Don't Look Up

A bit overdone and insanely talky agitprop for saving the world, which is lifted up by a strong ensemble of actors, a decent turn of phrase and depiction, or at least a hint of a lot of themes that trouble us humanity and sooner or later will have to be solved somehow. It also includes stalwarts in the style of the miserable political establishment, the negatives of social networks, etc. It's clear why DiCaprio is involved, but beyond that, it's nice to see the likes of Ariana Grande, where I want to believe she knew out why she was cast and why she's playing what she's playing. Too bad about the length and some unnecessary "off topic" scenes. (01/09/2022)

Don’t Look Up is a substantially better Hollywood comedy about the end of the world than This is the End :-). It is not only smartly written, but also cleverly cast. For example, the use of Ariana Grande and her song is outstanding. I found the live broadcast scenes the most satirically on point. Another interesting role for Mark Rylance. Though not revelatory, DiCaprio’s last line is apt and right in line with my beliefs. And this is the Cate Blanchett that I would want for a lover. (03/06/2022)

The worst thing is that in a world where populists rule politically, where even infotainment is no longer enough for the media but pure entertainment, where much of the real power is held by unaccountable tech giants headed by eccentric megalomaniac billionaires, where social media trends set the agenda, where likable bullshit carries more weight than fact-based opinion, a doom-comet could very well end up exactly like this. Scary, true, and funny at the same time. (12/25/2021)

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. (12/29/2021)

Is this a brilliant satire that affects a sensitive point? Nope. Rather, it’s a very dry affair that fails in all disciplines. It strikes out in all directions indiscriminately and sometimes hits something rather unintentionally. That humanity is, at its core, a bunch of greedy assholes driven by the lust for riches and the desire to be better off than our neighbor is nothing new. Yet the film shouts it out to the world with the smiling naivety of young teenagers who want to save the world with a banner in one hand and a cobblestone in the other. Maybe these old-fashioned thought "overlaps" are enough for some people, but if I’ve got the laziest dramaturgy, I'm damn well taking the opportunity to be really clever and, above all, funny. This collection of caricatures without a single full-blooded character just travels around America, decrying concentrates of media outpourings, billionaire complexes, and political clownery, where it's fine to look for all the real-life foreshadowing, but absolutely no one is standing on their own two feet. It's like the jokes my fourth graders sometimes tell me at school: it has a confusing beginning, everything gets repeated about four times, and by the punchline, you have to help it or it's never going to end. This simply lacks effort and cuteness. The condescending smile is nowhere to be found. Middle finger up. (02/20/2022)