Jump to content

don't look up


henrygandorf

Recommended Posts

Idiocracy got lukewarm reviews at best when it was released and was considered a massive flop financially. Some liked it. But many thought it was stupid. A lot of good reviews have poured in years after its release as well as a general “cult” adoration. 
 

This movie is already ahead of the curve. 

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/1/2022 at 8:27 PM, Chewbacca said:

I thought this was great. And Trumpers are 100 percent the target of the movie.

hmmm, I don't think I agree with your police work there, I think there were lots of targets and everyone got a good bit of the roast. I don't think one group was targeted 100% by any means.

That said, I watched it again knowing the funny jokes and what was coming, and I have come around to understanding why some folks didn't like it. It's really a movie that sticks a finger into the wound that is American society in 2022.

It's not an activist movie in that it doesn't seem to push an agenda or have a narrative or propose any solutions. It's a pure play parody movie in that it's an exaggerated attack and uses comedy to serve up what is real and exists today. Some people find it hilarious and others think life is too serious not to be funny, I think.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One of the more interesting (and bigger) takeaways that a lot of people missed, and I think it was brought up a few pages ago, is that they had a fairly simple low-tech solution that would have done the trick, with Perlman’s original mission to hit it early with nukes.  Even a mild deflection would help.  

Instead they went with the unproven and vastly more complicated high-tech solution, that took longer to launch and left them with no margin of error.  

Nice little bit of commentary about how the most advanced technology is not always the best solution.  

Edited by atomheartbevo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

One of the more interesting (and bigger) takeaways that a lot of people missed, and I think it was brought up a few pages ago, is that they had a fairly simple low-tech solution that would have done the trick, with Perlman’s original mission to hit it early with nukes.  Even a mild deflection would help.  

Instead they went with the unproven and vastly more complicated high-tech solution, that took longer to launch and left them with no margin of error.  

Nice little bit of commentary about how the most advanced technology is not always the best solution.  

it took them longer to launch because the POTUS waited a month before acting. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, TurkeyChew said:

 

It's not an activist movie in that it doesn't seem to push an agenda or have a narrative or propose any solutions. 

It absolutely is an activist movie and it absolutely does have an agenda. Both creators and the lead actor have been shouting the agenda to anyone who will listen. 

  • Hook 'Em 2
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Reynolds Woodcock said:

It absolutely is an activist movie and it absolutely does have an agenda. Both creators and the lead actor have been shouting the agenda to anyone who will listen. 

Really? Interesting. I’ll Google to learn more but if you could provide a link or two that you’ve read about it that would be cool?

It feels like a movie that didn’t have an interest in being provocative and activist but instead be an ugly reflection of all of society so that’s fascinating to learn it was meant to be polemic. I guess if it didn’t work as a polemic it doesn’t matter what it’s intentions were but that’s probably a different discussion for a different location on this website.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's only not provocative to the extent that the satire isn't that much of an exaggeration.

I wish (or wonder if it is possible) that you could filter a rotten tomatoes view to get a contemporary score of a movie. I think Dr Strangelove was lauded immediately but, as mentioned, the mid 70s tomato score for Idiocracy has moved up over time. The Big Lebowski is another one with a low score to start. Just checked Magruber, which is actually great, and it's at 48% - I bet it was in the teens when it came out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, TurkeyChew said:

Really? Interesting. I’ll Google to learn more but if you could provide a link or two that you’ve read about it that would be cool?

It feels like a movie that didn’t have an interest in being provocative and activist but instead be an ugly reflection of all of society so that’s fascinating to learn it was meant to be polemic. I guess if it didn’t work as a polemic it doesn’t matter what it’s intentions were but that’s probably a different discussion for a different location on this website.

I think McKay's interview with Sean Fennessey on the Big Picture pod was very good, and they touch on some of the concepts underpinning the movie, including the construction of the ending sequence compared to most non-satirical disaster movies. There are also plenty of written interviews/articles easily googleable. I think Leo even did a 2 minute explainer video for Netflix.  But yeah, I'm not saying more because this isn't the right place. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, TurkeyChew said:

hmmm, I don't think I agree with your police work there, I think there were lots of targets and everyone got a good bit of the roast. I don't think one group was targeted 100% by any means.

without putting words into his mouth, he didn’t say “100% of the satire is aimed at trumpers”, he said that the satire was “100% aimed at trumpers”, which was meant to clarify yes, they were definitely the intended target in regards to the administration portrayed in the film, because there was a tiny bit of ambiguity.

important distinction. 

