jbenante-388-963917 I'm not sure why this movie didn't get a higher overall rating. Sure, there are a number of things in the plot that aren't realistic. So what? It never pretended to be, as far as I can tell, a movie trying to accurately portray the end of the world.The impending End is kind of a silent character hanging over the proceedings. The movie is not so much about the End. The movie is character driven, and often funny and heartbreaking at the same time. It does a pretty decent job of showing how people might react in the situation. Of course, it's speculation. No one can predict how people would really react, and hopefully we won't have to find out any time soon.Carell and Knightley are both very good in the leads. They imbue even more warmth and humanity into the movie, whose script already has quite a bit of warmth and humanity baked into it.I found the ending, in particular, to be quite lovely.People expecting hard-core sci-fi should absolutely steer clear. The sci-fi elements remain very much in the background. But for those with romantic souls (not necessarily sappily romantic), this movie is a must see.

jpetrie-2 There is almost nothing interesting or engaging about this movie. It's a little dark and a little funny at times, but it's one of the least funny comedies I've seen. Even worse, though, is that it's completely unromantic. It's okay for a romantic comedy to be not very funny if it's romantic, but there is virtually no romance here. I didn't believe for a second that any characters fell in love during this movie. I saw no evidence of it, and the supposedly romantic scenes made me feel nothing.I think the main problem is that this movie tries to be three different things -- funny, romantic, and dark -- and it ends up being not much of any one of them. It's surely hard making a comedy or a romance set during the end of the world, so it shouldn't have been too dark; I think the level of darkness would have been fine if the comedy or the romance had been much stronger.One bright spot was that Steve Carell was fine. I like him in some things and not in others (mainly I dislike his awkward, cringey humor), and he basically plies his normal schtick here. He does a good job of it and it's the right schtick for this movie.

zkonedog The beauty of a movie like "Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World" is that it can go in so many different directions. It could be a high drama, a comedy, an adventure romp, or any number of different scenarios. What is required, however, is a little bit of focus to make sure that the right area (or blend of areas) is present in order to make sure that the characters and setting do not get "lost in the shuffle". Unfortunately, "Seeking" lacks such focus.For a basic plot summary, this movie is set in a future American where the world is going to inevitably be destroyed by a very large meteor. After being dumped by his wife after hearing the news, Dodge (Steve Carell) is lost in life and decides to go visit his "first love" that got away. Before he can do so, however, he meets Penny (Keira Knightley), who throws a major kink (for better or worse) in his plans as the clock continues ticking towards doomsday.While "Seeking" has great potential to be a solid film, it ends up failing because of its complete lack of focus. Director Lorene Scafaria doesn't seem to know what kind of movie she wants to make here, and as a result any potential "good stuff" is lost in the shuffle. For example...-The "elephant in the room" (the end of the world) isn't taken all that seriously and works better as a comedic bit than anything substantial in terms of drama. -It could work as a comedy, but Carell is given such conflicting material that his character comes off as a mix of boorish and pathetic (e.g. nothing all that funny). -The movie could have even worked strictly as a character drama, if not for the total unbelievability of the Carell/Knightley pairing and the fact that the first half (if not two-thirds) of the picture fritters away any chance of meaningful character development.Basically, "Seeking" is the kind of movie you get when you try to be too "artsy" and don't solidify your focus. The casting choice of Knightley (queen of the "artsy" movies) only solidifies this line of thinking. If you are looking for anything near Carell's earlier "Crazy Stupid Love" in terms of a mesh of comedy/drama/emotion, you won't find it here.

P.uncia The plot gives room for thinking and pondering, how would it look like, the end of the world...but I don't need this movie to imagine it. The main characters are miscast to say the least, and the film fails to be funny, and it fails at being romantic. It even fails at being dark. Dodge is the daft loser, and Penny is the goofy screw up. Dodge hates small talk and/or conversations, but eventually they have long, boring conversations about how their lives were before. I kept longing for the red wine they had, and just tuned out. I guess I didn't even expect Dodge and Penny to hook up. It's fine with an unusual couple, but come on! They had no chemistry, and I thought it was both unlikely and a bit gross.