22 July 22 - Nope

"What's a bad miracle?" - OJ Haywood

First, there was Get Out - his Oscar-nominated socio-psychological thriller masterpiece that left many discussing its premise.

Then, he followed it up with Us - cue the Rod Serling narrative voiceover and Twilight Zone theme music.

Then last year, he brought back to life Chicago's urban mythical legend - Candyman to remind us why we still need him today.

Now, Jordan Peele is back, blogspot readers, with his latest feature with a very profound yet intriguing twist to the alien invasion plot. SouthSide will even dare to call it the year's "would you believe if I told you there's something weird going on in the sky if I didn't have video of it?" kind of movie. With Nope, Jordan Peele has definitely elevated his writing, directing and producing as well as his imagination craft to the next level. He cleverly combined such themes/movies like Signs (by M. Night Shyamalan), The Thing (by John Carpenter), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (by Steven Spielberg), a haunting movie opening scene like Ghost Ship (but without the razor sharp wire) and perhaps a touch of The Wizard of Oz tucked within ...such wonderfully crafted homage, blogspot readers. 

That is Nope - without giving too much away, of course, to spoil your enjoyment of the heart-racing, jump scares and bare knuckle turns with some sprinkles of comedic horror (only Jordan Peele loves to do to lull the average moviegoer into a false sense of security before ...WHAM - scaring the bejesus out of them). It's all about the "money shot" ending, blogspot readers, with this writer/director/producer. He certainly does in Nope. SouthSide in all honesty, was spooked in between the calmness and horror humor especially when Brandon Perea's Angel Torres character goes off on a tangent about the "love of his life" leaving him after landing a CW show job. Yet behind that calm and humor, there's plenty of subtle mystery and creepiness which surrounds thing/being hovering over the skies of Agua Dulce. What it is will (without giving much away) will shock, amaze or leave you in awe ...or perhaps all three.

And woe unto us who await his next adventure ...this reviewer surely doesn't want to know what's churning in his head ...not yet. Let her digest the awe and excitement of Nope after getting an advanced viewing the night before.

Nope stars Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out, Black Panther) as OJ Haywood and Keke Palmer (Alice, Akeelah and the Bee) as Em, short for Emerald, Haywood ...siblings who are sort of tasked into running the horse ranch used for movies in Hollywood after the mysterious death of their father (portrayed by the legendary Keith David) when sudden random objects start falling from the sky. These two characters are SO night and day, blogspot readers. Em is the multi-tasking, multi-business opportunist with a LOTS of energizer bunny energy while OJ is nonchalant, laid back, "I got to get up early ...chores to do..." kind of guy. Besides sibling love and affection, communication is one of their biggest problems that needs work though Jordan Peele never explains why. Upon experiencing a strange encounter with an unidentified object posing as a cloud overhead, the Haywood sibs decide to get that "money" or "Oprah" shot to which they enlist the help of Brandon Perea's character and then film documentarian, Antlers Holst (Michael Wincott - The Crow). To make this move and plot be more intriguing, Jordan Peele adds a former child TV star now running a Western family theme park Ricky "Jupe" Park (Steven Yeun - Glenn from the Walking Dead) who has his own unresolved living nightmare involving a murderous chimpanzee that went on a sudden rampage killing its human co-stars. Keep this in mind as you watch the nervous behaviors of the Haywood horses, blogspot readers. Plus Yeun's character also has a history with the unidentified object as well naming it "The Viewers". What happens next ...well, you need to see Nope for yourself. 

No spoilers here.

And like his previous movies, Nope does contain a hidden thought-provoking concept that Jordan wants us to take into consideration. For example, Get Out had the secretive, illicit mind-bending manipulation used towards another race to remain dominate and superior over them which in SouthSide's humblest opinions is not too far fetch. In Us (and despite what one woman enthusiastically exclaimed when it was over - "art sets you free!"), it was about the social class uprising of our doppelgangers wanting a piece of the pie. Peele's Candyman dealt with the horrifying police hivemind and its narrative when placing innocent people in a very tight situation that forces them to choose the narrative or suffer unjust consequences. Nope brings us the concept of racial policing like how horses don't like being eyed directly by humans. The same can be said about the alien protagonist in this movie ...it likes to view/"police" over Nope's unsuspecting cast of characters because one look can cost you your life, blogspot readers, though the tables do get turned towards the end.

*Whew*

What a lot to digest there, blogspot readers. So, SouthSide is going to stop right here ...no more over analyzing Jordan Peele's Nope that boosts originality about a terrifying alien invasion to art direction as well as Hollywood movie history and much more. Yes this movie has plenty of "money" shots.

Nope is a yes from this reviewer, blogspot readers.

Nope is now playing in theatres.

Until next time, support your local scene,

SouthSide