Nope (2022)

[AimingforYoko]

Quote

The residents of a lonely gulch in inland California bear witness to an uncanny and chilling discovery.

Teaser Trailer:

Definitely a teaser, can't really tell what Mr. Peele is up to.

[Spartan Girl]

I’m already worried for the horses.

[AnimeMania]

Why would somebody have so many of those "dancing wind men" in the middle of nowhere, they require energy to work, I could see if they were solar powered, but that still would be a waste of energy.

[BetterButter]

[Fukui San]

Get Out!

Us?

Nope.

I feel that Jordan Peele is trying to tell us something.

[starri]

This was definitely more of a thriller (I've seen more than a few comparing it to Spielberg's summer popcorn movies, and they're apt), but I had a phenomenal time.

It did take the story a little too long to get going, but Keke Palmer made up for it. 

[AimingforYoko]

So what was Steven Yuen and the monkey about? (Very surprised his co-star survived, BTW) It doesn't seem connected to the main story.

[Sheenieb]

I was disappointed with this one. The story wasn't cohesive at all and it had no business being over 2 hours. There was barely any dialogue. 

5 hours ago, AimingforYoko said:

So what was Steven Yuen and the monkey about? (Very surprised his co-star survived, BTW) It doesn't seem connected to the main story.

My guess is that it was in a similar vein to Roy being attacked by his tiger? Stop trying to domesticate wild animals. But I agree that it had nothing to do with the main story.

I think Jordan Peel peaked too early. Get Out is his best movie. Us was OK. NOPE is forgettable. 

[Luckylyn]

To me the movie is about exploitation.  Animals and people get used for profit and are forgotten.  People remember who filmed the jockey but not the jockey himself.  

People are willing to risk their lives  and the lives of others for the profit of the spectacle.  Jup was willing to monetize the tragedy of Gordy’s rampage despite the trauma he experienced.   He also learned the wrong lessons.   Because Gordy went for a fist bump instead of killing him Jup mistakenly thought Gordy spared him because they had a bond.   But he lived because at a critical moment Jup was staring at a shoe and not making eye contact with Gordy and then when he did make eye contact Gordy couldn’t see it because the table cloth blocked a clear view of Jup’s eyes.  As an adult, because he didn’t learn the right lesson Jup thought he could make the alien work for him for profit.  Trying to tame animals for profit is risky because animals can have dangerous reactions.  It made me think of the documentary “Grizzly Man” and how at one point someone says that he forgot the bears were animals with their own instincts that made them potentially dangerous and that he was treating the bears like humans in a bear suit.   You can’t ever forget that you are dealing with an animal.   Gordy and Jean Jacket are simply being what they are and following their instinctive nature.  Humans trying to manage them  for profit endangers everyone around them.

OJ, Em, and Angel could have walked away but the opportunity to get the money shot was what they chose to prioritize over safety.  Throughout the movie people choose profit over safety.  The movie showcases a person’s willingness to monetize anything no matter how hurtful or dangerous.  The only difference between the Heywoods and Jup is that OJ tried to understand what they were dealing with, never forget what they are dealing with, and tried respect the predator.  Interestingly at the end Em’s focus isn’t checking to see if they got their Oprah shot but on seeing if her brother is okay.  

[starri]

3 hours ago, Luckylyn said:

Gordy and Jean Jacket are simply being what they are and following their instinctive nature.  Humans trying to manage them  for profit endangers everyone around them.

Also true of the horses.  But we're contrasting the Heywoods' respect for the horses' nature with Jup's lack of same.  Up to, and including using Lucky as bait.

3 hours ago, Luckylyn said:

Interestingly at the end Em’s focus isn’t checking to see if they got their Oprah shot but on seeing if her brother is okay.  

Man, the whole climax was soooooo good.  I'm glad it was Em who got to save the day.

[Luckylyn]

@starri Jup was willing to feed the horses directly to Jean Jacket and OJ and Em refused to do that.  They still risked Lucky’s life to get the shot.  They wouldn’t cross certain lines but still endangered Lucky.  So there are no clean hands in this story.   

So I saw this video where someone speculates that OJ is dead and what Em sees is his spirit because he can be seen below the “Out Yonder” sign.  My theory is he’s alive.

Also the movie ends without telling us if Em, OJ, and Angel get the fame and fortune they were after.  Someone said that Em’s picture might be worthless because we saw the news crew there at the end and they probably also got a shot of Jean Jacket.  I don’t think the news got a picture or video because the movies established that Jean Jacket disabled electronics when nearby.  but  if the news crew were at the right distance they may have avoided the power outage and gotten a shot.  So maybe they went through all this for nothing.  What are the odds that the news van was the perfect distance to retain power but still get a shot of Jean Jacket?   Em, OJ, and Angel not getting credit for the discovery would fit with what happened to the Heywood Great Grandfather.