  • Hook 'Em 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

44 minutes ago, TurkeyChew said:

Really? Interesting. I’ll Google to learn more but if you could provide a link or two that you’ve read about it that would be cool?

It feels like a movie that didn’t have an interest in being provocative and activist but instead be an ugly reflection of all of society so that’s fascinating to learn it was meant to be polemic. I guess if it didn’t work as a polemic it doesn’t matter what it’s intentions were but that’s probably a different discussion for a different location on this website.

Welcome back, Chrispy/Donkey/Monkey.

  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Like 2
  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

Instead they went with the unproven and vastly more complicated high-tech solution, that took longer to launch and left them with no margin of error.  

Nice little bit of commentary about how the most advanced technology is not always the best solution.  

Spoiler

And of course the reason for aborting the first mission for the experimental, non-peer reviewed alternative was due to the potential for massive profits. The survival of the planet took a back seat to a few trillion bucks.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, Mach 1 said:

Lots of good lines in this movie.

One that flew under the radar that cracked me up:

Cate and Leo at some press conference.  She leans in and whispers "I just want to thank you ... for giving me the most repulsive time of my life."

I thought she said "propulsive time of my life." It was during the rocket launch when she whispered it.

Her character was great, a completely horrible person but still wood. What was interesting was the jokes about Ivy League vs Public Universities and this character was the primary example of an Ivy League character. She was multi-lingual, quoted a 14th century French poem that she studied at Dartmouth and I remember thinking "Fucking useless liberal arts majors". 

 

 

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

One of the more interesting (and bigger) takeaways that a lot of people missed, and I think it was brought up a few pages ago, is that they had a fairly simple low-tech solution that would have done the trick, with Perlman’s original mission to hit it early with nukes.  Even a mild deflection would help.  

Instead they went with the unproven and vastly more complicated high-tech solution, that took longer to launch and left them with no margin of error.  

Nice little bit of commentary about how the most advanced technology is not always the best solution.  

..... and continuing on the orbital mechanics aspect of the plot.....  this was 1000% more "realistic" than the clooney bomb from a year ago with 2 exceptions:

1 - a 10km rock impacting the pacific west of chile (as they stated in the movie) would not create a thermonuclear blast wave that obliterates chicago

2 - nudging the trajectory with nukes could also be used to put the rock in to a heliocentric orbit so it could be mined later

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, Hagbard Celine said:

..... and continuing on the orbital mechanics aspect of the plot.....  this was 1000% more "realistic" than the clooney bomb from a year ago with 2 exceptions:

1 - a 10km rock impacting the pacific west of chile (as they stated in the movie) would not create a thermonuclear blast wave that obliterates chicago

2 - nudging the trajectory with nukes could also be used to put the rock in to a heliocentric orbit so it could be mined later

Nerd

 

10 minutes ago, Lobo said:

What's next?  You just stick your dick in and explode?  

like I said, I’M A GAMBLER!! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not sure if others agree but Chalemet's character was the most likeable in the movie. Initially I thought he was just doing a cameo as a skater punk then he stayed in the movie and his character turned out to be a surprisingly genuine thoughtful person. The proposal to Kate was funny then felt profound once you realized it was just a request to spend time with her right before they die. His prayer at the end was really touching and very unexpected.

 

  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, F250 said:

Not sure if others agree but Chalemet's character was the most likeable in the movie. Initially I thought he was just doing a cameo as a skater punk then he stayed in the movie and his character turned out to be a surprisingly genuine thoughtful person. The proposal to Kate was funny then felt profound once you realized it was just a request to spend time with her right before they die. His prayer at the end was really touching and very unexpected.

my interpretation is that he was the Christ character whose purpose was to preside at the last supper

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’m sure Kirk Cameron is already working furiously on a new script that will show an alternative side to a global threat as portrayed in “Don’t Look Up.”   And although he’s cracking himself up right now, writing dialogue, specifically for James Woods and Scott Baio…the movie will be about as funny as a nasal swab.  
 

haven’t seen this movie yet because I’ll just enjoying all the “so accurate, it got really depressing” reviews.  It’s like a Yelp for eulogies.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Speaking of music - in the opening scene Jlaw is singing along with the RZA verse from "Wu Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing ta F Wit"

 

