The Big Picture - We Went Back to the Movies to See ‘A Quiet Place Part II’! And It Rocked.

Episode Date: June 1, 2021

Shhhhhhhhhhh. We’re back in movie theaters! After more than 13 months away from our favorite place, we returned to theaters. This is worthy of a celebration. Sean and Amanda talk about the experience, what they expect in the future at theaters, and then dive deep into a movie that they and many other Americans saw this weekend: 'A Quiet Place Part II.' Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Producer: Bobby Wagner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Join Justin Charity and Micah Peters in Sound Only as they discuss their deepest, darkest thoughts about the millennial lifestyle, rap music, video games, anime, YouTube, social media, and their underlying themes. Check out Sound Only on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Sean Fennessy. I'm Amanda Davins. And this is The Big Picture, a conversation show about shhh. I'm Sean Fennessey. I'm Amanda Davins. And this is The Big Picture, a conversation show about... We're back in movie theaters. That's right. After 13 months, we return to movie theaters.

This is worthy of a celebration and celebrate we shall on today's show. We'll talk about our visits and also talk about a movie we saw and many other Americans saw this weekend, A Quiet Place Part Two. Amanda, we're back. How did it feel going back into a movie theater? It was great. Movies are so much better on a movie screen. They're just, it's a different experience

and I pay attention and it's big and loud and I like it. So tell me about your personal experience. They're pretty similar to yours. I have seen two movies in in theaters quote you have seen three i believe but the two movies i have seen are a quiet place part two which we will be discussing on this podcast um and in the dolby room at an amc in at the century city mall which is like that sort of a mall the la version of a mall it's like it's outside but they got a lot of stores um i gotta tell you i went at two in the afternoon and the which is like that sort of a mall, the LA version of a mall. It's like, it's outside,

but they got a lot of stores. I got to tell you, I went at two in the afternoon and the Century City food court just like popping. Oh yeah. People were there having their Shake Shack and their Chick-fil-A

to establishments I really enjoy. But like also pretty, you know, respectful. Everyone was at their tables. They're like, it seemed like they had sorted it out. So went to the mall to see a movie. Great. And then I saw in the Heights, uh, on the Warner brothers lot in a screening room, which just like going to a studio lot is my

version of Disneyland. I love it every time. Just like, please invite me, especially if your studio lot is like on the East half of Los Angeles and you're not going to make me drive all the way to the ocean. Love these Burbank screenings as well. So I was at both of those screenings. Also, we'll talk about In the Heights and movie musicals on this show in a couple of weeks. I had a third screening. I'll tell you about that. I saw the movie Spiral from the Book of Saw.

Now, A Quiet place part two is a much anticipated sequel to a movie that i think we both liked a lot that came out a couple of years ago in the heights of course is an adaptation of a well-known musical and tabbed as an early oscar contender spiral from the book of saw is like the eighth or ninth saw movie and i would say it has not gotten glowing reviews and so it did not have the same sense of event, of grandeur, of excitement, of returning to a sort of wonderful normalcy that these other movies did.

But I still loved it. I still was in heaven. But so this one was just, you just went to the movies, right? I just went to the movies. I just went to a regular movie. Both of these cases, we did see screenings. And let me just say, by the way,

thank you to all the people at the studios arr did see screenings. And let me just say, by the way, thank you to all the people at the studios arranging the screenings. It seems like a nightmare. They did not sign up to be public health officials in addition to just like dealing with all of our complaints.

And I really appreciate it. And like, I felt great and safe, but I haven't done the, like I got three hours to kill. Like I wonder what's playing at my local movie theater, partly because I what's playing at my local movie theater partly because I don't know what my local movie theater is now because like the arc light is no longer

with us please someone save the damn arc light I know I went to an AMC and uh in Burbank just to see Spiral Book of Saw from the Book of Saw and I just that's not something I would normally do if I was going to see a movie like that I definitely would go to the arc light or maybe the Vista or maybe just one of my locals and most of those theaters are not yet open. So we're doing the multiplex thing and that's not necessarily so bad if you get a chance to say sit in the Dolby Room

as we did for A Quiet Place or sit in an Ivax theater which I did for Spiral. You know, Spiral's not very good. It's an attempt to kind of reboot the soft franchise. It stars Chris Rock, Samuel L. Jackson, Max Mangala. Good performances. It's an attempt to kind of reboot the Saw franchise. It stars Chris Rock, Samuel L. Jackson, Max Mangala. Good performances. It's like pretty much a seven ripoff.

It's extraordinarily gory as all Saw films are. It does have a bit of propulsiveness. It is also a nice tight 93 minutes long, which I appreciated. And it was fun to see it on a big screen. It did differ a little bit from the experience that you and I had when we saw A Quiet Place, because as you said, at these studio-mandated screenings, even if they're at multiplexes, they're very controlled.

The spacing is very precise. Most of the people there are fully masked and not really eating food. Maybe a handful of people were eating food in my screening. The screening of Spiral was significantly different. It was pretty well spaced, I would say. people were eating food in my screening. The screening of Spiral was significantly different. It was pretty well spaced, I would say. There was not a very full screening. It was a 5 p.m. screening on a Thursday afternoon. But no one was wearing a mask and everyone was eating. And if you're fully vaccinated, that's approved. And it's approved, I think, are we at 50% capacity in movie theaters right now in Los Angeles? So there's no problem with that.

But as we are slowly getting re-acclimated into society, there is something a little strange about somebody just brushing past you, holding a big old tub of popcorn and a gigantic cherry Coke, fearful of it being spilled on me. So it was interesting. It was different than those press screenings that we've been going to. Did you have any sense of trepidation or were you just kind of fully locked in when you sat down for a quiet place? I mean, I just forgot how everything worked. When I rolled up to a

quiet place, I didn't understand parking, which is parking in general. It's something that I've mostly forgot. I mean, I know how to like park the car, but navigating a parking lot, just like I really had to think through it. Got to remember my ticket. Like, do I validate it here or there? Like I just, I went up the wrong escalator at first, you know, like I just was like, I haven't been out in the world and I don't know how to interact with these people.

