Tag Archives: Jordan Peele

2022 Films, Daniel Kaluuya, Donna Mills, Horror, Jordan Peele, Oz Perkins

Nope-2022

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Nope-2022

Director-Jordan Peele

Starring Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer

Scott’s Review #1,334

Reviewed January 15, 2023

Grade: B

I excitedly anticipated the latest offering from one of my favorite modern directors, Jordan Peele. Always conjuring some type of message, intrigue, or social issues his projects are laden with meaning rather than a one-dimensional crazed killer or a one-note story.

Get Out (2017) and Us (2019) were riveting efforts able to watch over and over again for deeper meaning and the same was expected of Nope (2022). Peele’s brilliant yet short-lived The Twilight Zone series further cemented his appeal.

While there are moments of mystery, intrigue, and horror and the stories independently are good, they don’t come together cohesively at the end of the film. Nothing was clear or cemented in certainty or fulfillment.

Nope is not a dud and deserves respect for the originality of the premise as well as the sprinkling of nods to past horror films like The Shining (1980) and others.

Hollywood animal wrangler OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) and his sister Emerald (Keke Palmer) begin observing unexplained phenomena on their vast Southern California ranch. After their father is killed by a falling object they become obsessed as they plot to capture the mystery on camera.

Their next-door neighbor Jupe (Steven Yuen), a former child star turned family theme park ringmaster has his own story to tell.

Through flashbacks, we learn of a deadly incident with a chimpanzee who went berserk on the set of a television series Jupe starred in.

The 1998 events involving Jupe and the chimpanzee are the best parts. This is surprising since they are not part of the main action. Peele does wonders with chapter title cards to section the film and haunting camera angles focusing on Jupe’s point of view.

The chimp slaughters nearly everyone on set except for Jupe and tenderly reaches out to him before being shot and killed by police.

OJ and Emerald’s story also has juice. The foreboding unidentified flying object that circles and comes out at varying times provides mystique and wonderment. What could it be and why does it hover only over their land?

Peele wrote, directed, and produced the venture so presumably, he had complete creative control over the entire film.

He even convinced the appealing Daniel Kaluuya who starred in Get Out and just won an Academy Award for Judas and the Black Messiah in 2021 to return.

There are no major issues with the technical special effects, the cinematography, the cast, or the two separate stories.

My beef is with the myriad of questions I was left with when the end credits began to roll and I thought, ‘Why has Jordan Peele disappointed me for the very first time?’

Here are just a few of them.

Why is the unidentified flying object afraid of horses? Why does it viciously attack anyone who looks it in the eye? What does the vicious chimpanzee attack have to do with anything? How does Jupe’s story connect with OJ and Emerald’s? Why is the character named OJ; what is the connection to OJ Simpson?

Knowing Peele, I could venture a guess at the UFO’s anger at being looked at as having a connection to the celebrity or a society of voyeurs but the others are perplexing to me.

I was compelled and fascinated by the events throughout the film but wish the payoff happened but it never came.

Peele creates sophisticated films and Nope has sophistication and a deeper meaning. I wasn’t personally able to put the pieces together like I was for Get Out or Us.

I may not have the energy to rewatch the two-hour and fifteen-minute spectacle to see if I can get more out of it a second time but I probably should.

I will watch whatever Peele creates next with anticipation and salivation because there is always something to ponder and be entertained by but Nope (2022) at first review is inferior to his other projects and more was expected.

2021 Films, Horror, Jordan Peele, Slasher

Candyman-2021

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Candyman-2021

Director-Nia DaCosta

Starring-Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris

Scott’s Review #1,217

Reviewed January 8, 2022

Grade: B

Not being such a fan of the original Candyman horror film from 1992 though admittedly not remembering it too well either I had mixed feelings when I heard that a reboot was in the works. I’ve learned that while most remakes, especially in the horror genre, are not masterpieces, there is some joy in seeing them resurface.

I was delighted when I realized that Jordan Peele, the magnificent modern director of gems like Get Out (2017) and Us (2019) had co-written the screenplay. Peele has a tendency of creating intelligent and well-written black characters, something that still needs more representation in film today.

I admire the creativity and visual aspects that the new Candyman (2021) offers and the characters, mostly black, are to be respected and emulated because they are the heroes of the film.

The social message is another win and Peele is not the only player deserving of credit. Newcomer director, Nia DaCosta treats the viewer to more than the story. An artsy and sophisticated downtown Chicago art gallery and the swanky apartment is the main setting.

With all these credos Candyman is not a complete win and is sometimes overcomplicated. The supernatural elements, paired with a socially relevant angle, are implausible and I yearned for a more direct and accountable approach rather than fantastical storytelling.

The film has a certain left-wing message which I champion but that others may not.

