223: NOPE (2022)

SPEAKER_02 0:04

It's like, hey, come look at this and don't pay attention to what else is going on and then Greetings and salutations, and welcome to Hacker Slash.

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If you're joining us again, welcome back. What if I told you that in about an hour, you're gonna leave here different? If this is your first time listening, welcome to the party. We are a horror movie review podcast dedicated to telling you whether a movie is a hack. A total joke, a waste of time, or a slash.

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Totally killer, pun intended.

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We believe horror is for everyone, and as such, we're rating these movies with the perspective we've gained from our varying walks of life and the flavors of fear we fancy most. My name is Chris, I'm your friendly neighborhood slasher enthusiast. This week I'm joined by the Superfly Space Guy Mac.

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Nope.

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The cowardly creeper Ryan. Nope. And the Scream Queen Paris.

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To quote Alexis from last year's anniversary episode, I'm back, bitches. Welcome home.

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This week we went back to the theaters on opening night of the latest film brought to us by Jordan Peel. Before we get down to business though, we have some follow-up.

SPEAKER_02 1:04

Let's follow up on some stuff. Okay, so as it turns out, I have been away from the pod for some time, and a lot has happened. So let's do a little bit of a recap, if we don't mind. We've started doing these tier list rankings on our stream of Final Girls throughout the decades, and I was able to catch wind of the 90s stream featuring Chris and Ryan. And I'm honestly obsessed with this as a concept. How has this been going for y'all?

SPEAKER_03 1:31

I was overwhelmed because I just feel like I know nothing about like Final Girls, but it was really nice. I really was just there for emotional support and to, you know, learn things from Chris, talk to the the patrons in Discord, which were lovely. But it was a great time, honestly. 10 out of 10. I drank wine.

SPEAKER_01 1:51

Can't complain about that. Yeah, you uh drank wine and talked about beautiful women, so that sounds right up your alley for a good Friday night, yeah?

SPEAKER_03 1:59

Not wrong.

SPEAKER_01 1:59

Not wrong at all.

SPEAKER_02 2:00

Honestly, sounds like a dream.

SPEAKER_01 2:02

The tier lists have been a lot of fun. We had this idea of trying to do some kind of video content and add some additional stuff for the show just so our listeners can enjoy some things. And the patrons actually voted to rank final girls first. And obviously that's a massive undertaking. And anytime you go to look at a video on these things, it's like they always take the same ones. It's always like the same iconic ones. So what we've set out to do is actually go decade by decade, try to find as many final girls as we can, even in the less well-known movies, and we actually assess them first mathematically based on things uh that keep it all fair, right? Like how how big was their franchise, how many movies did they survive in? Did they actively participate in their own survival? Did they help others? Did they vanquish anyone, or did they just kind of stumble to the end? And then we add some bias and stuff later. I think it's actually a pretty solid formula.

SPEAKER_02 2:52

I can totally agree, Chris. The other night you and I had the pleasure of taking a deep dive into the aughts and figuring out who were the standouts of that decade. And I think there was a lot of discourse, but in the end we found a lot of truth, and I'm very satisfied with the queens that have risen to the top, as queens so often do. If you'd like to watch the stream of Chris and I dissecting the lovely divas of the aughts, you can find a link to that in the show notes. Now we have had many patrons join our family while I was away, but our latest patron to join is Dan. Dan, thank you so much for your support. Welcome to the Hacker Slash Family. If you're not already on the Discord, get on the Discord. If you're not watching the live streams or participating in the audio recordings, come on, get some wine, get a little bit of a drink, and then come hang out. We have so much fun.

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Our live recorded episodes are the most fun and the most that we get to interact with patrons, so join us.

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Please do. And that's our follow-up.

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In July 2021, Jordan Peel fans were left with questions when a teaser poster of a cloud, a dark night sky, and a monosyllabic title were dropped on social media with the announcement that we'd get another Peel horror film the following year. While the storyline largely remained under wraps until we saw more trailers over the course of the last 12 months, audiences were there, audiences were certain there would be more to this story than meets the eye. We've all just returned from our showings of a film that follows a pair of ranch-owning siblings as they happen upon a bizarre discovery. A discovery which brings dangerous tidings for everyone. This week, we're talking about Nope. What were you all expecting going into this movie?

SPEAKER_00 4:24

Oh gosh, Jordan Peel. You don't know what to expect. And I think when you see the teaser, you have no idea what to expect. As you watch the trailers, I think we're kind of led to believe this is going to be perhaps a typical like UFO alien kind of situation, but also some kind of deeper commentary because it's Jordan Peel.

SPEAKER_03 4:43

Yeah, I did my best to avoid as much trailer information as I could on this movie. Of course, like, you know, when you go to see a different movie and they drop the trailer in front of you, it's very hard to avoid. So I saw at least something, I probably like the very first, like shortest teasers. But for me, I think Jordan Peel, I just get excited. And I went into this just ready for whatever he's given us. I don't like to try to figure it out, especially because I feel like with Jordan Peel, we rarely know what's gonna happen, right? So that was me. And one thing I do have to mention is Mac and I went to, of course, like one of the first showings today, and there was an AC issue at our theater. So I'm expecting to go into a super full, like the second showing of this movie, like packed theater. It showed us sold out online, and we get there, and I think there were six other people in the whole theater with us tonight. It was so strange. So we had like a weird experience of a release date viewing, and no one else was in there. It was like we were watching a movie on like a Monday at 2 p.m. It was so odd and so like different from what I thought it would be.

SPEAKER_00 5:46

It was it was interesting because we noticed yesterday that I couldn't view my ticket information and so got really worried, went like literally walked to the theater and was like, hey, what's going on? I can't see my ticket information. And they were like, Oh, we have we're having AC issues, so we had to cancel some showings. And I was like, Cool, is my showing canceled? And they were like, Um, no, yours should be good. It should all work fine tomorrow. So, friend of the pod Heather really wanted to see this with us and was like, I just called and they told me it is still on and I can get a ticket, but I have to go there in person. So we're like, great, do it. Went there, got the ticket, super stoked. We had several other friends today that wanted to join us, and I don't know if they I think they went in and they called, and basically they were just like, no, it's totally sold out, not possible, totally booked, can't get in there. And so it was like so disappointing because I walked in last because I was, you know, running behind getting my popcorn and stuff, and I was like, um, this is this sold out? There's nobody here. It was so upsetting.

SPEAKER_03 6:42

Genuinely six people, so freaking weird for a release day.

SPEAKER_02 6:45

That's so weird, but also kind of nice.

SPEAKER_03 6:47

It's like 50-50.

SPEAKER_02 6:49

So, this is one of the rare circumstances in which I deliberately watched all the trailers as soon as they dropped, just because I was so excited and I was like, I want to know what's happening because it's so cryptic and so vague in the marketing that I was like, what is this gonna be? I have to know everything because I can't wait to see this movie. I was expecting Kiki Palmer to be an absolute star. Uh, I have been in love with Kiki Palmer since True Jackson VP, and I was hoping that this would be an opportunity for the rest of the world to absolutely fall in love with her the way that they should, because I know everybody knows Kiki Palmer because she never stops working, but I don't think people respect Kiki Palmer the way that they should, and I was hoping that this would be a great opportunity for her to show the world what she's got. Um, I was also expecting an alien invasion, kind of like Max said, but with a twist, of course, because it's Jordan Peel. And I was also really interested because some of the later trailers like kind of show a design of an alien, and I was like, that's a lot to give away in a trailer, so that can't possibly be what we think it's gonna be, which only added more questions going into this.

