Nope
released 2022
www.ink2quill.com

“Nope” is an American, Scifi, partly comedic, horror film produced by Ian Cooper, Robert Graf, Jordan Peele, Win Rosenfeld, David Torres and Karen Ruth Getchell. It was directed and written by Jordan Peele and stars Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Brandon Perea, Michael Wincott, Steven Yuen, Wrenn Schmidt, Keith David, Devon Graye, Terry Notary, Barbie Ferreia, Donna Mills, Oz Perkins, Eddie Jemison, Jacob Kim, Sophia Coto, Jennifer Lafleur, Andrew Patrick Ralston, Lincoln Lambert, Pierce Kang, Roman Gross, Alex Hyde-White, Hetty Chang, Liza Treyger, Ryan W. Garcia, Courtney Elizabeth and many more.

Nope IMDb webpage

“Nope” is the story of the Haywood family during a kind of alien invasion from outer space, or maybe it’s better to call the goings on an “alien harassment” because the whole of the human race or even the country is not under threat. The Haywoods are a kind of Hollywood fixture with a business that provides animals, notably horses, to film shoots for movies and commercials of all genres, not just Westerns. The story begins when Papa Otis Haywood, played by Keith David, is killed when objects from a mysterious plane crash fall to Earth. The Haywood family business falls in the Hands of brother and sister duo OJ, played by Daniel Kaluuya, and Emerald, played by Keke Palmer. They have a hard time filling their late father’s shoes when it comes to not only running the business but keeping it afloat. They are also still in mourning. And they really are a funny duo where OJ is phlegmatic and Emerald is spunky and full of optimism and ideas.

Things turn from weird to sinister as the two experience power outages at their farm and eventually see a real life UFO. Not only do they see a UFO but things go missing, horses go missing and eventually, as the story progresses, people go missing. SO, OJ and Emerald set out to find out WTF is going on in their little valley.

There are so many brilliant elements in this movie that make it a completely different kind of UFO film with mass appeal. The first is the characters. What great acting from Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer and Keith David. I loved the way OJ had a way of drawing our attention in spite of the fact he was so low key. Usually characters how are so low key disappear into the background and from our thoughts but this is not the case with OJ. Also, Emerald was really the driving force of the film with her energy and sharp wit she kept the story from crumbling into a state of stagnation. Both OJ and Emerald were so funny and they really complemented each other so well.

I feel there is always symbolism in Jordan Peele movies and he does it so well. Take for example the name of the horses and what happens to each one of them. And the fact that Papa Otis Haywood was killed by a nickel falling from a mysterious plane crash at the beginning of the movie. And then there is of course the name of the Ranch, Jupiter’s Claim, owned by Ricky “Jupe” Park, played by Steven Yeun. The very name of Ricky’s ranch is a kind of foreshadowing of things to come.

What makes this such a good movie is that it’s a fun watch. I enjoyed watching OJ and Emerald keep their heads as things go to pot and get sinister. This movie does not take itself too seriously and it works for that very reason. It’s not a movie claiming to have any kinds of answers or truths it’s just weird fun.

So, check out “Nope” because it’s a fun watch.

John Ink2Quill

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