So you just don't know how to be alive. That's actually your issue. Well, I don't remember how to be around people. And also, you know, at industry screenings, there's a group of people who loves to chat, who loves to catch up. And let me tell you, those people were just psyched to be back. They had no social inhibitions. And I was a little bit like, okay, I'm easing into this. I don't really know you anyway, but like you seem to just be in every aisle, like good for you. But I don't know how much of that is like pandemic anxiety versus, I mean, you know me, I really just don't want to interact with the people I don't want to interact with.

But I think I was a little bit nervous going and then immediately switched over to like excitement. And I was like, oh, this is fine. I'm fine. I'm wearing a mask. This is like all being taken care of. I'm vaccinated. I feel good. I'm psyched to is fine I'm fine I'm wearing a mask this is like all being taken care of I'm vaccinated I feel good I'm psyched to be here yeah I felt the same way I think there was a few minutes of just kind of getting re-comfortable resettled and then I was

back in the zone and we'll talk about A Quiet Place part two I think there will be a lot of caveats around some of the conversation around the movie but I will say for the most part I was like this is rocking man this this kicks ass it's so loud the the picture the movie. But I will say, for the most part, I was like, this is rocking, man. This kicks ass. It's so loud. The picture was impeccable. I talked a little bit about it last week on the show, just about seeing trailers and seeing the differentiation

between the colors and the scope and the shape and what the filmmakers are intending to put out, what the studios are intending to put out. Obviously, we're going to sound a little bit like, I don't know, overextended patrons of the arts here by talking about these movies so excitedly, even though this is just-- Or like shills, but that's fine. You know what? You guys have been listening to us whine for 15 months. So here's some positivity. Congratulations to everyone. I completely agree with that. Seeing Spiral especially,

there were 25 minutes of trailers ahead of that movie, which I would say was- That's crazy. A little bit too much. There were eight trailers shown ahead of time, all of which I had seen before, of course. Were there also just commercials for stuff? That's crazy. I know I'm in an IMAX screening. I bought the ticket. I walked into the room where it says IMAX. They don't actually need to do that. I understand that that's all part of the IMAX experience. It was fine. But 26, 27, 28 minutes before a movie starts, that's abusive. And I know that that's how most people experience movies. And we need to cut that out of the Cineplex experience.

Like you said, the Arclight experience is the way to go. It's an absolute no for me. I have been thinking a lot more about how I spend my time outside of the house now that I get to leave the house again. The inefficiencies have been made clear to me. And 25 minutes before the movie, no thank you. Yeah, it was too much. I don't think that that's going to get reduced anytime soon. In fact, the opposite is probably true because they need to create awareness for these movies. And unlike you and I, and especially me who sits at home watching trailers all day like a weirdo, there's not a high level of awareness of a lot of the movies that are coming out over the next 6, 9, 12 months. So I expect to see a lot of trailers in movie theaters.

Let me ask you about eating in the theater. I, of course, love to eat snacks in theaters. I unfortunately typically finish all of my snacks before the movie starts, but it's a, it's an inherent and a key part of my movie going experience. You're not as much of a snacks person though. You will eat sometimes and we're in this now new normal. Yeah. When do you think you'll feel comfortable getting a, getting some popcorn, getting some, I don't know, raisinets. What do you like to eat? It's not really a comfort thing. I I'll do peanut M&Ms or Zach, my husband like really loves movie popcorn. So he'll get it, eat don't know, raisinets. What do you like to eat? It's not really a comfort thing. I'll do peanut M&Ms or Zach, my husband, like really loves movie popcorn. So he'll get it, eat about like three fourths of it. And then I'll have some of it. You're right in general.

I'm not really a snack person, which is like admitting that you're a sociopath, but it's just not like, I'm really sorry. Like, I don't, I don't know. I just, it's, it's just, I don't eat between meals that much. Would you just like three T-bone steaks a day? Like, what does that mean? You don't eat snacks. I, I just, it's like meal times. I don't know.

It's you, you sit down and you have a meal and I like cooking a meal. And I like, I've definitely spent a large part of my time thinking about what my next meal is, when I'm going to get it, what it's going to be, how I'm going to prepare it. Love to eat, love food. I just am not really grazing on pretzels, to say, to use your example, your beloved pretzels. I don't know. It's not what I'm doing. Would you prefer to bring a chicken a la king in a Tupperware to the movies? No, because also the Alamo model just stresses me out because there are people running around and I'm trying to focus, you know, when I go see a movie, it's a little bit like going to church or it's at least like going to a place where I don't have to interact

with other people's thoughts and feelings, at least for the run of the movie. One of the main appeals of movie going to me is just like, I actually don't have to listen to you for two hours. So, and I do do i find it distracting but i i think there's actually an i-pick near us um near where you and i live in los angeles which is maybe gonna have to be one of the places i go see movies now because of the arc light not existing unless someone wants to save it i don't think most people know what that is so the i-pick is another kind of deluxe movie going experience. I've only been once, but they have really like a full menu,

like a restaurant and bring you food and also drinks if you want them. And I believe like there's a bar as well and bring them. The tickets are much more expensive as a result of that. And the food is also expensive. But all movie theater food is expensive. Yeah. So maybe I will get into it. I wonder if that's going to become more of a normal to draw people into the theaters.

Obviously, we've talked about Alamo Drafthouse over the years. And I pick as another example of an experience like that. The tickets are more expensive. It is more of a true night out where you're sort of having the dinner and a movie simultaneously. Obviously, the AMC theaters are not offering exactly that kind of experience.

