One of the best new things on Netflix I've seen in some time.

Compelling doomsday narrative with extremely sharp editing and a good cast. An ending that you will love or hate. Executive producers include...wait, the Obamas?  We had to pause and back it up, but there they were haha.

Easy to see why they were drawn to this deep, rich material, though.  Some of the soundtrack choices seemed a bit clunky, and I suspect those choices may be input from Michelle and Barack where the crew just shrugged and was, like, "Well...YOU tell them no, then."  As a result, we get to watch Julia Roberts dance like Elaine Benes. And when did Ethan Hawke and Kevin Bacon become pretty much the same person?

Kidding aside, though, mostly great and some genuinely unsettling stuff in here -- and again, the editing is a marvel during some of the key sequences.  Strong recommend, if only for that boat scene alone.

Enjoyed this, though think there were some narrative holes. but overall interesting and not what I was expecting...

Spot on review, Bert! I was cringing with that dance scene,  . and yep, worth the price of admission for the oil tanker scene, and the Tesla pile-up. It was great to see some originality in an end of world scenario.

The Directing was quite experimental - a little over the top at times with the camera movements and angles but you could say it matched the narrative well. Some of the musical arrangement and sound effects were very retro too but I settled into it.

I've always felt the doppleganger effect with Bacon and Hawke even though up close they're nothing like each other.

Anyway, thoroughly enjoyable.

P.S. Dialogue was great too.
Script based on a book written in lockdown. I must look it up.

I really enjoyed this. I'm a fan of Esmail's previous stuff so I felt like I was in good hands the entire viewing. Every shot in this movie looks like it cost a fortune. If there's an impossible camera movement, they made it possible. Netflix really gave them to budget to do whatever they wanted here.

A couple of these sequences are just beautifully choreographed and really drive home the tension. Edge of your seat stuff. And the unanswered questions that are left behind have the internet going nuts this weekend. I even googled a few things myself to try and grasp a better understanding. Whether you like it or not, you can't deny how thought provoking it is.

By far one of Netflix's better outings. I high recommend from me as well.

James

Quoted from jwent6688 I really enjoyed this. I'm a fan of Esmail's previous stuff so I felt like I was in good hands the entire viewing. Every shot in this movie looks like it cost a fortune. If there's an impossible camera movement, they made it possible. Netflix really gave them to budget to do whatever they wanted here. A couple of these sequences are just beautifully choreographed and really drive home the tension. Edge of your seat stuff. And the unanswered questions that are left behind have the internet going nuts this weekend. I even googled a few things myself to try and grasp a better understanding. Whether you like it or not, you can't deny how thought provoking it is. By far one of Netflix's better outings. I high recommend from me as well. James

Re the answers, this is what resonated with me:

The first stage is "isolation", which was the power outage and hacking satellites which stop even satellite phones from working.

Once that's done, the second stage is "synchronised chaos" where the country is terrorised with "covert attacks and misinformation", such as the piercing noise, the varied leaflets and so on.

"If done successfully, the third stage would happen on its own.

Coup d'etat. Civil war. Collapse. This program was considered the most cost-effective way to destabilise a country," GH explains. "Because if the target nation was dysfunctional enough, it would, in essence, do the work for you. Whoever started this wants us to finish it.

Scary shit.

Elon musk must be pissed. Doesn't make his cars look safe lol. -A

Quoted from ghost and_ghostie gal Elon musk must be pissed. Doesn't make his cars look safe lol. -A

Great sequence though! Did you guys watch it yet?

Yup, seen it the other day. But don't ask my thoughts gurl. I read the book.

Well, I do have to ask now... ?  

Quoted from LC Well, I do have to ask now... ?

Ok, I'll just say this -- didn't care for the ending. Maybe no resolution is the point. Think about it --dystopian and not tied up with a pretty bow. If something like this really happens, it won’t be pretty…this left it open for you to fill in your own ending. Just guessing.

Like I said, I'm bias cos I read the book. So all other thoughts - I'll keep to myself...