[starri]

4 hours ago, Luckylyn said:

So I saw this video where someone speculates that OJ is dead and what Em sees is his spirit because he can be seen below the “Out Yonder” sign.  My theory is he’s alive.

I actually wondered the same thing.  I thought it was ambiguous.  I also wasn't quite sure if Angel survived either.

Very surprised that the Burbank Fry's is still standing.

[Luckylyn]

Angel survived because he wrapped the barbed wire from the fence around himself and Jean Jacket wasn’t able to suck him in.

[BetterButter]

[snickers]

I think that video above should have been a mid credit scene…. might have helped some of those who didn’t feel the Gordy storyline was important or make sense give more meaning. 
 

i personally felt the Gordy incident was the scariest thing about this movie and what makes Peele brilliant at film making … a really good cinematic scene 

Unfortunately I don’t think Nope landed at the end as good as Get Out and I still look at Get Out as his best movie, but I liked this better than Us.  I get why some might not have liked this, but for someone who is doing his own  writing and directing, I think his work his pretty fantastic.

[heatherchandler]

On 7/23/2022 at 5:16 PM, AimingforYoko said:

So what was Steven Yuen and the monkey about? (Very surprised his co-star survived, BTW) It doesn't seem connected to the main story.

I read somewhere that it was showing how Hollywood will chew you up and spit you out.. in this case literally.

[Hiyo]

Quote

I was disappointed with this one. The story wasn't cohesive at all and it had no business being over 2 hours. There was barely any dialogue. 

Yeah, I thought it was kind of meh as well. But hey, good to see Kieth David and Donna Mills (as brief as it was).

[Sheenieb]

9 hours ago, snickers said:

i personally felt the Gordy incident was the scariest thing about this movie and what makes Peele brilliant at film making … a really good cinematic scene 

Yes, the Gordy scene was the best part. That should've been the movie. Then we could've sped it up to present day with adult Jupe profiting off his trauma/ or some producer trying to revive the series.

I was really looking forward to NOPE, so I'm disappointed that it fell flat. I wanted to go in blind, so I didn't read reviews (which is a first for me). I understood the themes, but it didn't connect for me. I was riveted during Get Out and even US although liked Get Out better, but I kept checking my watch while watching NOPE. 

This is why I don't like this Tyler Perry shit some directors do. I don't think any director should also be the writer. You're too close to the material, and no one else has eyes on it. 

[MagicCat]

11 hours ago, snickers said:

i personally felt the Gordy incident was the scariest thing about this movie and what makes Peele brilliant at film making … a really good cinematic scene 

I held my breath through just about the whole Gordy scene.  It was one of the most terrifying things I have seen at the movies in a long time.  It's odd that it's so scary because we meet Jupe as an adult and so we know how it turns out.  

[snickers]

I think what made that scene so powerful is because it shows some of it from Jupe’s eye level- it was like physically being there - I also thought I know he lives through the attack it didn’t mean he still couldn’t have been hurt - and I really didn’t want to have to see or hear that after what we just saw/didn’t see

I also think the sound had a lot to do with it too which the sound overall was very good in this movie as well.  In my theater during that scene you could hear a pin drop I don’t think anyone moved. 

Edited July 26, 2022 by snickers

[starri]

16 minutes ago, snickers said:

I think what made that scene so powerful is because it shows some of it from Jupe’s eye level- it was like physically being there - I also thought I know he lives through the attack it didn’t mean he still couldn’t have been hurt - and I really didn’t want to have to see or hear that after what we just saw/didn’t see

I think one of the other reasons that it's so effective is that it literalizes the theme of both Jupe and and the Heywoods' obsession with Jean Jacket:  chasing fame will chew you up and spit you out.  

Speaking of, Jordan Peele released fake opening credits for Gordy's Home.  The images parallel much of what we see of Gordy's rampage.  And we get the genesis of the winking cowboy.

[SeanC]

On 7/25/2022 at 12:06 PM, Sheenieb said:

This is why I don't like this Tyler Perry shit some directors do. I don't think any director should also be the writer. You're too close to the material, and no one else has eyes on it. 

Any film script that makes it through production, especially from a major studio, has had a million eyes on it.

[Miss Slay]

On 7/25/2022 at 8:06 AM, Sheenieb said:

This is why I don't like this Tyler Perry shit some directors do. I don't think any director should also be the writer. You're too close to the material, and no one else has eyes on it. 

