Y2K

After researching the content in this movie, I had no intention of watching it. However, I was housesitting, and it about to start on HBO. Figuring, well, let me see what it's like, I can turn to something else if I hate it. So I started it, and, surprisingly for me, finished it! Now, it was free, and I could've changed the channel anytime, but being that I stuck with it, that says something.

So, first off, almost none of the characters are likable. The main character *is*, and it's his journey, but the rest are just crummy, even the girl he likes. (Rachel Zegler, who, most don't like in real life, anyway.) The jokes are not consistently funny, in fact the tone kind of zigzags all over the place. It's not the worst movie I've ever seen, but nowhere near the greatest.

What it does have going for it are a couple things. The plot is a different spin, tweaked just enough to make it interesting, and it's nowhere near as gory as I thought it would be. (It's like "This is the End" lite.) The '90s music is great, and very funny in some scenes, surprisingly. I also like that the main character is relatable, and in fact, this doesn't feel like Generation Z actors playing Millennials. I think this movie is a good time passer. I don't think it's worth seeking out, but if it's on TV, or at your library, and you like sci-fi comedy, you might like this. I'll say it like this, if you lived through the 90s, and like the idea of hearing a bunch of music from then, seeing Fred Durst satirize himself, or you just want to see something other than the usual, check this out. 5/10.

Y2K tries to take the formula of popular teen comedies like 'Superbad' and wrap it around tech horror but it ultimately fails to give us anything but a mess. It relies hard on your knowledge and memories of Y2K, 1999/2000 trends in music, and low-budget horror films to carry the humor but its story falls apart halfway through. The 3rd act is a mess only saved by one of the most ridiculous cameos with jokes at their own expense.

In the end, Y2K can be funny with some laugh-out-loud moments, but most of those moments are at how ridiculous what just happened was. If you were a teen to 20 something in 1999/2000 you can find something to enjoy with the film but ultimately doesn't give enough to warrant another visit.

Brad: 5 Josh: 4.5-5 Final: 5.

This could have been good. The concept is there, you have a cast that was willing to put themselves in goofy situations and obviously the budget to create something memorable. What went wrong? The limp direction and the forced screenplay.

Firstly, the acting is awful. Not because of the cast, but because the screenplay is written with so many hamfisted jokes thrown in that it gave the actors little room breathe, not to mention these are not traditionally comic actors. Felt bad for the leads, because I know they are capable of much more than this.

Secondly, the script needs more work. Nobody talked like this in the 90s. You got the references and the slang, but none of the delivery. Not a single bit of dialog felt natural to the scene. The comedy only works maybe a quarter of the time because the jokes are so sudden and forced.

Thirdly, where is the shock value? For a movie like this to work, there needed to be more shock. A bit more graphic violence, maybe a bit more nudity. Something to make me say "Whoa!". It felt tame for the subject matter and general feel of the film. Should've taken the murderous robot scheme further.

Overall, it was trash. Unbelievable, not funny and childish. I would only recommend watching it if it's free on streaming and you have absolutely nothing else to watch on a rainy afternoon.

1 brain implant out of 5.

This is one I was looking forward to for a while and I had reasonable expectations for it. However what it ultimately became was kind of forgettable.

Pros.

The humor can really be on point here and there and there is a really good chemistry between the two leads. The best friend dynamic was really on point, with some Super Bad vibes. The aesthetic was also on point, as someone who was in high school during this period, they nailed it. There was some good side characters that really helped pull the weight of the film. Also some death scenes were funny.

Cons.

The story seemed so good at the beginning, it really set up the characters and world nicely but if you were expecting the fun times that the trailer teased, you will be disappointed. After the initial shock of Y2K begins, it really comes undone. There is a main character that dies and it just didn't feel warranted, at least not yet. Then another death of a main side character happens almost immediately afterwards for comic effect and its really funny but doesn't work overall because of the previous death needed more time to sink in, or not happen at all. So two of the funniest characters are dead in like 30 mins... Not a good sign of things to come.

Then the characters just roam around with some side characters that were not the focus before but move into the spot light and it distracts from the main characters plight. Speaking of, he is just so bland and uninteresting that I couldn't care about him or his Crush(Laura) who also was bland, and they try so hard to make us like her but I couldn't.

Combine this with a wasted cameo towards the end and a blah ending and this movie absolutely falls apart and wishing it made good with what the movie the trailer promised. Also the acting is very hit or miss.

Overall, it's pretty forgettable but maybe it can be revisited for nostalgia, much like the movie. So meta.

5/10.

This starts strong with its Y2K apocalypse party montage, but once that initial chaos settles, it's like watching a video freeze halfway through loading. By the end, i wondered, "am I supposed to be laughing, scared, or deeply invested in these cardboard cutouts?" I'm still not sure what tone they were going for...

The direction feels like they filmed half the scenes on a Tuesday and the other half months later, then tried to glue it all together with bad ADR. The high school drama is so shallow it makes Degrassi look like Breaking Bad. And the horror? Yeah.... It's a no for me. CGI blood everywhere, practical effects nowhere, and the little makeup they did bother with was giving Spirit Halloween clearance rack.

The comedy doesn't help much either. Most jokes are either so niche I felt like I needed a late-90s pop culture PhD or just plain bad. I laughed a few times, but not usually with the movie-definitely at it. And every time it tried to get serious it flopped. It's like the movie said, "Let's give them whiplash" and went full Don't Look Up tonal chaos, minus the preachy metaphors.

To be fair, there are worse sc-fi horror movies out this year (AfrAId, anyone? Just me?), and worse comedies, too. But Y2K is just there. It's not a full meltdown like reviews may have you believe-it's more like a frozen screen and the mouse is stuck spinning. Fun to think about, frustrating to sit through.