Author |
Message |
trixster
loyalfromlondon
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 6:31 pm Posts: 19697 Location: ville-marie
|
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
Seeking a Friend for the End of the WorldQuote: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is a 2012 comedy-drama film written and directed by Lorene Scafaria. The film stars Steve Carell and Keira Knightley.
_________________Magic Mike wrote: zwackerm wrote: If John Wick 2 even makes 30 million I will eat 1,000 shoes. Same. Algren wrote: I don't think. I predict.
|
Thu Jun 21, 2012 10:18 pm |
|
|
Libs
Sbil
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 3:38 pm Posts: 48626 Location: Arlington, VA
|
Re: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
Very well acted by Steve Carell and Keira Knightley in a pair of delightful performances, but the film's storytelling is decidedly muddled. There are some great moments here but just as many that don't really work, so a mixed bag. C+
|
Sat Jun 23, 2012 11:16 pm |
|
|
Gopher
You are waiting for a train
Joined: Fri Jun 19, 2009 3:25 pm Posts: 995
|
Re: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
It's nice to see a movie you have little expectations for and sudddenly fall in love with. It's not perfect by any stretch but I thought it got better and better as it went on.
|
Sun Jun 24, 2012 2:02 am |
|
|
David
Pure Phase
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:33 am Posts: 34865 Location: Maryland
|
Re: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
_________________1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game
|
Sun Jun 24, 2012 2:13 am |
|
|
Jmart
Superman: The Movie
Joined: Fri Oct 22, 2004 8:47 am Posts: 21141 Location: Massachusetts
|
Re: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
It's good. What keeps it from being great is the Carell/Knightley relationship. As friends they're good together. As soul-mates, not quite. The last act really wants you to believe that these two were meant for one another. I never really bought into it.
I also thought the relationship with his dad could've been developed just a little bit more, you know, into something. It's just vague for the sake of being vague.
Despite my problems though, I did like it, with the first third being especially strong.
*** (B)
_________________My DVD Collection Marty McGee (1989-2005)
If I’m not here, I’m on Letterboxd.
|
Sun Jun 24, 2012 3:12 am |
|
|
David
Pure Phase
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:33 am Posts: 34865 Location: Maryland
|
Re: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
Yes, they maybe did push a tad too far with the romance.
Him directly saying, "You're the love of my life" after just a few days leaves one longing for the unheard whisper at the end of Lost in Translation.
I also would've changed the setting of the ending. Dodge returning to the apartment building (it seems those maniacal rioters were respectful of property rights and left most everything untouched), and her doing the same, made it feel more contrived than necessary. He could've just stayed at his father's house.
_________________1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game
|
Sun Jun 24, 2012 3:20 am |
|
|
jmovies
Let's Call It A Bromance
Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2007 7:22 pm Posts: 12333
|
Re: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
Another great film that will go underseen this year. Carell and Knightley are fantastic and this film is so charming and funny. I also loved the cameos along the way. ***1/2
|
Mon Jun 25, 2012 9:16 pm |
|
|
Bradley Witherberry
Extraordinary
Joined: Sat Oct 30, 2004 1:13 pm Posts: 15197 Location: Planet Xatar
|
Re: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
Wow - - this one's bad, real bad. So sad to see two of my favorite actors wasted in this misfire (especially Keira Knightley - - we don't see nearly enough of her these days). It started off promisingly enough - - I especially enjoyed the two alternate titles displayed before the real one... Fuck A Virgin and Hire An Assassin The concept is solid and the movie's comic opening 20 minutes with Rob Cordry and his family showed great promise, but then the movie was drained of all energy and imagination and slowly coasted to a halt a long 80 minutes later. 1 out of 5....though in retrospect, there was that one great joke near the end... During the newscaster's final broadcast, he notifies viewers that the meteor is hitting seven days early so there is only seventeen hours left, and then proceeds to remind them that daylight savings time starts that night and not to forget to set their clocks forward one hour.
In my theatre, after a long sleepy hour, the entire auditorium burst into a bout of loud and long laughter!) ...so based on that joke and the promising start, I will upgrade my rating to: 2 out of 5.
|
Tue Jun 26, 2012 8:27 am |
|
|
Chippy
KJ's Leading Pundit
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 4:45 pm Posts: 63026 Location: Tonight... YOU!
|
Re: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
I enjoyed it. Obviously the beginning was better than the middle parts, but I thought it had a good pace to it. It was depressingly romantic. And Keira Knightley is always wonderful.
B
_________________trixster wrote: shut the fuck up zwackerm, you're out of your fucking element trixster wrote: chippy is correct
|
Tue Jun 26, 2012 9:12 pm |
|
|
Shack
Devil's Advocate
Joined: Sun Jul 31, 2005 2:30 am Posts: 37886
|
Re: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
I really liked it. Nice character layers, dialog, two actors interacting and working well together. I agree the whole I love you stuff left a little bit of a bad taste to end the movie. For the most part though, a well done comedy that achieves most of what it wants to out of the concept
It's nitpicking but I wish they didn't show the bomb shelter because it made no sense that they/Penny wouldn't jump at the chance at getting in it. Why choose certain death over rolling the dice with that.