I'm a little... I'm always a little torn. My wife loves the Alamo Drafthouse. In fact, she was obsessed with going to the Alamo before lockdown happened, and that was one of the heartbreaking things about it is we had created some kind of a new tradition by going to see those movies. I'm always very particular about what kind of food I order at a movie theater because I don't want to eat like a giant like tacos. Like I wouldn't want to eat something that's all over my hands in a movie theater. But I do love the opportunity to

get cocktail in there. And I do love the opportunity to get some different kinds of snacks. I like a deeper bench of snacks than just your your typical sour patch kids here's the thing about cocktails and wine at a movie theater which you know the arc light was famous for like the movie pour um but it just makes the bathroom trip inevitable and that always really stresses me out because i you know i try to time it so that I don't actually have to go to the bathroom. Did not go to the bathroom during The Irishman, which I saw in a theater. I was very proud of myself. Three hours, no breaks. I was right there with you, Marty. But once you bring the cocktail into the mix, I don't know. I just spend my time really

anxious that I'm going to have to go to the bathroom and miss something important. Yeah. I think it's an interesting point about whether it's a new movie you've never seen before I just spend my time really anxious that I'm going to have to go to the bathroom and miss something important. Yeah, I think it's an interesting point about whether it's a new movie you've never seen before or something you're returning to. The Drafthouse obviously shows a lot of repertory stuff. And in a movie theater like that, if you're going to see, say, I don't know, Gremlins 2, the new batch, it's okay to get a little drunk and to go to the bathroom a couple of times if you've seen the movie a whole bunch of times. If you're seeing something like A Quiet Place Part 2, you don't really want to go to the bathroom during a movie

like that because you might miss something incredibly important to the story. That being said, I would usually use bathroom breaks historically as a chance to check my phone to see what emails I missed or text messages I missed. It was that even if I could just get 90 seconds away, I still had some attention span anxiety pre-pandemic. Now, having spent the last 15 months looking at my phone nonstop like a weirdo, my attention span was a little bit strained in the theater. Less so, I think, for A Quiet Place Part II, much more so in The Heights, which was quite a long film, and also in Spiral. Did you have any attention span struggles?

Yes, of course. I would agree with you more so during the two and a half hour film than the 90 minute film. Some of that is just, the lesson there is make a film shorter. 90 minutes, let's do it people. But I think also,

the one upside to watching things at home was that you could do the festival. This isn't working for me. Like, I'm going to skip this, which is really only an upside to the viewer. I think that's sad to every person involved in making a film because they spend so much time and effort on it. And you do want people to watch it. But you and I, we try to see a lot of movies.

You see a lot more movies than I do. But it requires a time commitment. And so if it's just not happening, if it's not working for you, it's not a good movie. You do want to like skip through it, or at least I don't know, take some of your attention elsewhere. I guess we've gotten used to that. I've gotten used to that. And so when my mind starts wandering, which inevitably it does over the course of a long period of time now, because we live in the internet age, I did feel a little like, oh my God, I just, I'm sitting here. I don't know what to do.

How much longer? I did check my phone for time a lot. And my experience of how much time had passed was completely off. Well, I think that's a fascinating testament to how effective or not effective, how immersive, how engrossing the movie that you're watching is. And your mileage may vary depending on what kind of movies you like. I think it's not just about the length of time that spans the film. I think it's also about what kind of a movie it is.

A Quiet Place Part Two is a suspenseful thriller. That's the kind of movie that tends to keep people locked in because you want to see what's going to happen next. In a musical, for example, musicals really move kind of beat to beat, song to song. It's not necessarily as much about the propulsiveness of the story. So I wonder how much other moviegoers, especially people who don't have to go see movies for a living, will engage with this experience going forward. I do think that there are going to be I think people are so excited to go back. I mean, just the handful of

conversations I've had with people who've gone back, there is a, like, people are falling to their knees. They're so happy to be having this kind of experience. And we haven't even had even close to a genuinely great movie released yet. I can't imagine when we start getting into the fall and stuff that people are going to be loving that is going to be incredibly memorable comes back. I can't imagine when we start getting into the fall and stuff that people are going to be loving

that is going to be incredibly memorable comes back. I think it will be a wonderful thing. Whether the industry as a whole bounces back, I mean, you know, we talk about it ad nauseum on this show. There's no way to know. The industry has shifted a significant amount. But A Quiet Place Part II is a fascinating movie to reopen everything

because it's essentially the first film that was postponed or at least the closest film that was postponed before the pandemic hit. And I think that that was wise. You know what? We're recording this show on a Friday. We don't yet know what the total box office gross is. We know on a Thursday night that $5 million worth of humans went to go see this movie. That's a good sign for the Memorial Day weekend gross. But unlike some other Paramount films, they held on to this one and they wanted it to be a movie theater experience. I'm sure John Krasinski, the filmmaker, wanted it to be a movie theater experience. What do you think about the decision to hold it all the way to this point?

It's smart. I mean, it's obviously financially motivated. Paramount is in need of money. And the original Quiet Place made a lot of money on a small budget. And I think they realized that this experience in a theater, especially because of the sound and the sound is so or the lack of sound in the case of a quiet place. So essential to the movie. And we talk a lot about how like sound at home really also is kind of underrated or like underserved in the whole streaming at home experience, but it makes a huge difference in the theaters.

