FelipeCarrillo

After the tragic-yet-empowering showdown of the first film, the Abbott family unquietly comes back to the cinemas after a delay of more than a year in a worth-the-wait sequel that takes its apocalyptic survival tale to new and exciting grounds.

John Krasinski has wisely reshaped his own career after his breakout role as nice guy Jim Halpert on NBC's legendary sitcom "The Office". Upon revisiting, the TV show reveals both as a pleasure on its own and an awkwardly rewarding testimony about how much most of these talented actors have grown professionally. Voice acting has stood out throughout his filmography, being credited in numerous animated productions such as Pixar's "Monsters University," DreamWorks's "Shrek the Third" and uncredited in Netflix's wacky "BoJack Horseman." He has done a fair amount of "physical" acting as well, with Kathryn Bigelow's electric "Detroit", Michael Bay's war actioner "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi" and Amazon Studios' geopolitical spy show "Jack Ryan" among his most notorious drama chops on screen. Less remarkable was his screenwriting and directing background, debuting with 2009's "Brief Interviews with Hideous Men", directing three "The Office" episodes and his dramedy "The Hollars".

He certainly struggled maintaining his star momentum, being mostly recognized for his fantastic work on "The Office". However, he caught everybody off guard in 2018, when he released a contained, brilliantly paced and scripted thriller, produced by Paramount Pictures and Platinum Dunes, which infused new life to the modern "movie experience" concept. Accurately titled "A Quiet Place," it was a project initially considered as a would-be addition to the "Cloverfield" meta-universe that evolved as a standalone picture bursting with potential. In 2016, Scott Beck y Bryan Woods sold their promising screenplay to a studio that greenlighted it without hesitation. The final result was jaw-droopingly good: an original apocalyptic tale with top-notch performances from the whole family (Krasinski as the father, Blunt as the mother, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe and Cade Woodward as the children), amazing craftsmanship and an Oscar-worthy sound design. The latter caused funny problems to audiences to the extent of not being allowed to make any minimal sound in the theater due to the almost dialogue-free must-see event it became. It was a genuinely anxiety-inducing experience like no one has ever seen before.

Suffering multiples delays throughout the pandemic, anticipation towards its release could not get bigger. Now the long-awaited follow-up has finally seen the light with a theaters-exclusive marketing campaign. It may be said that Paramount's summer slate has started strong, with Krasinski's passion project smashing post-COVID box office records and ranking the highest-grossing movie spot domestically yet. It totally deserves its impressive achievements as we are in front of a great second installment that treasures a couple of high-octane suspenseful sequences, some smart script moves and fantastic performances across the board.

Following one of the best, most badass cliffhangers in modern history, it picks up in a different time, which brings the world the opportunity to nourish itself and propose pathos to the story. Running for almost 10 minutes, the chaotic prelude, gloriously climaxed with a heart-stopping, do-not-make-a-sound sequence, both retcons some details and serves as an exquisite entrée by flipping the premise. The use of sound, going from everyday noises to screams and screeching cars, does not apparently seem consonant with the tone and pace stablished by the precedent film, but it eventually finds its raison-d'être, justifying some of its narrative rules and revealing some routes to take in the future.

Constricted in its proceedings, the original film's biggest asset was its show-don't-tell factor, moving forward with four characters and achieving outstanding results through visuals. After the tragically-touching ending, Krasinski- who wrote it single-handedly -had to discover the perfect tools to honor that final denouement and boost the next movie with a new set of tricks. He did find his way to do it, introducing new material led by Cillian Murphy's Emmett. The script does not shift the storytelling dynamics at its core, but it does endow the kids, especially Regan, the chance to become more fleshed-out characters. Emily Blunt does not disappoint-will she ever? -, excelling at portraying distress, pain and terror without saying a word. Noah Jupe's committed performance makes him even more relatable and grounded but it is Millicent Simmonds who steals the show, delivering vulnerability and strength all at once, carrying on her shoulders some of the most demanding duties of the film with a performance that will open doors for representation by definitely getting her recognition as one of the most talented young actors working in Hollywood right now.

