NOPE (2022) - new Jordan Peele thingy

[Mister Six]

Yeah, it did take a long time. That second act really dragged. I kept thinking of Tremors, which does the desert-bound B-movie monster thing a ton better, and never lags. And even has a bit of commentary about exploiting the beasties for money!

They're all on Britbox, which you can get as a Prime add-on!

We're trying to spend less on subscriptions, not more! But cheers, I'll see how we go.

[Noodle Lizard]

We're trying to spend less on subscriptions, not more! But cheers, I'll see how we go.

I think it's about $6.99 a month, cancel whenever. Or one of you might still have a free trial to exploit!

[Mister Six]

Hm. Maaaaybe.

[13 schoolyards]

The cinematographer is motivated by a lunatic desire to get the impossible on film, but his escalation into suicidal kamikaze cameraman made no sense to me at all.

I figured his initial cynicism (like when he told Emerald her striving for fame was "a dream you never wake up from") was just an act, and underneath it he was much more of a believer than anyone else involved - they were all in it for money and fame, while he was looking for something deeper.

Basically he was a great white hunter (only with a camera), what with him sitting at home constantly watching footage of wild animals attacking each other. In the end he finally realised that merely capturing these creatures on film wasn't going to be enough for him.

[Magnum Valentino]

One thing I took from what happened to Wincott was that the only thing that mattered was getting the shot - it didn't matter to him if anyone saw it. With that reading, what he does at the end makes more sense, as he's committed to the ideal of the image outweighing any value he has himself.

Any ideas on why the film's called Nope?

[13 schoolyards]

Nop... no.

(I figured it was just a joke title - the times a character almost does a typical horror movie thing and then says "nope" always got a decent laugh)

[surreal]

Any ideas on why the film's called Nope?

I'm sure I read somewhere it was Not Of Planet Earth

[elliszeroed]

It was the audio ads that put me off this.

The next stage in the Jordan Peele experience.

Fuck off. It's a horror film not some kind of samsara.

[Mister Six]

Basically he was a great white hunter (only with a camera), what with him sitting at home constantly watching footage of wild animals attacking each other.

I thought that was a film he was editing, to show that he had actual skills they could use, and didn't just work with green screens.

But yeah, I get that he's a believer. I just wasn't convinced he'd basically commit suicide for the best shot. Maybe if he had some contingency plan, like a parachute on the camera so he could throw it away at the last moment while he was eaten, I'd have an easier time believing in it. But I don't see him being prepared to die for the film if the film wouldn't survive.

[up_the_hampipe]

Just saw this. Mostly found it thrilling, but the ending seemed both drawn out and suddenly anticlimactic at the same time. The sound design on the creature was fantastic, I wish I could have seen it in IMAX. The Gordy's birthday scene really unsettled me, another great use of sound as you don't really see much but it only adds to the horror. Same with the screams of the people stuck in the creature. Even though she didn't have top billing, I thought Keke Palmer really carried the movie so it was nice she got the big moment at the end.

So yeah, enjoyed it but they didn't stick the landing. Ah well. I loved Get Out and I haven't seen Us yet, but from what I've heard, it seems like this one is probably between them in terms of quality. Peele is a brilliant filmmaker, but maybe he needs a more experienced screenwriter beside him in future?

[PlanktonSideburns]

Just needs someone to cut the last four scenes off then end of his films without telling him. If he tempted to do a fan edit if I ever fancied watching us again

[BritishHobo]

It's funny, because while (US SPOILERS)

Spoiler alert

Everything about the underground world and how it works in Us is absolute gubbins and makes no sense, I still find the depiction of it, and the final scene, to be more chilling and compelling than in other horrors that are much more consistent.

[close]

[up_the_hampipe]

Apparently Gordy uses sign language after he calms down from the rampage, and he asks Jupe "what happened family?".

Cool detail and makes it even more sad.

