{"id":25072,"date":"2022-07-20T23:51:32","date_gmt":"2022-07-21T06:51:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=25072"},"modified":"2022-07-20T23:51:32","modified_gmt":"2022-07-21T06:51:32","slug":"nope-isnt-a-genre-classic-but-delivers-a-few-jolts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=25072","title":{"rendered":"NOPE Isn\u2019t a Genre Classic, But Delivers Some Memorable Jolts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Running Time: 135 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This feature from Universal Pictures opens at cinemas on\nFriday, July 22nd.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Writer\/director Jordan Peele made a huge impression with his\n2017 debut feature Get Out<\/em>, a brilliant horror satire that won accolades\nand an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Us<\/em> was his follow-up,\ndetailing sinister doppelgangers. It also fared well with the press and\naudiences. So, expectations have been high for his latest feature. Readers\nshould keep their assumptions in check. Nope<\/em> isn\u2019t as thematically deep\nor as terrifying as the filmmaker\u2019s previous two efforts. However, it is an\nenjoyable genre picture that does provide a few jolts and plenty of effective\ngallows humor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The story follows OJ Haywood (Daniel Kaluuya), a Hollywood\nhorse wrangler struggling with sister Emerald (Keke Palmer) to keep the family\nbusiness afloat after the death of their father (Keith David). Of course, it\ndoesn\u2019t help that the pair keep witnessing what appears to be a UFO in a cloud\nabove their ranch. With work drying up and OJ forced to sell some horses to\nneighbor and small-time theme park owner\/ex-child actor Ricky \u2018Jupe\u2019 Park\n(Steven Yuen), desperate measures are taken. The siblings set out to capture\nfootage of the UFO in the hopes of selling it for big money and earning\nthemselves much-needed publicity. They hire Fry\u2019s Electronics security camera\nexpert Angel Torres (Brandon Perea) and then pester Hollywood cinematographer\nAntlers Holst (Michael Wincott) to help them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What follows is utterly bizarre. Some early sections are\nlighter than anticipated as the leads begin to wonder if little gray men are\nabout to appear. But things turn much darker as the story progresses and individuals\nare attacked by the mysterious UFO. This reviewer may have missed something,\nbut upon first glance it seems to provide simple advice to beware of wild\nanimals (not to mention creatures) and always make sure to maintain a clear\nhead and calm demeanor in dealing with potential threats. Additionally, the\nmovie pokes fun at Hollywood and the desire of some entertainers to put on a\nbig show at literally any cost. However, there doesn\u2019t appear to be as much going\non thematically as in the filmmaker\u2019s previous works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that while one may have trouble discerning\nwhether or not there is a deeper meaning present, the craziness on display is\nstill fun to watch. Early on, many events come across as equally baffling and\nintriguing (especially a bit involving strange items falling out of the air).\nAnd there are some aspects of the UFO that have never been seen before. This\nincludes the image of a ship hidden behind an unsettling, unmoving cloud, as well\nas the look and biology of the craft itself. The elements are original and make\na strong impression. And there are a few memorably tense sequences. There is a\nsitcom-shoot flashback filmed from the point-of-view of a child that is\nincredibly tense. Another great bit involves a wild west show that devolves\ninto utter chaos. And the photography is eye-popping at times, like in a\nsurreal shot involving a severely damaged truck crawling down a road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The characters are also interesting, if occasionally\nunderutilized. Kaluuya\u2019s OJ is a straightforward man of few words and he sells\nthe hero role effectively. Palmer also comes off well as the sister, but one\nwishes more was done with the fascinating Ricky \u2018Jupe\u2019 Park. His incredible\nbackstory makes one wish he wasn\u2019t relegated to the background. And\ncinematographer Holst is amusingly deadpan\u2026 it would have been wise to do more\nwith him at the close (like the discovery of a reel of incredible footage developed\nafter the big climax). In truth, the movie ultimately leaves one with plenty of\nquestions about what occurred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But while Nope<\/em> is a bit buggy in places and leaves\nsome threads dangling, those who don\u2019t come down too hard on its\ninconsistencies will find a few thrills and chills. This is a flawed but\nenjoyable genre picture that should keep many on the edge of their seats. One\nwould be wise to ignore the negatively phrased title as viewing advice.\n\u201cAbsolutely\u201d might not be appropriate, but the film qualifies as a \u201cSure\u201d when\nall is said and done.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Running Time: 135 minutes This feature from Universal Pictures opens at cinemas on Friday, July 22nd. Writer\/director Jordan Peele made a huge impression with his 2017 debut feature Get Out, a brilliant horror satire that won accolades and an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Us was his follow-up, detailing sinister doppelgangers. It also fared […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":25077,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[209,3424,5147,9319,11018,11558,13840,15020,15021,15022,15023,17775,19106,23463,23562,23571],"class_list":["post-25072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-209","tag-brandon-perea","tag-daniel-kaluuya","tag-horror","tag-jordan-peele","tag-keke-palmer","tag-michael-wincott","tag-nope","tag-nope-film-review","tag-nope-movie-review","tag-nope-review","tag-science-fiction","tag-steven-yuen","tag-ufo","tag-universal","tag-universal-pictures"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25072"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25072\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}