With Krasinski working off-screen, a new on-screen leader should be crowned. At some point, I wondered how much stronger this sequel would have been without a main male character, giving Simmonds or Blunt carte blanche to seize the whole film. A fair complaint if Lee's substitute would have been a second-rate addition. It is, in fact, not the case at all. Cillian Murphy's Emmett receives a good, painfully poignant background, with sadness and hopelessness as his driving forces. His development within the film's core storyline fits perfectly; however, what grants Emmett that potency and hook is definitely Murphy's honest acting work. "Peaky Blinders" aside, it has been a while since the Irish actor has imbued this much rawness and vulnerability into a character. Reaching unbearable levels of tension and building a well-earned relatability, Murphy is practically what leads the sequel to break into new places. Sans his involvement, a radically different movie would have been released in cinemas.

Speaking of which, Murphy and Simmonds, an unexpectedly charming duo, are entrusted with presenting the new directions. Their world's foundations remain the same; however, humans feel more present this time around and the psychological effect played by the creatures in the original film has been somehow lessened. Both actors channel Emmett's and Regan's motifs and expand them in such an intelligent way, they take us to unexplored corners in this survival tale. With a masterfully-deployed rug-pull and a rushed yet invigorating third act, the film stablishes more ambitious, interesting pieces that are going to play out in an imminent third entry.

There is still a feature diminishing considerably the suspense component: the monsters. The first movie maneuvered tension in a really clever way: through expert visual storytelling. Not showing the monster in full was a valuable decision, keeping the spectator in the dark, leaving plenty of room for imagination. As a deft tension exercise, it has become a method that pays off most of the times. Take for instance the masterful build-ups in classics as Spielberg's "Jaws" and Hitchcock's "Psycho", or in modern gems as Matt Reeves' "Cloverfield", David Bruckner's "The Ritual", Gareth Edwards' "Godzilla" or Frank Darabont's "The Mist".

Closer to "10 Cloverfield Lane's" third act than "The VVitch" or "The Babadook" on its what's-in-the-dark techniques, the sequel feels more confident showing off its hair-raising creatures, boasting a couple of jaw-dropping CGI scenes and, at the same time, leaking some visually questionable creature appearances. Rendered in sharp detail courtesy of a tripled budget, you may now appreciate the creatures in all their splendor, with the suspense lying further on when they are going to burst into the frame than being unaware of the monsters' latent presence.

Despite not shying away from showing its scary creatures, it does not hurt at all the brilliantness of its craftsmanship, even leveling it up considerably here. Decently bigger and louder, the sound design calls Oscar recognition, which equals to experience it only in theaters, either on an IMAX screen¬- as I did -or a Dolby Theater. Small sounds play a key role in a story where noisy sighs, water falling down or heavy footsteps may unchain a total disaster. The film certainly keeps paying close attention to those little elements, concocting sequences as good and thrilling as the first one's. Polly Morgan's cinematography and Marco Beltrami's score are both great, restrained and elegant, building the suspense of each moment through genius camera work and heart-stopping compositions. To illustrate, suffice to pleasantly break down the final sequence of the second act, a beautifully-unbreathable three-moment synchrony of a climax where sound, visuals and editing becomes one unstoppable riot of tension.

"A Quiet Place Part II" by John Krasinski certainly defies expectations by deftly balancing the legacy of the first opus with the unexpected, new turns of this post-apocalyptic continuation through a chillingly-immersive sound design, tailor-made casting, excellent performances, smart direction, a few impressive twists and a couple of for-the-books sequences. There are, nevertheless, some easy-to-miss storytelling elements that prevent it from surpassing the 2018 picture. There is no doubt this one is meant to be experienced in theaters though, representing such an experience that it will be the responsible to bring audiences and films back together and help us forget our own, on-going, stranger-than-fiction apocalyptic reality.

With some exceptional scares and a beautiful love story at his core, James Wan's highest-grossing horror franchise adds a new chapter that requires the theatrical experience in order to be truly appreciate it.

Malaysian-born Australian filmmaker James Wan is the certified modern master of horror. He is certainly far from pleasing those craving for "elevated horror" and yet, has managed to carve out a filmography as chillingly successful as strikingly diverse inside the Hollywood monster. By delivering two smartly terrifying haunted-house classics, one of the most visually creative haunting sequels, a stripped-down "torture porn" gem, the most human, adrenaline-charged 'Fast & Furious' entry and an exquisite "Lord of the Rings"-"Matrix" CGI-fest DC mashup, Wan has secured on his own a poste in the annals of modern cinema.