_________________Shack’s top 50 tv shows - viewtopic.php?f=8&t=90227
|
Tue Jul 03, 2012 3:53 am |
|
|
Shack
Devil's Advocate
Joined: Sun Jul 31, 2005 2:30 am Posts: 37886
|
Re: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
David wrote: Yes, they maybe did push a tad too far with the romance.
Him directly saying, "You're the love of my life" after just a few days leaves one longing for the unheard whisper at the end of Lost in Translation.
I also would've changed the setting of the ending. Dodge returning to the apartment building (it seems those maniacal rioters were respectful of property rights and left most everything untouched), and her doing the same, made it feel more contrived than necessary. He could've just stayed at his father's house. Agreed. I say make him sit on the porch and then see the plane go into view. Then just skip to the few days later right before the end.
_________________Shack’s top 50 tv shows - viewtopic.php?f=8&t=90227
|
Tue Jul 03, 2012 3:57 am |
|
|
Michael A
Joined: Sat Dec 27, 2008 4:48 am Posts: 6245
|
Re: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
I really quite liked it. A little project concerned with sentiment and emotion, maintaining optimism in the face of peril, finding love. It was no Anderson Coen master-piece of quirky relationships and dynamic, unusual characters but it tried pretty hard and had the best of intentions and that's all I need. The archs were interesting and relatable enough, I guess my main complaint is the film was over-thinking. Knightley's hyper-somnia fitting into the plane plot device, the whole film was structured a little too precisely, carefully for this type of sporadic journey. Ah well, it was extremely pleasant nonetheless.
_________________Mr. R wrote: Malcolm wrote: You seem to think threatening violence against people is perfectly okay because you feel offended by their words, so that's kind of telling in itself. Exactly. If they don't know how to behave, and feel OK offending others, they get their ass kicked, so they'll think next time before opening their rotten mouths.
|
Fri Jul 06, 2012 12:27 pm |
|
|
Magic Mike
Wallflower
Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 4:53 am Posts: 34875 Location: Minnesota
|
Re: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
This was disappointing. I didn't buy into the relationship between Knightley and Carell at all. I knew to expect them to fall in love but it happened so suddenly and I just couldn't see it. It's too bad because I liked and appreciated the ending. If I'd believed in their character's relationship it could have been incredibly emotional. I thought both gave good performances though.
***SPOILERS*** I thought it was far-fetched that she'd ditch seeing her family to be with this guy she just met. Maybe if I'd bought their characters being together romantically, but it didn't feel genuine to me. ***END SPOILERS***
It's not a bad movie. I liked it well enough and it does have some pretty nice moments. But it should have been better.
6/10 (B-)
|
Wed Nov 07, 2012 10:54 pm |
|
|
Algren
now we know
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2004 9:31 pm Posts: 66999
|
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
I could tell this was made by a woman. Bit soppy and boring. Keira Knightley is miscast. Her and her gurning face. I couldn't care less about either of their stories. I wanted to see more of how people are living out their final weeks. How weird and interesting that would be. I think there's a lot to explore there. Instead, we're stuck with two nothingless characters and their stupid "romance".
The only funny part was when he goes back to his flat at the end and the maid is still cleaning his place. Oh, and they should have shown some destruction, or at least one final shot of the meteor about to arrive.
This film is very much a damp squib.
C-
|
Sun Apr 29, 2018 5:12 am |
|
|
David
Pure Phase
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:33 am Posts: 34865 Location: Maryland
|
Re: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
If you ever stumble upon it, there is a Canadian film from the '90s, Last Night, depicting a similar situation with more diverse characters. It is, in my opinion, a more effective film overall.
_________________1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game
|
Sun Apr 29, 2018 8:10 am |
|
|
Thegun
On autopilot for the summer
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 10:14 pm Posts: 21628 Location: Walking around somewhere
|
Re: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
I can't say I hated it because it does a pleasant subtleness to it. But you can't help but say dam this could have been a much better film. The type of "you can forgive potholes because you're a big film trying to tell so much" but this is a small film set against a big backdrop that needed a lot more focus,
I think the intent was there and it got edited to shit trying to make it more vulgar. It does very much feel like two films at times.
C+
_________________Chippy wrote: As always, fuck Thegun. Chippy wrote: I want to live vicariously through you, Thegun!
|
Sun Apr 29, 2018 6:03 pm |
|
|
Algren
now we know
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2004 9:31 pm Posts: 66999
|
Re: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
David wrote: If you ever stumble upon it, there is a Canadian film from the '90s, Last Night, depicting a similar situation with more diverse characters. It is, in my opinion, a more effective film overall. I'll keep an eye out for it.
|
Sun Apr 29, 2018 7:55 pm |
|
|