Tag Archives: A Quiet Place

Bird Box

A review of Bird Box.

Director: Susanne Bier
Writer: Eric Heisserer (screenplay). Based on book by Josh Malerman
Released: December 2018
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Trevante Rhodes, John Malkovich, Vivien Lyra Blair, Julian Edwards, Danielle Macdonald, Lil Rel Howery, Jacki Weaver, Rosa Salazar, BD Wong, Tom Hollander, Sarah Paulson and Colson Baker
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Firstly, if you’ve seen A Quiet Place, then you’ve seen Bird Box. It’s quite comical how similar they both are.

Nevertheless, that is not an excuse not to watch Bird Box – especially if you enjoy an apocalyptic film.

It’s about a mysterious force that if seen, will cause people to kill themselves or harm others. This results in mass suicides, turning the world into a survival of the fittest. No one can go outside without being blindfolded for fear of seeing the nearly invisible killer.

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The movie follows a pretty predictable storyline, but that doesn’t stop it from being shocking and unnerving. Especially when the force tempts people to take down their blindfolds by echoing the voice of a loved one.

I’m actually surprised that the storyline didn’t cause mass outrage or offence, considering it’s about suicides. I thought there would be fears of copycat behaviour. From the point of view of mental illness, I also thought offence would be taken by the fact that clinically insane people can see the killer but not kill themselves. Instead, they turn into murderers.

At the very least, I thought offence would be caused by the main character Mallorie (Sandra Bullock) naming the two children she’s looking after Boy and Girl (which are very gender-specific names in this gender diverse world).

 

Review of the Bird Box movie

However, I despair at what has got people talking: The Bird Box Challenges.

People are posting videos of themselves doing everyday activities – such as driving – blindfolded to see if they would survive in the apocalyptic world that was depicted. This reaction to the movie has resulted in warnings being posted by Netflix.

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Nevertheless, I thought the movie was well cast – I love Sandra Bullock anyway – but she did so well portraying a desperate mother. I think Reese Witherspoon would have done a good job too.

The storyline moved quickly with lots of twists and turns, which kept you on your feet.

So take your blindfold off – Bird Box is definitely worth watching!

Jodie’s rating: 7/10

Top 10: Best Dads in Movies

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Happy Father’s Day to the UK and USA readers!

In celebration of all the dads out there, here is a post about the best father characters on the big screen.

Keep an eye-out for a post about the best mums in movies too.

 

mac macguff.jpg“Yeah sure you have – your old D-A-D! You know I’ll always be there to love you and support you no matter what kind of pickle you’re in… Obviously.” –Mac MacGuff
Mac is played by JK Simmons in Juno. He is the epitome of a calm and supportive dad, especially since his 16-year-old daughter just told him she’s pregnant. He goes with her to meet the adoptive parents and remains level-headed.

 

daniel-hillard.jpg“I admire that honesty, Natalie, that’s a noble quality. Never lose that, because it often disappears with age, or entering politics.” –Daniel Hillard/Mrs. Doubtfire
Daniel Hillard/Mrs. Doubtfire is of course played by the brilliant Robin Williams in the comedy Mrs. Doubtfire. After Daniel and his wife begin the divorce proceedings, he finds that he isn’t seeing his three young children enough, so he disguises himself as an older woman named Mrs. Doubtfire who is hired to be the children’s nanny. Just goes to show how far this father will go to see his kids.
Chris Gardner.jpg“Hey. Don’t ever let somebody tell you… You can’t do something. Not even me. All right?” –Chris Gardner
Based on a true story, Chris (Will Smith) in the movie The Pursuit of Happyness is down on his luck. He loses everything, but he works hard in order to get his life back on track for his young son. He makes sure that despite his downfall, he keeps his son happy and inspired.
dad4.jpg“Probably just as well. He would have told it wrong anyway. All the facts and none of the flavour.” –Ed Bloom
Ed (Albert Finney) in Big Fish is the the storytelling father who is philosophical and entertaining with a fantastic sense of humour. He’s been everywhere and done everything, with everyone admiring him along the way. His son, however, doesn’t appreciate his anecdotes and goes on a journey to discover the truth behind the tales.

 

 

dad6.gif“I used to think a wedding was a simple affair. Boy and girl meet, they fall in love, he buys a ring, she buys a dress, they say I do. I was wrong.” –George Banks 
George (Steve Martin) is the Father of the Bride, and he shells out a lot of money to ensure his daughter has the perfect wedding. While I’ve written about the controversy of this film before (George was manipulated by his daughter in my opinion), it does show the love George has for his daughter; he’d do anything for her and doesn’t expect anything in return.

 

 

arthur weasley.jpg“Now Harry, you must know all about muggles. Tell me, what exactly is the function of a rubber duck?” –Arthur Weasley
Arthur Weasley is played by Mark Williams in the Harry Potter films. He and his on-screen wife Molly Weasley are often referred to as the perfect parents. They’re fierce, protective but inclusive, warm and family orientated too. Arthur is the more laid back one out of the pair, and is completely fascinated by everything muggle-related.