Among his several billion-dollar-plus-grossing franchises, 'The Conjuring' has been the pioneering one, opening new ways to both adapt the Warren's real-life case files and explore miscellaneous themes and styles through prequels and spin-offs on either fictional or real characters. Ranging from Corin Hardy's piece of Gothic horror to David F. Sandberg's solid horror joint, 'The Conjuring' universe has manufactured a couple of decent, Hollywood-signed spooky installments. However, it has concocted a firm slate of mediocre, jump-scare-oversaturated entries that opt to stick themselves to worn-out, accustomed grounds.

For any fan of Wan's cinematic goldmine, the very first red flag for this third entry came when the "Dead Silence" director passed on the torch to Michael Chaves, who debuted as a filmmaker with the insulting slab of Mexican folklore "The Curse of La Llorona". As the first images and marketing material started to come up, the concern quickly escalated since, even though most of the main members of the team were back - Farmiga and Wilson as the endlessly charming leads, Johnson-McGoldrick and Wan as screenwriters and Joseph Bishara as composer- they did not catch the heart-stopping, buzz-building promotional level of its predecessors. Additionally, it came along with, firstly, the studio-panicking decision to release it in cinemas on the empty summer spots of an on-going pandemic and, secondly, Warner Bros' breaking news on streaming its entire movie slate simultaneously, a business strategy that strongly hurts the vital communal experience these sort of movies need to success at the box office.

Luckily, all those concerns faded away peu à peu as the gorgeous title card- bathed in the usual mustard yellow- started to roll up. With a different, ambitious new direction, New Line Cinema's threequel somehow manages to hit the mark, even if, on its way, some truly promising, one-of-kind new takes are thrown away.

Arne Johnson (Ruairi O'Connor, "The Spanish Princess") has been possessed by a demonic spirit after a failed exorcism between the Warrens and David Glatzel (Julian Hilliard, "WandaVision"), the 8-year-old child of a middle-class family moving to its new home in the town of Brookfield, Connecticut. A few days later, under the influence of this inhuman power, he murders his landlord, is arrested for first-degree murder but pleaded "not guilty" in court. Now he must convince the jury that, in fact, the devil made him do it.

Inspired on the widely-known very first case in the US where demonic possession was used as defense in a court case, the latest installment suggested it would raise the bar higher than it should, endangering some elements that have allowed its same-bloodline predecessors to work so perfectly, especially horror-wise. Have no doubt: as a threequel, it needs to expand itself and wide its scope, reaching new settings to grow and develop in a different way. By trying its best to both honor the horror legacy and explore such an important event in American history, it triumphs just in one of those fields.

Several points have made the original 'The Conjuring' movies stand out from the unholy amount of studio horror productions. Most of them relies on the cinematic, but the primary factor corresponds to the storytelling focal concept: the Warren's love, always accompanied by the suffering of a helpless family. Everything takes shape from that point, as the films firstly introduce its characters and basics, making us care about them so the horror component is able to build up itself swiftly. With the Perrons in Rhode Island, the naïve girls, the hard-working father and the caring mother, Wan saved the heart of the audience in his pocket, just like he did with the Hodgsons in the UK for the sequel, with the four kids and the single mother. This time, there are no main family to care about. We surely follow Arnie and his girlfriend, peppered with some occasional appearances and flashbacks of Daniel, but, in fact, we are following Ed and Lorrain's battle, with Ed coping with his heart problems and Lorrain trying to solve the case before it is too late. Their relationship has become the driving force of it all and, even though light symptoms of fatigue are silently springing up, it still works beautifully.

Supported by some fully committed supporting performances -, a terrific Ruairi O'Connor and a touching John Noble as standouts, - the emotional core is firmly hold by the human chemistry between Farmiga and Wilson. Both actors showcases their chops with so much honesty and heart that, even if we all know they are not going to die- not for now, at least - we believed they are in danger and anything could happen to them. Owning it as their franchise, these two hugely talented actors have established these characters as one of the most prominent couples of modern cinema.

With a promising yet convoluted script, top-notch performances and some storytelling tricks, the only ingredient remaining is, actually, the actual hook for mainstream audiences: the horror aspect. Some of the reasons why the panic was so big after the announcement of Chaves as director were not just related to his storytelling command, but as well to his overreliance on jump-scares. "The Curse of La Llorona" outrageously hinged on that side too much, making lose importance to some quite suspenseful set-pieces. In fact, craftsmanship is one of the things that Wan does so well in his movies, a vehicle used to ratchet up the tension through anticipation, atmosphere and wise camera moves, toying with empty spaces and reading the audience's expectations.

