Don't Look Up

I liked you, Adam. Your sarcasm, your snappy dialogue, your discomfort, your sense of deranged characters. This is like Roland Emmerich trying to be very clever and insightful. Everything is hollow, the timing is off, and the ironic jabs are very off indeed. I understand that it's part of the general annoyance at the state of the world, but it actually reflects much less of it than it seems. It's kind of a scented bubble. With a fart inside. (30/12/2021)

A well-fed DiCaprio strides in for another Oscar. A rather shaky, but occasionally unexpectedly realistic picture with a powerful message which shows where we have got to and how bad things are. We could just laugh, but McKay really wanted to terrify us. A modern horror wrapped in cynical humor and dispassion. Showing us prime examples of bad decisions that are constantly being made today on a regular basis. This is filmed for dumb people too. (25/12/2021)

Don't Look Up is a mirror reflecting the consumerism that surrounds us all today — original, unique, and likely to be a telling piece of commentary for years to come. It's also a classic Oscar contender, packed with a star-studded cast all vying for at least a nomination. Leo is probably the most tolerable, while the rest of the cast comes off as grating — except for Jonah Hill, who seems to effortlessly embody his role’s arrogance. I appreciate the clever concept and sharp, though not always funny, satire. The ending is arguably the funniest part, and if anyone deserves an award, it’s Mark Rylance. (31/12/2021)

It's easy to see why Leonardo DiCaprio, an environmental activist who chooses his films carefully, gave his nod to this one – substitute a deadly comet for current and worsening climate change in the coming years and you get the picture. On the one hand his character, Dr Randall Mindy, and on the other – in real life – deniers like Klaus, Trump and similar idiots who, despite clear scientific and factual evidence, deny the human effect on climate change, just as McKay's film shows. And the people who, just like in this story, generally don't give a shit, they'd rather superficially like an article about how some pseudo-celebrity broke up with her boyfriend and completely ignore something that will be in a few years, or is slowly coming, because celebrities and other such superficialities in commercial media (and now, unfortunately, in public media as well), which focus primarily on entertainment, are pulling their weight these days. You can't be surprised, then, that Ariana Grande's breakup is hilariously taking precedence on TV over information about impending danger from outer space. Unfortunately, after an energetic first half, when McKay, in addition to the aforementioned, aptly addresses the unfortunate influence of social networks, the superficial and short-term thinking of politicians and the herd mentality of the population, the film loses its grip and its momentum and reaches the end at an idle. It just goes from a biting satire to an overly activist thing with no insight. But overall, the 4 stars are well deserved for the message that we're sitting on a barrel of dynamite while laughing like idiots. (30/12/2021)

Adam Mckay and political comedy satire at it's best! The timing for this film couldn't be better. I'll admit I had low expectations, it's not exactly my cup of tea and I'm definitely shocked that it ended up being one of the best films with the most stellar cast this year. The film benefits the most with an attractive (read topical) plot where two low level astronomers discover an approaching comet that is hurtling straight towards our planet and it's funny that no one actually cares about it properly. DiCaprio is traditionally excellent (the scene where his nerves snap is a clear acting highlight), but for me the film was pulled mostly by Jennifer Lawrence, who stole most of the scenes to herself and made it clear that she is a strong rival to Sandra Bullock in the battle for the Oscars. The dramatic and tense moments worked well, giving me goosebumps several times. The film has so many amazing and memorable scenes where I said to myself many times “this is powerful!”, and I definitely don't say that often with conversational films. The humor wasn't the strongest point, but that didn't bother me that much. I also liked Ariana Grande's performance and the epic sci-fi finale of Emmerich proportions with a downright top notch post-credit scene. Stylish, apt, funny, disturbing, entertaining and very chilling. Netflix got their shit together and once again made one of the films of the year. A filmmaking and acting treat that I will happily repeat. Story 5/5, Action 2/5, Humor 3/5, Violence 0/5, Fun 5/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 5/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 4/5, Emotion 4/5, Actors 5/5. 10/10. (28/12/2021)