Yo, there's no place to hide once I step inside the room
Dr. Doom, prepare for the boom
Bam! Aw, man! I slam, jam, now scream like Tarzan
I be tossin', enforcin', my style is awesome
I'm causin' more family feud than Richard Dawson
And the survey said, "You're dead!"
Fatal Flying Guillotine chops off your fuckin' head
Mister, who is that? Ayo, the Wu is back
Makin' niggas go Bo! Bo! like I'm Super Cat
Me fear no one, oh no, here come
The Wu-Tang shogun, killer to my eardrum

 

Good verse to start the movie. Also I feel like it was a callback to her character and Wu Tang when Chalamet kept saying "word is bond" in his first scene.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Couldn't they have followed through with the mission to knock it off course to avoid hitting earth and still followed up with the mining mission on the same timeline? Seems that nukes would do just enough to prevent a direct hit but not move it to a course that would make it unreachable a few months later. But I'm no astrophysicist, so maybe that's not possible.

Also, wouldn't it make more sense to set up the freezer technology in a deep bunker for long enough to let the planet heal itself before waking them up? Seems a lot more likely too succeed than an unmanned spaceship looking for a habitable planet. Especially since the son somehow survived above ground.

Just minor observations that entered my mind, I know it's not meant to be taken this literal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really don't get how anyone can't like this flick, it's entertaining and funny throughout. So many great moments, even in the background.

"THE FOR REAL LAST CONCERT TO SAVE THE WORLD"

"Nations of the world, defy Orlean and Bash and launch your own nuclear deflection mission and SAVE. THIS. PLANET!!!....and now, here's Riley Bina and her special guest"

  • you are so fire!!! 🔥
  • we luv u Riley ♥️
  • Willing to pay $5k for a shovel!!
  • don't look up you marxist skank! 🇱🇷
  • my girlfriend sings better than her
  • I'm horny and alone in my apartment $3.99 USFans

 

  • Like 1
  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

29 minutes ago, 'stache said:

Couldn't they have followed through with the mission to knock it off course to avoid hitting earth and still followed up with the mining mission on the same timeline? Seems that nukes would do just enough to prevent a direct hit but not move it to a course that would make it unreachable a few months later. But I'm no astrophysicist, so maybe that's not possible.

Also, wouldn't it make more sense to set up the freezer technology in a deep bunker for long enough to let the planet heal itself before waking them up? Seems a lot more likely too succeed than an unmanned spaceship looking for a habitable planet. Especially since the son somehow survived above ground.

Just minor observations that entered my mind, I know it's not meant to be taken this literal.

At the risk, again, of politicizing this thread: the two missions are analogies for dealing with climate change.  The first mission is just creating a basic carbon tax. Simple, effective.  But also means some insanely wealthy people might be *slightly* less wealthy.
 

So we end up with the second solution: Overly complex and way too late, because there’s money involved. 

Edited by Bateshorn
  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Saw it over the weekend. Loved the satire thought it nailed it's targets. I think in this regard its a total hit. I mean it's not just the right wing political stuff either, but noting how everything is done for clicks now, etc.

I think the movie itself has some technical flaws that make it not so good. This could be writing or post production editing, I'm not sure. I think the middle of the film drags badly, just doesn't work. It's like the film really doesn't know where it wants to go, what it wants to do and meanders in the middle to the end. I think with some better planning and execution this might solve this. Then it probably props up the critics scores more. Just my $0.02.

  • Hook 'Em 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

25 minutes ago, Captain Ron said:

 

I think the movie itself has some technical flaws that make it not so good.

My spouse liked the movie, but his only complaint was that something about the flow/movement (we don't know the technical term for it) seemed or was a little off. We talked about it afterward trying to figure out if that was maybe intentional to add to the disjointed haphazard feeling of being a voyeur to crazy stupid things (ala Bates Horn's reference to the Jennifer Lawrence character being the Greek Chorus) or something else. Overall, we enjoyed it.

I'd like to watch it again and see how it plays the second go round.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, 'stache said:

Couldn't they have followed through with the mission to knock it off course to avoid hitting earth and still followed up with the mining mission on the same timeline? Seems that nukes would do just enough to prevent a direct hit but not move it to a course that would make it unreachable a few months later. But I'm no astrophysicist, so maybe that's not possible.

Also, wouldn't it make more sense to set up the freezer technology in a deep bunker for long enough to let the planet heal itself before waking them up? Seems a lot more likely too succeed than an unmanned spaceship looking for a habitable planet. Especially since the son somehow survived above ground.

Just minor observations that entered my mind, I know it's not meant to be taken this literal.

i guess you have me on ignore

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...