🍿26: Don't Look Up

This week's SP features facts about Home Alone, Christmassy quotes and a feature review of Leo's latest film, Don't Look Up.

“You smell like beef and cheese, you don't smell like Santa.”

~ Elf, 2003

Merry Christmas Ya’ Filthy Animals

With Christmas just around the corner, I’m wondering, what’s that one Christmas film you look forward to watching every year? Does the innocent ridiculousness of Buddy the Elf get you feeling festive, or do you prefer the slightly darker themes of The Muppet Christmas Carol? Or, is there a more recent Christmas film that you feel has fallen under the radar? Whatever your favourite festive film is, let me know in the comments below.

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For me, I think Klaus needs a little more attention. I watched it for the first time last year, and it’s a really beautiful animation with a touching story that will have you reaching for the tissues. It was also nominated the Best Animated Feature at the 2020 Oscars - and it’s on Netflix! Here’s the trailer:

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Now for the headlines:

• The Golden Globes 2022 nominees are announced, with Belfast and The Power of the Dog leading with the most nominations. Read more.

• Dune director, Denis Villeneuve, is set to direct a film adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke’s sci-fi novel, Rendezvous With Rama. Read more.

• Amid ongoing controversy over her views on trans issues, J.K. Rowling’s credit gets all but snubbed in the latest trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. Read more.

• Empire releases its Top 20 movies of 2021, including SP favourites such as Sound of Metal (#2), Minari (#3), Nomadland (#4), Another Round (#9) and The Green Knight (#11), among others. Read more.

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Upcoming Releases

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

UK: 22 April // USA: 22 April

Nicolas Cage stars as a parody of himself in this upcoming comedy-action film where he accepts $1M to attend the birthday party of his biggest fan, Pedro Pascal.

Munich - The Edge of War

UK: 21 January // USA: 21 January

As Hitler prepares to invade Czechoslovakia in 1938, the government of Neville Chamberlain desperately seeks a peaceful solution. A British civil servant and a German diplomat, former classmates, travel to Munich to discuss peace.

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Fact of the week

You might remember a scene in Home Alone where Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) finds a photo of his brother’s girlfriend and reacts by saying “Buzz, your girlfriend… Woof!”

If you thought this was cruel, then director Chris Columbus would agree, which is why he hired the art director’s son to dress up as a girl for the photo, knowing it would be far too mean to mock a young girl for her appearance.

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Review: Don’t Look Up

Star rating:

2.5 (out of 5)

Where to watch: 

USA: Cinemas (or Netflix from 24 Dec)

UK: Cinemas (or Netflix from 24 Dec)

Runtime:

2hr 25m

Director:

Adam McKay

Blurb: 

Two low-level astronomers (Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio) must go on a massive media tour to warn mankind of a comet that’s en route to destroy the Earth.

The review (NO spoilers):

I was expecting much more from the film that would bring the return of Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio to the big screen after both having taken a two-year hiatus from acting. While it would be unfair to call this disaster movie a disaster, the truth might be worse: it falls flat.

It’s not that it’s a terrible movie, it’s not. But I’ve felt for a long time that American satire doesn’t quite align with the British sense of humour and this is the crux of the issue. Come to think of it, I would love to see a British remake of this film - wouldn’t that be a nice change of pace? All that said, there were moments that made me laugh out loud, but I can count them on one hand, which isn’t great for a film that’s almost two and a half hours long.

Overall though, I found that under the all-star cast, parody presidents and bumbling billionaires, Don’t Look Up is really quite depressing. Seeing how this ‘fictional’ version of humanity reacted to the news of its own impending doom rang a little too true to what we’ve seen in the world over the last couple of years… yes, I’m talking about you, anti-vaxxers.

I’m sure the all-star cast (and the Netflix algorithm) will place Don’t Look Up in the Top 10 most popular films when it hits the streaming service on 24 December, but if you do decide to give it a miss, you won’t be missing much.

Scroll down for The Critic’s Cut and to see what’s in the next issue.

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If you liked Don’t Look Up…

The Big Short

2015 | UK: Amazon Prime (£2.49) // US: Amazon Prime ($2.99)

Also written and directed by Adam McKay, The Big Short is based on real people caught in the middle of true events that took place in the build-up to the 2008 financial crisis. Despite the heavy subject, this is film is very funny and incredibly entertaining.

This also does a fantastic job of explaining what actually caused the crisis, and I daresay that without it, I’d still have no idea.

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In the next issue:

Titane

UK: 31 December // USA: 31 December | Watch the Trailer

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The Critic’s Cut 🚨SPOILER ALERT🚨:

Of all the moments that made me laugh in Don’t Look Up, I was laughing the most when Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence) kept asking, why did General Themes make the scientists pay for free snacks?…

As the most perturbed by humanity’s seeming lack of concern for the end of the world, it does make sense that this question continues to bother her so much as it echoes the film’s main message.

That message is, as I interpret it, that no matter what the right thing is and what makes the most sense, people will rarely act in the way you expect and certainly not with any trace of reason.

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