Um... Tyler Perry didn't invent the writer/director combo. 👀  In fact, he may be the worst example of one.

For good examples please see: Cameron Crowe, Spike Lee, Amy Heckerling, Tarantino, just to name a few.

[Sheenieb]

14 hours ago, Miss Slay said:

Um... Tyler Perry didn't invent the writer/director combo. 👀  In fact, he may be the worst example of one.

I didn't say he did. I know there are others, but he was the first who came to mind. But I'm thinking more about TV and TP famously not having a writer's room. 

[Frisky Wig]

Just saw this tonight. 

All that dust flying around and no ones coughing? No one has dust in their eyes?

Interesting how despite everything the TMZ reporter was going through, all he cared about was getting his shot, “is my camera ok?” “Did you get that on film?” etc. Wow. 
 

Daniel Kaluuya does “calm despite aliens trying to eat you” very well. 
 

Why did Jean Jacket look like a flying saucer farther away but a billowing, holey parachute up close? 
 

[Chyromaniac]

On 7/25/2022 at 11:04 AM, MagicCat said:

It's odd that it's so scary because we meet Jupe as an adult and so we know how it turns out.  

Just got home from seeing this - the scene works because it more or less forces us, the audience, to make eye contact with the chimp.  At that point, we basically are the kid under the table that thinks he's about to get killed.

On 7/31/2022 at 11:46 PM, Frisky Wig said:

Why did Jean Jacket look like a flying saucer farther away but a billowing, holey parachute up close?

It initially struck me as a defense mechanism - kind of like how a puffer will get big to try and ward off predators.  In this case, I think the alien may have been injured, possibly by trying to ingest the barbed wire wrapped Angel.  But, it also could have been sensory.  Most of the time, it just needed to swoop in, take its prey and leave - so the tighter, more aerodynamic shape makes sense.  But at the end OJ and Em were trying to avoid reacting to it, so it needed to fan out to try and lure them in.  So there you go - two options!

I thought this was a pretty good film overall - it's not as impactful as Get Out, but hey.  It probably could have been a little tighter - for example, either give me more of a story on Holst the cinematographer so that I get his motivation, or find a different way to set up the plot of how to get the alien on film.  Speaking of which, someone mentioned Spielberg above - honestly, this could just have been "Cloud Jaws," and I would've been happy.  OJ and Em are the Brody's of Nope - mostly just looking to protect their home/family from the monster (and their financial troubles).  You've got Angel in the Hooper role as the alien/tech expert.  And Holst is Quint, the grizzled old man who puts getting the job done above his own life.  Throw in Jupe Park as the Mayor trying to ignore the obvious danger in their midst, and the crowd of tourist victims and... well, are we sure this actually wasn't "Cloud Jaws"?

[bettername2come]

On 7/25/2022 at 12:01 AM, snickers said:

Unfortunately I don’t think Nope landed at the end as good as Get Out and I still look at Get Out as his best movie, but I liked this better than Us.

Yeah, this is where I landed. I was confused by the Gordy stuff, but I take that it's a parallel to the theme of respecting the animal. The cinematography was really well done. I'm glad I saw the film in theaters. I wanted the story to be a little more cohesive. This reminded me of "Signs." 

On 8/3/2022 at 12:22 AM, Chyromaniac said:

well, are we sure this actually wasn't "Cloud Jaws"?

This amuses me. Mostly because of the trailer for Beast beforehand, which appears to be Lion Jaws. 

[AimingforYoko]

Daniel Kaluuya brushes off Logan Paul's criticism of Nope.

"What's he ever done in cinema?" I love ya, Daniel, but one's lack of resumé is not reason to dismiss criticism... The reason to dismiss his criticism is because he's Logan Paul.

[Hiyo]

But at least he seemed to give valid criticisms of why he didn't like the movie, besides just saying it sucked.

Whether or not you agree with him is one thing, but it was a better critique of the movie than I expected from someone like Logan Paul.

[Luckylyn]

Logan Paul’s criticism is interesting  because he’s the real world example of what the movie is about and he just doesn’t recognize that.
The Social-Media Star and the Suicide

Logan Paul’s Nope Review is a Lesson in Media Literacy 

[Milburn Stone]

On 7/24/2022 at 7:20 AM, Luckylyn said:

To me the movie is about exploitation...

Great post, @Luckylyn. Your analysis makes me reconsider my response to the movie. I was hugely underwhelmed by the film, and thought it was an incoherent mess. Now I like it a little! (In retrospect.) Thank you.

[BetterButter]

[starri]

Honest Trailers is always great with their "Starring..." but "Jupiter, Ascending" is a special level of brilliant.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

"There's a wheelchair on your roof."

