A Quiet Place Review

4.5 Stars

 

For my 70th movie review, I am excited (although late) to provide my review for the critically acclaimed thriller A Quiet Place.  John Krasinski, best known for his role as Jim from the TV series The Office, helped to write the script that was first conceived in 2014.  Krasinski also directed A Quiet Place and stars as one of the few characters in this intense horror story that currently holds an unheard of Rotten Tomatoes "fresh" rating of 95%.

The year is 2020, and the film opens up 89 days after the invasion or event or whatever happened when the monsters came and wiped out much of the human race.  A Quiet Place opens with the sound of leaves rustling in the streets of what looks to be an empty town.  Inside a convenience store, we see the Abbott family scavenging for supplies and medicine for their oldest son Marcus (Noah Jupe), the middle of three children.  Mom Evelyn (Emily Blunt) finds the necessary medicine while their oldest child and only daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds) walks carefully and quietly around the store barefoot with her youngest brother Beau.  They all communicate through sign language and we also see by the hearing aid she wears that Regan is hearing impaired.  The youngest is intrigued by a space shuttle toy and tries to remove it from a shelf that is too tall.  He drops the shuttle, but Regan is able to stop it from hitting the ground making what could prove to be a sound that could cost them all their lives.  Father Lee (John Krasinski) comes in the store to guide them home.  He sees Beau carrying the shuttle and takes it from him and carefully removes the batteries and explains that the sound is too loud and that the monsters will hear it.  Out of compassion for her brother, Regan sneaks him the shuttle to his delight.  What none of them sees is that Beau also swipes the batteries for the shuttle.  I won't give away everything, but that leads to our first glimpse of the monsters who are driven by ultra-sensitive hearing.  The tagline for the movie is, "If they hear you, they hunt you".

 

The movie advances about a year forward and Evelyn is now pregnant as we witness their daily and nightly routines in silence.  We see them all walking barefoot to avoid making noises, communicating in sign language, hand washing clothes, playing board games with pieces of cotton to remain as silent as possible.  Everywhere around their property and all the way through the woods and into town, they regularly lay down trails of sand to walk on to dull the sounds of their feet walking.  There are paint marks on the floor to mark where it is safe to walk without making noise.  

Lee takes Marcus out into the woods to a river to check on their fish traps for food.  Marcus doesn't want to go, but Lee knows it's important for him to learn to be a protector and provider.  It's also there that a roaring waterfall provides a wonderful moment between the two.  Marcus is terrified of the creatures but Lee teaches him that if there is a louder noise to distract the monsters, they can make noise themselves.  They take turns screaming into the waterfall and talking.  On the way home, they encounter an old man standing alone in the woods.  Lee signals to the man not to make a sound, but he lets out a scream that prompts one of the aliens to attack as Lee and his son run away.  

And that's where the already intense movie escalates to a full on heart-stopping thrill ride that won't let you catch your breath for a moment. The final half hour of the movie grabs you when you're already on edge and sucks the air right out of you taking you from one frightening moment to another.  There is no break or down time to ever catch your breath.  I've said it before, it's hard to make a good, smart scary movie anymore.  So much is gimmicks and sound effects and not real content that makes for a good story.  Get Out is the most recent one that comes to mind and that was a rare gem.  A Quiet Place is just as original and entertaining.  I'm gave it a 4 Star Prediction, but I'm raising it to 4.5 Stars, nearly perfect and a movie I can't wait to see again and definitely own for my personal collection.  

 

I really only had two reservations.  First, because the film is based on near total silence, I hoped sharp, sudden tones or sound effects wouldn't be the sole method of frightening the audience.  And really, it was only done once and who cares about a raccoon?  In fact, the score perfectly set the tone while not falsely creating moments in the movie.  A wonderfully effective technique of sound that was used in the movie was that every time the camera focused solely on Regan, the few sounds you could hear would stop completely, giving the audience a glimpse into her personal world.  

 

Second, because it's aliens, the creatures' realism played an integral part for audiences to fully buy into the film.  They are revealed bits at a time throughout the film, building in anticipation and terror leading to a truly horrible villainous monster.  

 

Finally, it needs to be noted that A Quiet Place isn't just a horror film.  Just as importantly, this is a family film.  No, it's not exactly family friendly, but it's about love, loyalty, roles, trust, sacrifice.  And the role of the family is not just a side note, it's just as important to this film as the monsters are.  In fact, another wonderful aspect of the film is how terrifying it is without very much blood or very many gruesome scenes at all.  Those details, director Krasinski left up to the viewer. The depth of this movie with so little dialogue set the bar to a new standard for the horror genre of the future.  So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see. 

