something to research on the topic onto being back on day 5 and then go through as many of those aloud in class as we can manage. I figure that if movies are.what the elementary school is doing most to the day because they do not have enough teachers, then I could do that with a legitimate lesson plan based around it. They would probably remember more of that then the rote memorization of definitions in life science and biology classes that passes for "science literacy" in that district these days.

That would be great! But, what topic would you have them research?

climate change?

lack of critical thinking skills?

pop culture influence?

“news” media influence?

govt vs entrepreneurship?

corrupt/ineffective political appointees?

bad hair on politicians?

Freudian mother/son relationships?

Goodness, your class could last a semester with student presentations!😆

Also, thanks for someone pointing out Cate Blanchett’s teeth. I could not figure out what looked “wrong” about her, what made her look different from her usual self. I didn’t notice teeth on Streep, probably because I was too busy looking at her hair, which I saw as both a mockery/female version of DT and a commentary on hair trends in general.

 

 

[livetoread]

I really liked it. I laughed a lot (I like dark humor) and thought the message was spot on. I think the critics really missed the mark. I've read some of their critiques, but they don't ring true for me. 

Even though I'm a nonbeliever, I would have been fine with a prayer at the end and would have found it very fitting, but parts of that particular one were the only things that bothered me in the movie. Still, the sentiment was lovely even though some of the theology reminded me why I'm a nonbeliever, lol. 

I liked Melancholia too, though it has a different feel. No satire there. Very beautiful aesthetic for such a dark subject.

Another in a similar vein to Don't Look Up is Idiocracy - they remind me a lot of each other. Idiocracy is an older movie, and crude with lots of language, but it's another one where you laugh but in a nervous, cynical way, because it's way too close for comfort.

[Faith-manor]

25 minutes ago, Grace Hopper said:

That would be great! But, what topic would you have them research?

climate change?

lack of critical thinking skills?

pop culture influence?

“news” media influence?

govt vs entrepreneurship?

corrupt/ineffective political appointees?

bad hair on politicians?

Freudian mother/son relationships?

Goodness, your class could last a semester with student presentations!😆

Also, thanks for someone pointing out Cate Blanchett’s teeth. I could not figure out what looked “wrong” about her, what made her look different from her usual self. I didn’t notice teeth on Streep, probably because I was too busy looking at her hair, which I saw as both a mockery/female version of DT and a commentary on hair trends in general.

 

 

A variety. I would not have every student research the same thing so that we had more than one interesting prospect to discuss and write about.

[sassenach]

I loved it. Soooo uncomfortably spot on. I know it was supposed to be more climate change focussed but the Covid connection really struck me. Nurse reddit has had a lot of discussions about how relatable Jennifer Lawrence's character is.

[sassenach]

1 hour ago, livetoread said:

I really liked it. I laughed a lot (I like dark humor) and thought the message was spot on. I think the critics really missed the mark. I've read some of their critiques, but they don't ring true for me. 

Even though I'm a nonbeliever, I would have been fine with a prayer at the end and would have found it very fitting, but parts of that particular one were the only things that bothered me in the movie. Still, the sentiment was lovely even though some of the theology reminded me why I'm a nonbeliever, lol. 

I liked Melancholia too, though it has a different feel. No satire there. Very beautiful aesthetic for such a dark subject.

Another in a similar vein to Don't Look Up is Idiocracy - they remind me a lot of each other. Idiocracy is an older movie, and crude with lots of language, but it's another one where you laugh but in a nervous, cynical way, because it's way too close for comfort.

That's interesting because I'm a Christian who is usually annoyed by any prayer in movies and found his prayer surprisingly unoffensive, lol.

[Terabith]

I was very impressed and moved by it.  For one thing, my husband did grad school in astronomy, and the depictions of the astronomy grad department were absolutely spot on.  But the social commentary and the way people are responding to disasters of both pandemic and climate change were very powerful.  I was really surprised by how much it moved me.  

[catz]

5 hours ago, Idalou said:

Hmmm...I'm fairly certain it was not written to be amusing.

I appreciated how absurd the characters were. It was rough on both sides, or however you want to define them, from the politicians to the celebrity singer. The media portrayal hopefully struck a few of the real life ones in the face, though I doubt it. The media that panned it seemed to have done exactly what the movie writers predicted, just ask David Sirota.

