Quick Review: A QUIET PLACE PART II...

Several hours ago, I went to the local AMC 20 theater near my house to watch the sci-fi horror sequel A Quiet Place Part II...which, thanks to being fully-vaccinated, is the first movie that I saw at the multiplex since February of 2020 (when I viewed the live-action version of Sonic the Hedgehog at AMC 20). Needless to say, A Quiet Place 2 was absolutely suspenseful from beginning to end! John Krasinksi, who returned to direct the film (but only made a brief appearance in the sequel considering what happened to his character Lee Abbott in 2018's A Quiet Place), once again did a masterful job combining intense action sequences with, of course, quiet moments from a family deep in survival mode. Not only did Emily Blunt do a great job again as Evelyn Abbott, but young actors Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe gave amazing performances as Abbot children Regan and Marcus, respectively. And more star power was added to A Quiet Place 2 with Cillian Murphy as Emmett and Djimon Hounsou as...the Man on the Island. You'll have to watch the movie to know why the exceptional Hounsou didn't have a named character in this film. I'll leave it at that.



The main thing that I really liked about A Quiet Place Part II is that there were no major cringe-inducing moments (intentionally, that is) that would prevent me from watching the sequel again. I only viewed A Quiet Place Part I once at the theater—and that's because I couldn't bear to see Evelyn Abbott step on that nail protruding from that staircase again! Such a painful and visceral moment like this one is why the Quiet Place movies are such wonderfully-crafted suspense thrillers...and a testament to John Krasinski having a great knack for directing as well as acting on the silver screen. Happy Memorial Day Weekend.

On This Day in 2001: Remembering PEARL HARBOR...

It was on this day two decades ago that I watched Michael Bay's World War II epic Pearl Harbor at the AMC 20 theater near my house. Despite the fact that this film could've been better (it was Bay's attempt at copying James Cameron's Titanic—with an ill-fated love triangle set during a tragic historical event), I will always remember the amazing music score by Hans Zimmer...and of course, the intense Pearl Harbor attack sequence whose visuals were realized by none other than Industrial Light & Magic itself.

I'm reminiscing about Pearl Harbor because I watched this flick right after driving home from my final exam that concluded the Spring 2001 semester at Cal State Long Beach, my college alma mater. If you want to know why that semester was particularly memorable for me (though not necessarily in a positive way), visit my main Blog. Happy Tuesday!

Quick Review: TENET...

"We all believe we'd run into that burning building. But until we feel that heat, we can never know. You do."

The quote above is one of many that left a memorable impression in Tenet, Christopher Nolan's 2020 sci-fi film that I finally managed to watch on HBO Max earlier today. I enjoyed this movie—which was just as visually brilliant as 2010's Inception (especially in Tenet's action-packed climax in the desert) and conveyed an intriguing scientific scenario like 2014's Interstellar did. Inverted weaponry that's powered by inverse radiation created by nuclear fission... This is such a unique concept that I need to do research about it! Well, at least about the the inverse radiation part. Is this how we could hypothetically travel back in time? Maybe not.



In regards to Tenet's cast, it was remarkable. John David Washington was commendable as the Protagonist (yes, that's how he's referred to throughout the movie), Robert Pattinson was a loyal and effective sidekick and soldier as Neil, Elizabeth Debicki was a fierce woman out to protect her young son as Kat, and Kenneth Branagh was ruthless as Sator. Also doing a fine job in this film are Himesh Patel (Mahir), Dimple Kapadia (Priya), Denzil Smith (Sanjay), Michael Caine (Crosby) and Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Ives). I look forward to the next cinematic masterpiece that Christopher Nolan will bestow upon us in the post-pandemic era. That is all.

"We live in a twilight world. And there are no friends at dusk."

Images and Video of the Day: Gettin' Ready for VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE...

Just thought I'd share this theatrical poster, trailer screenshots and the trailer itself for Venom: Let There Be Carnage...the Andy Serkis-directed sequel which opens only in theaters nationwide on September 24. As shown below, the classic Spider-Man villain Carnage will finally be brought to life on the big screen—with his serial-killing human host Cletus Kasady played by Woody Harrelson. Tom Hardy returns as Eddie Brock and his ravenous alien symbiote, while Michelle Williams reprises her role as Anne Weying, Brock's on-again, off-again girlfriend from 2018's Venom.

As mentioned above, Let There Be Carnage will only be showing in theaters when it makes its debut this fall. All the more reason why Venom fans (and Marvel geeks, in particular) need to get vaccinated if they haven't done so already. I got my second dose last month.

"Chaos...soon come."