A Quiet Place (2018)

I heard about A Quiet Place for the first time last week, when everyone on Twitter was saying how good it was. I never even saw a trailer on TV which is why I thought I would have to wait months before seeing what all the fuss was about. Turns out it's in cinemas since April 5 and my cinema didn't even bother telling me it in the weekly email. Anyway, I got there as soon as I could (yesterday afternoon) and I'm not sure words are enough to describe how glad I am I saw this movie.

Set in the near future, A Quiet Place is about a family who lives in solitude and is forced to live in absolute silence as there is something that lurks in the shadows and waits for noises to attack.

The premise is very simple, as you can tell, we get absolutely no backstory nor explanation to what is going on, and the plot isn't perfect --there are some holes and some conveniences-- but don't you dare think this is just another horror movie because it's not. And the credits go to every single person who worked on this film.

First, kudos to John Krasinski. It takes more than great skill to take a simple story like that and turn it into something that grabs your attention right from the start, keeps you glued to the screen and on the edge of the seat, literally, and makes you feel uncomfortable and genuinely fearful from start to finish. I was not expecting him, Jim from The Office, to be able to build, so slowly and cleverly, so much tension and suspense throughout the film. There isn't even a single dull moment.

Also brilliant is Krasinski's choice to make the story about the family, not the monsters/aliens like they usually do in horrors. Even though the family, just like the monsters, has no backstory whatsoever and we know very little about them --maybe they were the monsters before this sort of apocalypse happened, who knows--, they are developed in a way that you end up caring about them and make you emotionally invested in the film (I even cried, there's no point in lying). Never before I felt so connected to the characters in a horror and genuinely hoped for a positive outcome (I usually hope they all die).

Paramount Pictures

Then there's the scare factor. Unlike your average horror, A Quiet Place does not rely on blood and gore to scare you and keep your heart racing --there's some of both but they are kept at a minimum-- but on a mixture of great storytelling and astonishing use of sound. Even quiet scenes manage to be scary in this film as they leave you in fear of a sound being made. Even the sound of someone eating popcorn in the movies will scare you if anyone even dares eating while watching this film (not a single person ate or talked during this film, not even during the ending credits). And the brilliant score by Marco Beltrami, which is kept to a minimum, only adds to the film's tension and makes you feel even more like you're experiencing all that along with the characters.

At last, and I hope I didn't forget anything, there's the acting. I have to say I wasn't crazy about Emily Blunt, John Krasinski's wife, playing John Krasinski's character's wife, but I changed my mind right after seeing this. She gives an astonishing performance as she delivers a wide range of emotions. John Krasinski also does a wonderful job as the husband and father, perfectly showing desperation through his eyes, and the chemistry between the two is obviously amazing. Then there are the child actors, Noah Jupp and Millicent Simmonds, the latter being the standout. I'm sure many will say the filmmakers played it safe with the casting of a deaf actress, Simmonds, to play a deaf character, but I think this only adds authenticity to the film --and I loved that there's a complete lack of noise when the film is from her point of view.

Sicario (2015)

I remember seeing the trailer to Sicario in cinemas back in 2015 and thinking, "damn, that looks good", then somehow I managed to miss it and for some reason or another I kept putting it off. In the meantime, I watched Hell or High Water and Wind River, both written (and the latter also directed) by Taylor Sheridan and having loved both I figured it'd make sense to check out his first work. Also, this movie is getting a sequel this year and it's basically one of the most anticipated films of the year so, yeah, I had to watch this. 

After surviving an explosion following the discovery of a house with dozens of corpses, idealistic FBI agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) joins a special anti-drugs task force run by Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) that operates on the border area between the U.S. and Mexico. With the help of the mysterious Columbian-born Alejandro (Benicio del Toro), their ultimate goal is the capture or kill of cartel boss Manuel Diaz (Bernardo P. Saracino).

There's a lot more to the plot but saying anything else would spoil the film if you haven't seen it yet. Anyway, it's a pretty simple and straightforward plot, there are some twists along the way but nothing jaw-dropping and yet it keeps you glued to the screen, guessing what will happen next, what the objective of the mission really is until it unravels at the end. What's more important is the message the story delivers. In a few words, it says that all the U.S. and other foreign involvment in the war on drugs has only made the situation worse.

What makes the story more interesting is that we see it through the eyes of an ingenué, someone who believes it's all black and white and that there's nothing in between. That's what makes the main character, Kate Macer, so interesting too. The character is paper-thin, with no development whatsoever --we only learn that she is divorced and hasn't had a man in years. She is completely irrelevant to the story, many said, but she isn't. *SPOILER*If you follow the story instead of, I don't know, thinking about how hot Emily Blunt is or whatever, then you know there's a reason for her to be in the film, and it's to legitimize the operation of the CIA because they cannot operete on domestic soil without a federal agent*SPOILER* Also, her being the typical agent who always follows the rules allows us to see the collision between the black and white and makes the blurry line between good and evil more clearly. Emily Blunt does a really good job at capturing the struggle and inner conflict of her character, her difficulty to adapt.

Lionsgate

The other main characters are thin too, especially Josh Brolin's Matt Graver who comes off just as an asshole. Benicio del Toro's Alejandro is given some backstory but he doesn't have any more depth that Brolin's. That said, both actors, especially del Toro, give good performances. Some of the other members of the cast, Daniel Kaluuya and Jon Bernthal, also make a good use of their small screen time.

In addition to Sheridan's screenplay and soling acting, Sicario also benefits from Denis Villeneuve's direction. The guy knows how to build tension and the movie shows it. Though there aren't enormously tense scenes, Villeneuve managed to keep the tension high thoughtout the entire film and delivered some nice and tense action sequences.

The film also has an outstading score by the late Johann Johannsson, amazing sound editing, and a flawless cinematography by (finally Academy Award winner) Roger Deakin.

Emily Blunt Or Ruth Wilson As Ms. Marvel In THE AVENGERS 2?

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It's an interesting rumor to say the least. Marvel's been wanting to bring in Ms. Marvel amongst other properties for some time now and it seems they may be acting on it. You may know for example that Ms. Marvel is a key component of Marvel's "New Avengers".

Here's how Wikipedia describes Ms. Marvel:
Ms. Marvel is the name of a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roy Thomas and designed by artist Gene Colan, the non-powered Major Carol Danvers debuted as a member of the United States Air Force in Marvel Super-Heroes #13 (March 1968) and as Ms. Marvel—a fusion of alien Kree and human genes—in Ms. Marvel #1 (January 1977).

Debuting in the Silver Age of comics, the character featured in a self-titled series in the late 1970s before becoming associated with superhero teams the Avengers and the X-Men. The character has also been known as Binary, Warbird, and Captain Marvel at various points in her history, and has featured in other Marvel-endorsed products including video games, animated television series, and merchandise such as trading cards. In the 2000s, the increased use of her as a character eventually prompted some commentators to note that "she's now the House of Ideas' premier heroine." She was ranked 29th in Comics Buyer's Guide's "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.

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According to The Daily Mail, Emily Blunt and Ruth Wilson are pulling out the stilettos and facing off for the coveted role which will be featured in Joss Whedon's followup to the number three movie of all time THE AVENGERS, known affectionately now as THE AVENGERS 2.

I don't blame these actors to be going after this role - these really are event movies. Personally I see Emily Blunt as much more of a fit than Ruth Wilson, but Blunt may already be a bit too famous to take it on. Interesting casting dilemma.

The image and video of Ms. Marvel are from Sideshow Collectibles lineup of figures of which I am an avid collector (I don't have this piece though).



What do you think? Emily Blunt or Ruth Wilson?