Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

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.

I watched this because of kosmasp's link with Coherence. Intriguing to find a shared internet interest, and I wondered if there was a Monty Python influence.But ... uuuh - I don't fink so.This is gentle comedy - a bit self conscious, a bit Jewish, although for some reason it plays out on a Christian apocalypse line.The story is slight, so the characters have to carry our interest - and they really don't deliver. The free-love couple are good (my sympathies), but overall the dialogue is awkward, the laughs are forced, and there's no serious take on life - let them all drink the kool aid. Who cares? But loving Beethoven's allegretto.

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.

If the people are not religious and never proclaimed allegiance to Jesus, and if some are happy adulterers, how can they go to heaven? Why does the Ben Cross character think they would go to heaven? Why would drinking poison help you go to heaven better than dying from Nerve Gas, if in neither circumstance, did you find Jesus? Having said all that, I like the premise. Apocalyptic stuff can happen when you least expect it. You could be in the bathroom, or at a brunch, or whatever.In this case, the people could only react to the situation within the context of who they were. With no forewarning, they could just be themselves to the end, without much philosophizing. Whereas if they got a year's notice, they could possibly transform into deeper people.The reality is that a lot of people have the skills to do some job, but are pretty shallow and worthless otherwise. In this case, these were people who were raised on pop culture and cynicism. Some had skills and all could afford homes and cars. But they had no class.One reviewer from New Zealand said that was because these people were shallow Americans. But I'm not sure what he's talking about. Would he prefer we beat each other up over soccer matches or wait in long lines for socialist crap? There are a lot of shallow, worthless people all over the world. It's not unique to America. Nice use of dark comedy. I really liked the comic book guy. He had some funny lines and a really quirky way about him. I didn't need to see America Ferrera on the toilet. There's no point to that.Not one character ever mentioned their parents or siblings.Wouldn't drinking that poison lead to a tortured and prolonged death just like the nerve gas? Why were they referencing the University of Texas? Was it supposed to be Austin? The writer is from New Orleans. No one had an accent.I think it did show that couples can stick together, even after betrayal, when they have enough time and equity built into the relationship.The speech by the America Ferrera character about how the disaster made her realize that she wants out of her relationship was one of the best parts.The shots of their friends laying dead on the front porch were pretty eerie and a good use of tragicomedy.I wouldn't recommend this movie. It's depressing and not that funny. It would have to have been either funnier or deeper, to make it worth your while. But there was some good writing and adequate performances. Forget about it.