[shapeshifter]

On 8/17/2022 at 6:45 AM, Luckylyn said:

Logan Paul’s criticism is interesting  because he’s the real world example of what the movie is about and he just doesn’t recognize that.
The Social-Media Star and the Suicide

Logan Paul’s Nope Review is a Lesson in Media Literacy 

Thank you, @Luckylyn, for posting GraysonsProjects YouTube review of Nope.

I watched Nope last night on Peacock because:

• Jordan Peele has had a lot of positive recognition for his films
• a daughter and her DH had rented it for 48 hours
• the same daughter, who tends to be more squeamish than I am, had assured me it was not a horror film
• and when I looked up its scare factor, this Slate article seemed to agree: slate.com/culture/2022/07/nope-movie-jordan-peele-scary-us-get-out.html

But, like Grayson who posted that review, I was horrified by the Chimpanzee mauling that was all over the news in 1995, on which the Gordy and Jupe B plot is based, and I would not have likely watched Nope had I known that's where it was going.
So I'm not going to re-watch it ever, even though it is a movie worthy of being rewatched to fully appreciate the message. 
Therefore, Grayson's review was perfect for me.

Keke Palmer was awesome.

[shapeshifter]

A thoughtful analysis on Reddit about Jupe’s significance:

https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/w4ydh8/official_discussion_nope_spoilers/ihudnuq/   

Quote

I do think that’s relevant to unpacking his level of delusion as well. His childhood stardom probably left him well off financially, but desperate for his next stroke of fame. And the way he survived the traumatic attack during the filming of Gordy’s Home definitely messed with his ego, making him feel invincible.

It seems to me Jupe was fully convinced that he had some kind of control over or connection to the “viewer” and thus incurred no risk by constantly interacting with it. To a normal person, the second that thing takes a horse you run alway screaming and never look back, but Jupe saw a chance to recapture the lightning in a bottle that made him.

Ultimately, he didn’t care what it cost to have that control again, to capture people’s attention for years to come. I find this to be reinforced by his clear inability to act, since he still seems to lack the confidence needed for proper line delivery as a adult as he did a child in the flashbacks.

The small group for the first show could also be chalked up to mass skepticism, the remoteness of the locale, and Jupe’s hugely diminished fame over the years.

Even with a shitload of quality marketing, most people would believe this to be a hoax without some kind of undeniable video evidence. Jupe’s attempt to repeatedly interact with this dangerous species for the sake of live entertainment does harken back to his stunted childhood, and lack of practicality: OJ’s survival is evidence that with proper animal wrangling knowledge, the deadliest predators cannot be bested, but you can avoid becoming their prey.

[Chyromaniac]

Unfortunately I can’t upload my pics because the files are too big- but the Jupiters Claim sets are currently a part of the Universal Studios Hollywood tram tour.  Obviously they’ve been moved from the original shooting location, but it’s still pretty cool to get to see all the details that went into the design (I think the sets were also used during Halloween for their Horror Nights event).  Otherwise, given my earlier comments about Nope and Jaws, it’s interesting to see them both part of the same attraction.

[Luckylyn]

Jupe monetized his trauma instead of dealing with it.  His skewed perspective that he had some sort of special connection with Gordy let him lie to himself about the risks with Jean Jacket. He wanted to believe he had some sort of control over the situation but he never did.  

[DoctorAtomic]

I watched the day after xmas. I didn't think the 'alien ship' was going to turn out to be an actual alien, so that was cool. It was more thinking and subtle than I expected - learning not to look at it; figuring out how to track it. I do think it was a little long; it took me a little bit to figure out the whole Gordy parallel. But, I had literally nothing to do.  And Peacock won't play on my browser, so I always have to watch on the tablet. This time I was where I could cast to a smart tv. 

[Anela]

It was a bit odd, but I liked it. Except for the alien itself. My dad saw the second half of the film, and he paid attention, and didn't say anything good or bad. 

I can see the ego of the cinematographer, having him get up and try to film it again, leading to him getting eaten. The TMZ guy just needing that shot, so that he would be famous, even though he would also likely be dead soon. I picked up on the exploitation, when it came to the chimp, and also the guy thinking that he could control the alien, and use it as a new attraction. 

The chimp mauling those people, reminded me of an attraction at a zoo-like place that we visited when I was a teenager. It was the sort to have beautiful wild cats, doing tricks and sitting on stools, instead of enjoying their lives somewhere else. One cat in particular, was growling, and didn't look happy. I didn't want to see unhappy animals doing tricks, and I briefly wondered if they would attack anyone, when we were there. 

