The Ultimate Playlist of Noise uses sound design in a really interesting way. What the film achieves with sound is pleasing and visually feel good too. It's one of the most brilliant aspects of the film
Keean Johnson gives a strong and believable performance as Marcus and while the plot occasionally slows to a snail's pace, his interest in experiencing the sounds of the world during his "Going away party" for his ears keeps things fresh.
There is so much more to life than the small corners of existence we live in and this film paints that reality with both tremendous empathy and a bluntness that lesser writers and directors would avoid.
With fine performances from all actors and some beautiful cinematography and sound mixing, "The Ultimate Playlist of Noise" has a lot of good reasons to watch it and a comforting overall message. But with a plot that draws instant comparisons to similar stories that are more memorable like the sound of Metal, it's destined to be forgotten.
Anyways, it's a heartwarming choice if you're looking for a new release to get your emotions going.
20 Reviews
The Ultimate Playlist of Noise
JoBloTheMovieCritic15 January 2021
6/10 - this Hulu Original teen romance attempts to follow in the footsteps of several of the past decade's teen movie hits (particularly the John Green film adaptations: The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns), but has some problematic messaging and simply fails to elicit the emotional response it clearly desires
Not Bad for a January Release!
dominguezerin19 January 2021
I am sure that I am going to like this film far more than the average viewer as it touches home. I am a musician, and music has played a huge role in my life. I inherently connected to this character before the story began. As the story went on, I found myself laughing at the titular playlist because some of my favorite sounds were on it, and I have literally thought about the emptiness their absence might bring. Had the film left it at that, and really explored the character's fears and reservations about his new life, I think that it would have been more impactful than the conflict that is introduced. I think that there is something in this film that everyone can enjoy!
Enjoyable movie, but I feel let down
aussieobsessed-532-69403016 January 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I really enjoyed this movie. It made me feel laugh, smile, and cry. I really enjoy Marcus, the main character, and I found him quite relatable. I enjoyed watching his journey.
My big complaint is.. he just never sees Wendy again? He was falling for her, she sends him back his tape recorder with the message, and that's it? That was great and sweet and all.. but I was really hoping they'd continue being friends and hanging out after his surgery. Heck, I was rooting for them to get together. Maybe I'm too much of a sap.
Overall, a good movie with lots of emotions.
My big complaint is.. he just never sees Wendy again? He was falling for her, she sends him back his tape recorder with the message, and that's it? That was great and sweet and all.. but I was really hoping they'd continue being friends and hanging out after his surgery. Heck, I was rooting for them to get together. Maybe I'm too much of a sap.
Overall, a good movie with lots of emotions.
An effectively sad dramedy that captures loss in such a unique fashion.
matthewssilverhammer5 April 2021
The beginning of this has some fun High-Fidelity-lite vibes before sinking into teen melodrama for far too long during the road trip section, co-starring a manic pixie dream girl that's more annoying than appealing. While it ended up being more John Green than Nick Hornsby, the last 20 minutes turned it around, making some brave narrative decisions that give it more credibility than it earned through the middle section.
Lovely and enjoyable
leonshikto19 March 2021
The movie portrayed a beautiful journey along with a harsh situation for the main lead to deal. It is not a romantic movie but it would be a lot sweeter with a little romance. Overall 1/2 for story. 1/1 for plot setting. The direction and cinematography is good but something could have been done to make the watchers more involved with the life of the main lead. 1/2. I really enjoyed this movie and give 1.5/2 from myself and 1.5/2 for the actors. They did some good work in this emotional rollercoster movie.
Cute and charming cast in an emotional journey.
cruise0121 January 2021
4 out of 5 stars.
It is a strong emotional journey about a coming of age story when a young teen has a seizure. To only find out he has a tumor. It can be removed in his brain but it will have complications that will take away his hearing. He decides to plan a road trip and make a playlist of sounds along the way. Which he runs into Wendy (Madeline Brewer) which she is also on the run to new york. They both go together. Making memories and recording sounds.