SPEAKER_01 7:46

It's interesting that we've had such like varying theater experiences because I also went into one that only had like six people in there. I originally had a showtime, obviously you know, recording this episode on a Thursday night. I had a 6 p.m. ish showing and then at the last minute just changed to a 440 showing, and it was honestly an ideal situation. I think I would absolutely go do that again because the people who were in there took the movie seriously. They were really, really into it, and they uh did not distract from the experience. But I think going into this, I expected there obviously to be that deeper, richer subtext, yes, but I actually watched the trailers without trying to analyze anything more than that because it leads you to believe that there's gonna be aliens, but I didn't want to try to unfold the mystery or lose the sense of fun. It was clear to me that this hat would have like a different tone from us and get out. And I wanted to just experience the magic of that without really settling into like, okay, I gotta feel what the Jordan, I gotta, I gotta figure out what the Jordan Peele element of this is. I didn't want to think that hard about it. And I'll tell you that within that thin crowd, I was really just kind of like laser focused on the movie in front of me. And I took a bunch of notes, but I think I'll summarize with I found myself feeling stressed for these characters and for the animals in this movie. I was engrossed in what was unfolding, and I also wasn't so close to the main element, right? Like this idea of like uh what is the theme here? I wasn't so close that I was blind to some of the more thematic components that really helped pack like a clean one-two punch. I think this movie hits you with so many different layers of like messaging and sentiment, and I feel like it it blended itself really well with that. And I think it also like it had a lot of details I think you could miss super easily. And I was entirely captivated and I was charmed by the cast. I was hooked on like a compelling story, and I was excited about the moments that my expectations were subverted without losing myself in the oh, what's gonna happen next? It was like a really clean experience, a very smooth ride.

SPEAKER_00 9:50

Yeah, I think Ryan shared with us um somebody's review and it mentioned comparing it to in a night shyon film, specifically signs, and I think it's such a bogus comparison because there's it's not about twists in this film. It's not about like, gotcha, you didn't know the whole time that everyone was a goldfish, right? It's it's it's not ridiculous. I think in this one, if it subverts those expectations like you, like you mentioned, Chris, it does it in a way that's like you just didn't have the full picture, and then it doesn't shy away from giving you the full picture after that. I think a lot of films would be like, well, mentioned it, but you can't see you can't see it. You have to wait, you have to wait. This one's like it builds as as you go further in, which was great. I think you're right. Really bought into this film the entire time. And I mean, it's a movie, we saw it in Dolby, and Dolby like blows your eardrums out and your eyeballs off, and that's amazing. But the experience would have been, I think, equally as good had we seen it in just like a regular theater. It was just a really captivating film. There was so much to look at. The characters like the characters really are what make this film. The acting and the characters. The other stuff is like obviously really interesting, but they draw you in so quickly. And that that was fantastic because they they bring you into it and then they keep you there.

SPEAKER_03 11:03

Yeah, I think bought in is a good way to describe what you feel or what I felt during this movie. The biggest thing for me is the authenticity of the characters and kind of the environment. And although it's an abnormal environment, you know, it's not uh neighborhood and a McDonald's on the corner, but the people feel so genuine, and even just the dialogue between them feels so genuine that it's kind of just like you're just like kind of they're experiencing someone's day, someone's week. Like you're just peeking in on them. I don't feel like this movie has quite the like theatrics that some of the other Jordan Peele movies have had. This one's more a peek into a life almost.

SPEAKER_02 11:42

It's like a little vignette. Chris, you mentioned having like a smooth ride. I feel like I did not have a smooth ride with this movie. My boyfriend and I were both we were riding the ups and downs from the very beginning. We were like, what is gonna be, what is this movie gonna be? What is the tone? What is the angle? Where are we gonna go with this story? And it felt like every other scene we were taking a turn, and I was like, oh my gosh, this? Oh, and now this, oh, but it's this. And I had a really great time really buying into the characters like Mac and Ryan are describing. It was easy to engage with this film and to feel invested.

SPEAKER_01 12:16

I think the ease of investment is honestly such a pleasant surprise. Obviously, we've seen nothing but quality come from Jordan Peel. And I think even this year in particular, in terms of what's made it to the theater, there's been some solid horror throughout the past seven months. But I think one of the things that we've suffered from in some trailers, for example, is Paris and I are talking about like, okay, well, this feels so obvious, it couldn't just be that. But for some of the movies we've seen, it really is just that. It makes it very obvious which direction it's going. And I think one of the best surprises for me was how pleasantly surprised I was by the misdirects we get from the trailer. And I won't dive it deeper into that yet, but there is a really specific moment where you're like, okay, cool, buckle up and enjoy the ride, and then it gets flipped to holy shit, this isn't the roller coaster I thought it was. And that feels so good and so refreshing in a way that's also just not confusing.

SPEAKER_03 13:09

You know, I'm gonna be honest here, I was a little disappointed in the lack of the Jordan Peel of it all. The duality of whatever's happening or twists and turns in the story. There were moments where I was disappointed that there wasn't more of that. I will be completely, completely honest. I'm not afraid to say that. Y'all are afraid to say it because you want to give Jordan Peele his props, but I'll say it. I missed it a little bit. I missed the twists.

SPEAKER_02 13:32

I can totally relate to that, Ryan. I think my biggest surprise was how feel-good this movie was overall. It is definitely a horror movie, but there's also a lot of other genre elements in here. It's an action movie. It's also kind of like a it feels like a family movie in a way, even though it is very dark sided at points. But I feel like generally this is a much more positive tone than we've seen from him in the past, and that was a big surprise to me.

SPEAKER_03 13:56

It's so sci-fi. It's so sci-fi that halfway through I went, oh, Max's probably so happy.

SPEAKER_00 14:01

Oh yeah, it is sci-fi. I I was very, I was very happy. So Jordan Peel, I think we know, like loves horror and does amazing things with it. But this was such clear evidence that Jordan Peel knows and loves sci-fi as well. Because I always I haven't mentioned it before, but like good sci-fi is about characters, and Jordan Peel nails, you know, being about characters, right? But the sci-fi is it's an element of the film, but it's not the entire, it's not the entire thing, right? Like you should be able to make a good sci-fi film and have such a minimal amount of it that it's not really that important. Um, or you can make the entire film about it, right? Uh, but it's not focused on that cool sci-fi thing. And that's what this has really nailed. It was really nice getting into it, expecting one thing, and then having those expectations crushed and finding out it's a different thing, like four times in a row. Like that was that was fantastic. But like from a sci-fi from a sci-fi perspective, I feel like there's elements of a ton of like Star Trek episodes that I've seen in this, there's elements of a ton of different alien movie things that I've seen in this, and it's just all used really well to tell um one, a story about characters, but then two, a story with commentary, just not the normal social commentary, I think, that we would but we typically get, but it's just a different type of commentary. That being said, I was not scared of it, but there were some great jump scares in it that I think even though there's like six people in our audience, it got some folks. Alexis wasn't there to grab my arm or to slap Ryan in the head or whatever she normally would do with the jump scares, which is crazy considering she loves gore, but then she gets got by jump scares. But no, it it I think it got some folks, and there were some moments where the people, even with us, our friends were there, and they were just like, oh no, oh no, no, no, no, no. Like close it, like literally covering their eyeballs. So it it had some good effects, it just didn't scare me.

SPEAKER_03 15:46

Yes, and tasteful jump scares at that. But yeah, this this movie is not scary. I I'm not gonna say it's not horror, but I it didn't scare me. It's like thrilling, but it's not scary.

SPEAKER_02 15:58

Okay, I am here to say that this movie was scary at several moments. There were jump scares, there was so much tension at times. I will say, like, I think two of the three acts in this movie were scary and did that for me. There is one act in this film, I won't say which one, that I feel like has much less horror and much less fear and tension and more other things. Um, but my boyfriend and I were holding each other and like, oh my god, oh fuck no, uh, for several, several minutes, hours, half hours, moments. For a long time.

SPEAKER_03 16:30

Tension, but not fear.

SPEAKER_02 16:32

Tension because we were afraid.