I do not think the writers cared at all how we rate the movie, as long as we get the message.

Really?  I have called it dark humor to those I've discussed it with and I don't think "amusing" is a mischaracterization.  The characters are just written to be SO over the top and ridiculous.  Guess it can be taken in different ways.  Not that I don't think it had a message, I absolutely think it did.  It felt timely and I did enjoy it quite a bit.  

If you google "Don't Look Up" it is actually listed as dark or apocalyptic humor in many places.

Don’t Look Up Is a Primal Scream of a Film

The director Adam McKay believes that his star-studded new Netflix movie is an apocalyptic comedy for our moment.

https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/12/dont-look-up-adam-mckay-netflix-movie/621104/

 

Edited January 10, 2022 by FuzzyCatz

[Melissa Louise]

Satire is meant to be funny! 

SPOILERS....

Nobody else laughed at Cate Blanchett's journo character deciding she'd manage the end of times by talking sh*t about people?  Or the President remembering she'd forgotten to bring the son as she zoomed away from Earth? 

I like to look at TC but his character seemed like an afterthought. The dinner/prayer was OK, but I've seen it done before in another text so it didn't really move me. The montage of humans/animals did, though. 

I 100% approve apple pie as an end of world dessert. 

[prairiewindmomma]

20 minutes ago, Melissa Louise said:

 

Nobody else laughed at Cate Blanchett's journo character deciding she'd manage the end of times by talking sh*t about people?  Or the President remembering she'd forgotten to bring the son as she zoomed away from Earth? 

I laughed at both and really appreciated the end scene on the new planet.

I cope with life with a dark sense of humor, though, and I breathe sarcasm, irony, and understatement. 

[Melissa Louise]

4 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

I laughed at both and really appreciated the end scene on the new planet.

I cope with life with a dark sense of humor, though, and I breathe sarcasm, irony, and understatement. 

I mean, at this point, what is there to do but laugh ?!

 

[BakersDozen]

6 hours ago, YaelAldrich said:

The further I got into the film I started to have a sinking feeling, almost a panic attack about it.

This is why I had to watch it in 30-minute increments. Not sure I could have sat through it the first time in one sitting.

I'm laughing at your dh wanting to write an academic paper on it - I had the same thought for my dd! 😉

[BakersDozen]

32 minutes ago, Melissa Louise said:

Nobody else laughed at Cate Blanchett's journo character deciding she'd manage the end of times by talking sh*t about people?

I didn't laugh as I found that part to be deeply saddening. Seeing how individuals coped with the pending disaster, her character was the embodiment of the pathetic and low in humanity. Kind of like the people I see commenting on our local FB page who have nothing better to do than insult and either see the worst in people/situations or actually try to create something of their own imaginings. 😞 Or maybe it was because she reminds me of someone whose goal in life is to hate people and see the worst in them. At the end of this person's life, she'll most likely go out mocking and cursing those whom she knew.

I didn't laugh when she forgot her son but did snort as it was so typical and expected of her character.

Satire does not have to be funny, imo. Satire can be ironic, mocking, ridiculing, stinging, etc. with or without the use of humor.

[Miss Tick]

15 hours ago, Melissa Louise said:

If anyone wants a good end of the world trilogy after watching this, I can recommend The Last Policeman  by Ben Winters. 

I liked those. Well, in an end-of-the-world kind of way. I liked that the ending didn't have some kind of false-hope, deus ex machina scene. Sounds like the movie here may not satisfy that requirement.

[Melissa Louise]

4 minutes ago, SusanC said:

I liked those. Well, in an end-of-the-world kind of way. I liked that the ending didn't have some kind of false-hope, deus ex machina scene. Sounds like the movie here may not satisfy that requirement.

It did, in a way. But not in a Last Policeman way. 

[Melissa Louise]

19 minutes ago, BakersDozen said:

I didn't laugh as I found that part to be deeply saddening. Seeing how individuals coped with the pending disaster, her character was the embodiment of the pathetic and low in humanity. Kind of like the people I see commenting on our local FB page who have nothing better to do than insult and either see the worst in people/situations or actually try to create something of their own imaginings. 😞 Or maybe it was because she reminds me of someone whose goal in life is to hate people and see the worst in them. At the end of this person's life, she'll most likely go out mocking and cursing those whom she knew.