Such a relief to know most of the sequences here are deftly craft, with two or three ranking among the best in the universe. Take for instance the masterful prelude-with a quite literal "Exorcist" nod-, which, just like the Amityville or the Annabelle past preludes, is a smartly-edited high-tension delight. Chaves, cinematographer Michael Burgess and composer Joseph Bishara orchestrates some remarkable sequences where, even if an imminent jump-scare arrives at the end, the tension is palpable and the visual and sound techniques- the indulgent sound design could end up annoying some-are wisely employed, highlighting the mortuary sequence, Lorrain's psychic crime-scene reenactment, Bruno's murder and the claustrophobic climax.

"The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It" by Michael Chaves is a surprisingly welcome addition to the original 'Conjuring' franchise, proposing through its Satanism and mystery-solving storytelling approaches new shapes and horror textures to explore, always respecting Wan's legacy and even honoring it with gleefully scary sequences, excellent performances, inventive mise-en-scène and a strong love-story core support. At the end, it still comes out as the least terrifying and most flawed of the three original movies, but when you have Wan as your predecessor, not much can be done.

Nowhere near to the long-awaited dark-humored nuclear satire ever promised, Fox Searchlight's latest awards darling is an erratic, heartfelt anti-hate drama more prone to "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" and "Life is Beautiful" than "The Great Dictator" or "The Producers."

How on earth did a Kiwi filmmaker get the green light for a studio movie focused on a lonely 10-year-old Nazi enthusiast and his imaginary friend the Führer in an era when every single supposedly controversial idea leads to cultural backslash and media outrage? New Zealand-born director Taika Waititi knows the answer.

Everything dates back to 2004. After making some comedy shorts for local festivals, his short, "Two Cars, One Night," went on to earn a Best Live Action Short nomination at the 2005 Academy Awards. Three years later, Waititi built some European reputation with the wry rom-com "Eagle vs Shark," which gave him his first Sundance entrance at the Grand Jury Prize competition. Following a wave of short-films and TV episodes, the best-dressed helmer wrote and directed "Boy," another offbeat comedy released at the AFI Fest, the Berlinale, and Sundance. Six years later, with "Hunt for the Wilderpeople," he won some accolades and wider recognition; however, it was "What We Do in the Shadows" which changed his and his usual collaborator Jemaine Clement's careers. Highly praised among cult movie fans, this offbeat examination on vampires and society was so bloody hilarious and oddly on-point that, besides being one of the best mockumentaries ever made- its TV equivalent would be "The Office", -it inspired an original FX spinoff series. Now, we have to make a stop at Marvel Studios.

This instant cult classic not only was the genesis of his first Best Adapted Screenplay award, but also the golden ticket to print his dynamics on a superhero flick. Bursting with colorfully polarizing reception, "Thor: Ragnarok" crushed box office predictions and saved the franchise by stripping Thor of his Phase One status quo and infusing Jack Kirby art style into his new and upcoming extravaganzas. Waititi succeeding at Marvel big-budget magnitudes is just another beautiful testimony of indie directors topping Hollywood, provoking such an impact that he has already committed to a new Thor adventure- the only character with four Marvel solo movies to date -and a highly anticipated untitled Star Wars film. This was the long way the director went through to release his 7-year-in-the-making WW II dramedy in theaters.

You cannot pronounce Adolf Hitler and film together and if you do so, it would unmistakably be a flying red flag. Months prior to its world premiere at TIFF, "Jojo Rabbit" was the very definition of controversy among studio executives. Everyone in Hollywood thought, keeping in mind the ingredients, that the movie would be censored or even banned in some territories at any point in time, just like did Armando Iannucci with his highly controversial political satire. Shockingly surprising, all the concern was in vain.

"Jojo Rabbit's" promotional material was not "Passengers"-level misleading but it did show the palpable preoccupation from Disney about a movie that was not what it seemed. Failing at satire, the Waititi movie turned out to be a sugary fable about the beauty of love in the reign of terror, a heartfelt drama disguised as a fearless Nazi satire. Looking at the bigger picture, it's a missed opportunity for a filmmaker who could have easily delivered his most intimate and disruptive movie yet.

How the film depicts the horrors inside the crumbling Third Reich and makes light of the delicate situation behind Jojo's own bubble is an utter letdown. Unlike last year global sensation "Joker," which allegedly endorsed and even promoted real-life violence due to its sympathetic depiction of a sociopath, Waititi's script approaches fanaticism, hate, oppression, xenophobia, and even sexuality in an unstable, too friendly way, often running away from its responsibility to take a stand and speak out loud for itself; by setting the story in the last stages of World War II, it is too afraid to make a true statement about the dangerous ideologies and philosophies it deals with.