For as long as residents can remember, the urban housing projects of Chicago’s Cabrini-Green neighborhood have been terrorized by a word-of-mouth ghost story about a supernatural killer with a hook for a hand. He can easily be summoned by simply repeating his name five times into a mirror.

As a child, Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) who was a resident of the towers, met a man assumed to be the killer who was then unnecessarily killed by police.

Decades later, the Cabrini towers are long gone and Anthony is a struggling visual artist. He and his girlfriend, gallery director Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris), move into a luxury loft condo in Cabrini, now gentrified and inhabited by affluent millennials.

Anthony has a chance encounter with a former Cabrini-Green resident named Billy Burke (Colman Domingo). Anthony begins to explore these macabre details in his paintings, unknowingly unleashing a supernatural beast and risking his own sanity.

The sophisticated visual style and especially the wonderful drawings featured at the start and end of Candyman are highly impressive. They provide a heavy and realistic portrayal of African American culture and the generations of unfairness and mistreatment they have suffered.

This parlays to the point of the film and is nuanced with why the supernatural force with the hook rises up in the first place and takes his vengeance out on people who conjure him.

The final sequence cements this detail as a slaughter erupts between Anthony, Brianna, and the police. The police are portrayed as unkind and corrupt but I get the point of the film. Oftentimes the police are no friends of poor black people.

Despite the social element, Candyman doesn’t feel preachy.

The lead actors are attractive and appealing and even the original Candyman, actor Tony Todd, makes an appearance, though extremely brief. Other characters from the original also make appearances.

The kill scenes, a must for a horror film, are delightful, especially a sequence in which a troupe of gossipy schoolgirls meets their maker in a bloody girl’s bathroom scene. Besides being fun, the scene features a camera visual through a makeup compactor that is highly effective.

It’s just that when the credits rolled I didn’t feel enough satisfaction from what I had just seen. I was more perplexed with how the legend intersected (or did he become?) with present times and with Anthony specifically.

Candyman (2021) delivers an entertaining and relevant themed resurfacing of a thirty-year-old film that I’m glad I watched. It sometimes delivers but the realistic and important racial message is sometimes overshadowed by an otherworldly spirit.

2019 Films, Elisabeth Moss, Horror, Jordan Peele, Lupita Nyong'o

Us-2019

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Us-2019

Director-Jordan Peele

Starring-Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke

Scott’s Review #882

Reviewed April 1, 2019

Grade: A

Hot on the heels of his critically acclaimed and shockingly Oscar-nominated horror film Get Out (2017) Jordan Peele does it again with an even more thought-provoking creation.

Us (2019) combines classic horror elements with macabre and insightful qualities, crafting an ambitious project that can be dissected and discussed at length following the climactic and psychologically perplexing ending.

One thing is for sure; Peele has earned his spot among the most influential and elite directors circling Hollywood.

The film begins in 1986 as an event entitled Hands Across America- a publicity campaign encouraging people to hold hands to create a human chain to fight hunger and poverty- gripped the United States. Nine-year-old Adelaide Thomas goes on vacation to Santa Cruz, California with her parents only to wander off into a deserted house of mirrors.

When she meets her doppelganger, she is terrified beyond comprehension and requires therapy to resume a normal life.

Events return to the present day as Adelaide (now played by Lupita Nyong’o) is married to Gabe Wilson (Winston Duke) with two young children, Zora and Jason. Coaxed into a weekend getaway to none other than Santa Cruz to visit their wealthy friends Josh and Kitty Tyler (Tim Heidecker and Elisabeth Moss), Adelaide is apprehensive about the trip with a dreading sensation that her doppelganger is returning to get her.

When a strange family dressed in red jumpsuits appear on Wilson’s driveway the plot transforms into a bizarre direction especially since the family looks exactly like the Wilsons.

Us is extremely layered and reminiscent of the expression “peeling back the onion” in analysis and discussion possibilities. For starters, a character thought to be one person is another causing the audience to spin into confusion and not know who they were rooting for or not rooting for all along.

The astounding questions are endless and in Peele’s brilliant fashion can be asked at different times during the film. Why do the doppelgangers exist? What do they want? What do Hands Across America have to do with anything? What do the rabbits symbolize?

One gruesome scene and a favorite is the barbaric scene when the Tyler’s are suddenly attacked by their doppelgangers- home invasion style.

Reminiscent of the infamous Charles Manson murders, the family is slain quickly and mercilessly as the audience is left agape at the brutal slaughter. So much happens in this scene, first and foremost is the realization that there are more doppelgangers than we originally thought.

To lighten the mood a bit, Peele adds morbid comic relief as the family’s voice-controlled Siri system misunderstands the dying victim’s plea to call for police and mistakenly plays “F#@$ the Police” by N.W.A. instead.