I didn't laugh when she forgot her son but did snort as it was so typical and expected of her character.

Satire does not have to be funny, imo. Satire can be ironic, mocking, ridiculing, stinging, etc. with or without the use of humor.

True. 

Maybe it was amusing to me because it's all exactly how I expect things to go. I think it's a stretch, though, to say there was no intent to amuse at times. 

[catz]

38 minutes ago, BakersDozen said:

Satire does not have to be funny, imo. Satire can be ironic, mocking, ridiculing, stinging, etc. with or without the use of humor.

Well whether or not something is funny is certainly a matter of opinion.  But the director definitely intended dark comedy and references jokes in the movie in this interview.  Satire by definition is using humor to make a point.  That certainly doesn't mean it's everyone's brand of humor.

https://www.goldderby.com/feature/adam-mckay-dont-look-up-interview-netflix-1204701284/

As someone who is kind of sidled up to midwestern academia, Dr. Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio's character of the professor from Michigan) was hilarious to me.  He was just so ... midwestern.  😂

[Soror]

9 hours ago, YaelAldrich said:

My DH watched it and said he would love to write an academic paper about it. So I decided to watch it last night. The further I got into the film I started to have a sinking feeling, almost a panic attack about it. And I'm not that kind of person. But very admittedly I feel I am under a ton of stress about life with covid, a relative in hospice, daughter who can't go to school because of lack of covid restrictions in her school, etc, etc.  But I forced myself to finish the film. I should have had a couple of hefty shots of bourbon (not really a drinker) so I would be able to slough off the feelings of doom. In a way I'd like to watch it when my life isn't so messed up because of humanity because I think it would be a fun ride. But as my life stands today? Pass the Buffalo Trace please!

 

13 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

DH started watching it a few nights ago but didn't make it very long. I guess 45 minutes or so. To say he wasn't impressed would be a huge understatement. And I pretty much agree with him. I knew it was supposed to be over-the-top satire, so I did find it a little amusing in that regard. He didn't know that, and even when I explained it he still wasn't impressed. Now I'm not a TV/movie watcher at all and find 99.99 percent of non-documentary stuff worthless. He watches a lot of stuff, but . . it just wasn't for him. Neither of us keeps up with pop culture, so we had no idea the pop star (or others) were anything other than actors. But I don't think that would have made any difference.

I finished it but did not enjoy it. I wish I would have turned it off. I just found it sad and depressing.

[Farrar]

I thought some elements of the satire hit more effectively than others. Everyone talked about how it was about inertia and science deniers... but what I saw as the end message was that we can cut through all that noise and get something done when we really have to. It's just that nationalism and capitalism screwed it up. And that, in the end, was hella depressing.

[Harriet Vane]

Just watched it. I couldn’t laugh because it felt all too real. Obvious parallels to covid, but also big parallels to my years of experience with the foster care system. 

[Roadrunner]

Form a cinematic perspective it was 💩 according to my children. Yet I enjoyed the parody of media, societal divisions, celebrities, and politicians. Oh and the Musk character. 🤣. I kept thinking of him building a device to rescue kids trapped in a cave that was never going to work. 
The end scene on the new planet was really my favorite and very satisfying. 🤣

Edited February 3, 2022 by Roadrunner

[kbutton]

5 hours ago, Roadrunner said:

The end scene on the new planet was really my favorite and very satisfying. 🤣

Yes! 

[Grace Hopper]

On 2/3/2022 at 2:46 PM, Roadrunner said:

Form a cinematic perspective it was 💩 according to my children. Yet I enjoyed the parody of media, societal divisions, celebrities, and politicians. Oh and the Musk character. 🤣. I kept thinking of him building a device to rescue kids trapped in a cave that was never going to work. 
The end scene on the new planet was really my favorite and very satisfying. 🤣

I really think there’s a perfect age range that one has to fall into to reap the highest level of wit from this film. As for production value, I subconsciously placed it into the category of films like Mars Attacks (purposely clumsy on film?) and didn’t expect any cinematography award nominations. 
 

But it’s nominated for best picture! So I feel validated for enjoying it so much.