 

 

dad a quiet place.jpg“I love you. I’ve always loved you.” –Lee Abbott
A recent ‘dad-goals’ father figure on the big screen is Lee (John Krasinski) in A Quiet Place. In a more basic ‘survival of the fittest’ kind of world, he sacrifices a lot to protect his children. He teaches his son to be brave by day, and works hard on a device to improve his deaf daughter’s hearing by night.

 

 

liam neeson taken.jpg“If you let my daughter go now, that’ll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don’t: I will look for you. I will find you. And I will kill you.” –Bryan Mills
While it is comedic that Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) has had the worst luck over the years with multiple Taken films, you can’t deny his bravery and perseverance to find his daughter.

 

 

good will hunting robin williams.jpg “You’re not perfect, sport, and let me save you the suspense: this girl you’ve met, she’s not perfect either. But the question is whether or not you’re perfect for each other.” – Sean
While Robin Williams’s character Sean is Will Hunting’s psychologist rather than his dad in Good Will Hunting, you can’t deny that in the absence of Hunting’s father, Sean makes a darn father figure in his place. He listens, he’s patient and he’s loyal.

 

 

dad005.gif“Is everything all right? It sounds like you’re having sex in here, which I know can’t be true due to the fact that you have a homosexual boyfriend.” –Dill
Dill is the father to Emma Stone’s character who is played by the amazing Stanely Tucci in the film Easy A. It is one of my favourite films, and Tucci’s remarkably understanding and laid-back character is brilliant.

 

While my dad isn’t in the movies, he is the best dad in real life. Happy Father’s Day, Cage!

 

A Quiet Place

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Director: John Krasinski
Writer:  Bryan Woods, Scott Beck
Released: April 2018
Starring: Emily Blunt, John Krasinski
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I was expecting a lot from this movie because I had heard and read incredible reviews.

Without reading up about what the film was about – as I correctly thought this may giveaway too much about this thriller – I went in with optimism and excitement. I was about to be thrilled by my favourite actress, Emily Blunt.

It’s about a family who is living in the year 2020 among blind alien beings who hunt using only sound. Therefore, everyone must be silent if they are to survive. This dystopian future was brilliantly thought-out as the way of life changes significantly, from not eating with noisy knives and forks, to walking barefooted on sand rather than stones.

A Quiet Place sets the story up quickly, explains the world and what is at stake within the first 15 minutes or so. Despite the silence of the beginning, your attention is held fast. The story grows in suspense quickly, accelerated by the fact that you don’t actually see the monsters in the flesh until a lot later. They only show extreme close-ups and flashes of them in the distance. Classic The Blair Witch Project technique, whereby your imagination makes it a lot scarier than it is.

I’m struggling to say much more without giving the game away because the trailer gives away next to nothing – and rightly so! Because the less you know about this movie, the better it is.

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What I loved about this film is that it is unlike anything I have ever seen before. If I had to choose a likeness, I’d probably say War of the Worlds is the closest because of the alien invasion story line with a family in the centre of it.

However, A Quite Place focused heavily on the unspoken – for obvious reasons. This meant that the emotional tension was very high because the rocky relationships between some of the family members was amplified by the silence.

It is a genius concept that was so well thought-through and executed.

The actors did particularly well with not over-acting, which would have been easy to do as they had very little dialogue to rely on, compounded by them using sign language in the film. They were essentially in a silent movie and would have had to go back to basics.

I was thinking who else could have played Emily Blunt’s role and I couldn’t think of anyone who could have done better. The character was strong, warm, modest, maternal and brave. So I understand why Blunt’s action and romance background would have been appealing.

Of course, the real reason she was chosen is because her husband in real life, John Krasinski (from US series The Office), played her character’s husband in the movie (he looks an awful lot like Shia LeBeouff with that beard). He also directed and co-wrote the film. Nevertheless, I don’t think there was anyone who could have played the role better.

Their children in the movie were brilliant. The daughter is deaf, and the actor who played her is deaf in real life. She didn’t look much like either of the parents in the movie, but I can see why they cast her anyway. She was faultless.

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While this movie is certainly a horror/thriller, its dramatic story line is extremely emotional indeed. I was sobbing all the way through it. There is so much at stake and this family love each other so much – they won’t let anything happen to each other. But in this dangerous environment not everything is within their control.

From a ponsy scholarly point-of-view this movie will be dissected and studied in film school for years to come. They used sound, or more appropriately the lack-of sound, really well. Particularly the shots from the point-of-view of their deaf daughter where the sound is muted completely.

However, from an average audience member’s point-of-view, this film is Blu-Ray-worthy and a brilliant watch… Until the final scene.

Up until the final scene, this movie was a strong 9/10. Only losing marks due to a couple of disagreements I personally had with the story line, and a couple of pointless scary moments that were included just to make you jump. While I expected that from cheap and dirty Hollywood horrors, I didn’t expect it from A Quiet Place. Having said that, it only happened once or twice.

So yes, the ending. The ending didn’t conclude as I expected, nor did it wrap up the family’s problems satisfactorily. This 90-minute film needed an extra 10 minutes to show what we all assume happened. (I’m struggling not to give too much away here.) Therefore, A Quiet Place is a strong 8/10.

I highly recommend watching it, even if you’re not a horror fan. Yes, it is certainly scary, but more than anything, it is full of hope and strength and an emotional family bond. You will cry more through admiration and sadness than you will from being terrified.

Jodie’s rating: 8/10