Nyong’o has the most opportunities to showcase her acting ability by tackling two very different types of roles. As Adelaide, she is kind, capable, and your typical suburban Mom but as her doppelganger Red she is grizzled and desperate with a dry, throaty voice filled with pain and defeat.

At first thought a villain the audience eventually learns the complexities of Red’s story clearer and the Oscar winner delivers both parts with exceptional grace.

The supporting actors fill their characters with gusto with a mention going to Duke and Moss. Duke’s character of Gabe contains inept humor coming across as slightly incompetent and the typical goofball dad-type character.

Moss takes her one-note character of Kitty, a spoiled never made it as an actress whiner with a rich husband, and infuses naughty passion into her doppelganger. As she playfully applies lipstick while coquettishly watching herself in the mirror she soon gives the term “plastic surgery” a new definition as she curiously carves her face.

Peele delivers a treasure with Us (2019) and I salivate at the thought of the film is only the novice director’s second attempt. Not suffering from the dreaded sophomore slump, he is becoming a modern director whose works are more like events than simply released films.

Quentin Tarantino is a director who has also achieved this status through the director’s styles are vastly different. I cannot wait to feast on Peele’s next attempt.

2018 Films, Adam Driver, Alec Baldwin, Best Film of the Year, Biography, Corey Hawkins, Crime Drama, Drama, John David Washington, Jordan Peele

BlacKkKlansman-2018

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BlacKkKlansman-2018

Director-Spike Lee

Starring-John David Washington, Adam Driver

Scott’s Review #802

Reviewed August 14, 2018

Grade: A

Spike Lee’s latest offering, BlacKkKlansman (2018) is a brilliant effort and oh so timely in the tumultuous political climate in the United States circa 2018.

Despite the film being set in the early 1970s, the racial issues and tensions that Lee examines are sadly still an enormous problem in present times. Lee infuses some humor and even romance into the drama so the film is not too preachy or heavy.

A grand and relevant effort that should be watched by all.

As the film commences, we are treated to a clip from the 1939 classic film Gone With the Wind and BlacKkKlansman concludes with prominent clips of racial tensions circa 2017.

The timeline is extremely important and powerful as the point of the film is made abundantly clear that racism is still alive and well.

Lee, a known liberal, puts a clear left spin on his work- BlacKkKlansman will likely not be seen by conservative filmgoers and this is sad as valuable lessons learned can be achieved by viewing this piece.

The story is based on a true story memoir written by Ron Stallworth, the first black police officer to be hired by the Colorado Springs police department. He successfully infiltrates the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan with startling results.

The film begins with a speech by a doctor (Alec Baldwin) offering a “scientific explanation” of white superiority in 1957. Fast-forward to the early 1970s where the rest of the film takes place.

Ron is initially hired by the police force as a progressive initiative for diversity, but quickly moves into a detective role as he manages to pose as a KKK member via telephone while another detective, Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver) goes to meetings in person.

Lee’s focus is clearly on the overall content and message of the film and therefore little character development is achieved. I admittedly did yearn to know the “how’s” and the “why’s” of many of the characters, but the film is not really about the characters individually and I am okay with this.

Why did Ron desire so much to become a police officer? What was his childhood like? How did Patrice become President of the black student union? What was her childhood like? What upbringings did some of the KKK members have?

Certainly, enough time would not have been allowed to answer all of these questions. Small gripe.

Lead actor John David Washington, son of Denzel Washington, unknown to me before watching this film, is tremendous in his role. As is Driver in his supporting role of Zimmerman, but again these are not character-driven roles.

Washington has tremendous chemistry with his love interest, played by Laura Harrier. Ron and Patrice discuss politics and dance the night away, but she is an activist and a cop making their chances of happily ever after tough to imagine. Their romance is atypical of most films as it is based on intelligence and not silly, melodramatic aspects.

On the acting front, Topher Grace as the racist David Duke is tremendous. With a kindly demeanor mixed with a bubbling under the hatred of blacks and Jewish people, Lee makes certain he is the foil.

A delicious scene towards the end of the film when Duke gets his comeuppance of sorts is well done and received a thunderous roar from the theater audience.

Lee is careful to make sure the bad guys all get their just due and are all portrayed as complete fools. With a false sense of nationalism, many hate minorities simply because they feel they are taking over their beloved country.

Not to harp on this, but BlacKkKlansman will attract those who already agree with Lee’s beliefs and politics. If only those who disagree would give the film a chance. Unlikely.

The final five minutes of BlacKkKlansman arguably is the most pivotal experience of the entire film but has nothing to do with the actual story portrayed in the rest of the production.

Lee concludes the 1970’s portion of the film in a satisfying fashion, then fast forwards to the horrific events that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017 when protesters clashed with a racist group resulting in an innocent woman’s death.