SPEAKER_01 16:34

Okay, okay. There's a lot of tension in this movie, undoubtedly. There is one scene in particular that once we got it, and this is kind of what I was mentioning earlier, right? Like the okay, let's buckle up and enjoy the ride, and you're like, but wait, there's more. That scene in particular was equal parts hilarious and terrifying. But not in like a I genuinely feel we uh feel fear. It was more like a if I were in this situation, I'd be freaking the fuck out kind of fear. And there are obviously, like you said, plenty of jump scares built in. But what I loved is that they didn't feel like your prototypical jump scare. They are jump scares that get you by nature of sound design and like sudden, sudden occurrences, but they weren't ones that I necessarily saw coming. And I think that's one of the marks that like differentiates this movie. And obviously, we talked earlier uh just moments ago about how this is a sci-fi horror film, but it's so much more than a sci-fi horror film. And that feels like an obvious statement because of the quality that we've come to expect from Jordan Peel, sure. But I I think this has a little bit more subtext that it's getting credit for it. There's a lot of layers in this story, uh, from the threat of like how insignificant we can feel in place when placed in opposition with a larger problem to our societal need to like dwell, capture, and either seek or provide validation by way of spectacle. And there's even more than that, which we'll get into the second half, but that's what's like the whole reason. Like, I'm gonna go see this a second time, because there's so many details. So you can see even like how the ranch house in is decorated and what specifically it's decorated with. There's so much to unpack. And I love that that departure in terms of tone, but it's it's different, it's different from any sci-fi horror film I've seen, and it's different from any other Jordan Peele film I've seen.

SPEAKER_00 18:22

Ryan mentioned uh signs. We were talking about it earlier, and specifically a scene in signs. And who cares about the scene? The thing that it nailed was a feeling in all of us when we watched it, right? When we watched signs, it's a typical M. M. Shyamalan kind of thing, it was enjoyable or whatever. Um, but it gave you a certain feeling when you saw the alien walking across the rooftop and didn't realize that you had been looking at the alien on the rooftop the the whole time, right? So I think this film is able to nail such emotion so strongly that you probably didn't realize you had those things. It's like the fear when you're outside, maybe in the woods, maybe just out back or something, and you realize that something is nearby that perhaps you don't know what it is, and perhaps it could be dangerous, and while you're watching the film, it puts that feeling into your gut because it's not necessary, it's not even just about fear. It's like this unease of the unknown, and it just absolutely nails it. I mean, yeah, we've seen like alien kind of things before, sure. I guess you could say this is related to that, but it has its completely own, it's just its own story, right? The story here seems like it could be something else, but it's not. It's not something I expected at all. Even as we got into it, again, didn't expect what I was seeing on screen. And the feeling it gives you, one about the characters and two about what's going on, I have not experienced in another movie, at least not recently. So a hundred percent originality points here.

SPEAKER_02 19:48

I absolutely echo that sentiment, Mac. I know that Jordan Peel has a history of coming up with really original ideas and concepts and executing them really well. And kind of the the more he does it and the longer he goes, you're kind of like, okay, when is it gonna flop? When is it gonna be like, oh well, this one wasn't the best, this wasn't the most original. But there's so many concepts and elements in this that were so original and so real and realistic and plausible that you're like, how has nobody done this or thought of that? So many different things in this movie where I was like, oh, it's that? Oh my god, that makes so much sense. How has that not been a thing this whole time? You know what I mean? Um, so this movie absolutely stands out amongst alien movies as well. Uh, and it definitely stands alone as a unique piece of Jordan Peel's body of work.

SPEAKER_03 20:35

I completely agree. Of course, this movie gets points for being original. It's Jordan Peel. He uh hasn't has yet to do something unoriginal. He just did it a little different this time. So of course, original, definitely.

SPEAKER_00 20:48

But what a satisfying ending. What a satisfying ending in my book. Because having seen a bazillion sci-fi things and obviously quite a few horror things, this could go when you get to when you finally get to the end, this could go one of a few different ways. And I was certain that okay, they're gonna take us out in this one particular way, and we can kind of see what's happening, and we'll get it, and it's gonna go to one of the vibes, one of the feelings we get from this movie. But then once again, he was like, No, no, no, no, no, you're not gonna get what you expect. Even in the last five minutes of the film, I'm gonna change it up on you. And it was so satisfying to get an ending that we don't typically get, an ending that was like really good at wrapping everything up and just kind of like proving a lot of the points that were made along the way.

SPEAKER_01 21:33

Absolutely. And I think one of the better contributions, even on top of that, is how much growth and emotion you feel in the ending with the journey that these characters have gone on. It's one where like you see that very few people uh are not susceptible to the circumstances of this film, and even the ones that we look to as heroes or someone we think can help really like turn things around for our main group of characters will eventually just fall to the side. The ending. Of this movie in particular and specifically what is not done and what is not taken in the last couple moments really hit me hard in a great way.

SPEAKER_03 22:10

I think the real reason I enjoy the ending is because for a while it doesn't feel like it's gonna go the route that it does. So you're not expecting it. You're expecting something different, and then once you get there, it it feels much better than I think if it just went straight there and was like wrapped up in the way that it is. This is so hard to talk about without smiling anything.

SPEAKER_02 22:30

I'll be honest, I think the ending might be the weakest part of the movie for me because there were a lot of moving parts, there's a lot of elements, there's a lot of components, and I found myself focusing mostly on trying to keep track of what's happening and why, and it kind of prevented me from really sinking my teeth in as much as I had previously, where I didn't have as much to think about. The ending I think was satisfying for sure. Unexpected, definitely. There was a lot going on, and I'll definitely need to rewatch it again.

SPEAKER_01 22:55

Well, let's see how those sentiments about the ending will actually shape our ratings on this movie. But before we get down to the real scoring, Ryan, how many people died in this film? So a pretty high body count.

SPEAKER_03 23:06

We have 45 deaths for this movie. And what about the animal report? It's not great. It's not the worst thing we've seen, but it's a definite no for PETA. And if you're like super squeamish, it might affect you. But it's it's on the line.

SPEAKER_01 23:19

It could be rough, but it's not so bad. Well, let's go ahead and get into our ratings then. Nope, in 2022, now playing in theaters. Was it a hack or a slash?

SPEAKER_00 23:27

Okay, first it's obvious. Ryan called it as we left the theater, it's a slash. This movie was such an enjoyable watch, just a great cinematic experience. This is one where if you can get to the theater to see it, I think you absolutely should. There are some where they're just like not required. This is one, especially if you can get to a good theater with like amazing sound, like yeah, Adolby experience or some kind of IMAX thing or whatever. Like, blow your eardrums out with that sound because it's so good. It's really kind of vital to the film. But amazing characters, fantastic, fantastic acting, of course. This is one of those where you're like, I feel like I could watch a character in this film just cry for no reason for five minutes, and I would still be compelled to keep watching. But I love I love the story here. I love the mechanics of the unknown stuff that we get into, and as you watch it, you'll I think start to love it as well. Um, I think we're good from from start to finish. I know the ending is a little bit different than what Paris would have hoped for, um, but I still found it really, just really interesting and like kept me bought in. That whole buy-in thing we've been talking about, like all the way up until the very end. So yeah, this is one not only do I think everyone should see, but I think you should see it in theater, $20 a ticket, whatever it costs, get that large popcorn. It's 100% worth it.

SPEAKER_03 24:39

So I'm in an interesting place with this movie because you know, sometimes when we do these like release night recordings, sometimes you know like exactly what you feel right away. And then every once in a while you see a movie and you kind of have to like sit on your thoughts about it and and like consider what you actually think. And this is one of those for me. I think I am dying to see this again because I think there was so much in it, and it's all kind of simple, like in a way, not in a negative way, but simple, like this movie is extremely digestible. This movie is not one that you have to like sit around and be like, but what did it all mean? And I really enjoy that. I love how real and genuine this movie feels. I will say it's not my favorite Jordan Peele movie so far. I didn't dislike it, but it just didn't pull me in in the exciting way that I was expecting. With all of that being said, this movie is really, really good. It's absolutely a slash. The sci-fi angle of it is really enjoyable and it does it very well, I think, as a not sci-fi professional, but just as a casual viewer, which is what most humans are. I I think there's so much good stuff in here, especially the acting and the dialogue. The acting, the dialogue, I guess the writing there, it's all so good. It keeps you locked in, even if the story is maybe not moving super fast, or if there's small things happening. It's just, it's really, really good. It's not my favorite ever, but it's really, really, really good.

