Us is a horror film written and directed by Jordan Peele, who produced the film alongside Jason Blum and Sean McKittrick (with the trio previously having collaborated on Get Out and BlacKkKlansman), as well as Ian Cooper. I am not a fan of horror flicks but I am a fan of Lupita Nyong’o, so I saw the movie. Honestly, Us was more of a mystery than a horror movie, which I thought was interesting. The film follows a family who are confronted by their doppelgängers (a ghostly double or counterpart of a living person) and has grossed $102 million worldwide. Us received praise from critics for Peele’s screenplay and direction, as well as for the score and acting.
In 1986, Russel (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and Rayne (Anna Diop) Thomas go on vacation with their young daughter, Adelaide (Madison Curry) to Santa Cruz, CA. While at the beach carnival, Adelaide’s mother goes to the ladies room, leaving Adelaide with her father, who is trying to win a prize playing one of the carnival games. Bored watching her father play, Adelaide wanders off and enters a funhouse, where she encounters a doppelgänger of herself in the “hall of mirrors”. After a short search by Russel and Rayne, a traumatized Adelaide is reunited with her parents but unable to speak about her disappearance or what she experienced.
In the present day, a now adult Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o) heads to her family’s beach house in Santa Cruz with her husband Gabe Wilson (Winston Duke) and their children, Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and Jason (Evan Alex). Adelaide, never forgetting the traumatic incident from her youth, is apprehensive about the trip. On the other hand, Gabe is eager to impress their friends Josh (Tim Heidecker) and Kitty (Elisabeth Moss) Tyler, purchases a boat ignoring Adelaide’s emotional status. Once settled at the beach and into their indivisible activities, Jason suddenly wanders off. He encounters a man in a red jumpsuit, standing alone on the beach with his arms outstretched and blood dripping from his hands. Jason does not tell his family about the man but later draws a picture of him. Later that night, a strange family of four appears in the driveway of the beach house. After several attempts from Gabe get the invaders to identify themselves, they attack him and break into the beach house. The Wilsons realize that the four intruders are doppelgängers of themselves, led by Adelaide’s double, Red. Being the only doppelgänger capable of speech, Red tells the Wilsons the story of a girl who lives a happy life while her shadow suffers. The family is then separated by their opposites — things start to get wild and seriously dangerous.
There is no way I can tell any more of this thriller without spoiling it for you, so I’ll leave it here. I can only say, the adventures between the original humans and the Doppelgängers get pretty intense. From the Tyler twins, Becca Tyler/Lo (Cali Sheldon) and Lindsey Tyler/Nix (Noelle Sheldon) who don’t really like the Wilson children, to Adelaide’s true story revealed, you will see a whole new side to Us. The acting was brilliant and the special effects were outstanding. For me, horror is not how I would define Us. There were a few scary moments but nothing earth shattering and certainly nothing we haven’t seen before. Us was extremely bloody and the anticipation was at an all time high, as we waited to find out what was really going on. There were times I couldn’t tell what was real and what wasn’t real and I didn’t like the way Us ended. When it all became clear, I was ready to vote for a rewrite of the final results. I’ve heard many opinions about Us, some say they liked it and some say it was a waste of time and money. You will have to go see it for yourself and make your own determination. Us is exciting and entertaining so you won’t lose on that accord, Check It Out if you like thrillers.
When it’s your time, it’s your time. Matthew McConaughey is on a roll. His performance in Interstellar was fantastic. Matthew played Cooper, a retired NASA test pilot, turned farmer, who has a passion for space, flying and discovery. Anne Hathaway was equally magnificent in the role of biologist Amelia, the daughter of a renowned scientist named Brand, played by Michael Cain. The special effects and the great attention to detail is nothing short of phenomenal. Interstellar is a blockbuster of a movie that is well suited for those with a scientific mind and a real sense of adventure. I couldn’t begin to tell you of all the complicated jargon that went into Interstellar to complete this level of cosmic interest. Interstellar is about a team of space travelers who must travel through a wormhole in search of a habitable planet. It seems that Earth’s natural resources are at the brink of extinction, causing us to regress to an agrarian civilization, which is failing. According to Brand, there are 3 planets on the other side of the wormhole that qualify as worthy candidates. At this point, the story gets too complicated for this review but I will tell you that Interstellar has it all, from the “Endurance” that Cooper pilots, to the 2 robots (Case and Tars) that accompany the crew on their journey to the black hole called Gargantua. There is time travel and time lines that are truly fascinating. Cooper’s daughter Murphy, who is called Murph throughout the entire movie becomes a central character and is played by 3 different actresses. In the end, Cooper, who is raising his 2 children (Tom and Murph) must decide between seeing his children again and the future of the human race. Exciting, interesting, entertaining and thought provoking are some of the words that best describe this movie. Interstellar is 2 hours and 49 minutes well worth spending both your time and money to see but is not for everyone. Some folks may find it too scientific!
CAROL's WORLDS 