But there is also just something apt in the marketing as well, right? Like this was one of the first pandemic movies. I believe it was scheduled for like March 20th, 2020, which is of the week that we'll live in infamy. And so here we are, it's a real, like we're back, baby. It's kind of what tenant tried to do, but tenant didn't really get there. And as I think we saw on Thursday night and you and I have kind of experienced anecdotally, people are ready to go back. And this is really a position ben positioned

as the like we're back and it's going to be so much better in theaters and i think it was i don't want to overstate things but i was i was blown away part of it was just the this being the first film that i saw back in a theater after a long long time after being my number one hobby my entire life but and and also i was a i was a very big fan of the first film um i think was it was it south by southwest where where where premiered and that was a rapturous screening i think people it was one of those things where i think people just did not know john krasinski was capable of that it obviously was a very clever idea very well executed and it may not be um a quote-unquote an important movie i think

there's that infamous richard brody review that indicated that this was perhaps a film about donald trump's america and john krasinski seemed a bit bewildered by that concept but it was it was just a classical rollicking fun time at the movies and even if it did not have a deep social impact that's okay in fact most movies i don't think it did not have a deep social impact, that's okay. In fact, most movies I don't think are going to have a deep social impact these days. I think that they're going to serve as escape. Godzilla vs. Kong, reopening theaters in a slightly different way a few weeks ago, had a very similar feeling of, this is an event. It's amazing just to see this stuff on a big screen. I love how loud this is. And I'm out here with my friends and we're eating popcorn.

And so I do think it's a fitting movie to go this wide. It's in, you know, 3,500 screens. This is a traditional, just as it would have been five years ago, wide open release. And it seems like it's gonna make a whole lot of money. And it's interesting that

Paramount has effectively sold off almost every other movie that they were gonna to release over the last 12 months. You know, you pointed out here Coming to America. That went to Amazon Prime. Trial of the Chicago 7. That went to Netflix. Without Remorse. That went to Amazon Prime.

The Lovebirds. That went to Netflix. This one stays. I do think it indicates that this is what movies are now this is what theatrical movie going is and maybe a little bit of that is ip but maybe more so it's there's a you have to see this on a big screen and and those two things are don't necessarily always correlate i do think we'll get original stories i do think we'll get movies like Tenet, which are big and loud and eventized, but also it probably means mostly IP. What do you think about that? Yeah. The movies they kept were Quiet Place Part Two, Mission Impossible Part Whatever,

and Top Gun Two. So they're franchises. And I think you're right that those movies are all best seen on a theater and you want the fighter you know, fighter jet flying as fast and high and loud as possible, but also just like money. It's just, these are the sure bets. A Quiet Place Part One made a ton of money. Top Gun actually did make a lot of money. However, many years ago before we were born or when we were born. Mission Impossible, moneymaker, they need money. And so across the board, you found the studios holding on to or holding back kind of their sure box office bets and then selling off kind of the, well, maybe we could turn this into a franchise without remorse or like maybe this will be successful. And I think kind of you can't take that risk in theaters anymore you certainly

couldn't last year in this year so there is a wrinkle here and we talked about a little bit i think on the show a couple weeks ago but you know part two will be exclusively in theaters for 45 days which is essentially half the amount of time that films like this are usually in theaters and then available on paramount plus are you a subscriber to Paramount Plus right now? I honestly don't know the answer to the question right now. No, I'm not. I had to think through it. Well, because I recently signed up for Peacock because Chris Ryan told me I would like Girls 5 Ever. Which, like, I did.

I'll be honest. I haven't finished it. I thought your assessment of, like, you see one, you get it. It was correct. But I wish the best to everyone involved. So I am subscribed to Peacock, but I don't think that we have Paramount Plus. So Paramount Plus I have.

Okay. Is it good? I got it in anticipation of one of the world's greatest film libraries. Yeah, sure. Which is only about one one-hundredth available currently on the service and poorly organized and confusing.

I'll tell you why I signed up for it. I signed up for it to watch the Challenge All-Stars. Are you familiar with that program? You talk about it a lot. I know Bill loves it, right?

Yes. It's an MTV property. This is a collection of... Here's what makes it different from typical seasons of the Challenge, which usually start beautiful 25-year-olds competing in extremely intense physical activities to win a collection of here's what makes it different from typical seasons of the challenge which usually start beautiful 25 year olds competing in extremely intense physical activities

to win a lot of money in this case it's a quote-unquote all-star season but almost all the people are in their 40s and they are broken down and their bodies are falling apart and they're also at like that kind of turning point in your life where you're like who am i and did i live my life correctly and so so it's a fascinating examination of lost fame and lost youth. And that's the only thing I watch on Paramount+. What is an example of a challenge in the challenge? Like what kind of physical feats are they being asked to do? Some of them are as rote as this is a four-mile run uphill go.

And some of them are as complex as you are harnessed to a crane that is attached to a truck. And you have to pull bricks off the side of the truck and run them to the other end of the truck while the truck is driving 60 miles an hour. So it's a multifarious television program. I would recommend people check out Ring or Dish to hear Bill and David Jacoby talk about the last season of the challenge, not the challenge all-stars. Juliette Libman is a scholar in the challenge if you have any other questions.

It's just a show I've dug for a while and the only place that you can watch this iteration is on Paramount+. There are some benefits to that. For example, no commercials. Also, all of the people on the show can curse, which is not something you ever heard on MTV. So you can hear their true voice,

how they really want to express themselves. And frankly, when you're 45 and falling off a truck, you want to say, God fucking damn it sometimes. And people are saying those words. So anyhow, that's why I have Paramount+. And I don't, you know, I think there are some Star Trek fans, Picard fans, for example,

that will use it for those purposes. There's Spongebob fans who got it for the Spongebob movie when that came out um the I believe the Rugrats movie is available or the new Rugrats series is available you have you not signed up for that no I haven't because I saw that first of all because I'm a grown adult and second of all just FYI everyone card carrying a member of the adult community, which sounds weird when you say it like that. Who issued that card? I just said like, I'm a grown up, okay?