SPEAKER_02 26:01

I am buying one ticket for the slash train. This movie's definitely a slash. It is just entertaining, it is fun. You definitely gotta see it in theaters. See it twice, bitch. I'm gonna see it again. You know, when you like ring out a little towel and like you get most of the water, but you know there's still plenty of water and you gotta get like a good second ring in. That's what this movie is. I need to ring out more enjoyment from this movie because I know there's more, and I know if I see it again, I'll pick up on so many things I didn't pick up on the first time. I'll have a new experience watching it. And I don't think I've had that reaction to a Jordan Peel movie in the past. Usually you leave a Jordan Peel movie and you're like, okay, I need to sit on this for a month, and then maybe in six months I'll be able to watch this again because I need to recover emotionally and probably work on myself in some ways. Um, this one is like, I want to go right back. I want to get back on the ride, get me back in line. It's just fun. And I think part of that is due to the incredible casting, the great performance we get from a really minimal cast of characters, and it's very much quality over quantity as far as this band of characters. Uh, I think we also have such an original approach to an alien movie in a way that was like fun. This movie is just fun. It's entertaining, it's scary for me at least. Uh, there's a lot of really good tension, and this feels like a I don't know why, but this feels like a feel-good family movie to me. Like, my family is the kind of family that's like we have a family reunion and Signs is playing in the background, or maybe like Finding Nemo. There's like maybe 15 different movies that'll just be on rotation, just in whatever room has a TV. Nobody's particularly watching it, but we like that it's on in the background. And I can see this being one of those movies, despite the fact that there's a lot of horror elements and there's a lot of gore. I feel like children should see this movie. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 27:41

I've been waiting for you to say fun for the whole family.

SPEAKER_02 27:44

It's giving fun for the whole family. Let your kids see this movie. I don't know. Like, don't listen to me when it comes to kids. I don't know anything about children. But overall, this is definitely a slash. This was such a fun ride.

SPEAKER_01 27:52

You all have summarized this movie and why it's such a strong slash in so many strong, compelling ways. And I I think walking away from this movie, you know, it's it's easy to sit in a theater and think, okay, well, this kind of sucks or this kind of sucks. And and I do have like one small little gripe about the movie, less about the movie, more about the experience for me personally. But overall, when I look down in my notes, I loved so much of this movie. There wasn't anything like I know about things that I felt kind of complaining about, but nothing that I felt so strongly about that I was distracted from all the overwhelming strengths and positive elements of this movie. I the casting is absolutely brilliant. Kiki Palmer's character is absolutely amazing. And what I love about this movie is how differently it approaches trauma. And obviously, us and Get Out both explore trauma in really strong like ways that really make you sit and reckon with this, right? And really acknowledge and face it. And this movie shows how maybe all of us process our own trauma in a very different way, in a way that we've become numb to over time. And that's I think part of why this movie is fun for the whole family, because it's not hit you right over the head with pain. It's, hmm, let's sit in this, let's have some fun. But there's a little bit more there when you're ready to look. And with that, nope, 2022 is a universal slash. Now we have so much to get to. We have so much to unpack in the second half. So go buy your ticket, check it out, then join us in the second half so we can get into these spoilers together. See you in a bit.

SPEAKER_03 29:42

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SPEAKER_01 30:09

Welcome back, folks. You're now entering the spoiler zone for Nope, which has earned a universal slash. Now we have a lot to get to here, but before we get into the specifics of our ratings, we do have the matter of gore to attend to. Ryan, what's the gore score for this movie? So the gore score for this is pretty low.

SPEAKER_03 30:25

We get a couple of scenes that have some intense gore, like the monkey getting shot, the dad's face when he's after he's dead. We get a couple of those, but there really isn't a ton in the way of gore, and a lot of these deaths end up just being like essentially someone disappeared into the sky.

SPEAKER_00 30:43

With some like blood rain.

SPEAKER_03 30:44

Yeah, and then to be fair, the blood rain was not particularly gory because it wasn't like body parts raining, but I mean it there was a bloodstorm. So I don't know. There maybe, maybe I'm maybe there's some leeway here.

SPEAKER_01 30:59

The blood rain did remind me of the blood elevator from The Shining, but also the Amineyville horror, like the original one with where the walls were bleeding. That was an experience cinematically. Like I loved, I loved the way that blood looked. And it was just like, yes, buckets of blood literally raining down on top of me. Let's go. It was a spectacle, that's for sure.

SPEAKER_03 31:20

So, like I said, a lot of these kills are kind of just people getting sucked into the sky, but what are your favorite kills?

SPEAKER_01 31:26

Ooh, it's definitely gonna be Ryder, who is the guy who's like on the electric bike who's from TMZ. Uh, first off, the crash of the electric bike, hilarious. You hear his sound effect pulled so far back, it's hysterical. But then when you get to actually see him and OJ is trying to save him, you see just how broken his arms and legs are, and it's atrocious, absolutely terrible. And we get to see that moment in the reflection of his helmet, and the reflection of his helmet of this alien space creature looming above them. It was such a good moment. And I have more to say in terms of like just the scene as it uh on its own, uh, but that was certainly, I think, the most entertaining kill for me.

SPEAKER_02 32:13

For me, it's going to be Ricky Park, the owner and operator of Jupiter's Claim, because we get a lot of flashbacks to this sitcom scenario in which a monkey kills a bunch of people. And the whole time I'm trying to figure out the relevance. I'm trying to figure out why this is a thing. And ultimately it comes down to there is an animal who goes off on a population of people in a space, and because of the bond that he had with the animal, he was spared. So in this situation, the same thing happens, except he has no bond with this creature whatsoever and is absolutely not spared. And I don't know if this is my interpretation, but I feel like there was something a little bit insidious about that relationship in that maybe he and the monkey planned this whole thing so that he could be successful or something.

SPEAKER_03 33:00

I definitely thought that for a minute.

SPEAKER_02 33:02

Right? Because he even invited the girl back who had her face eaten off, and like, thank God she got put out of her misery because what was that life, even? Like, I couldn't, I couldn't do it. But seeing him finally get like that loop being closed was really satisfying to me. And it took me a while to really appreciate that death. I think it wasn't until after the movie where I was like, okay, I think that death actually meant a lot more than I realized at the time.

SPEAKER_01 33:25

I love that. It's really interesting. I didn't think that far into it. I thought for sure he was just a victim and didn't have like a pact with the monkey. That thought hadn't even crossed my mind. What I thought was really interesting about him was this like constant chase of glory that he had in his youth. So he was a child star. This traumatic thing happens, he kind of puts him on the map, and then he's constantly chasing that fame. I think that's a really interesting take, and it makes me reframe how I how I thought about him.

SPEAKER_00 33:54

Or maybe don't make dangerous animals into spectacles by its seeing the ass. I I like that one as well because I feel like it was a fitting end, like to getting everybody there and then like revealing what everything was about. Because if it just like went off and flew away and they just bought into it, that would have been so boring. I love the fact that he was like suffering through this is different. Okay, nothing's wrong, don't worry about it, but this is not normally what happens, and then like has to like sweat it out until it's game over. I love that. But I'll tell you my least favorite kill was Pops. That that was hardcore. I mean, that was tough. Keith David, I have been in a room with this amazing actor, um, literally feet away, and didn't like converse with him in you know in any way, but super cool, just like a super cool guy to be around, like super chill, super low-key, and um just mad respect for the guy. I felt like this was like a respectful send-off compared to getting him sucked up into a space vacuum. That would have really sucked.

SPEAKER_03 34:51

Literally.

SPEAKER_00 34:51

Yeah. But in terms of like an actual favorite kill, I feel like it's hard to choose. I think the massive amount of like 40 people all at once, when we realize that all of them are like in there and suffering and crying and like going into this animal, proving that earlier statement of like maybe it's not a ship. That mass kill to me was my whole favorite scene. That whole mass kill was my favorite.

SPEAKER_03 35:12

So my favorite kill is Antlers, the filmmaker, kind of a psychopath. He wasn't like my favorite person. He was he was a bit much as far as the characters go here. But I thought it was so great during his death because the camera was still rolling. And so we like see him at I I think his like feet as he's kind of getting sucked in there. And it was just an interesting thing where you know the whole focus up to that point is like on the film and like getting the film, and then everything hits the fan and he's like, We don't deserve this moment, just like sacrifices himself, which felt unnecessary. I don't really I don't, I'm not sure why he chose that route. Uh, but then it took like a turn, and that is kind of like the last thing that we really see, like as far as like trying to keep that film because everything's wrecked after that.

