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.
Given this movie was designed to appeal to the younger adult crowd, I think it was pretty good, even for us older youth. It’s a little corny and a little dragged out but still entertaining. I heard a lot of bad reviews, picking Tomorrowland apart in ways critics don’t usually pick apart other similar movies. I’m beginning to believe Hollywood has something against George Clooney or at lease the critics do. Tomorrowland is a fantasy movie about an enigmatic place existing somewhere in space and time where the gifted assemble, free from bureaucracy and red tape, to create and put their ideas into full swing in hopes they can make this world a better place. Wow, That was a mouthful — but this is the best definition I can come up with since no one seems to really know. There are four main characters: Frank (George Clooney), Athena (Raffry Cassidy ), David Nix (Hugh Laurie) and Casey Newton (Britt Robertson). All characters are brilliantly played. Frank is a genius inventor, Athena is an Audio-Animatronic droid recruiter, living in Tomorrowland, Nix is the leader of Tomorrowland and Casey is also a genius who doesn’t know her own potential. Frank and Athena meet at the 1968 World Fair where he brings his latest invention, which doesn’t work well, to be entered into the science contest, judged by Nix. Instantly falling for Frank (Thomas Robinson), who is a little boy at the time, Athena gives him a pin and instructions to follow her on a special ride that ultimately takes him to Tomorrowland. This is a tough movie to critique without revealing spoilers. The movie builds to a lot of excitement then mellows out for some time before the next bout of excitement arouses your senses. Slowly, the pieces come together and all is well. Many years later, Casey acquires a pin and finds herself entangled in the whole mess. Together, they must somehow save the world. Being a Disney movie, the special effects are awesome and the budget is endless. Tomorrowland is a good escape movie despite what the critics say. This older kid enjoyed it!
CAROL's WORLDS 