‘Us’ Movie Review

‘Us’ (2019)
Blumhouse Productions / Monkeypaw Productions

Directed by: Jordan Peele
Written by: Jordan Peele
Starring: Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Elizabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Shahadi Wright Joseph & Evan Alex.

Following the huge success of his last film ‘Get Out‘, Jordan Peele comes at us again with a new horror film which delivers the same gut-wrenching suspense as his last. ‘Us‘, which is both written and directed by Peele, is a story of a Adelaide Wilson (played by Lupita Nyong’o) and her family who, while on vacation in the area where she suffered a traumatic event as a child, experience a new terror when a family who looks identical to them arrives to claim what is theirs. Now Adelaide, her husband Gabe (portrayed by Winston Duke) and their two children Zora & Jason (Shahadi Wright Joseph & Evan Alex, respectively) must battle to stay alive as they are stalked and tormented by their evil doppelgangers (referred to as “The Tethered”). To say much more would spoil some key moments and plot points and this is one movie where the less you know about it, the more impactful it is. Needless to say that Peele proves once again that he is a modern day Hitchcock when it comes to spinning imaginative and inventive suspense and horror.

The story is helped along by a frenzied and forceful score from Michael Abels that accentuates the movie in all of the right spots. Lupita Nyong’o has repeatedly demonstrated her acting chops and they are on full display here as a mother desperate to survive and keep her entire family alive. Kudos also belong to Shahadi Wirhgt Joseph as her daughter, Zora, who is deliciously disturbing to view as Zora’s “tethered” self and as manages to demonstrate a fantastic and innate acting skill set that almost seems like it should belong to someone twice or even three times her age. The only complaint I had was that a few of the “dad jokes” from the Gabe character (well-played by Winston Duke) kind of took me out of the scene on occasion. Yes, I’m sure they were intentional and, yes, I understand the need for some people / characters to cut the tension, but the humor somehow felt out of place in an otherwise masterful film from Peele. The camera work and cinematography also lent to the dizzying and disconcerting feelings that are, no doubt, experienced by the main ensemble cast. There was very little about this film that was predictable and the ending is a twist that I truly didn’t see coming. Suffice it to say that ‘Us’ gets a solid 9 out of 10 from me and is a movie that deserves to be seen in theaters as soon as you can do so!!

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‘Captain Marvel’ Movie Review

‘Captain Marvel’ (2019)
Marvel Studios / Walt Disney

Directed by: Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck
Written by: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck, Nicole Perlman, Geneva Robertson-Dworet, Meg LeFauve, Liz Flahive & Carly Mensch
Starring: Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn, Gemma Chan, Lashana Lynch, Annette Bening, Clark Gregg, Djimon Hounsou & Lee Pace

The latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe blasts into theaters this weekend! ‘Captain Marvel‘ hits the ground running as we are treated to the MCU’s first female-led movie to date starring Brie Larson in the titular role. Beginning the film as a Kree soldier, Vers (Larson) fights alongside her elite team working to stop the spread of the shape-shifting Skrull alien race. But when a mission goes wrong and she ends up being captured by the enemy, she begins to learn that her memories may have been tampered with and she soon begins to question everything that she’s come to know.

Anyone familiar with the comics will recognize the convoluted and complicated history that Carol Danvers (AKA: Ms. Marvel, AKA: Binary, AKA: Warbird, AKA: Captain Marvel) has had since she first debuted in Marvel Super-Heroes #13 back in 1968. So while her origin story isn’t as clear cut as, say, Captain America’s or Iron Man’s, the writing and directing team of Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck do a truly superb job of giving us a succinct and solid genesis for this dynamic character. The story is set in the mid-1990’s which provides a lot of fun moments complete with Blockbuster Video stores, NIN shirts and AltaVista search engines. We also get to see a young Agent Nick Fury and rookie Agent Phil Coulson (although much more of the former than we see of the latter). The film has all of the action, fun and heart that we’ve grown accustomed to see in the Marvel movies and, being set in the 90’s, also boasts the best soundtrack since the original ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy‘.

The entire cast is exceptional and it’s always great to get more of Samuel L. Jackson‘s Nick Fury. I was also very pleased at the inclusion of young Monica Rambeau (who is the Captain Marvel that I remember when I started reading Marvel Comics) but her mother Maria Rambeau has a larger role as Carol Danver’s former USAF partner (played by Lashana Lynch). Jude Law plays Carol’s / Vers’ commander Yon-Rogg and Gemma Chan is plays Kree soldier / sniper Minn-Erva. Other noteworthy names such as Annette Bening, Djimon Hounsou, Ben Mendelsohn and Lee Pace round out this awesome ensemble who come together to deliver one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s strongest entries to date. It provides a serviceable origin to a character who has a rather complex back story and it perfectly sets the stage for the upcoming ‘Avengers: Endgame’ due out in May. Tickets are on sale now AND make sure you stick around for both of the post credit scenes!! On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d say that ‘Captain Marvel’ rates an out of this world 8.5! Take it from Kree… I mean… take it from me, this will be one movie that you’ll need to get out and see in theaters right away!