I just said I'm a grown up. Did the government send you the card? No, I did. I just like declared it, but not in like a cutesy adulting way. I was just like, you know what? I have like taste befitting a woman with a job and responsibilities

anyway also i like saw the new quote animation or whatever they're doing with the rogue rats and like no thanks that's creepy it is a little creepy um so paramount plus it will be a place where there will be movies like this pretty quickly and i wonder just what that means for their theatrical model it seemed as though john krasinski and Emily Blunt reportedly were not super happy about this news about 45 days. Yes, I believe it was Bloomberg reported that this is becoming a bit of a tradition in Hollywood now where a major studio announces that a film will be going on its streaming service sooner than expected, thus cutting out some of the possible back end money that was almost certainly part of the deals with these major movie stars.

And then the major movie stars or major directors or go to the studio, they're like, excuse me, but what about our money? And it seems like Warner Brothers had quite a ride last year and continues to have a ride, frankly, with many of those. But I paid, I believe, Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot a lot of money. And I paid Denzel Washington a lot of money just being like, sorry, here's a lump sum. Paramount reportedly declined to pay John Krasinski and Emily Blunt a lump sum. Yeah, I wonder if it's actually going to meaningfully affect their bottom line at the end of the day.

Because while 45 Days is significantly less than 90, this movie, the original film, made in the neighborhood of $340 million the first time around, nearly half of which was domestic and half of which was international. Of course, international theaters are open in some spaces, particularly in China, where the box office is booming right now. And if this movie did $5 million on its opening night and did $4.3 million on its opening night

for its first installment, it means it's probably headed towards a pretty healthy box office return. Nevertheless, this is a new wrinkle in terms of figuring out how to even release big top films featuring high-level talent. And at this point, I guess John Krasinski and Emily Blunt are really high level talent. John Krasinski is now effectively the creator and creative shepherd of a film franchise. A Quiet Place Part Two is now a major film franchise. So I don't know what that means. Will that mean that we lose more of the star system from movies already, which seem to be waning significantly over the last 15 years because it's not as beneficial for the studios? Do you think it will have an impact on the way that these studios promote and do business with big names? five years ago. I mean, we are sort of in an in-between period, right? That these were all written and deals were made with the expectation of the traditional 90-day window theater release, whatever. And things are definitely changing. And also studios and franchises relationship to

stars and star power and how you market something is changing dramatically. You know, Batman and Iron Man are the big names, not the people who play them. So it's kind of rare, actually, that John Krasinski and Emily Blunt managed to create a franchise that makes so much money without having, like, of new IP. It is IP now, but they made it. It's not like a comic book character

with a tremendous backstory or Cruella with no backstory at all. But I'm certain that everything will change. I don't totally know how just yet. I also still imagine that really famous people will still make a lot of money. So I think they'll be okay. Who's really famous will be different in 10 years probably, but that's already happening. I think they'll be fine.

And I think John Krasinski and Emily Blunt will be fine. What's in this McDonald's bag? The McValue Meal. For $5.79 plus tax, you can get your choice of junior chicken, McDouble, or chicken snack wrap,

plus small fries and a small fountain drink. So pick up a McValue meal today at participating McDonald's restaurants in Canada. Prices exclude delivery. Let's talk about A Quiet Place Part 2. Okay. We're going to have a spoiler conversation, but we're not going to spoil too much in the first half of this conversation. When we start spoiling the movie, especially for people who do not want to see the movie, we'll give you a big fat warning and you can tune out. Okay, but can we clarify here? Because we're going to talk about things that happen in the movie.

Absolutely. Starting now, right? And there are people in this world who consider knowing anything about a movie to be a spoiler. And if you're one of those people, you've made your choices, go with God and also stop listening to this podcast because I don't want to hear from you. Okay. We're going to talk about it. You're talking about those people. Like they're the January 6th insurrectionists. Like they just don't want to know about the movie. It's okay. It's okay. I can make the distinction between

the two types of people. Uh, and I have like, you know, and some of them absolutely not. And some of them, I just, i just don't want to hear from you no you're right yeah many people don't want to know anything about the movie uh i think it was actually chris who pointed out that um john krasinski went on jimmy fallon a couple of weeks ago and jimmy fallon ruined the first five minutes of the movie the first five minutes of the movie are pretty thrilling so i could see why he would be anxious about that right and there is also you know a quiet place part one ends sort of on a cliffhanger it is like it's a cliffhanger that's also like a perfect ending on its own and there is an argument that a quiet place was just like

a perfect standalone movie and the more you franchise it you know the the more you lose in terms of at least like i don't want want to say ideas, but elevation of the genre, if you will. But on the flip side, it ends on a cliffhanger. And I am assuming that people are like, oh, what happens next? So we're going to tell you what happens next. And if that's a spoiler for you, once again, please turn it off, go to your local movie theater if you feel safe doing so and then revisit us you know i i like how you phrase that though about the cliffhanger ending and the kind of that sense of perfect anticipation that the movie ended with where on the one hand i probably would have been i guess a little slightly happier with the standalone nature

of the first film because it seemed like you know an original story that was extraordinarily contained most stories like that about an alien invasion in which there is like a high level like a a sort of global genocide basically that is happening because of this invasion the film focused on five characters that was really the whole movie was five people and i thought very carefully and elegantly told their story was it a perfect movie of course not but it would have been satisfying for it to be a standalone movie the the sort of story justification for the second film i think is a little bit different than the financial justification of course given the success of the movie that was going to be a second one whether we needed a second one is kind of always up for debate anytime we get this new conversation around ip i thought in general though the movie mostly justified itself

um i didn't really feel like it was straining to be straining to be even though i did feel like it frequently repeated the beats from the first film. Did you feel like it ultimately justified its own existence? Yes, because I could see where it's going. And listen, there's A Quiet Place 3 coming for sure. And the ending of A Quiet Place 2, without spoiling, definitely sets up A Quiet Place 3. So if the original was like, wow, what a great high concept genre movie with some ideas about these characters and a neat ending.