SPEAKER_01 35:59

For sure. I actually didn't even take it as like he sacrificed himself. I took it as dudes being an idiot. This movie, right? It it it like shifts focus to the barriers between us and the reality that surrounds us, and it's like our phones, like our cameras, they're a safety blanket. And if you're so focused on getting this shot, you're less involved in the moment. So it's almost like a numbing agent between us and like the the this like harsh reality. And I never really thought about that. Like when I worked in video production or electronic news gathering, they always like want you to have a spotter because they're like, you're gonna get so caught up in what's in the viewfinder. And I'm like, bro, what you can literally see what's happening around you. And it wasn't until I was on a flight deck having to get held onto because I could have blown away when you realize, like, shit, like you're so objectively thinking about the logistics of capturing this moment in time and how will history history remember this that you're really not living in it. You're not aware of of how vulnerable you are. And so in some ways it's like a sense of invulnerability, but then in others it's the desperation of vulnerability where like you seek validation for the experiences being real, and I thought he got caught up in it. I thought he got so caught up in the magic and like the mystique or the quest for more, uh, like the mist the mystique of the moment that he puts himself in danger for the glory of the shot, the lighting, the money shot, and it's the glory that he's never gonna actually get to experience.

SPEAKER_03 37:31

Yeah, I I think you're right, but he was also a bit flighty as it was anyway. I think it's a little bit of a bit of both, like he kind of loses his grip on reality because he's so focused on on what he's shooting, basically.

SPEAKER_00 37:44

He definitely seemed obsessed with the idea of this ultimate predator, of this like higher, more powerful being that we just have no way to like protect ourselves against because when he's watching his video with you know with the large cat and the snake and everything, he's just like so removed from it, and it seems almost like in awe of the of the thing that he's capturing. I didn't it didn't seem like he was obsessed with like the making of the film or getting the shot at that point. Um but then they bring up the whole like you can get the impossible shot, and he's like, That's impossible or whatever. And so when we got to that point at the end, it was hard for me to determine if he would truly cared about getting the impossible shot that we just didn't deserve to get, or if he was like, We don't deserve to get it because of what it is. Like I couldn't tell kind of which way he was going there.

SPEAKER_02 38:28

I think there's a case to be made for both. My initial interpretation was he they get all of that done, and he's like, That was great, but it's almost golden hour. Can we do that again with better lighting? Yes. And just got lost in the sauce, which I've been there.

SPEAKER_01 38:43

It's the magic of the moment.

SPEAKER_00 38:45

Speaking of lighting. The lighting in this film, the lighting in this film, good lord. We're in pitch black in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere, and it seems like someone has softly kissed the land with moonlight, and we can see everything semi-clearly, but we know that it's pitch black, and it was so utterly beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 39:04

Classic Mac with the soft kisses.

SPEAKER_00 39:06

If you're gonna be kissed by moonlight, it better be a soft kiss. But I mean the cinematography in general was insane. It was so good. But I think when we got to that valley shot and it's in the middle of the night, and you can get because when you're out in the middle of nowhere and there's no like, you know, there's no light pollution happening, you can kind of like see more detail if you have good moonlight. And when we got there and we can like see features on a face when there's no overhead lighting, that was just utterly impressive.

SPEAKER_02 39:32

Yeah, I remember specifically there's one shot where Daniel Caluya is exploring a space in almost pitch black, and you can see almost only his eyes, but in a way that is so interesting to look at and so compelling, and it was something I'd never really observed before.

SPEAKER_03 39:48

I I'm I think that's what makes him such an incredible actor. Like I adore everything I've seen him do, but that he tells so much, and there's so many times that I've seen directors use shots of his eyes where it's kind of the only thing that you see, and they tell so much, they're just so good. It is truly my favorite thing about seeing him on screen is waiting to see his expressions through his eyes.

SPEAKER_02 40:11

As gorgeous as those eyes were, I could not take my eyes off of our alien design. This was such a unique and original design for a creature that that literally wants you to look at it. That's its main thing, is like, look at me. And it does it's evolved, I suppose, in such a way where you can't help but want to look at it. And as it sort of morphs and transforms, it goes from being this almost like stingray-like creature where it'll kind of like hover over a prey and then create a vacuum, which is how stingrays eat their prey, into this like weird, almost like jellyfish octopus, geometric fabric, abstract concept. And you always think of like aliens as like being like potentially taking forms that we could never even comprehend. It feels like somebody was able to successfully design a creature in a form that we could not comprehend because the whole time you're looking at it, trying to understand it and make sense of it. And I found it to just I couldn't take my eyes off of it, and I would absolutely would have died.

SPEAKER_01 41:09

I like that so much. And I also like the parallels of like the mysteries of the deep versus the mysteries of space. And there's points where obviously we see this creature lurking in the clouds and moving quickly over the shadows. I'm like, oh, this is just jaws in the sky. That's what this movie is.

SPEAKER_03 41:27

Listen, that alien is beautiful, like in all his forms, it looks so good. I'm so thirsty for knowledge about the practical and special effects in this movie. And of course, I know that a lot of it is CGI, but like I just want to know. I feel like someone had to have, like, they had to have had him had an artist come in and sculpt this shape and this thing and its different forms. It had to have been that way. Or, I mean, I don't know, was this Jordan Peele's idea? Did he come up with all of this? Did he I I just want to know so much about it because it looks amazing and it doesn't look like a cheesy alien and it's not walking on two legs, and that's what makes it great, and it's not like it doesn't look stupid in the sky, right? Like when it's in the sky, there was almost uh I think maybe only one second where I was like, eh, maybe one, maybe one. And it might have been the photograph at the end, the giant Polaroid at the end. But otherwise, this alien looks so good all the time. There's nothing to complain about. It doesn't look cheesy at all. And that's I feel like very hard to do when this isn't a real thing, obviously. However, that was not my favorite visual element. I have a very obvious favorite visual element, which is the house bloodstorm. Obviously, that was the best thing from the first moment where we get a little bit of blood in the window, and I'm like, ooh, it was so creepy. And then the whole entire house is covered in blood, and it continues to be covered after it's dried and it's not raining anymore. I loved it. Loved it so much.

SPEAKER_01 42:54

Oh, absolutely. That ranch never looked better than it did covered in blood, uh, specifically the blood of capitalism and people who are monetizing terrible experiences. You know, it makes sense. For me, my favorite visual expands even past that and beyond just that moment. It's the ranch as a whole. It's the space. How v the vast nothingness of this ranch. And it's like the sense of seclusion, the sense of isolation. And then it you still feel so trapped because of how massive this alien is in the sky and how quickly it moves. It's genuinely like being on a boat out in water, and then there's this big ass shark that's just following you around. And I never really thought, you know, as someone who fears the water, and as someone who never wants to be on a boat again in my life, you think about like, okay, well, at least on land you can just go somewhere and get away from something. But in the water, you're just trapped with this thing, and that's its territory. But this fucking, you know, sky shark, this is its territory. Everything is its territory, and that's terrifying. To me. And the contrast that we see with these gigantic, extreme wide shots, like these establishing shots, it makes this world feel so big and so claustrophobic at the same time.

SPEAKER_03 44:13

I will say, the more we've talked about this, the more it makes me realize that my fear is not aliens. My fear would be like some animal that I don't know exists that just decides it's gonna like come and eat me from the sky. This is so much worse than aliens. Aliens can abduct me. I don't believe in them. I don't care. It's fine. If you want to take me home, take me home. Don't come eat me for dinner, please. That's not what I want. It's the scariest part of aliens now.

SPEAKER_02 44:35

Yeah, this movie does play really well with agoraphobia, not so much as like being afraid of leaving the house, but more like being afraid of like large open spaces because you're so exposed and vulnerable in this movie.

SPEAKER_03 44:45

Okay, but also the open spaces and mountains and everything in this movie are so beautiful. Like I just wanted to be on that ranch. Oh, so nice.

