The amazing spectacle of NOPE | REVIEW

 “Did you know that the very first assembly of photographs to create a motion picture was a two-second clip of a Black man on a horse?”

- Emerald Haywood.

This was one of my most anticipated movies of the year and it totally delivered on every level. Which is why It shocked me to discover it only got a 6/10 on IMDB....a 6? Come on!

So let me throw my hat in the ring and review one of the best movies of the year. Though it's best to go into this movie blind so I'll keep this short and spoiler free.

PLOT

"NOPE" is the latest of Jordan Peele's non-traditional horror movies, it follows 2 siblings, Otis and Emerald Haywood who after the death of their father, try to keep his entertainment horse business afloat until they discover the existence of a UFO and try to capture it on camera to get rich.

This is a very surface level explanation of the plot and it's better this way so you, the reader, can go into this movie expecting nothing. But it's not an understatement when I say this plot is unique in its premise and execution.

STYLE AND DIRECTING 

The unexpected being an area that director Jordan Peele excels at because this movie surprised me so much that certain scenes got a verbal reaction from me....not many movies do that.

The way he uses unusual camera angles, seamless transitions and eery yet comfortable lighting choices adds to the uncomfortablity of his films. 

And Nope gets pretty uncomfortable, not too much but just enough for it to feel like real horror and not just the commercial supernatural jump scare porn 15 year old edgy teenager call horror. This is real unnerving and thrilling stuff.

Also I really love the references to the anime movie Akira and the manga dandadan whether they were intentional or not.

CAST, PERFORMANCES AND CHARACTERS.

The 2 afformentioned siblings, Otis and Emerald Haywood are played by Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer respectively, and I don't think it's an overstatement to say Keke Palmer and Daniel Kaluuya are two of the goats of contemporary black cinema. The way these two interact and how natural their dialogue feels made me feel like they really are siblings.

Their dynamic is basically this meme.

Emerald is the high energy extrovert with people skills and Otis is a nonchalant dude who comes off as socially awkward. 

They perfectly bounce off of eachother in a way that makes you believe they're brother and sister.

The third of their unlikely trio is Angel Torres played by Brandon Perea, he's the tech guy...can't say much about his character without spoiling some of the jokes cause he is the comic relief character. His performance is legitimately hilarious, I like that nigga even though he looks like a discount Dominic Fike.

MY ONLY PEEVE

The only thing I didn't like is how a certain plot point felt disconnected, despite me understanding the message and the reason it's there, It didn't feel too connected. But the editing was great.

OVERALL THOUGHTS AND RATING.

My overall thoughts on the movie are basically it's a thought provoking analogy of so many things like the exploitation of people of colour in the film industry and the frustration that comes from that and the way we as humans find it more comfortable to look away from that which we fear, this and it's a good blend of the comedy, drama, sci-fi and horror genres.

I rate this movie a 9/10 must watch.