Category: Movies

The Silence (2019)

Director: John R. Leonetti

Screenplay: Carey Van Dyke & Shane Van Dyke based on the novel by Tim Lebbon.

Stars: Stanley Tucci, Kiernan Shipka, Miranda Otto, Kate Trotter, John Corbett, Kyle Breitkopf, Dempsey Bryk and Billy MacLellan.

The Pitch: “Let’s turn Tim Lebbon’s novel into a movie.”

Tagline: They’re listening.

The Overview:

The Silence can be summarized as Pitch Black meets A Quiet Place but unfortunately The Silence is not on the same level as either.

The creatures in The Silence are like smaller versions of those in Pitch Black.  And like the monsters in Vin Diesel’s best movie, they are accidentally released from underground.

The similarities to A Quiet Place include: monsters that are blind and hunt by sound, a young girl who is deaf and a family struggling to survive.  I’m sure many folks will think The Silence was made to cash in on the success of A Quiet Place but the truth is Tim Lebbon’s novel and filming on The Silence came first.

The Silence follows a family (father, mother, son, daughter and grandma) as they work to survive in a world where prehistoric flying creatures who hunt by sound are wiping out cities.  In addition, sometimes the other people hoping to survive are as dangerous as the monsters.

The Silence works best when things are first starting to go sideways.  What is happening?  How do we survive?  What is the best course of action?  Things should be off and running but it’s more like off and walking.

I enjoyed The Silence but not to the degree I had hoped.

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Us (2019)

Director: Jordan Peele

Screenplay: Jordan Peele

Stars: Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex.

The Pitch: “Jordan Peele is ready to do his next film.  It’s about – ” “Do it!”

Tagline: From Jordan Peele, writer/director of ‘Get Out,’ comes a New Nightmare.

The Overview:

Us is a beautifully crafted movie that works on two levels:

1) It provides just under two hours of entertainment for those looking for a scary movie
2) It provides plenty of food for thought after the movie is over looking at the symbolism and depth of thought Peele put into creating a great horror film.  In fact, I liked Us even better the more I thought about it.

Gabe Wilson has decided to surprise his wife (Adelaide) and two children (Zora and Jason) with a Santa Cruz beach vacation.  Surprisingly, Adelaide is against the trip because of a frightening event that happened to her there when she was a child.  Despite, her concerns, Adelaide relents and the family heads for the beach on a vacation that they may not survive.

There’s no denying that a major part of the appeal of Us is writer / director Jordan Peele.  Peele knows how to create a suspenseful scene, uses just the right amount of humor, cranks up the tension and layers the story so there’s more than just what’s happening on the screen for those who take the time to look.  Peele should also be credited for surrounding himself with an awesome cast. Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke are excellent actors and come across as just plain likeable (I hope that’s not just acting.)  As do Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex  who play the kids.

Us is one of those movies that will entertain and provide the audience plenty to talk about long after the film has ended.  Because I like my reviews to be spoiler free,  I’m not going to say more but I definitely recommend /Film’s ‘Us’ Movie Explained: Exploring the Biggest Questions and Craziest Twists in Jordan Peele’s Film.   I’d be more than happy to discuss symbolism, plot twists, your opinions of Us and more in the comments section of this post — so if you venture there beware of spoilers.

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