A Quiet Place: Day One
If you're a fan John Krasinski's delectably horrifying sci-fi monster flicks in which the human race has become completely silenced thanks to an invasion of sound-sensitive predators from outer space, then you'll be primed, ready and patiently waiting for the release of the long-awaited Day One.
Yep, it's a prequel that explores that fateful day when life on Earth suddenly falls silent – something that's only been alluded to in the other Quiet Place movies, but never really explained in detail.
Pig director Michael Sarnoski teams up with series creator Krasinski in order to bring us a more traditional alien invasion flick, complete with flaming meteorites, burning buildings and some very creepy creatures who have come to our humble little planet with the sole intention of eating every single lifeform they can get their claws in to.
While the first two movies were more sensitive and nuanced affairs, the name of the game with Day One is to capture the sheer frenzy and confusion of our first contact with the alien invaders, and Sarnoski does just that, injecting lots more visual spectacle and popcorn-friendly action.
Set in New York City, Black Panther's Lupita Nyong'o stars as Sam, a very ordinary woman who finds herself at the centre of the invasion along with Stranger Things star Joseph Quinn, who plays another Manhattan resident caught up in the carnage and chaos.
If you're a fan of the franchise, you'll have a good idea of what's in store here, and it's interesting seeing how the noisy, messy and busy planet we are all familiar with can become stunted into fear and silence so quickly.
With plenty of visual punch and pizzazz, and great performances all round, A Quiet Place: Day One is a sci-fi treat that will deliver the goods for fans of this series.
Kinds of Kindness
Known for delivering simmering tension and audacious allure in a provocative and playfully twisted manner, The Favourite and Poor Things director Yorgos Lanthimos goes back to his minimalist roots in Kinds of Kindness, a deviant psychological drama that explores love, obsession, want and desire.
Starring Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons and Willem Dafoe, we're treated to three different stories within a hefty running time that's just shy of three hours long. Lanthimos slowly pulls back the façade of normality to reveal a more surreal and twisted narrative at the heart of these interconnected tales.
Margaret Qualley, Jesse Plemons and Willem Dafoe in the movie “Kinds of Kindness,” directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. ABSURDLY FUNNY: Margaret Qualley, Jesse Plemons and Willem Dafoe in Kinds of Kindness
Yes, it's absurd in places, darkly humorous and at times morbidly unsettling, but what else to you expect from a director of Lanthimos' calibre?
One for the film buffs out there, Kinds of Kindness is provocative and compelling storytelling at its finest.