A Quiet Place Preview

For my 70th movie review, I am excited (although late) to see the critically acclaimed thriller A Quiet Place.  John Krasinski, best known for his role as Jim from the TV series The Office, helped to write the script that was first conceived in 2014.  Krasinski also directed A Quiet Place and stars as one of the few characters in this intense horror story that currently holds an unheard of Rotten Tomatoes "fresh" rating of 95%.

The year is 2020, and some kind of monsters have all but eliminated the human race.  We don't know where they come from or even what they look like from the preview, but that's part of what draws you in.  What we do know is they have hypersensitive hearing, hence the tagline promoting the movie "If they hear you, they hunt you".

Lee Abbott (John Krasinski), wife Evelyn (Emily Blunt), and their two children are the family of survivors we get to know in A Quiet Place.  The preview shows them walking barefoot or in socks to avoid making noises, communicating in sign language, hand washing clothes, playing board games with pieces of cotton to remain as silent as possible as that's how the monsters outside are able to find you.  

In one of the previews, Lee is walking out with his son and they encounter an old man standing alone in the woods.  Lee signals to the man not to make a sound, but he lets out a scream that prompts one of the aliens to attack as Lee and his son run away.  

So, we don't know when the invasion or initial attacks by these aliens took place, we don't know what they look like, we don't know how many other survivors are out there.  We do know that the survivors have learned the aliens track them by sound and appear relatively safe, even out in public, so long as they are silent.  But that's all we know, and yet, I am completely drawn and intrigued by the preview.  I've said it before, it's hard to make a good, smart scary movie anymore.  So much is gimmicks and sound effects and not real content that makes for a good story.  Get Out is the most recent one that comes to mind and that was a rare gem.  A Quiet Place looks just as original.  I'm giving a 4 Star Prediction for this modern horror film.  I really only have two reservations.  First, because the film is based on near total silence, I hope sharp sudden tones or sound effects aren't the sole method of frightening the audience.  Second, because it's aliens, the creatures' realism is going to play an integral part for audiences to fully buy into the film.  But, I love John Krasinski and Emily Blunt and I love a good scary movie.  So I'm hoping this will not only be a truly unique and wonderfully terrifying film, but it is also one that I will be owning in my personal collection.  Am I right?  We shall see.

The Post Review

3.5 Stars

 

The Vietnam War was a 20-year long war in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia from 1955 to 1975.  In 1965, American military analyst Daniel Ellsberg (Matthew Rhys) reported with disgust to U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara (Bruce Greenwood) that no progress was being made.  McNamara commented that his findings meant that things were actually getting worse.  Almost immediately after their conversation, McNamara spoke with the press reporting falsely that the situation was getting better in the War.

Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C. in 1971, Kay Graham (Meryl Streep) took over operations of The Washington Post newspaper after her husband Phillip died.  Their competitor New York Times published reports on cover-ups about the Vietnam War and were quickly silenced by President Richard Nixon.  Ben Bagdikian (Bob Odenkirk), a journalist for the Post got a meeting with Ellsberg who gave him 1000 copied classified documents confirming the cover-ups.  

The Post is the true story about the first U.S. female newspaper publisher Kay Graham as she and her Chief Editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) struggle between their duties as journalists to expose the truth about the White House cover-ups about the Vietnam War and their responsibilities to their employees to keep them safe when they are threatened by the White House to stay away from the story.  

The Post was nominated for 9 Golden Globes, though it didn't walk away with any wins.  Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri beat The Post for Best Picture Drama, Guillermo Del Toro took home the award for Best Director for The Shape of Water, Gary Oldman beat out Tom Hanks for Best Actor for his role as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, and Frances McDormand beat out Meryl Streep for her performance in Three Billboards.

 

Most are familiar with the story, at least with the highlights.  But The Post goes deep into the behind the scenes efforts and struggles that went into exposing the lies being told by the White House spanning 4 Presidents about the Vietnam War.  But it was about more than just the War.  It was about one of the core tenants of what makes America unique: the freedom of the press.  Journalists have both an obligation and a responsibility to share the truth, and they have a right to do so without obstruction.  Streep and Hanks were both brilliant, as you would expect.  I have yet to see Hanks in something I haven't enjoyed and both should be nominated for an Oscar for their performances.  The Post was directed by Stephen Spielberg and the music was composed by John Williams to round out the posse of Hollywood A-listers involved in this film. I anticipated 4 solid Stars from The Post.  It looked like it would be exciting, intense, upsetting, infuriating, inspiring and rewarding as we were given an inside look to a pivotal time in our nation's history regarding politics and the press, something that is as relevant as ever in our current political climate.  