Fortunately, the film does come off with a victory as a mother-son drama. Sidelined as supporting context, it is far from the core matter and yet it is the scenario the movie really pulls off. Scarlett Johansson's interventions as Rosie Betzler are sparse, but the charm and tangible chemistry between her and Roman Griffin Davis make each of them even more meaningful. Despite being unsurprisingly represented as a secret resister, Johansson holds up the more dramatic arc in the movie. Her moving performance, highlighted by a plainly Oscar-key dinner sequence, is certainly not the one that helped her to land an Oscar nod this year, but it still sets the bar high enough for one of the few actresses who might eventually alternate movie star fanfare and fest indie material.

Roman Griffin Davis' performance must be remembered as one of the best child performances of the decade, alongside "Room's" Jacob Tremblay, "Moonlight's" Alex Hibbert and "The Florida Project's" Brooklynn Prince. Jojo is winningly portrayed by Davis' cute and poignant work, his screen appeal is magnetic and the acting range put into his scenes is both raw and tender. By being the youngest actor ever to be put forth by the HFPA, Davis' early professional career looks like one of the brightest of his generation; there's Timothée Chalamet potential in his eyes.

"Leave No Trace" Thomasin McKenzie is a diamond of an actress. McKenzie's Elsa is the focal point of two-thirds of the movie and many special sequences throughout like her introduction à la "The Grudge" or the where-are-you-hidden-the-Jew respective one. McKenzie has always chosen character of unusual intensity and here she delivers, once again, grounded work, far from the sweetness flying around from, for instance, an extra-adorable Archie Yates.

Comedy-wise, the movie is not off-kilter and daring either. Loosely adapted from Christine Leunens' novel "Caging Skies", the script is side-splitting when it really commits to it - the Heil Hitler scene is one for the ages, -especially in the marvelous first act. The comic relief comes in the form of a cartoonish Adolf Hitler and closeted Captain Klenzendorf. Waititi and Rockwell are strangely charming and darkly humorous geniuses. They both are tailor-made for the roles and they prove it by embracing their parts and becoming the beating heart of the movie. Rebel Wilson's slapstick humor plays out flat and unfunny altogether and, keeping in mind her vicious comic timing from the "Pitch Perfect" movies or her stunning speeches at the BAFTAs, her involvement as the only female comedic voice is just plainly disappointing.

From blocking to the extreme symmetry of the pictures, Mihai Malaimare Jr.'s Wes Anderson-esque cinematography and Michael Giacchino's subtle yet disarming score underlines the child's perspective of a world on fire, both physically and metaphorically, while also crafting an on-point visual representation of the values the story weaves throughout. Beautifully rendered and unpretentiously shot, "Jojo Rabbit" sinks its teeth into the silver linings of the time, conveying that sense of forgiveness, freedom, and mutual support the final scene struggles to convey.

With Disney acquiring 20th Century Fox, movies like "Ford v. Ferrari" and "Jojo Rabbit" were either PG-13 box office juggernauts or award-contenders; as things turned out, they were both at once. Fox Searchlight Pictures mid-budgeted original gems have been leading the way for years in theaters, film festivals, and awards ceremonies with mostly original pieces of cinema. The Waititi comedy feels just like the ending point of one of the few studios that infused new life into Hollywood with indie and foreign film-making. Even though Disney keeps claiming that they are going to continue producing and distributing movies under the name of the 25-year-old studio, we all know the amount of creative freedom and defying power would never be the same.

"Jojo Rabbit" by Taika Waititi looked like the sort of movie with the potential to provoke either riots or rallying cries; unfortunately, what is beneath is nowhere near as incendiary or provocative as everybody dreamed of. Close to mocking than satirizing, the Waititi dream movie feels somewhat like less than the sum of its parts, landing up in good-hearted preachy territory, but suffering from some serious tonal shifts halfway through and an utterly disappointing storytelling direction. All things considered, "Jojo Rabbit's" top-notch performances, uninvited sweetness, delightful yet countable comedy hints, and affecting mother-son drama saves the movie from being a train wreck, but it still leaves a sour aftertaste for non-mainstream audiences who came to witness Waititi's strengths evolve into something truly powerful.