It's a Disaster
It's a Disaster
R | 12 April 2013 (USA)
It's a Disaster Trailers

Four couples meet for Sunday brunch only to discover they are stuck in a house together as the world may be about to end.

Reviews
morrison-dylan-fan

Taking a look to see if anything had been added to Netflix UK over the last few days,I discovered that a post-apocalypse Comedy with Julia Stiles was going to be taken off the site in a few days time.Being a fan of the post-apocalypse (and also having enjoyed seeing Stiles in some titles) I decided that it was the best time to visit the disaster zone.The plot:For their third date Tracy Scott decides to take her date Glenn Randolph to a couples brunch hosted by her sister Emma Mandrake.Shortly after everyone arrives for brunch,the TV,phone and internet start to shut down.Caught up blaming each other over who has not paid the bill,Emma and Pete Mandrake catch the other couples by surprise,by revealing that they are getting divorced.Reeling from the news,the group get a surprise visit from neighbour Hal Lousteau,who tells the couples that they must stay in the house,due to five,possibly nuclear, bombs having just gone off.View on the film:Spending the whole film in the house as the world ends,writer/co- star/director Todd Berger & cinematographer Nancy Schreiber give the movie a warm,free-flowing improvised atmosphere,as rough-edge whip- pans catch relationships in the house ending with the world.Although he does not step outside,Berger does very well at drawing a rough impression of the events taking place outside,,with the crackle of radio/phone calls and the odd front door visit hinting at the disaster unfolding just down the street.Offering the perfect black Comedy backdrop with the apocalypse,the screenplay by Berger largely leaves comedic set-pieces for a dry,bitter wit being fed by the ripples of Emma and Peter's marriage problems. Casting everyone in the wacky shade,Berger gives each characters weird edges a delicious kooky warmth,which shines from Randolph being completely uncomfortable,to Hal's hilarious matter of fact warning. Joined by the off-beat delights from Kevin M. Brennan and Erinn Hayes,David Cross and Julia Stiles give great performances,thanks to Stiles giving Tracy a sharp shot of level- headed sass,whilst Cross raptures Glen with an unexpected dash of mad sincerity.Final view on the film:A movie that is far from disastrous.

... View More
Benjamin Philipp (Benjamin_Philipp)

We're invited to watch a group of people experience the possible end of the world. This set-up is simple in and of itself, and has been used to abundance, but there is something beautiful (as true) about this interpretation, because it combines utter and genuine relatability with just the right set-up and writing. Like when Pete and Emma talk about their marriage ending, Pete admits he likes "the first version" of Emma: She replies "maybe that's part of the problem": She instinctively knows that his (somewhat) unconditional love is stifling her growth, her development as a person. There is a lot of inter-social actions in this film that showcase genuine slices of life, but there is also the added benefit of the hypothetical or exaggerated state of affairs of the world (or rather: life where they are) possibly being about to end, which forces the characters to develop, change their views, or at least re-consider their life choices so far. We see somebody who might have been written off as a nerd (and maybe not even the functioning kind) suddenly being the most focused and prepared person in the room, even though he was set up to be an odd-one out kind of character, which forces the viewer to re-consider their preconceived versions of their own pigeon-holes. This often turns out to be either quite obvious or contrived, but in this case it feels right. We get to experience a group of people developing from a situation that was cast upon them, and this is not one of those failed attempts like "The Man From Earth" (2007) which had a great premise but awful execution; or "The Mist" (2007) Which had a great core (inter-social wise) but too much bad and distracting preposterous components that it destroyed the experience for most people. This movie benefits from all facets human life has to offer, and manages to underline just the right parts of it at just the right time. With David Cross in it, of course it has a strong dry comedy aspect to it, which holds everything together, as the comedic aspects of this story (human pettiness, short-sightedness, pursuits of pointless goals) manage to point out the (contemporary) flaws in humanity in general, thus making the experience more accessible. All in all, this experience seems to underline certain aspects of humanity that would be worth being aware of, while continuously challenging the viewer's perspective on the characters, and thusly on life, since the characters are written to illustrate genuine slices of life, which succeeds very well across the board. It invites to engage in the "what if" experience, without ever seeming "too heavy" and always maintaining a well-working atmosphere as an in-between of comedy and tragedy. It strongly leans more towards the comedic aspect of things, but this is not at all detrimental to the social developments taking place, or the reality behind the story.

... View More
arfdawg-1

The plot.Eight friends meet for their monthly couples brunch. But what starts as an impromptu therapy session/airing of domestic grievances takes a sudden, catastrophic turn when the city falls victim to a mysterious attack. Trapped in the house and unsure of their fates, these seemingly normal people become increasingly unhinged to surprising results.This is one of the worst movies you will ever see. I am shocked that it got some good reviews here.The movie is nearly unwatchable.It's poorly directed and poorly acted.In fact, there is no acting. It appears the dialog is ad-libbed because if it's not, it's even worse than worse than awful.Half the movie are the actors jumping up and down.Honestly I have never seen such an amateurish film. It's as if a monkey was given a camera and this was the result.It's worse than a student film!!!

... View More
FlashCallahan

Eight friends meet for their monthly brunch. What starts as a pseudo therapy session and an airing of domestic grievances takes a sudden turn when the city falls victim to a mysterious attack. Trapped in the house and unsure of their fates, these seemingly normal people become increasingly unhinged........Its a bizarre film for sure, and to be fair, you wouldn't want to have brunch with any of these people, as they are a pretty abhorrent lot, but get past all this, and you have a little treat of a film, with some very good performances, and a funny script.The majority of the film is set in one house, and as the threat gets closer, patience wear all the more thin, and people start to reveal their true colours.Cross is the best thing about the film as he is the character who has the biggest change of personality in the film. Yes others change, but it's their attitude toward one another, and their desperation. Cross on the other hand is just plain bizarre.It's not a film for everyone, it took me a while to get over the smugness of the characters, but its unique, funny, and the final scene is pretty genius.

... View More