And I do really like the ending of the original Quiet Place. It's so hard to stick the landings on these things. And it really does. It honors the John Krasinski character and everything that's going on with those kids. And it's exciting. And it leaves you wanting just enough more. character and everything that's going on with those kids and it's exciting and it like leaves you wanting just enough more so again I prefer it as a standalone but what they do in part two is like they they know where it's going from the beginning and I feel like a lot of sequels and

especially sequels that are setting up a franchise you really like no one figures out what the direction is and what we're doing until possibly the very end of part two. And often in movie four of a franchise, or famously in the Fast and Furious franchise, movie number five. So in this case, they know where they're going. They know what the purpose is. They know where the characters are going. And that makes a huge difference. A core concept of sequels and threequels is bigger is better. purpose is. They know where the characters are going. And that makes a huge difference.

A core concept of sequels and threequels is bigger is better. Most of the time when you get a second or a third film, you get something that has significantly bigger scale. And this movie has slightly bigger scale. I would say that there is a little bit too much alien in this movie for my taste. I thought one of the key aspects of the first film's effectiveness was, one, the aliens were very fast, so they were very difficult to see. Two, I thought the creature design was pretty good, but you didn't see them that much

until that very exciting finale. Right. And aside from showing the aliens a lot more, and we can talk about whether that worked for you or not, the movie is not that much bigger in scope. And I feel like that was a smart choice on their part to not try to tell us everything that happened with the invasion to kind of give us only these full this flashing sensation of the scope of the story yeah it very slowly widens the world and i i agree with you that it really works. And in fact, there's one example where it like suddenly and

briefly really widens the world that I like, I didn't like at all. And then, and I thought it was kind of like the one false note in the movie, but otherwise you're again, still following this family. It is like a family movie in a lot of ways. And if the first one was about parenthood, this one is about how teenagers are just like incredibly annoying, just like so annoying. And there's like nothing that you can do to stop teenagers from just like being teenagers and like not listening and not using good decision-making until like finally, you know, they find their purpose. But like, you know, so even there, there is some some continuity even if i just absolutely wanted to yell at both of these teenagers throughout a lot of the movie yeah i wonder

if you can feel krasinski and blunt channeling their own experience of parenthood throughout some of this film not that they hate their kids and more so that it's like it's challenging to raise kids no matter the environment also i think the idea of keeping your kids quiet is fascinating that's obviously something that many parents experience and that seems to be not just a subtext but a text text of this movie um let's let's talk about it in more detail okay so the the the beginning of this movie uh i think is enormously effective yeah and we did see some of the kind of key beats from this opening in the trailer but it starts out as a kind of prequel to the sequel and it shows us krasinski's character moving through the town

what state is the film a quiet place happening in i have no idea i get like i thought because of the silo and the fields that it was sort of midwestern i mean it's a no no no no no it's not, it's a no, no, no, no, no, no, no. It's not. It's upstate New York. And I and I think that's because there's a map that's going to come into play later, Sean. And, you know, if you're thinking about it distance wise, but also they make some reference to a valley. And I know that it was filmed, I believe, in part in upstate New York. So so upstate New York is what I'm going with, though I don't know how explicit it is. I think it was a little bit elusive. And if they did clearly indicate it in either of the movies, I apologize.

But I was trying to figure out, is this Pennsylvania? Is this rural New Jersey? It seemed to be a more bucolic part of the East Coast. Yes. And so we see John Krasinski in this small town that he and his family live in. He's picking up some stuff from the store. He goes to a ball game where his son is playing and there's a whole you see a community a community before the invasion and then across the sky over the ball field we see an alien ship really just a light in the sky crashing down confusion a little bit of panic it's a bit more than a light in the sky crashing down confusion a little bit of panic it's a bit more

than a light in the sky it's just like a it's a very large you would be very frightened if you saw it it's um noticeable you can see it moving it definitely has fire around it it's it's large you don't want to be near it it's's ominous. And I thought that that sequence, there was quite a bit of Spielbergian tension being created throughout this whole sequence. Now, obviously Spielberg is probably the single most influential person on this franchise. There's all kinds of Jaws and Jurassic Park

happening throughout the first Quiet Place film and in this Quiet Place. But I think showing us Krasinski again, obviously is very powerful. People are very connected to him from the first Quiet Place film and in this Quiet Place. But I think showing us Krasinski again, obviously is very powerful. People were very connected to him from the first movie. And then we get this kind of rip roaring 10 minute sequence in which we see what happens when the aliens first arrive, when the creatures first start wreaking havoc across the world,

but specifically in this town. And we get introduced to Killian Murphy, the Irish actor who is a big part of this film. And I got to say, Krasinski is really good at staging this stuff i would have never guessed based on say brief interviews with hideous men the film he directed in 2009 that this was the kind of movie he was capable of but he he he's good at it listen we all like have to go through our undergraduate phase then we gotta just like graduate you know, move past it. I'm willing to give him that space.

Yeah, it's very exciting. It's just like a lot more action sequence. There are a lot of cars involved, some stunt driving from Emily Blunt. Things are being smashed around. Then there is, you know, kind of the inevitable, but still completely terrifying. Is the cell phone going to ring a scene, which is like a classic. I don't even watch horror movies. And I know that that's just like a new tradition.

But I was still deeply upset and stressed out the whole time. Let me ask you an important question about these aliens. So it's so funny. So do you do you think of the original as an alien movie like are you and me that like these are aliens and i'm like it and this is the alien genre well i think that comes with some stigma or some some baggage because you think of like little green men when you think of aliens and these are these kind of insectoid creatures but i mean they are aliens i mean they're clearly from another planet come to destroy ours i think there's just like a lack of space culture in these movies you know do you like that yeah but i but so i don't really sort it as alien movie it's like more creature

movie to me and i think this movie leans into like, just like the creature monster. Here's some gross stuff aspect of it. There's like, you know, we don't know a lot about the spaceship. Not a lot of people pontificating about, you know, the world outside and what,

like, what are they, are they speaking to us and what they want? So I, I mean, they are aliens, but I don't really think of them as aliens i just think of them as creatures so i think one thing that gives it some distinction and that probably

confuses it the the question there is unlike most alien invasion movies there is this sort of um this pas de deux between humans and the alien species it's sort of this pod to do between humans and the alien species. It's sort of this curiosity of like, why are they here? What do they want? In this movie, they just cut to the quick. They're like, we are here to destroy you. Like, I seriously don't even know what it is. Do they want to eat human flesh?

