Hey. I’m sure most of you are pretty familiar with the new Netflix original movie called Birdbox. In the short time it recorded an incredible amount of views so I’m sure you must have watched it by now.
I’m not gonna do a review but more of “what I liked and disliked the most about the movie”
If you still happen to not have watched it – I and millions of other people highly recommend it. To simply describe it – it’s a postapocalyptic story about a mother trying to save her children from unseen, strange, and evil forces that hit the world. You can’t look at that “thing” – if you do you’ll kill yourself.
What I like about it:
- the fact that it’s not a typical apocalypse situation. It’s so clean. The first thought that pop-ups in my head when you mention apocalypse or the end of the world are zombies – deadly viruses making dead people walk and eat flesh and that’s just dirty, bloody, messy, and just gross. This type of end of the world has a nice quiet background. Once you’re dead you stay dead – unless you were a bad guy then no peace for you.
- overlapping of the timelines, it’s 2 simultaneous stories, one that is happening right now and one that happened 5 years ago and it nicely fills up all the gaps from the story that have been missing from the beginning. Keeps the story interesting and you on the edge.
- monsters are totally up to your imagination. For the whole duration of the movie I was on the edge, waiting for them to show those monsters, I was imagining how terrible they must look like and the anticipation was the worst. It’s really not that scary when you think back about it, but the fact that you’re expecting to be scared out of your mind makes this movie really nerve-wracking.
- The same goes for the noises, I was paranoid most of the time that something was up
little girls acting – seriously she was incredible – the boy on the other hand was not that interesting.
- Malorie is a badass character, really represents a strong mother figure and you rarely have mother hero characters.
- Netflix has a thing for dark, mysterious monsters with long legs, many teeth, deformed, invisible, and visible only by some people and I totally dig their obsession. It reminds me so much of my own drawings of how I called them “creeps” and I talked about them in my Story behind my Creeps. It’s so easy to make them, just let your imagination roll
- The hype and the memes about it. It’s so easy to go with the flow of the sensation. I knew the memes before I watched the movies so that’s for avoiding the spoilers. It’s so easy to make – it takes just one look at any blindfold and I immediately think about bird box now.
On the other hand, there are a lot of things that did not make any sense to me:
- Malorie not losing her baby after a car accident, several hits, malnutrition, physical trauma, home delivery and still birthing a healthy boy
- I don’t think the romantic relationship between Malorie and Tom was necessary and had any impact on the plot whatsoever, besides naming the boy tom as well. I liked them as individuals but their relationship was just “we’re last two people in the world so let’s fall in love”
- kids being so obedient – yes they went through hell but I just can’t imagine any kid being that calm and quiet.
- how did they take care of two newborns at the end of the world
- Sarah Paulson not being gay and appearing for only 10 minutes makes no sense
- Gary’s eyes appearing to be normal at first and then suddenly switching crazy when it’s convenient to the story
- staying at the supermarket was a good idea
- it took monsters so long to affect the guy in front of the monitor. Were they just not aware that he’s looking or just came across the camera by accident and made the guy kill himself?
- tree roof with birds flying freely makes no sense, how much time you expect to have to hide in such large field with that many people and kids
being blind is the key to survival, so in order to survive you would have to give up you own sight = blind yourself and live = how can no one thought of that
But still, it was so damn interesting and I enjoyed it kind of. Let me know in the comments what are your opinions about the bird box.
Thank you so much for your attention
xo Natalia
I saw the movie and liked it. I’m not sure that I like the end. Like I do with many movies I plan on reading the book (apparently the book ends differently).
After watching the movie Annihilation I read the book (Part 1 of a trilogy). It was much better than the movie and completely different. Working on part 2.
Author
Sounds great
I knew nothing about it an watched it completely cold. And I loved it. It felt like an extended Twilight Zone episode for most of the first half. A neat and tidy genre piece. And I’ll watch Bullock in anything she’s a marvellous actor
I like your quirky observations.
Hey isn’t that an awful scenario, being one of the last two people on the planet. Being the same sex might ease things. But even if you WERE opposite sexes and DID like the other person, would you REALLY want to take on the responsibility of kick startimg the human race? I mean, look what happened last time…
It’s perfectly enjoyable. Nice review.
Author
Thank you
And did you hear about this stupid imitation that began after the broadcast of this film? People tie their eyes and do really dangerous things.
Author
Yes I’ve noticed some
Challenge!!:-)
Author
Thank you
I saw the movie too.. It was like wading thru a tide😉
I love Sandra but this was so unrealistic. I mean seriously, running blindfolded through a woods carrying 2 kids and staying on the path without running into the trees. Then tipping a boat in the rapids and she finds the kids…..blindfolded! I was very disappointed with all the hype.
Author
Haha I agree
Excellent review, Natalia. Thank you.
Author
Thank you
I saw this recently and loved it. Yes, I did have to suspend a lot of ‘reality’ when watching; however, it was only for entertainment – and I was fantastically entertained… I adore Emily Blunt’s work. I just, last weekend, saw her in Mary Poppins… Another ‘reality adjusting’ movie I thoroughly enjoyed. The rest of the cast were just as entertaining, too!
Oops! Just got my actors mixed up!
I watched Girl on a Train & Bird Box one after the after.. Great movies, both. Fabulous acting by both stars; I adore them both. I still recommend Emily Blunt in Mary Poppins; if you like a little fantasy and a lot of good fun! 🙂
I read the book before watching the movie & even though I liked the movie, the book was better!
There was no relationship b/w Malorie & Tom & the book was so much creepier. The timeline was also sped up A LOT in the movie whereas in the book Malorie’s sister doesn’t die until much later & it’s not in a car accident w/ Malorie.
Author
Sounds interesting
WOW. I loveee your thoughts on this. You articulated things that are so true about this movie that I never thought consciously. Thank you so much for sharing; I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.
Author
Thank you
Never seen it – but it’s an interesting premist.
I WANTED to see the monsters! I don’t like a monster movie where you never see the monsters!
And why did they have to leave the guy watching the monitor alone? Why couldn’t someone stay with him on the other side of the monitor to look after him in case he tried to kill him self?
And yeah, why not stay in the supermarket? Make a trip back to get the others and bring them there.
Speaking of that trip, it was dumb. A GPS unit doesn’t tell you where the edges of the roads are, where the corners exactly are to turn, and the streets were littered with abandoned cars and even airplanes! That trip would have never happened.
And at the school for the blind, in the absolute middle of nowhere, where are they going to get supplies from?
Author
Exactly!