 

I am lowering my rating slightly.  Spielberg did a great job keeping the story moving.  Not staying in one scene too long, keeping the characters straight so the viewer can follow along with all the players involved in the cover-up and the exposure, using angles to help emote feelings of power and doubt and inferiority.  Hanks was fantastic as Editor Ben Bradlee.  He was equally dedicated to his boss Kay Graham as he was to his employees when threatened by the government as he was to his paper The Post and getting the truth out there.  Streep was brilliant as the first female newspaper publisher Kay Graham who struggled with the transition from the wife of a publisher who hosted parties and lived on the sidelines to taking over complete control and having to make important decisions on her own, decisions that impacted her family's legacy as well as the many people who worked under her.  You definitely felt the anguish over her decisions, the doubt in herself, you cheered when she mustered up the courage to stand up for what was right and not cave in to what was safe. 

 

This is one of those difficult films to rate based on my personal ranking scale.  Remember, there are three main facets to my rankings.  First, how accurately does the preview lead you into the film?  In this case, you get exactly what the preview sells.  Second, the film itself.  This is a great movie, well told, superbly acted and deserving of nominations and awards.  And third, and most importantly, the likelihood of me owning the movie in my personal collection.  And this is why the rating drops slightly.  For me, The Post was entertaining, insightful, and extremely well done from directing to acting to story-telling; however, seeing it once was enough.  While I may watch it again when it comes to the pay channels, it most likely won't be something I'm rushing out to own.  Therefore, I'm lowing my rating to 3.5 Stars.   So, movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see. 

 

The Post Preview

The Vietnam War was a 20-year long war in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia from 1955 to 1975.  In 1965, American military analyst Daniel Ellsberg (Matthew Rhys) reported with disgust to U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara (Bruce Greenwood) that no progress was being made.  McNamara commented that his findings meant that things were actually getting worse.  Almost immediately after their conversation, McNamara spoke with the press reporting falsely that the situation was getting better in the War.

Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C. in 1971, Kay Graham (Meryl Streep) took over operations of The Washington Post newspaper after her husband Phillip died.  Their competitor New York Times published reports on cover-ups about the Vietnam War and were quickly silenced by President Richard Nixon.  Ben Bagdikian (Bob Odenkirk), a journalist for the Post got a meeting with Ellsberg who gave him 1000 copied classified documents confirming the cover-ups.  

The Post is the true story about the first U.S. female newspaper publisher Kay Graham as she and her Chief Editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) struggle between their duties as journalists to expose the truth about the White House cover-ups about the Vietnam War and their responsibilities to their employees to keep them safe when they are threatened by the White House to stay away from the story.  

The Post was nominated for 9 Golden Globes, though it didn't walk away with any wins.  Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri beat The Post for Best Picture Drama, Guillermo Del Toro took home the award for Best Director for The Shape of Water, Gary Oldman beat out Tom Hanks for Best Actor for his role as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, and Frances McDormand beat out Meryl Streep for her performance in Three Billboards.

The preview tells a story that most are familiar with, at least the highlights.  But The Post goes deep into the behind the scenes efforts and struggles that went into exposing the lies being told by the White House about the Vietnam War.  But it was about more than just the War.  It was about one of the core tenants of what makes America unique: the freedom of the press.  Journalists have both an obligation and a responsibility to share the truth, and they have a right to do so without obstruction.  Streep and Hanks look to be brilliant, as you would expect.  I have yet to see Hanks in something I haven't enjoyed and both should be nominated for an Oscar for their performances.  The Post was directed by Stephen Spielberg and the music was composed by John Williams to round out the posse of Hollywood A-listers involved in this film. I am anticipating 4 solid Stars from The Post.  It looks like it will be exciting, intense, upsetting, infuriating, inspiring and rewarding as we are given an inside look to a pivotal time in our nation's history regarding politics and the press, something that is as relevant as ever in our current political climate.  I think it will be something I want to watch again and will have a strong chance of making it to my home collection.  So, am I right?  We shall see.

Darkest Hour Review

3.0 Stars

 

In the 1930s, Winston Churchill (Gary Oldman) spearheaded the efforts to warn about the dangers of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Germany.  British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was forced into  retirement in May of 1940 when Parliament grew tired of his lack of leadership, foresight and results against the impending War. Churchill replaced Chamberlain as Prime Minister of Great Britain, in the early days of World War II.  In the early stages of the war in 1940 and 1941, the British Empire was nearly alone in their opposition to Hitler, and Churchill's speeches and radio broadcasts were a source of inspiration in this dark time.  One of his most famous and inspirational speeches included "we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."

