Nope

 

Nope

Not sure if Nope is a yup. Flying saucer (UFOs) movies have been around for decades from War of the Worlds (the original) to Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Nope is more like the former, sinister. After an intriguing start the middle of the film loses steam and in later scenes the main action unfolds. The film is partitioned in different scenes. I though one scene involving a chimp was in left field and I didn’t get it. As opposed to Peele’s film, Get Out, Nope does not have brooding tension. The big reveal of seeing the flying saucer comes towards the end but getting there is a slow walk. Parts of the movie have to be inferred and their purpose is opaque. For example when the horses get spooked and run away what happens to them? The most original part of the movie is the flying saucer itself. It is like nothing before.

Danial Kaluuya gives a subdued performance as OJ a wrangler who provides horses for film and TV commercials. His hyperactive sister played by Keke Palmer is loud and funny. Angel ,played by Brandon Perea, is the electronic sales rep who is a UFO believer and sets up camera’s at OJ’s ranch. Steven Yuen is an entrepreneur who runs a side show. Yuen has an unfortunate close encounter.

UFO movies are either benevolent or malevolent; the either or takes away from the tension. The eventual encounter is the driving force. A clearer purpose of why a UFO would fly  billions of light years to earth would have sharpened the focus. Rotten Tomato gave the film an 82%. I am sure a bunch of you are younger than 70 so I encourage you to see the film and draw your own conclusion.

The Grey Man (Netflix)

 

The Grey Man (Netflix)

Electronic billboards in New York City displayed ads for the latest Netflix action/thriller movie, “The Grey Man.” After viewing the action movie, Netflix could be accused of false advertising. What an utter waste of talent. The cast includes Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Billy Bob Thornton, Ana de Armos, Rege-Jean Page, Alfe Woodard and others. To add insult to injury the film was directed and written by the Russo brothers who grossed more than $2.8b in worldwide box office from such films as “Captain America” and “Avengers: Endgame”. Their Midas touch fell short here.

The simple story is an excuse for mayhem including car crashes, a deluge of gun fire and uninspired dialogue. Chris Evans is a caricature of a bad guy with a thin mustache and snappy retorts. He tortures Billy Bob Thornton with a pair pliers ; how prosaic. He could have found more inspired instruments of torture on Amazon. The film is a dizzying travelogue jumping from on city to another. The film has flash backs and forward flashes. Flash backs should be used like salt in a stew, sparingly. The back story of Gosling’s character Sierra Six, a CIA black ops assassin, was shown towards the end of the film. It would have been better towards the beginning to humanize his character. The most eye catching element of the film is how buffed Gosling was. It almost looked fake, like using CG to put Gosling’s head on top of a body builder.

Making this film for $200m does not help Netflix’s current financial problems or subscription issues.

Everything Everywhere All at Once

 

Everything Everywhere All at Once (Amazon Prime)

If you have any drugs left over from the 70’s stashed in your sock draw this is the time to use them. The film is chaotic, the scenes are not sequential. It’s like a Chinese Matrix, but without the pretense. Characters shift  between different parallel universes, called the Alphaverse. In these realities there are alpha versions of themselves. This movie has a little bit of everything for everyone. There is a racoon sushi chef, people with hot dogs for fingers, kung fu, butt plugs (used offensively), google eyes, an everything bagel as a black hole and talking boulders.

The movie starts with Evelyn, played by Michelle Yeoh, and her husband Waymond, played by Ke Huy Quan (Quan played Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Data in The Goonies) at the IRS office audited by aggressive agent played by Jamie Lee Curtis. It is from here the characters start shifting between realities. Contributing to the turmoil, Evelyn’s demanding father, played by the prodigious James Hong (he has 650 film credits) arrived from Hong Kong and her daughter Joy, played by Stefanie Hsu, is trying to introduce her girlfriend to the family. Though out the movie these characters take on different personas. This film does not take itself seriously and some of the fight scenes are hilarious. Yeoh and Hsu give endearing performances and Jamie Lee Curtis in a fat suit and a platinum wig stolen from Andy Warhol’s closet is over the top.

Putting aside all the chaos this is a story about relationships and of what could have been. The alternate realities give expression to different paths. Relationships are with a mother accepting a daughter, dealing with an aging demanding father and a husband reluctantly serving divorce papers to his unsuspecting wife. This movie is different but worthwhile. At the reduced price of $5.99 how can you go wrong.

The Black Phone

 

The Black Phone

The Black Phone is described as a supernatural horror film. It is more like a gritty ghost story. The film  is about the Grabber abducting teenage boys. One boy, Finney, is trapped in the basement of the Grabber’s home. From the disconnected black phone on the wall he gets calls from other deceased missing boys.

The supernatural part is Finney’s interaction with ghosts, as for horror compared to other movies it was mild. Nothing  in the film makes you cover your eyes or jump out of your seat. As for tension it was more in the rubber band area. No matter how dire the situation you have a good notion of the outcome. The ending is muscular with Finney achieving new heights of bravery.

Mason Thames plays Finney. He delivers a convincing performance of a mild mannered kid transformed into a survivor. Ethan Hawke plays the Grabber. This is one of the most underutilized role of his talents. Aside for his sardonic voice, there only is a brief moment when you see his full face. For the entire film he wears a mask . He is creepy and malevolent; a great actor should be seen. It is never explained why he is grabbing these boys; we assume he is just a psychopathic killer (why not abduct girls). A back story would have made the character more interesting. An appealing character is Finney’s younger sister played by Madeline McGraw. She is clairvoyant and foul mouthed. She has a strained  relationship with Jesus.

The story was written by Joe Hill, son of Stephen King. Good to know the legacy continues. Rather than paying $16 for a movie ticket you may want to wait for a discounted streaming option.