The plot is good. Cute and emotional. Keean Johnson and Madeline Brewer did a fantastic job with there characters. The idea of losing hearing is tough. The noises of music. Nature. Voices and so much more taken away can be scary. The movie does not into that teen romance cliche. Which is a good thing. But the chemistry of the two characters is sweet and perfecr when they are on screen.
Great cast. Fun direction and music score. The plot is good with an emotional characterization. It is definitely worth checking out.
It is a strong emotional journey about a coming of age story when a young teen has a seizure. To only find out he has a tumor. It can be removed in his brain but it will have complications that will take away his hearing. He decides to plan a road trip and make a playlist of sounds along the way. Which he runs into Wendy (Madeline Brewer) which she is also on the run to new york. They both go together. Making memories and recording sounds.
The plot is good. Cute and emotional. Keean Johnson and Madeline Brewer did a fantastic job with there characters. The idea of losing hearing is tough. The noises of music. Nature. Voices and so much more taken away can be scary. The movie does not into that teen romance cliche. Which is a good thing. But the chemistry of the two characters is sweet and perfecr when they are on screen.
Great cast. Fun direction and music score. The plot is good with an emotional characterization. It is definitely worth checking out.
What You'd Expect
sweidman-280169 February 2021
"Sound is my escape and it is something bigger than myself."
Welcome to January Movies! Today we have...a cheesy teen movie about someone who has a few days before a surgery concerning an illness!
Marcus, an audio-obsessed high school senior, learns he must undergo brain surgery that will render him deaf, and decides to seize control of his fate by recording the Ultimate Playlist of Noise. The Ultimate Playlist of Noise is something I was told to watch because it was above average. I wouldn't say this is bad, but it's nothing we've seen before. The movie is predictable in setup. The characters' personalities aren't anything new from normal. Marcus made me feel conflicted at times. He plays everything cool but also nerdy at the same time. I felt like it needed to be one or the other dependent on the current situation. As he and Wendy go on this trip, there are some entertaining scenes. It's not overly funny and knows that it's not trying to be hilarious. Towards the end, I will say there's an emotional scene and an effective approach concerning his state of health. There's not much to say about this because it's pretty average. I will say I do have some beef with the factual information of it. Since he has a brain tumor, he's supposed to lose all of his hearing after the surgery. Where it's located wouldn't have caused this to happen, if I'm correct. Also, before the surgery they shave that area of his head but in the next shot it's obvious that they didn't. Then after the surgery they show the bandages on the opposite side. I feel like those last two things should've been easily acknowledged while making it. That just bugged me. Anyway, it's not bad, but I'll probably forget about it by the end of the year.
Welcome to January Movies! Today we have...a cheesy teen movie about someone who has a few days before a surgery concerning an illness!
Marcus, an audio-obsessed high school senior, learns he must undergo brain surgery that will render him deaf, and decides to seize control of his fate by recording the Ultimate Playlist of Noise. The Ultimate Playlist of Noise is something I was told to watch because it was above average. I wouldn't say this is bad, but it's nothing we've seen before. The movie is predictable in setup. The characters' personalities aren't anything new from normal. Marcus made me feel conflicted at times. He plays everything cool but also nerdy at the same time. I felt like it needed to be one or the other dependent on the current situation. As he and Wendy go on this trip, there are some entertaining scenes. It's not overly funny and knows that it's not trying to be hilarious. Towards the end, I will say there's an emotional scene and an effective approach concerning his state of health. There's not much to say about this because it's pretty average. I will say I do have some beef with the factual information of it. Since he has a brain tumor, he's supposed to lose all of his hearing after the surgery. Where it's located wouldn't have caused this to happen, if I'm correct. Also, before the surgery they shave that area of his head but in the next shot it's obvious that they didn't. Then after the surgery they show the bandages on the opposite side. I feel like those last two things should've been easily acknowledged while making it. That just bugged me. Anyway, it's not bad, but I'll probably forget about it by the end of the year.