I never even really explained that. One of my enduring questions, like, what are their goals? What are their motivations? What are they doing now that they've won? Because that the other thing like the aliens have just mostly won their little pockets here and there and people doing their best but like what are the creatures doing with their time so there's a very funny there's a very funny image from the first film in which there's a whiteboard and krasinski's character has written some very key facts on the whiteboard

and they're the most obvious facts of all time. They're like, can't hear, you know, like just some very simple rules about how to live in this world that is obviously meant to make the audience feel more safe

that has been kind of memed recently and has been poked fun at. On the other hand, imagine something like this happening to you in the world and having no sense of any motivation for these these creatures trying to figure out how the hell your normal life in small town upstate new york turned into this horror show it kind of it's kind of reasonable i

do want to say like and not to just go like full rewatchables nitpicking but another device that they use in the original is all like the new York Post headlines. And there is just a collection of newspapers. And it's like, it's sound, you know, which listen, as far as narrative devices go. Great. I love a fake New York Post headline. But the existence of several newspaper headlines suggests that it's a several day affair, that it's a it's a week long campaign for the aliens or in order to defeat everyone.

But what we see in part two, it's very clearly day one and they show up and it's just like game over immediately. So I would like to know who's printing the newspapers and how the newspapers are being distributed. It's a very good point. I have thought of this many times through many alien invasion movies.

I'm like, so people are just going to work. Like they're just copy editors making sure that all the sentences make sense in these pieces, despite the fact that there are aliens in the streets. And I think even some of the newspapers in part one are just like newspapers signing off like Godspeed and good luck. So they're acknowledging it, but there are just some timeline inconsistencies and, and just about like newspaper distribution, especially to like upstate New York or rural New Jersey or whatever. What kind of early stage alien invasion podcast would you and I make? What do you think the big picture would be like?

Would we, it would just be like top five alien survival, whatever. And we'd like put together a plan based on. What do the aliens mean for movie theaters? God, will all the theaters close because of these ravenous aliens? So here's what it says on that whiteboard, by the way. There are two columns.

One says creature in all caps up top with a square around it. So that's why it's called a creature. Yes, it's a creature and it says blind attack sound armor with underlines under it and then a question how many in area and then in red it says confirmed three and then in the right column it says survive with a square around it and it says dash medical supplies dash soundproofing and then in green what is the weakness now that's the whole movie but like that's like that's great that's actually this is a great lesson for everyone who wants to write something if you want to tell a story you

want to make an argument you got a little paper you need to write this is how you outline it you've got motivation you've got the boundaries you've got the context you've got um the the story arc you have like it's you've got details it's really good and concise people can be rude but john krasinski storyboarded the whole movie okay and and maybe people on the internet should learn something. There is, of course, a return to that image when we go back into the house. So after we have this really traumatic opening sequence, we go back to almost immediately after the end of the first movie.

And so we're cut to, Evelyn has just essentially blown the head off of an alien in their basement and they're preparing to bail, to get out of their house. house okay but can we open the complaint department now of course all right so ending of a quiet place part one that you'll recall they kill one alien because they figure out the technology with the little ear thing which i have to be honest don't totally understand but i know that that that piece of equipment is from her dad and is also the key to

defeating the aliens. So they kill the one and then they hear the other two coming. And then Emily Blunt as Evelyn kind of gets the shotgun ready, cut to black, right? So the two guys are on the way. Where are the two guys in a part two, Sean? Where are they? What happened to them? I think the presumption is, is that they have,

they arrive and they are also, you know, essentially disabled by that high frequency pitch of feedback that they get when they get into the basement. That's my guess. It happens. It's like, it's a Greek tragedy. It happens off stage. I believe so. I want want to i want to say just very quickly i that's also when you and i

are particularly yelling at each other on this pod what happens to the aliens heads when you get the high frequency pitch is how i imagine bobby wagner when he's editing the show you know or he's just like i have to make it through this i'm gonna keep fighting these two morons are yelling at each other unfortunately he's never blown our head off which i appreciate um so i think that those other two aliens have been killed by them i could be wrong okay that was my presumption sure but i just what did we what did we pay money for show me some alien you know okay but that's see that to me is part of the issue there's too much alien it's true that's true and i think it's actually like a good story making decision i think the the choice to do the prequel is like and and not

pick up right where it ends is incredibly smart and that series is really effective and it reminds you of the stakes and like the bigger ideas and also is well done and so i guess you don't really need to jump right back to just like let's's kill some aliens. That's smart. But I wanted some resolution. Or I just noticed. I was like, hold on, what happened to the other two? So my big confusion actually about that sequence when we get back into the quote unquote present day is why do they leave? Because if they've discovered this methodology for mowing down these aliens that are coming to them and they've only identified three in the area, now obviously their barn is on fire.

So that's an issue. The barn that they have created where they can live. But I believe there's another living space in the house that they could occupy. And it seems like they figured out how to go forward. And so they basically pick up and leave. The family goes out and sets off into the world, which we know is very dangerous from the first film, because that's how the little boy is killed in the first film from being out in the world.