Darkest Hour is the historical story of the early days of World War II as Hitler began his conquest of Western Europe.  Churchill had warned about this and now Great Britain was all but solitary in their defiance of the Nazis.  A peace treaty was proposed and it was now up to Churchill to decide what to do.  According to the treaty, Hitler would stop his war with Western Europe provided that Great Britain did not interfere with his plans to move east and conquer the USSR.  Churchill was never a fan of the treaty and felt that bold retaliation, standing their ground against the Nazis, would be their only hope of true survival.  But, Churchill faced a lack of support from his own party, and even felt the pressure to not only entertain the idea of the treaty, but to accept it or face his own removal as Prime Minister.  While battling with his doubts about the treaty, his doubts about the chances of Great Britain's survival whether they signed the treaty or not, and his own doubts about his ability to properly discern what was best for his country, Churchill took his fears and doubts to the people.  They overwhelmingly expressed their disdain for the Nazis and their resolve to never give in.  Thus, Churchill rejected the offer. 

Director Joe Wright is no stranger to epic historical and moving stories as he has already tackled Pride & Prejudice, Anna Karenina, and Atonement which earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Directing in 2008.  While Atonement did win for Best Picture, Wright lost out to Julian Schnabel who directed The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.  While neither Darkest Hour nor Joe Wright have been nominated for a Golden Globe, Oldman has been nominated for his portrayal of Winston Churchill, and an Oscar nomination is all but guaranteed as he pulled of one of those rare performances where you do not see the actor on the screen, but rather their character come to life.  While all the actors who have been nominated and won an Oscar over the last two decades have deserved their recognition, perhaps the most notable was Daniel Day-Lewis's win in 2013 for his performance as Abraham Lincoln.  Oldman accomplishes the same brilliant execution.  Not once did I notice that it was Gary Oldman, but rather I saw nothing but Sir Winston Churchill in the movie Darkest Hour.  It was inspired, flawless and genius.

Unfortunately, for me, the rest of the movie just didn't hold up to Oldman's efforts.  I expected Wright's latest work to be a moving, gripping and tense look behind the scenes of the early days of World War II.  I had high expectations for Darkest Hour and gave a 4 Star Prediction.  To me, it was slow, uninspiring, dull and dragging, especially considering the film is about one man's decision in a time that effectively helped to lead his country and the world out of one of the darkest times in world history.  It is worth watching, for Oldman's performance alone; however, if you haven't seen it already in the theatres, wait for it to come out for rent.  It's definitely worth renting, and I might watch it again, but I'm pretty sure it won't find a home in my permanent collection.  Therefore, I'm lowing my rating to 3 Stars.  So, what movie will be on my mind next? We shall see.  

 

 

Darkest Hour Preview

In the 1930s, Winston Churchill (Gary Oldman) spearheaded the efforts to warn about the dangers of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Germany.  After Neville Chamberlain's retirement in May of 1940, Churchill became Prime Minister of Great Britain, in the early days of World War II.  In the early stages of the war in 1940 and 1941, the British Empire was nearly alone in their opposition to Hitler, and Churchill's speeches and radio broadcasts were a source of inspiration in this dark time.  One of his most famous and inspirational speeches included "we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."

Darkest Hour is the historical story of the early days of World War II as Hitler began his conquest of Western Europe.  Churchill had warned about this and now Great Britain was all but solitary in their defiance of the Nazis.  Hitler sent his Deputy Rudolph Hess to offer a peace treaty.  Hitler would stop his war with Western Europe provided that Great Britain did not interfere with his plans to move east and conquer the USSR.  While the odds were greatly stacked against him, and he faced opposition from officials in his own country who doubted his abilities, and even doubted them himself at times, Churchill rejected the offer.  He did not feel Hitler could be trusted to keep his word, and he felt that by standing firm against the Nazis, he could help keep Western Europe unified and pave the way for eventual intervention and help from the United States.

Director Joe Wright is no stranger to epic historical and moving stories as he has already tackled Pride & Prejudice, Anna Karenina, and Atonement which earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Directing in 2008.  While Atonement did win for Best Picture, Wright lost out to Julian Schnabel who directed The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.  While neither Darkest Hour nor Joe Wright have been nominated for a Golden Globe, Oldman has been nominated for his portrayal of Winston Churchill.