Whoa, I'm the weird one apparently. I thought it was awful. Directed like a bad Shyamalan impression with completely nonsensical and meaningless but very busy camerawork. Absolutely atrocious dialogue ("I'm not down with most of the things you do and say, but here's the part of the Venn diagram where we overlap." "I remember it from the game I was playing!"). Terrible casting on Julia Roberts. Terrible locations work on the boring house. Total lack of suspense due to completely uninteresting character dynamics. Abysmal music. No clear tone. Characters telling and retelling things that we watched happen five minutes ago. And to top it all off, you wait the entire time to find out that one character knew what the big reveal was the entire movie and just didn't mention it because he didn't feel like it.

I think I get the goal with this movie, I think I understand why they felt it was prescient, I think it makes thematic sense and the premise is interesting. But I thought this was reaaaaaaaally bad. It felt like a much longer, duller, less funny, less self-aware The Happening.

I did like the dance scene and I thought the ending was a good payoff - "nostalgic for a time that never was" and all that.

Ha, I actually agree with most of what you said. I didn't think it was reeeeaaaallllyyyy bad, but I certainly didn't love it either. Far from. I didn't like Julia Roberts character nor any of the kids.  

I'm with Heretic.

This was so bizarre, in a bad way. Dialogue no human has ever spoken, and at times it kinda seems like they fed the novel into Chat GPT and asked it to make a script out of it. They've kept aspects of the novel and tossed others in a way that makes it seems really thematically disconnected, like a computer wrote it.

Not to mention the needlessly obnoxious cinematography. Even the very opening scene is on the nose, Julia Roberts's dialogue was the worst.

The Tesla cars scene and the oil tanker were brilliant though, right? Right.

I must be starved for a good yarn I think. We go through streaming menus lately and I start to watch things and give up - Monarch, being one example. They start well and then bore the heck out of me.

I was more than willing to ignore the flaws with this one .

The tanker scene drove me crazy! And I normally hate people who point out logic flaws/"plot holes" in movies, but this was like surreal.

So the tanker is really far in the distance, facing towards the beach, and someone points it out - so they can SEE it. Then, it's getting closer but still far away - they notice it again, but assume it's no big deal.

THEN it cuts to the tanker being RIGHT ON THE BEACH metres from the shoreline and they have to run out of the way. Why make such a big deal of everyone noticing it's getting closer only to imply they somehow didn't realise it was going to breach the shore until the very last moment? (Because that's the only way for a tanker ship to have any stakes for people safely on the shore, thats why).

It was almost funny, especially the shot of them running (rather slowly) across the screen with the tanker crashing in the background. It was like an SNL skit in front of green screen.

I think it was done really well.
Horses for courses.

Quoted from LC I must be starved for a good yarn I think. We go through streaming menus lately and I start to watch things and give up - Monarch, being one example. They start well and then bore the heck out of me.

I've been watching Murder at the End of the World on HULU. I wouldn't say it's brilliant or anything, but if you like Who Dunnits, I think it's a good one. It's like an Agatha Christie type mystery, but modern. Clive Owen is in it as well, and that's a good thing in my book.  

This was ATROCIOUS! How could anyone unironically enjoy this!? Did I watch something different!? I'm so confused. I feel like I'm in an alternate reality or something.  

Quoted from Heretic I think I get the goal with this movie, I think I understand why they felt it was prescient, I think it makes thematic sense and the premise is interesting. But I thought this was reaaaaaaaally bad. It felt like a much longer, duller, less funny, less self-aware The Happening.

This! Fuckin' spot on!

Quoted from Grandma Bear I've been watching Murder at the End of the World on HULU. I wouldn't say it's brilliant or anything, but if you like Who Dunnits, I think it's a good one. It's like an Agatha Christie type mystery, but modern. Clive Owen is in it as well, and that's a good thing in my book.

I'm not sure if it's available yet down here, but thanks Pia, that one is definitely on my radar. Britt Marling has been at it (writing & directing & acting) similar to Greta Gerwig, for a while now. Hopefully this is a success for her.

Maybe Zack should check this one out too.

Quoted from LC Maybe Zack should check this one out too.

If it's anything like this, pass. HARD pass.

Quoted from LC Britt Marling has been at it (writing & directing & acting) similar to Greta Gerwig, for a while now.

Oh man, I had ignored this one, had no idea it was Marling! She (and her filmmaking partner Zal Batmanglij) have had an awesome career so far. Will check this out for sure.