Absolutely loved it!!!
dorlassi18 January 2021
The Wrong Type of Noise
GarbageBurner30 January 2021
I thought this was going to be a movie about someone making a harsh noise playlist. Not super thrilled with what I got. It's not terrible, but a little Merzbow would go a long way.
I am aware that a mainstream movie that heavily features harsh noise would be basically unwatchable to a large swathe of a standard audience, and it's not really feasible to expect something like that. But like, that could be a pretty cool movie, just some pretentious teen building their ultimate noise playlist, and everyone just not getting it, which only reinforces their feeling of isolation, further feeding back into their desire to seek alternative media.
Anyway, this movie failed to meet my expectations, which today I'm going to say is their problem, not mine.
I am aware that a mainstream movie that heavily features harsh noise would be basically unwatchable to a large swathe of a standard audience, and it's not really feasible to expect something like that. But like, that could be a pretty cool movie, just some pretentious teen building their ultimate noise playlist, and everyone just not getting it, which only reinforces their feeling of isolation, further feeding back into their desire to seek alternative media.
Anyway, this movie failed to meet my expectations, which today I'm going to say is their problem, not mine.
Amazing heartfelt movie
nolimitscf20 February 2021
A waste of time
tlarraya25 April 2021
Loved it!
landrieden14 March 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This movie was amazing. It made me feel things and think about my life a bit more. The only part that made me a bit upset is that he never saw Wendy again. I mean I'd like to think they met again in the future but we will never know as it wasn't addressed.
A mess
angelesoviedo7 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This film is a complete waste of time. The plot line doesn't make any sense and the characters are boring. So much is going on, they try to explain everything for no reason. Everything bad happens to the main character and somehow he is extremely dull and you can't connect to him. We've seen this type of movie a hundred times but this is certainly the worst one.
A PROFOUND REMINDER TO REALLY LISTEN TO WHAT I HEAR
plasmapilot21 August 2021
I was charmed by this story and especially by it's central characters! Marcus' Playlist took me back through my life to remember and really appreciate many of my favorite sounds. The message for me was to pay attention to everything in life as it happens instead of succumbing to distraction. Focus and BE HERE NOW as Ram Dass said. I loved this so much I'll buy the DVD!
The choice of actors is a disaster
ahjsg6 April 2021
It was a good movie
karlylikesturtles15 March 2021
Some people may say this movie was cliche and like stuff we've seen before but, I think it was actually pretty good. It was a relatable movie and it dealt with lots of emotional moments such as his brother's death/why he died, mental health issues, to always look at the bright side of life and of course when he lost his hearing. Overall I thought it was a good movie.
We need this movie
ks-6050020 February 2021
Hidden Gem
DreamVividly19 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Throughly enjoyed this hidden gem. The storyline was original and unpredictable. I watched it alone the first time and watched it again with my 17 year old daughter. She loved it as much as I did. It was awkward & poetic at times but with real honesty and raw emotion. It touched on loss on so many levels : the loss of his hearing, the loss of his brother and the loss of the experience & joy of sound. It also touched on mental illness in a very profound way. This movie really puts things into perspective and makes you appreciate things we often take for granted. I was pleasantly surprised at how different this movie was. The acting was enjoyable and well done, the cinematography was beautiful. I will definitely watch it again at some point.
Great story about things people might go through
jimmii-307603 March 2021
I enjoyed this movie a lot more than I expected. It gives you a glimpse of what some people might go through in their lives. And in this specific story, they cannot control what happens to them.
They lose the most important things in their life but they also get to experience life without the original things they love and start to realize there is beauty everywhere in their own ways.
There were some parts where I started tearing up a little. There were scenes where it gave me a good laugh. A whole slew of emotions throughout this movie.
Though some parts had me drifting off since I was not too immersed into the movie at first.
There were some parts where I started tearing up a little. There were scenes where it gave me a good laugh. A whole slew of emotions throughout this movie.
Though some parts had me drifting off since I was not too immersed into the movie at first.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