The controversial remarks of President Trump- refusing to cast blame on the racist group are shown. Sitting in a crowded movie theater, these clips had the biggest reaction from the audience with some flipping Trump the finger, while others sobbed in anguish and disbelief that we have achieved so little as a nation.

Rarely ever a  more pertinent or meaningful film for the current political climate the United States is experiencing, BlacKkKlansman (2018) brilliantly ties racism spanning one hundred and fifty years and shows how it still exists.

Amid this message, however, lies a great drama containing humor and importance.

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director-Spike Lee, Best Supporting Actor-Adam Driver, Best Adapted Screenplay (won), Best Original Score, Best Film Editing

2017 Films, Allison Williams, Best Feature- Independent Spirit Award Winners, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry Jones, Catherine Keener, Daniel Kaluuya, Horror, Jordan Peele, Keegan-Michael Key, LaKeith Stanfield, Stephen Root

Get Out-2017

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Get Out-2017

Director Jordan Peele

Starring Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams

Scott’s Review #629

Reviewed March 28, 2017

Grade: A

Get Out (2017) is a unique modern-day horror film that mixes classic horror elements (especially great camera angles to elicit jumps) with bits of slapstick humor, which is not done very often in horror.

In the case of Get Out, all of these tidbits come together in a marvelous experience. The subject matter is rather risqué (see below), a plus for me as I like films that push the envelope a bit.

Certainly, as with most horror films, liberties must be taken regarding plot points and continuity issues, but this film is impressive work.

Given that it is director Jordan Peele’s directorial debut, kudos.

Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) is a young photographer who is handsome, educated, and enjoying life. He is black, and his girlfriend, Rose, is a pretty white girl from an affluent upbringing—it is implied that they are opposites on the social scale.

One weekend, they travel out of the city (presumably New York City) to visit Rose’s parents in the country. Her parents, Dean and Missy, own a sprawling estate with acres of land. Nervous to meet Rose’s parents and make a good first impression, Chris notices that Dean and Missy’s servants are all black and act peculiarly.

Soon, it is revealed that Chris’s mother died when he was a little boy, and when Missy hypnotizes Chris, things begin to go from strange to downright scary.

I adore how the film immediately feels ominous—there is simply something not “right” with the situation. Even before Chris and Rose arrive at her parents’ estate, something seems off.

They hit and kill a deer with their car, the policeman who aids them seems racist, and despite Rose seeming fresh-faced, she also seems not to be trusted.

There are so many ominous warnings not to approach her parents’ house that when they finally do arrive, the audience is compelled to nervously watch for more, perhaps while biting fingernails.

Jordan Peele’s decision to keep everything cheery and bright for most of the film only makes the audience wonder what secrets lurk in the grand estate—the setting where most of the action takes place.

When the pair finally arrives at her parents’ house, everything is out of whack. The film undoubtedly borrows from The Stepford Wives (1975) in some of the characters’ pleasant, almost robotic cheerfulness.

The big reveal and the objectification of all of the black characters- specifically black males- can indeed be cause for debate. The racial motives of the characters are also only skimmed over and never discussed or rationalized in detail.

The physical strength and resilience of black men are mentioned a few times, and Rose’s parents, a psychologist and a neurosurgeon, are major points in the story, but the intentions are somewhat wishy-washy and hardly plausible.

Peele mixes a hilarious scene amid the doom and gloom in a wise move.

The comic relief of the film, Rod, Chris’s best friend and proud TSA agent, calls the police and describes in detail his fears of a sex slave operation, which results in the police having a good guffaw- at Rod’s expense. Rod serving as an instrumental part of the film’s conclusion is a fantastic decision- mixing dark humor with more grotesque horror moments.

This succeeds in setting Get Out well above the traditional genre.

The acting by all parties is believable and deserving of acclaim, but newcomer (to me) Kaluuya carries the film very well, even offering more than one heartfelt dramatic scene, mostly when remembering his mother.

Allison Williams (a dead ringer for a young Jennifer Connelly) is also a marvel, as the character changes direction mid-stream and essentially becomes a different character.

Fantastic are the throwback elements of The Stepford Wives, complete with a similar setting. The film does not reveal whether “in the country” is Connecticut or upstate New York.

The Stepford Wives was Connecticut.

Get Out (2017) is a fresh, novel approach to the standard elements of horror. It mixes comedy and aspects of race into a story brimming with suspense, good frights, and especially interesting camera angles.

This film, a great success at the box office, does not seem like the sequel type, but if so, I am intrigued by what more can be done with it.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win- Best Picture, Best Director- Jordan Peele, Best Actor- Daniel Kaluuya, Best Original Screenplay (won)

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: 2 wins- Best Feature (won), Best Director- Jordan Peele (won), Best Male Lead- Daniel Kaluuya, Best Screenplay, Best Editing