SPEAKER_00 44:54

The shot we get of Ghost just like running and hopping over that fence like it was nothing and just going off in the distance. And OJ doesn't really like run after him immediately. You're like, oh, this ranch is massive. That means it's not a big deal. He's probably got a hot fence around the perimeter. And what he takes off and you don't even see where he goes. So that's so much space. And and and still, where the where the hell would you go to get away from it?

SPEAKER_03 45:14

Rest in peace, Ghost. I I missed him. I wanted him to come back. I was waiting for him. I'm sorry to see you go, but we kept lucky, so that's good.

SPEAKER_01 45:23

Yeah. I was actually really stressed out about those horses, and I thought Ghost was gonna come around because of OJ riding a Bronco, like the OJ Simpson chase. I really thought they were gonna pick Ghost to come back, and that would be like the horse he makes his great escape on.

SPEAKER_02 45:38

Oh my god, a white Bronco. Wow.

SPEAKER_03 45:41

Yeah, well, the horses were definitely stressful, and I uh the thing that I thought was nice is that we got that shot of the black man on the horse, which was talked about earlier being like the first piece of uh film, right? So that was cool. With that being said, that kind of relates to my favorite scene, which is Emerald and OJ on opposite sides of the alien, one on the horse, one on the motorcycle. We definitely did not think they were both gonna get out of there. And then they did, and they they do the I thing, you know. We knew it was coming. I did it before they did it. I was doing it in the theater to them because I'm part of it now. But it was just such a nice scene. Once I once we realized they weren't both going to die, it felt good. Because for a while there, it did not feel good. We thought for sure, I for sure thought we were losing OJ. Like he was definitely not gonna be a part of this anymore. And he was, and it was just like a cute moment of like, you do you, you go, I'll go, we'll handle it. We're good. I got you.

SPEAKER_01 46:34

I think that moment was made all the richer because of Kiki Palmer's performance. Emerald with this emotion, and you know, we we get these glimpses into her life, we get this understanding of like she's a woman who has been excluded from family activities. And I remember being like this young kid who, like, I wanted to go to a basketball game with my dad, but he would only take my brothers. It's it's little shit like that that kind of like sinks its teeth into you. And to see that they have maintained this relationship, even though she's been gone for a while. She clearly hasn't been there in at least three years since she didn't even know that Jupiter's claim replaced Gold Rush. So she's had this distance, and to see them progressively come back together throughout the movie and into that moment, Ryan, it was so beautiful. That's that's a great scene.

SPEAKER_00 47:22

I did like that. That the nodher with you know, pointing the eyes and back and forth and back and forth, because I kept thinking, like, hey, this is this is your horse this time. Like you you got this, and I respect that. I think my favorite scene also relates to horse, and that's actually early in the movie uh with Lucky on the film set. And I think it really kind of summed up my feelings for a lot of the rest of the film when it has to do with like exploiting these animals that we are like lucky to have a partnership with if we go about it intelligently, and the way that the the members of the production crew and the cast like dealt with the horse was so disrespectful. And it was like this this horse could literally kick your face off if if you upset it or if or if it just wanted to, and they're just going about it like so so willy-nilly. And I think if you've been around a horse, they're freaking massive, they're scary, not like they're gonna bite you, but they're there's so much power to them, and you have to approach it with like massive, massive respect. And I only wish that those people were around for um you know the flying space eater to take them up because they kind of deserved it a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 48:30

They absolutely did. The constant disrespect, it's unbearable. I think my favorite scene is actually really focusing on Lucky in a different way, and it's when Lucky is in this acrylic chamber and the alien is coming and snatching everybody at Jupiter's claim. But Lucky knew better. Lucky knew what was up, Lucky stayed right in place, and we get this moment where we see OJ show up, finds Lucky, and then there's there's all this turbulence and this turmoil, and you just are constantly questioning, is Lucky okay? Is Lucky okay? And thankfully that's the case. But this entire moment of like the people being snatched, the screaming, the pain that we can almost imagine is scarier to me than any gore that we could have even possibly gotten on screen because those cries were terrifying. And the emotion that you feel, A, in that moment of like seeing everybody sucked up, b the relief knowing that Lucky was okay, and then kind of bookending that with the approach to the house and him discovering the rain that looks like a car wash, insane. Such a great I think that was like probably my favorite parts of the movie as a whole.

SPEAKER_02 49:42

Y'all have selected some really incredible scenes. There's so many to choose from when it comes to favorite. I think for me, I definitely fixated a lot on the flashback to the sitcom set with the monkey killing everybody because it was just so tense and fascinating to me. Um, but I think the scene I'll remember the most is one of the scarier moments that was also very silly, and it's when we have the little aliens in the barn, just like the lighting is so perfect to the point where you did not see that alien in that shadowy spot. And then you see it kind of step out, and you're like, wait, what the fuck is that? Oh my god. This is when my boyfriend and I were like holding each other so close, and I was like, no. One, it's like a weird height, two, it moves in a weird way, and then you see the second one off to the side pop its head out, and you're like, oh fuck. Not only is this like kind of silly, but I'm also terrified. And then the way it so slowly peaked its big ol' round head around the corner while he's like trying to get it on camera, and then finally they hit you over the head with the one that drops out from the ceiling. I was gagged, bitch. I was so scared, I was so tense. I was like, if this is the direction this movie's taking, I don't know if I can handle it. Because at one, it's so soon. And two, like, what are these aliens gonna get into? Like, clearly, it's gonna be something. So I'm glad that it was a misdirect, but it was so effective and really stood out for me that it's gonna be my favorite scene.

SPEAKER_01 51:01

Could we also talk about the misdirect from the trailer of Mary Jo Elliott?

SPEAKER_02 51:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 51:05

When we see in the trailers, we have like the vessel or the creature kind of like sucking up the air, and you think, okay, she's probably just like a random person whose face is constricting like as as she's being abducted, or that's an alien, right? And we're just getting to see that this is what the aliens look like, but then to discover that she was the victim of a chimpanzee attack, a mauling, a maiming. Ooh, terrifying.

SPEAKER_03 51:32

Also, I thought we were really getting like a town in a valley and like a a town of people experiencing this. I was not prepared for this, like a one single family to be the focus. I mean, obviously, a lot of people were involved because of like the little fair thing, but this was really like a one, a one-house show, and I was not prepared for that. I was like, where are the rest of the people? Like, isn't there supposed to be people driving by saying nope all the time? I don't know. They they played us with the with the trailer for sure in the best way.

SPEAKER_02 52:00

Can we talk about one more scene? Because I want to hear everybody's thoughts and interpretations. So obviously they come up with this whole plan and they're talking about how they're gonna try to like tame the beast. So when we have OJ like slowly backing up on the horse and the alien has taken this new form and is like slowly kind of approaching it, do we think that it like was successfully taming it? Like, do we think that it was like kind of working a little bit? Because it it didn't kill him. He kind of figured out the parameters and used them effectively to kind of lure it away. Um, it felt like it was kind of like because that was also the time that it took that form. I was like, maybe this is it letting its guard down, or maybe this is it stepping its game up, because that's when you see like its like green square mouth hole, which I thought was really interesting to look at. The green square mouth keeps pulsating, right? And I was like, I wonder why it's doing that. Like that's probably some alien thing. And he's like, it's because it wants you to look at it, and like what would catch your eye more than this like flashing, flipping, like frilly thing. And I was like, oh, that's really smart. So do we think that that was a successful taming in some ways?

SPEAKER_01 53:03

See, I didn't see it as a necessarily successful taming, but rather a uh a dance in partnership. Like he's getting to understand the beast. The beast is like trying to figure him out. I don't see it as like a taming like he can control it by any means. I think he's just figuring out the ground rules and the strategy so he knows what moves he can make.

SPEAKER_03 53:24

But I will say the idea was to like break him like you break a horse, and it's not like you break a horse and they're immediately trained. They just stop trying to kill you immediately. They stop trying to kick you every second. So maybe there's something to that. I didn't initially see it as that, but I could see that like in some way he broke it just enough, like got it to its next form just enough to like and and knew kind of the tricks, right? Don't look at it and like stuff like that. Just enough to let the next thing happen. What now? If the next thing didn't happen, what were they gonna do? Not a clue. I don't think the plan was thought out to like an ending. I don't feel like we had a a solution in their scheme of things, but fortunately one showed up in the form of a giant balloon. That's good.