[Mister Six]

It's funny, because while (US SPOILERS)

Spoiler alert

Everything about the underground world and how it works in Us is absolute gubbins and makes no sense, I still find the depiction of it, and the final scene, to be more chilling and compelling than in other horrors that are much more consistent.

[close]

For my money, the fact that it makes no sense robs the ending of any impact. It might as well be a completely abstract image. Ironically, if they'd ditched any attempt to rationalise the Tethered (like, just said they come from a magical parallel universe that suffers in exchange for our comfort, rather some bollocks about scientists cloning people or whatever it was), that would have worked fine for me.

[elliszeroed]

The alien thing at the end of this looks great. I don't think I've ever seen a design similar to that on film.

Everything else was alright. The characters weren't very sympathetic. I didn't even figure that Yueng even knew about the alien until he saw it in the sky (was it hinted at previously)?

I suppose the theme is: Don't exploit animals for profit, they are unpredictable?? In both cases, the monkey and the alien thing end up dead after humans try to exploit them, who in some cases also end up dead.

[SteveDave]

Everything else was alright. The characters weren't very sympathetic. I didn't even figure that Yueng even knew about the alien until he saw it in the sky (was it hinted at previously)?

I think he did because when OJ first saw the alien it was after you saw the lights and a far away PA from the fake cowboy ranch.

[Cuellar]

Saw this the other day and more or less agree with most people here. Visually it was great but the script felt a bit flabby but also not very substantial, if that can make sense.

I thought at the end we'd see the product of

Spoiler alert

old cinematographer guy's hand-cranked camera capturing OJ riding out in the desert, recalling Muybridge's film. But I suppose they didn't want to labour that point and hoped you'd use your *mind* to imagine it like some sort of peasant.

[close]

It was good how

Spoiler alert

the creature looked like a big cowboy hat flying around sucking people off. It's as if the film was a Western where the antagonist is the very concept of 'The Western'

[close]

and I don't know what I mean by that.

[Mister Six]

I suppose the theme is: Don't exploit animals for profit, they are unpredictable?? In both cases, the monkey and the alien thing end up dead after humans try to exploit them, who in some cases also end up dead.

Yeah, basically, I think. Maybe not even that cautionary, just "Hey, this is a fucked up thing that we do for some reason."

Although I suppose there's a bit of hypocrisy in using real horses to film the thing. Were they credited at the end? I forgot to check.

I think he did because when OJ first saw the alien it was after you saw the lights and a far away PA from the fake cowboy ranch.

It's also why he's buying up so many horses right at the start, isn't it? Bait. Not sure what he's thinking going to invite OJ and his sister along to the events, though. Does he think OJ won't mind seeing his horses get et up by a UFO?

[checkoutgirl]

Not sure what he's thinking going to invite OJ and his sister along to the events, though.

That made no financial sense. A horse cost 11 grand and there were about 20 people at the thing. I suspect he invited OJ and the woman from the old TV show and made a financial loss on every show because it was purely an ego thing. Trying to recapture some of the old pizazz from when he was a kid.

Eventually people might think it's a real UFO and run off to tell the newspapers, which would generate footfall, money and attention.

[elliszeroed]

The monkey thing at the start may have been based on a true story:

Mad Pet Monkey Maims

I think making Yeung's story more prominent would have made the story stronger.

[surreal]

I suppose the theme is: Don't exploit animals for profit, they are unpredictable?? In both cases, the monkey and the alien thing end up dead after humans try to exploit them, who in some cases also end up dead.

I took from it some message about everything being about views or likes or hits - they told no-one about this because they wanted to be the ones to get "the shot", Jupe kept all the memorabilia from the TV show and charged people to see something horrific, the director (forgot his name) risking everything for the shot, the TMZ guy turning up, the whole thing about being "seen" as the trigger...

I dunno, I'm no good at, like, analysis and stuff.  Still thinking about the movie though which is something

[Mister Six]

That made no financial sense. A horse cost 11 grand and there were about 20 people at the thing. I suspect he invited OJ and the woman from the old TV show and made a financial loss on every show because it was purely an ego thing. Trying to recapture some of the old pizazz from when he was a kid.