[shapeshifter]

It's been a month since I watched Nope, and I am still glad I did because when I go for walks on the frozen beach where dog owners ignore the No Pets signs and even sometimes let their larger-than-I-am dogs off leash, I have miraculously realized that if I purposefully do not make eye contact with the dog, they ignore me rather than being either overly friendly (which could still break my fragile bones) or overly protective and growling (which makes me sweaty and uncomfortable).
So, thank you Jordan Peele!

[Aryana Fritz]

I can't believe I watched this movie twice in one week. And I also invited my friends to watch it with me, they were very pleased with it. However very bad because some friends don't want to see it because the content is a bit creepy. The movie is very good and great, I have nothing to complain about

[SlovakPrincess]

I feel like I need to watch this one again someday, because I'm not sure what I think of it.  I think I liked it?  It was certainly effective at the slow-building dread, and I liked OJ, Emerald and Angel. 

Did OJ actually live, or was Em just imagining him there at the end?

Why did the famous cinematographer run out to let the alien eat him, basically?  What a dumb decision.  Too many people in this movie making bad choices LOL.

I'm not sure the homicidal chimp storyline meshed that well with the rest of the movie, but it was intriguing.

[Nordly Beaumont]

On 3/1/2023 at 10:16 PM, SlovakPrincess said:

I feel like I need to watch this one again someday, because I'm not sure what I think of it.  I think I liked it?  It was certainly effective at the slow-building dread, and I liked OJ, Emerald and Angel. 

Did OJ actually live, or was Em just imagining him there at the end?

Why did the famous cinematographer run out to let the alien eat him, basically?  What a dumb decision.  Too many people in this movie making bad choices LOL.

I'm not sure the homicidal chimp storyline meshed that well with the rest of the movie, but it was intriguing.

I liked it much more the second time. The first time I had no idea where it was going and it felt so slow. The second time it didn't seem slow at all.

I go back and forth on whether OJ lived, I kind of wish that was resolved. Or not! I'm not sure! 😃

I think the cinematographer going to get the "impossible" shot ties in with the quest for fame, notoriety, or "spectacle" that the movie comes back to a lot.

I agree the chimp portions had a different tone, but, holy cow! Loved it!

[Bastet]

On 7/24/2022 at 9:42 AM, Luckylyn said:

Someone said that Em’s picture might be worthless because we saw the news crew there at the end and they probably also got a shot of Jean Jacket.

I thought that was the entire point of the ending?  She's sitting there exhausted but triumphant, looking at her Oprah shot, and then we see there's a news crew doing a live report and the reporter says "we will have some amazing footage" or something like that.

I finally watched this last night on Prime -- I love Get Out and Us, but I generally dislike sci-fi, so I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this and kept watching other things on my list instead -- and, while it's by a wide margin my least favorite of Peele's films and nearly halfway into the film I thought I was going to come away downright disappointed, I wound up liking it well enough.  Daniel Kaluuya and, especially, Keke Palmer were fantastic, and I like the underlying themes.

[angora]

Late to this movie, but I loved it! While it definitely took its time and had a lot of moving parts, I found it so rewarding to watch everything come together. The climactic confrontation with Jean Jacket was masterfully done--I loved that each of the four brought particular skills/insights to the plan, and it was so tense to watch it unfold.

On 3/1/2023 at 10:16 PM, SlovakPrincess said:

Why did the famous cinematographer run out to let the alien eat him, basically?  What a dumb decision.  Too many people in this movie making bad choices LOL.

There was an earlier scene where Angel notices him taking a pill, and there's A Moment as Holst catches him noticing but doesn't acknowledge it. I think he was dying. When he saw that the light was about to be "magic," I think he decided to go out on his own terms, capturing the "impossible shot" he'd been chasing his whole career.

During Jupe's show, I noticed the UFO design on the back of his jacket 20-30 seconds before he told the crowd about "the Viewers," and I got chills. He was a fascinating character--after the clear trauma he endured on the set of Gordy's Home, he took away the wrong lesson *entirely*.

I loved the sibling dynamic between O.J. and Em. Obviously, they were two very different people and frequently aggravated each other, but they also seemed to get each other on a level that no one else did, and when the shit hit the fan, they really came through for each other. I also loved that O.J. was coded as autistic and that those traits helped save the day (in a *non*-stereotypical "human supercomputer savant" kind of way.) Because he interacted better with animals than people, he recognized before anyone else that Jean Jacket wasn't a ship. He wasn't comfortable with eye contact anyway, which put him a step ahead in figuring out how to stay alive. And his special interest in horse training allowed him to put together the plan to capture Jean Jacket on film, not to mention pulling it off without sacrificing Lucky. I loved all of that.