If the movie holds up to the preview, then Oldman indeed is worthy of the nomination in a dramatic and powerful performance.  And if Wright's previous work is a testament to what we can expect, then audiences are in for a moving, gripping and tense look behind the scenes of the early days of World War II.  I have high expectations for Darkest Hour and am giving a 4 Star Prediction.  I think it will be well worth the money in the theatres, something I'd watch again, and has a good chance of making it to my home collection.  Am I right?  We shall see.

Downsizing Review

1.5 Stars

 

The world has reached a breaking point with over-population.  A pair of Norwegian scientists have figured out a way to not only stop the human race from completely depleting the planet of all its resources, but also to provide a better and more luxurious lifestyle to anyone who chooses to participate in his program of Downsizing.  His patients are shrunk to a height of 5 inches and live in an experimental community built just for them.  While they are praised for their efforts, and communities are built in several areas of the world, only a small fraction of the world actually participate in the program.

Paul Safranek (Matt Damon) is a physical therapist living in Omaha with his wife Audrey (Kristen Wiig).  Like many couples today, they are struggling financially to make ends meet.  And, like many couples, they have at least toyed with the idea of Downsizing.  At a high school reunion, Paul and Audrey talk to Dave Johnson (Jason Sudeikis) and his wife Carol (Maribeth Monroe) who have already undergone the irreversible process.  They sing the praises of the community and get the Safraneks thinking even more about the idea.  But it's not until they are denied a mortgage on a new home that they take the trip to New Mexico and agree to change their lives forever by Downsizing.

And that's really all we were told about the movie from the preview.  It's an original idea, sort of.  Dennis Quaid was shrunken in 1987 in a movie called Innerspace.  Two years later, Rick Moranis accidentally shrunk his kids in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.  It goes all the way back to 1957 with the film, The Incredible Shrinking Man.  But Downsizing looked like a new and different take on the idea of shrinking.  The only other thing we really had to go on is that the movie is rated R, and there was absolutely nothing in the preview that even hinted as to why that would be.  

 

First, the R rating.  There is plenty of full frontal male nudity in the film.  It's completely unnecessary and used purely in a medical sense.  First, a nude man is pictured to show the before and after effects of Downsizing.  Then, a group of men are shown disrobed on tables undergoing the process.  Again, it's not used in a sexual way, and there's really no reason we need to see everything they show to get the idea of what's going on.  There is also one psychedelic party scene at Paul's neighbor's apartment that involves some drug use and brief nudity.  And there are some F-bombs that, again, didn't really need to be in there.  However, when there's no real substance to a movie, you tend to resort to things like that just to reel in some audiences.  

The people responsible for putting together previews really did their job well.  I had no idea what this movie was about, except the basic premise, but I was very excited to see what it's all about.  And those people deserve a raise because they not only hid any hint of why the movie would be rated R from the previews, they also concealed the fact that there's really no plot or substance behind an otherwise original idea for a story.  Paul and his wife Audrey are separated at the Downsizing facility because men and women go through in different areas.  When Paul awakes after the procedure, he gets a call from his wife who has changed her mind and leaves him alone in the shrunken world that he cannot come back from.  After the divorce, Paul must sell the mansion that his modest earning afforded him in the Downsized world, and he moves into an apartment.  He works at a call center and is pretty much miserable.  One night, he decides to join his upstairs neighbor Dusan Mirkovic (Christoph Waltz) at one of his lavish parties.  The next morning, he meets Ngoc Lan Tran (Hong Chau).  She was a protestor in Vietnam who was imprisoned and Downsized against her will.  Paul befriends Tran and quickly becomes her errand boy as she cares for those in the "slums" of the Downsized world.  Paul and Tran join Dusan on a trip to Norway, the original colony.  It is there they are told the methane gases released from the arctic snow caps have reached a level spelling eminent doom for the planet.  So they have carved out an underground safe haven where they can live and repopulate.  Paul thinks this is finally how his life will have meaning, but changes his mind realizing his love for Tran.  They go back home and the movie abruptly ends.  

 

There were a couple chuckles throughout the movie, but it felt like watching an amateur comedian bomb on stage, or a magician who's tricks just aren't working.  The idea was there, the actors were there, but there was no substance to this confusing, no point, slow-paced, unnecessary downer of a flop.  I gave an initial cautious and curious 3.5 Star rating with so little to go on.  But the preview for Downsizing certainly fooled us all and that rating will plummet to  1.5 Stars.  It was not worth the price of admission in the theatre, I'll most likely never watch it again, even for free on cable, and I'll definitely never own it.  So, what movie will be on my mind next?  We shall see.