SPEAKER_00 54:05

I I was confused at first because I thought I thought like you thought, I was like, oh, he's like, this thing's learning from him now, and he's learning from this thing, and it's chilling out. But when when the green square eye thing happens, that is like a classic lure, I think, in a lot of predators, or in mating rituals. And so at that point, I thought this thing's going to snap any second now and swallow one of these people up. And we're just waiting to figure out like which one's you know it's gonna be. Um, because anything that like attracts you that strongly is trying to get some major attention either to make babies um or to eat you while you can't look away.

SPEAKER_02 54:41

Wait, Mac, that's so true. It was a lure. It was like an anglerfish with like a little thing. It's like, hey, come look at this, and don't pay attention to what else is going on.

SPEAKER_00 54:48

And then Speaking of, did any of you think when we when we figure out what this thing is and we see it in action, that this is not an alien and that this is like could totally be an earthbound creature because we've had UFO sightings for how long?

SPEAKER_03 55:00

No, not at all. Not for a second.

SPEAKER_00 55:01

I haven't considered that. Because I mean there's animals, speaking of the ocean, there's animals deep in the ocean that we probably haven't even seen yet. Like these animals just live in the sky all the time and we just never knew. Right. And they're you know swinging by, eating up cows, eating up horses, and we just didn't know because they weren't greedy yet. That is very plausible.

SPEAKER_03 55:16

Which leads me back to I'm not afraid of aliens that are gonna walk here. I'm afraid of this. This is much scarier than aliens popping up.

SPEAKER_02 55:23

Also, Mac, because this is definitely plausible. Can we talk about the cloud of it all? That cloud not moving? You would never notice a cloud not moving.

SPEAKER_03 55:31

I need to point something out. Paris just said, this is plausible. And before we started recording.

SPEAKER_02 55:37

It is plausible.

SPEAKER_03 55:38

Before we started recording, he gave a little anecdote about how he went to search is there a post-credit scene on Google, and a different search popped up which said, Is this nope based on reality? And so now what we made fun of has come full circle, and you think this is real.

SPEAKER_02 55:55

Oh no, it's me. You made that search. But there could be a cloud in the sky that hasn't moved and you would never notice.

SPEAKER_03 56:02

It's very true. It is the creepiest thing I think about this movie.

SPEAKER_02 56:06

I was literally driving home and Dwight and I were looking at the clouds and we're like, why do the clouds feel suspicious now?

SPEAKER_03 56:10

The clouds are probably one of the low-key, absolute best parts of this movie for sure. And the other best part of this movie is obviously the characters. I I mean, I said it earlier, we've said it a lot. The the people in this are so good. I have some favorites and some maybe non-favorites, but generally speaking, even like the the dramatized Hollywood of it all, because I I think that's a bit like pushed, um, maybe outside of like exact reality, it's still so good. It doesn't feel like a nonsense caricature of people, but like OJ, God, just so good. And his dialogue is just so authentic. And unfortunately, it does kind of lend itself to making it a little bit more difficult to hear, especially when you're in like a theater and sound is already kind of difficult there. One of the people that watched it with us said that they kind of had a hard time hearing things, and I think Chris, you probably struggle with that too. And part of it, I think, is because it's such an authentic dialogue. And when people talk, they don't enunciate. Like when I talk to people, you won't know what I'm saying sometimes, especially if it's like family. Like I have a different language that I think I speak a dialect with my cousins sometimes that you would never understand. And I love that in this movie, how real it is, just real conversations. Like, I'm not gonna tell you that I'm sad about our dad dying. Like, I'm not gonna say that. I'm gonna say something else. I'm gonna ask if you wanna if you want to find out what's in the whiskey cabinet. You know, that's how that's how things go. You unfortunately, we don't talk about our feelings enough. So yeah, the dialogue here is one thing that stands out and makes me love this movie even more.

SPEAKER_02 57:44

I totally agree, Ryan. The relationship between OJ and Emerald is really the heart and soul of this movie. I think OJ played a more like stoic anchor type role, which really allowed Kiki Palmer to thrive in the character of Emerald. I am obsessed with every choice she made. She is truly such a star, and this was an incredible performance from top to bottom from her. She gave every possible emotion in this movie and so authentically. Runner up for my other favorite visual element was her wardrobe in this movie. Her outfits were bomb. And I was like, damn, I would never think that that would look good. And it looks so good.

SPEAKER_03 58:22

And so real. Like I know people that that wear these things. I just, I do have to say, I just wanted to see OJ smile so bad, and it just didn't happen. And there's a lot of movies where I want him to smile, but this one was really about it's like, can we get like one second of smile? Like just one second of I want to know that you're a happy person. Because he just always feels like so like in this movie, he is just like so weighed down by everything going on. And I mean, he's not like like he's getting through it, but I'm just like, just let me see your pearly whites, just smile for me.

SPEAKER_02 58:55

Yeah, he's very like weathered and tired in this movie to the point where my boyfriend looks over at me and he's like, I shouldn't have had that hot dog.

SPEAKER_03 59:03

But like also, you know, people who work like in labor.

SPEAKER_02 59:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 59:07

And and he feels like he works in labor. He does not look like an actor, he doesn't look like someone pretending to work in a labor job. He is taking care of these animals. That's that's what's happening. He might have some horses. I feel like Daniel has some horses.

SPEAKER_01 59:19

I think one of the things that I love about his character is how it feels even deeper than just he's the son trying to carry on his father's legacy. He feels very much like the preservation of legacy and history in his family. And you can see that he and Emerald are on the same team. Yeah, she's focused on other things because she wasn't necessarily included in the past. She didn't get the chance to train Gene Jacket. She really didn't get that opportunity to bond with her family in that way, but her heart is still there in that intention. And I think that's particularly cool when you consider one of the other themes of the movie of like this preservation of a legacy of a black man riding a horse and his identity was lost, and nobody knows who this guy is. And that clip is real. Uh, the character is invented for this movie, but that film is real, and just nobody knows who this guy is. And when you think about like the history of black film that's baked into this movie, those are like those little things that are like framed within the house. Like you see all these posters inside the house of these iconic movies that were groundbreaking in so many different ways. Movies that came out around the time, same time as the original Night of the Living Dead. But you see this movie kind of like addressing it in that angle and that preservation of a legacy, and really like kind of bringing that front and center. But then you see that personified in OJ. You see that with him carrying on his father's work, trying to sell a few horses to make ends meet and get the get the ranch by, but then also wanting a plan to buy them back, and how he takes it so seriously and how he's going to do it alone, and how even when it's the least comfortable, even when it doesn't feel safe, he's gonna go back and let Lucky out. He's gonna feed the rest of the horses. He carries this sense of responsibility because he feels like he's part of something that's bigger than himself, which I absolutely love. It feels like he's focused on everyone else but him.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:13

It definitely seemed like he kind of stepped into his father's shoes as soon as he had to. Like he had, like you mentioned, that sense of responsibility. But I think that extended not just to the horses and and you know to the ranch, but even with this alien creature, I think he it seemed like he felt a sense of responsibility to to see it through and to try to like take care of everyone who might be impacted by this. And I know they mentioned at one point, I I think the um you know the tech installer dude was like talking about like this is gonna save Earth. And I don't think I don't think the uh the brother and sister really cared about that. I think you know OJ was just like, yeah, sure. You know, it's not really it's not really about that. It's about like protecting what's yours and like doing what's right and and not about like we're gonna make it big, at least not not for him.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:57

Exactly. But even if it starts that way for Emerald, it doesn't end that way for Emerald. Because notice at the end, she's collapsed, she took all that bit of strength just to get that picture with the wishing well. And when it falls down, she sees it, she stands up, but she sees OJ. And that's what she's focused on. In the movie, we do not see her grab the photos that she put herself through hell to get, she leaves them there. And you know, hey, maybe there's nope to one day, right? Um, still no. Maybe that'll happen, and maybe she did grab the pictures and move on because damn, that was a good looking picture. But the reality is that what we see happen is her choosing to focus on him and to focus on her family instead of focusing on the fame or the proof or the evidence that she just went through hell to get.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:48

You know, that is a really great element of the ending, but if I have to come up with the worst part, it is several other elements of the ending, and this is absolutely me reaching, but they come up with this plan, right? And it makes sense for the most part. And then we have like a sequence of other events in the plan that I'm like, wait, what? Huh? Wait, why that? It starts with, I think, our TMZ guy that kind of throws a wrench into things, but wraps up in a way that I'm like, okay, that's fine. I fought I felt like there was gonna be some sort of a parallel between the mirrored uh helmet that he had and then like the mirrored ball that they were using that ended up scaring the horse in the earlier scene. And I think in a way there was, but it wasn't what I was expecting necessarily. And then we have the photographer kind of going A-WOL and being like, wait, let me just throw caution to the wind and get fucked. And then we also had Angel like getting tossed around and then wrapping himself in barbed wire and tarp. And I was like, is he doing that so that if he gets eaten, he'll get spit out?

