THB #190: Nope

I am mixed positive on Jordan Peele as a writer/director.

I like his films. Don’t love them the way others seem to love them.

Get Out remains the most complete film in his 3-film directing history. Clear idea. Smart. Well acted. Well shot. Really good Twilight Zone.

The ambition of US overwhelmed Peele, in my view. Edgier, more complex piece… but didn’t close the concept as well as it started.

Nope seems more simple… and more complex. A bit more Tarantino-y, but inifintely more patient than Quentin has ever been. In fact, this movie is super patient, in a now-rare old-school way. It has a bit of Paul Thomas Anderson too… though darker and more flatly violent at times than PTA is interested in going.

The set-up, as you have seen in ads (no spoilers here), is a horse ranch that has horses trained for movies/tv production. At the center, the quiet and ever-brooding Daniel Kaluuya as O.J. Haywood. By his side is Keke Palmer, the Energizer bunny of the film. Home run movie star Oscar-nominat…