Tag Archives: john krasinski

A QUIET PLACE (2018) – My rating: 8/10

A Quiet Place is a horror film directed by John Krasinski and produced by Michael Bay’s company, Platinum Dunes, which is also run by Andrew Form and Bradley Fuller. The screenplay was written by Krasinski, Bryan Woods, and Scott Beck, based on a story by Woods and Beck.  In A Quiet Place, a family must live life in silence while hiding from creatures that hunt exclusively by sound. While I don’t like horror movies, I opted to see this one because I was told it was a different kind of horror film that didn’t involve anything demonic, wicked, nor the usual teenagers screaming and scheming in the woods.  My information was good and I enjoyed A Quiet Place.

Over a three month period in 2020, most of Earth’s human population has been wiped out by sightless creatures with hypersensitive hearing and a seemingly impenetrable armored shell that attacks anything that makes noise. The Abbott family consisting of Lee (John Krasinski), the husband and an engineer, Evelyn (Emily Blunt), the wife and a doctor, Regan (Millicent Simmonds), the daughter who is congenitally deaf in real life, Marcus (Noah Jupe), the oldest son and Beau (Cade Woodward), the youngest son, silently scavenge for supplies in a deserted town. Though skilled in American Sign Language, the family must be vigilant in their quietness to ensure they don’t make any accidental noise. Something as innocent as a battery-operated space shuttle toy is forbidden which their four-year-old Beau is drawn to, causing his father to take it away. His sister Regan returns the toy to Beau, who unbeknownst to her has also taken the batteries his father removed. Beau activates the shuttle when the family is walking home through the woods, near a bridge. After putting the batteries back in the toy, Beau becomes an instant target for a nearby creature.

A year later, Evelyn is in the final stages of pregnancy, and Lee is fruitlessly trying to make radio contact with the outside world. Lee attempts to upgrade Regan’s cochlear implant but the device fails to restore her hearing. Later, Lee takes Marcus to a nearby river to teach him to fish and explains to Marcus that they will always be safe from the creatures so long as louder sounds mask their audible movements. Their basement is specially modified soundproof but they still have to tread softly. The creatures are huge and scary.  They have also rigged lights that surround their house and change to red at the flip of a light switch.  This signals any of the family outside, there is danger and/or an impending catastrophe inside the house.

I must say there are a couple of things that made no sense to me but overall, A Quiet Place is a pretty good movie.  There’s a lot more substance to this movie as well as many twist and turns.  There are no other characters in this film and John Krasinski and Emily Blunt are married in real life. The movie was brilliantly acted, as they had almost no dialogue.  I couldn’t understand why a couple would allow themselves to become pregnant in an impossible situation like they were in.  Babies cry and women make a lot of noise in labor.  I also didn’t understand Lee’s priorities — some of his decisions down right sucked. Despite my few quirks, I do recommend that you see A Quiet Place, it’s one of the better horror films.  Check it out! BTW: A sequel is currently in the works.

ALOHA (2015) – My rating: 7/10

AlohaWhat an unusual, pleasant, romantic comedy. Bradley Cooper plays Brian Gilcrest, a military contractor who returns to Hawaii to organize a traditional blessing for a new pedestrian gate on behalf of his new employer, billionaire Carson Welch (Bill Murray), who intends to develop nearby land into a space center. After enjoying a celebrated military career that ended because of shadowy deals in Afghanistan, a now disillusioned Brian is tasked with negotiating a deal with the Hawaiian Natives and supporting Carson’s launch of a privately-funded satellite. Brian’s mission is complicated by his former girlfriend Tracy (Rachel McAdams), now married to a very nice guy named Woody, (John Krasinski) plus they have two children but still carries a torch for Brian, and his idealistic Air Force liaison, Captain Allison Ng (Emma Stone), whose wide-eyed fascination with space and spunky character has drawn her to him as well as reminds him of his own childhood sense of wonder. Brian and Allison attend a Christmas party given by Carson, where General Dixon (Alec Baldwin), who practically loathes Brian, tells him not to screw up the deal with the Hawaiians. During the party, Brian becomes more attracted to Allison, who is having fun dancing with Carson. After the party, relationships among other things start to get very complicated.
To recap, there’s Brian; two women (Captain Allison, who he’s falling for and a former girlfriend, Tracy, who’s married with two children, General Dixon, who can’t stand Brian, the new billionaire employer, Carson, who is deceiving Brian and his old Hawaiian Native friends that he is deceiving (except, he doesn’t know that) and the realization that his new relationship with Allison may not be in her best interest.)

There is so much more to this plot, which is considered a box office bomb. I found the movie funny and interesting. Not the best and not a must see. Now that it’s on DVD, you can’t go wrong. Aloha is a little silly but mainly a very cute story with a few surprises.