SPEAKER_03 1:03:46

It's because he was it's the barbed wire is connected to all the fences, so it's like a tether for him to get back out because he knew he was gonna get sucked up. So that's why he tied it around himself, and the tarp was just there to not kill him, hopefully, with the barbed fence.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:00

It makes sense. Okay, so he was anchoring himself to the ground.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:03

Yeah, when they when he got sucked up, you could see the post of the fence like like kind of like a ladder, it looked like like keeping him. Yeah, and then then that's why he was able to come back out.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:14

Thank you, Ryan. That makes so much sense.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:16

Oh my god, you're welcome.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:17

But there were a lot of these moments that all just happened so quickly that I didn't have time to like fully understand them. And I think part of that made me have to kind of distance myself a little bit from the ending. Uh, but I will definitely watch this again and I'm sure I will have a better understanding of it.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:30

Paris, I uh agree with you in a sense. Um, it's not the worst part for me, but I understand where you're coming from, and I actually feel that way about all the other like side stories that go on in this movie, like even the monkey, the sitcom thing. Like, I I get all of that stuff, but I don't it it could feel a little bit distracting. And I have this um theory that it's kind of like when Quentin Tarantino just has scenes where, like, why are you guys in a car talking about a quarter pounder with cheese? Yes, but not Quentin Tarantino style. You know what I mean? Like he's trying to kind of do his own natural thing, it feels like almost like, you know, I I mentioned that we were making fun of a review that somebody wrote that was like all these irrelevant stories, and it's like they are irrelevant stories, except that that's just what life is. Life is literally a collection of people's irrelevant stories connecting to each other. And so I think it's kind of that's how I've kind of like rationalized the things that are like this kind of went off the rails, or this didn't seem like it mattered. They all did matter, and I understand how things tied in, but I also see a bit of the like trying to see the natural timing of everything, if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:38

That makes complete sense. I'm so glad that you mentioned Quentin Tarantino because I forgot to say that in my rating, but this felt a lot like a better Tarantino film, much less problematic, at least, um, because of those elements. And also I think this was inspired by Westerns, and I know Tarantino uses a lot of like references to Westerns, he's also inspired by those a lot. So I definitely resonate with that. For sure. What was your worst part though?

SPEAKER_03 1:06:02

My worst part is the filmmaker. He just like he was just a bit outlandish for me. And again, I understand why he was there. Like you said, this movie's really good. It's not particularly easy to find a worst part. But for me, I just everything with him, like every call to him, the way he acted about everything, it was all a bit weird. And it kind of connected to like Kiki Palmer's obsession with filming this thing, which wasn't like my favorite angle for this her just being so obsessed. And the whole time OJ's like, I think we need to like do other stuff. He's like not on board, you know. I mean, he eventually he is, but the whole like filming thing wasn't my my favorite part, but it was okay. You know, this is a a great movie. We have to say a worst part here.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:45

You force me. So he actually is connected to my worst part of the movie, and again, it's more so just for my experience. I think I should have watched this movie in Dolby, maybe with a better audio experience, but I found that this movie was really hard for me to understand audibly. And I I kind of make made mostly most sense of it, but he, Holst, was uh one of the most difficult for me to hear and understand. Like he spoke in such a low tone that I had trouble, like I was literally squinting for some reason, thinking that would make me hear better, and leaning closer and just thinking, like, what the fuck is this man saying? And like I got to the point of saying, like understanding he was saying uh purple people eater, but that was a difficult experience. Uh some of the screams were absolutely amazing and chilling, but there were also some sounds in this movie that I couldn't really put together. So I'm excited to watch this with subtitles. That being said, I'm saying it's the worst part, but as you said, Ryan, this movie is terrific.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:42

As a side note, the sound design in open spaces in this movie, amazing. Like hearing things from across the valley, oh, so good.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:51

It was kind of skillful though, because we're hearing eerie sounds, not realizing that it's the prey of this gigantic, you know, flying creature, and we're just like, oh, what is that eerie sound? I think learning that later on was was really cool. I mean, it's horrible that it's like 40 humans screaming and now we get what's going on, but it's kind of a kind of a cool feature, I guess, of that giant space thing. Coming up with a with a least favorite part here, it's hard because I don't think there was anything that stuck out to me as being necessarily bad about this film. I think the aspect of wanting to capture it on film and make money off of that is like cringe worthy. I think obviously like that doesn't feel good. We don't, you know, if I if an alien was there, I would want to capture it so I could like prove that I wasn't a lunatic. Um, but I get that they're like trying to come up with funds. It seems more likely, you know, that she would be trying to force him to sell the ranch, and I think that's mentioned and it doesn't kind of go anywhere. It's strange that that's just kind of like a thread that's like let go, right? There's no more talk of that. Um, I feel like we didn't get enough interaction between these two neighbors. And I and I think I would have enjoyed a little bit more than that. I again, it's like you gotta be nitpicky here, right? But like they didn't know that the other one knew about this giant flying purple people eater. So I would have loved for there to be a realization between the two of them, aside from finding out that they're dead.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:16

Well, also there was a while that OJ thought it was them doing it, like everything.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:21

Yeah, when we did get that audio and the and that first scene where he's like looking down the valley and like see the lights on, you can kind of like hear him giving his like test run speech. I was like, that what if this is somehow something he's made happen? And what if like the chimp is related in some way? Like, what if he mind controls the chimp? I don't know. Um, but it was like weird, like seeing what was going on down there, and then for that to occur at the exact same time.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:45

And I think we're all gonna agree here.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:47

We have to watch this movie again.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:49

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:50

Yeah, I'm actually really excited. I'm gonna go watch it in a drive-in theater in Miami that I just recently learned exists. That's gonna be exciting. I'm gonna watch that next week.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:58

I love that.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:59

The thing that I'm most excited about, there's two layers to this that I really want to re-explore. A, what I was talking about earlier in terms of like just the way that the ranch house itself is decorated, but also B, there's like this layer of digital versus analog media. And it's really interesting to look, you know, we talk about like the preservation of legacy and technology for all the invested dollars in high-tech equipment. It's the dollar coin wishing well that's able to capture the evidence they need. And she never even really grabbed those pictures, right? So I think that is like another filter that I want to apply on my second watch of this film.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:35

Yeah, I'm I'm looking forward to watching it at home. Uh seeing it in the theater is amazing, and your first watch should be in the theater. But I like when you're at home that obviously you can like pause and your TV's much closer so you can make out all those tiny little details sometimes.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:49

Well, I'm glad that we're all agreed on the same page and watching this again. And I can't wait to hear if you, dear listener, are going to watch this again as well. Because right now, Nope has earned a universal slash on our show. Alexis isn't here, but I'm sure she dig it too. Uh, we've certainly had a lot to talk about here, but it doesn't end here by any means. We want to know what you think. There's obviously so much to unpack in this film, and while there are so many perspectives at the table, there are so many more that we just couldn't possibly have here in this time. So we want to hear your voice. You can join in on the conversation by hanging out with us for free over in our Discord. You can click the link in our show notes to sign up.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:25

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SPEAKER_01 1:11:37

We'll see you next time, folks, and remember Ancient Aliens History Channel. Watch that shit.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:42

We love Jordan Peel.