Eventually people might think it's a real UFO and run off to tell the newspapers, which would generate footfall, money and attention.

Yeah, a loss-leader; 20 people each tell 10 people, that's 200 people, who tell 10 people, and so on. Since he's stopping people from making their own footage, that could theoretically work out - although there wouldn't be much to stop people from just doing what the TMZ guy did and filming from afar (that said, we don't know how big his parcel of land is, and he does say that up until the point where it comes early and eats everyone, it always came at night, which would reduce visibility, I guess).

[Bad Ambassador]

I felt a bit cheated by the trailer, which includes stuff like a creepy alien hand that turns out to be a chimp or a scary mirror-helmeted motorcyclist, who turns out to be a tabloid reporter. I thought that he might have been played by a famous name doing a voice, but it's just some guy. Even the odd emphasis on the shoe standing upright is never paid off. A lot of it feels like surface excitement covering over quite bland, prosaic elements.

[elliszeroed]

If he wanted to do a Black iconic UFO film, why not do Betty and Barney Hill? Mixed race married couple, abducted by UFOs, in 1961, a rich vein to explore racism, aliens, and mental health issues.

[Magnum Valentino]

Aye, what about the shoe? That was particularly interesting and never paid off.

[Bence Fekete]

Just got back from this and sad to say I couldn't keep my eyes open. Something just wasn't right from the start and too many scenes were unfocused and uncompelling. Then it just veered into this monotonous set-piece jam and given all the build up I really expected something more profound than

Spoiler alert

monster but monster is a ufo monster lol

[close]

I might be biased having spent the last 12 months obsessed with absorbing ufology culture and from that perspective the 'creature' design and mythos were remarkably tame and unchallenging. It seemed fairly clear that Peele hasn't done much (any?) homework (compared for example to Speilberg's Close Encounters where he famously collaborated with invisible college researchers like Jacques Vallee and others) and just ran with some roughly strewn concepts that barely scratch the surface.

Spoiler alert

As others have said script, characters and plot were all a bit one-dimensional; although there were some decent moments and touches of cinematic finesse. But again, the creature itself being so charmless and bland (is there anything particularly terrifying about a 100ft towel?) there wasn't much anyone could do.

And sorry, nope. UFOs don't hang around neighbourhoods in clouds like grumpy sky wolves taking out the pretty horses vindictively in broad daylight. It's too cute. It's too silly of a conceit to fill two hours of supposedly adult suspense.

[close]

I think the public perception of ufology has itself evolved and grown more sophisticated in recent times and there's so much to explore that doesn't reduce everything to evil greys and genre tropes. I'm far from against the woo either - there's plenty of weird phenom, cattle mutilations and cursed native American poltergeists being reported by serious scientists on Skinwalker Ranch which one must suspect provided at least some of the inspiration for this movie. I think it would've been a much richer flick if they'd explored some of that.

Despite my inital pessimism I was really looking forward to this after all the marmite reviews (i recall similar trepidation before Candyman which I ended up liking a lot). But this felt very average. I'd go as far as to say it was kinda dull.

[up_the_hampipe]

Aye, what about the shoe? That was particularly interesting and never paid off.

I don't think anyone knows for sure, but I've heard an explanation that it's just the kind of weird detail you focus on or remember in moments like that. There's perhaps not a paranormal reason for it, it's just an odd thing that sticks out. I like that as an idea. Others have said it's the sign of a "bad miracle", but I don't know about none of that religious stuff.

[Bad Ambassador]

How did he get it to stand up again in the display case? Did he have someone carefully cut out a piece of the floor and then drive it gently to the ranch?

[Mister Six]

Glue?

[Mister Six]

Glue made from horses AHHH DO YOU SEE?

Does he actually talk about the shoe during his little tour of the secret chamber? I was losing interest a bit during that part, I think.