Comedy

How It Ends Review | Sundance Film Festival

Published

3 years ago

January 30, 2021

We’re now getting to the point where lots of the films that were made during lockdown are starting to be released and How it Ends is a pre-apocalyptic comedy/drama that sounded really good on paper and was one of my most anticipated films for the entire Sundance Film Festival but the finished product is just a complete waste of potential and lacking anything interesting or exciting.

How It Ends is set the day before an asteroid is set to destroy the world and Liza, played by co-writer and co-director Zoe Lister-Jones, is invited to one final wild party before the world ends. But after her car gets stolen and wanting to tie up loose ends she has with family and friends before the apocalypse, she journeys across Los Angeles by foot. She’s not alone though as she’s accompanied by her quirky, metaphysical younger self played by Cailee Spaeny. The two of them tour across the city running into a whole host of familiar faces along the way before the world is set to be destroyed.

The film starts off fairly interesting and it began with a few jokes that I found quite funny and it immediately sets off with this quirky tone and for the first twenty minutes or, so I was quite entertained by it. The film has quite a short runtime of just 82 minutes and so the first quarter of this film was intriguing and set it up to be a really interesting film.

But that’s when it starts to go downhill. Once Liza and her younger self begin their journey across LA it very quickly becomes clear that the rest of the film isn’t going to be anything exciting or entertaining at all. The rest of the film just became a series of socially distanced celebrity cameos. The two lead characters would turn a street corner and bump (not literally) into another familiar face that you might recognise and then proceed to chat to them for a few minutes.

They meet some interesting characters along the way including Olivia Wilde, Helen Hunt and Bradley Whitford who looks like he’s just walked off the set of his other pandemic-made film Songbird. And very quickly, these short snippets get tedious and dull as the majority of the jokes don’t land and it just becomes uneventful when you’ve got the same sort of thing happening over and over again.

On paper this film sounded quite similar to 2013’s This Is the End which actually really surprised me with how good it was but the reason why that film worked and How It Ends doesn’t it because This Is the End was actually a lot of fun and really entertaining. How It Ends had so much potential to make a really fun pre-apocalyptic film with lots of celebrity cameos but instead it just became scene after scene of unfunny encounters with another random actor that you might recognise from a couple of other things.

Whilst it’s impressive that they managed to shoot this entirely during the pandemic, it is very clear that this is the case. Every time the two leads encounter another person they’re always standing a couple of metres apart and sometimes the blocking and framing wasn’t particularly good, probably due to the nature of everyone involved trying to adhere to social distancing rules.

How it Ends had so much potential but it just took all the fun out of the end of the world. It sets itself up to be a really enjoyable and entertaining time but ultimately it doesn’t deliver on any of that and is frankly quite dull to sit through. It’s not the worst film made during the pandemic but it’s definitely not the best.

★★☆☆☆

How it Ends premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival in the Premieres section.

FILM RATING

Related Topics:bradley whitford cailee spaeny helen hunt how it ends olivia wilde Review REVIEWS sundance zoe lister jones

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Comedy

Dream Scenario | Official Trailer — A24 Starring Nicolas Cage

A hapless family man finds his life turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams. When his nighttime appearances take a nightmarish turn, Paul is forced to navigate his newfound stardom.

Published

1 week ago

September 19, 2023

Staff

Genre:

Comedy

Release Date:

2023

Director:

Kristoffer Borgli

Cast:

Lily Bird, Nicolas Cage, Julianne Nicholson

Plot Summary:

FILM RATING

Comedy

Totally Killer | Official Trailer — Available on Prime Video October 6th, 2023

Published

2 weeks ago

September 13, 2023

Jacques van Zyl

Amazon Studios

The following piece was written during the 2023 Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie material being covered here wouldn’t exist.

Genre: Comedy Horror

Release Date: 6 October 2023

Director: Nahnatchka Khan

Writers: David Matalon, Sasha Perl-Raver & Jen D’Angelo

Distributed by: Amazon Prime Video

Production Companies: Blumhouse Television & Divide/Conquer

Cast: Kiernan Shipka, Olivia Holt, Charlie Gillespie, Lochlyn Munro, Troy Leigh-Anne Johnson, Liana Liberato, Kelcey Mawema, Stephi Chin-Salvo, Anna Diaz, Ella Choi, Jeremy Monn-Djasgnar, Nathaniel Appiah, Jonathan Potts, Randall Park & Julie Bowen

Plot Summary

Thirty-five years after the shocking murders of three teens, an infamous killer returns on Halloween night to claim a fourth victim. When 17-year-old Jamie comes face-to-face with the masked maniac, she accidentally time-travels back to 1987. Forced to navigate the unfamiliar culture, Jamie teams up with her teenage mother to take down the psycho once and for all.

Streaming October 6, 2023, exclusively on Prime Video. Watch the official trailer now!

FILM RATING

Comedy

Heartstopper Season 2 Review: A Blissful Sophomore Return.

Published

2 months ago

July 29, 2023

Kevin Verma

Heartstopper was one of those shows that comes out of nowhere and instantly becomes a sensation. Last summer we were introduced to this heartwarming and sweet show from Netflix, and now we finally have its second season. The wait was only a little over a year since its freshman season, but the wait still felt like an age. But the teen drama is back, this time with a more mature and settled storyline.

The show created by Alice Oseman and also based on her graphic novel, follows Nick and Charlie on a journey of self-discovery and romance at an all-boys school. Kit Connor, Joe Locke, William Gao, Yasmin Finney, and Tobie Donovan all return this season. Season 2 picks up right where season 1 left off with Nick and Charlie finally getting together. Season 1 was quite simply a delight, and going into season 2 many were concerned that season 2 will not be able to reach the standards set by the first one, but season 2 will prove the doubters wrong.

Nick Nelson and Charlie Spring were finally together after so many ups and downs, but there were still a lot of problems left to deal with. Charlie has problems at home while Nick is still figuring out who he is and figuring out how and when he wants to come out to other people, as their relationship is still a secret apart from charlie’s close friend group, who have supported them all along.

Fisayo Akinade as Mr Ajayi, Nima Taleghani as Mr Farouk

The story tackles more mature themes this time around and dives into more serious teenage issues. The pacing is good as always and the tone stays consistent throughout. The direction is a notch above the first season with some very smart shots in key scenes. Kit Connor and Joe Locke are as amazing as always and their storyline keeps on finding interesting routes to go to and keeps the viewer rooting for them.

William Gao as Tao is a standout and steals the first half of the season. His development as a character is very clear and he grows a lot as a person this season. Tobie Donovan stays in the shadows for most of the season but packs a solid punch in the end. Olivia Colman has a small yet impactful role and it is always a delight when she’s on screen. Fisayo Akinade as Mr Ajayi also has a bigger role this time and Nima Taleghani as Mr Farouk was another standout for me.

Heartstopper Season 2 is a blissful return for the wonderfully radiant show that somehow finds a way to consistently put a smile on your face and get you invested in the enchanting storyline. It is filled with so many likable characters and adorable romances. The performances are incredibly charming and you’ll never get tired of watching them. Fans of the first season will be anything but disappointed and I personally believe that it is an improvement from its first season.

Heartstopper season 2 will stream on Netflix from August 3.