And I don't know where they're headed. I guess they're looking for civilization. They're looking for some place, some sort of salvation. But that seems pretty risky with two teenagers and a baby. Well, I think that Emily Blunt's character is like, I don't know if i can handle these two idiot kids and a brand new baby by myself and also they need supplies specifically the oxygen for the baby which like we can talk about it now we can talk about it later let's talk about it now that's that's a key issue in this it's my number one thing i just this baby is a day old and has already gone through one canister of oxygen they only have

two more oxygen canisters at the weirdly stocked store a hundred you know a year and a half after the invasion because no one else needed oxygen apparently but that's still one canister a day to keep this baby from crying like this baby's not gonna make it sean well the baby does make it i know but it's like like what what are we gonna do it's one day like this baby is adorable i'm very pro baby and just very concerned about what's going on with this like it's tough. A baby cries. That's what they do. I think baby terror is also one of the most powerful terrors that you can find at the movies. I think there's nothing that makes people freak out quite like a baby, which is why I think

Krasinski is deploying it. That's the ultimate vulnerability is an infant child. But you have to suspend some disbelief, not just because there's an alien invasion, but because you're right, this baby would be crying a lot with these aliens roaming around. Babies cry a lot when they don't like the taste of whatever gerber baby food they've just been fed. So yes, that would be an issue. That's not why they're crying, but okay. Okay, why are they crying? Because teeth are growing? They're crying because they need something, because they need food, because it's the only way they can express themselves. I can only relate.

Because the only time I cry is when I eat something I don't like. You know, put some cilantro in my mouth and I'm like, get out of here. And I start crying like a baby. I guess from there, obviously, we are reintroduced to the Killian Murphy character who has effectively created this safe harbor in what seems like it used to be a factory, a mill of some kind that has a boiler room. And in the boiler room, there is, I guess, a safe. I don't totally know what that contraption is where they're able to enter and exist quietly, but without a lot of oxygen. Is it a furnace? A furnace. That sounds right. Why is it not hot?

Because it's turned off. Because it's no longer an operational boiler room. Because there was an apocalypse. But they're still printing newspapers. What happened to the furnace? They were printing newspapers for like a week. It's been like 440 whatever days since they printed a newspaper. Or they boiled things in the boiler room.

What still works and what doesn't work is a fascinating part of a post-apocalyptic setting. Sure. 100%. Also like something that I don't think is totally consistent, but I'm more open to that. I'm just primarily concerned with the baby crying. Cillian Murphy, of course, has lost his family in the face of the apocalypse and is at first very reluctant to bring in these four human beings who will make a lot of noise and potentially jeopardize his future. Although don't really know what he's hoping to accomplish at this stage he's clearly been living there for hundreds of days and has taken up charcoal drawing but also um doesn't seem to have any answers for where to go next drawing is all him because they say that he has only lost his wife six weeks ago six weeks so was it her who was she could have

been drawing yeah she got sick and they didn't have enough medicine and so i think he's grieving like that's kind of why he's you know all prickly because he's trying to survive and is also just like a loss and and has lost a lot so unlike killian murphy and Emily Blunt's characters who have really been beaten down by the apocalypse, the two kids, played by Noah Jupe and Millicent Simmons, they want to go forward.

They want to solve some stuff. Unfortunately, Noah Jupe steps in a bear trap, which then makes it very difficult for him to go anywhere. Millicent Simmons, on the other hand, after Noah Jupe hears

a transmission of the Bobby Darin song, Beyond the Sea, interprets that that is a message. And Millicent Simmons then sets out to go find the people who are broadcasting that song somewhere beyond the sea. Specifically a barrier island off of Connecticut. Yes. Millicent Simmons' character and the actress in real life, of course, is deaf. And that was a clever storytelling twist in the first film

and also creates a shitload of anxiety for anybody watching these movies because we can hear the film from her perspective and thus not be able to hear, say, an alien around the corner. And there's an amazing moment in the movie, amazing sequence.

Oh my God, that is the scariest shot in the whole movie when she's on a train. Yes. So she goes, she sets out into the world to go find where the signal is coming from. And she finds herself on a train that has been destroyed by aliens, what seems like many, many days ago. And again, an incredibly effective piece of Spielbergian staging here. A lot of T-Rex and Jurassic Park energy in this sequence.

And, you know, it's incredibly well done. Like, I just think I'm surprised by how good Krasinski is at pulling off some of this stuff. But that also ultimately leads to Cillian Murphy saving Wilson Simmons' character. And then they set off on a quest together

to kind of figure out how to find other humans. So, you know, the movie essentially proceeds from there. I don't think we necessarily need to talk about every single beat of the film. Needless to say, they do find more humans, some good, some not so good. Oh, right. The not so good humans was my complaint. I didn't need it.

So let's talk about that scene. So like what happens in that scene? Can you kind of recount what goes down there? Sure. So as previously mentioned, Millicent Simmons and Killian Murphy are trying to get to an island that is off. I think it's Connecticut. Listen, the map's pretty close, but I don't think it was the vineyard. I don't think it was Nantucket.

I think it was a closer island. And obviously that means they have to find a vessel. So they make it to a dock and there are some boats. And as they're trying to figure out which boat to take, like basically half zombie people show up and they're not full zombies, but they have very red eyes and they don't speak obviously, but it's, but they're not trying to communicate either there's no kind of like silent acknowledgement or certainly no camaraderie they are threatening um and also one of them is scoot mcnary so it's and it just like takes you a while to be like yeah no wait that actually is that's scoot mcnary just like as a as a zombie and then does someone get shot? Like, do they attack? What happens to draw the creatures to the dock?

I don't remember. But the creatures are drawn to the dock. So essentially, they're attempting to find a boat that they can use to take off. And they identify a young girl racing through the dock. And the young girl then parks herself at the end of the dock and crouches down and it seems as if she has been hurt and so killian murphy's character goes to help her and then it's revealed when she puts a noose around his neck that can will make a lot of noise if he moves that he has been trapped and he's been trapped by these you know they're they're

not zombies they're not they're just they're humans who have been forced to not speak for hundreds of days and are living in this kind of, I don't know, like aquatic harbor area and doing whatever they can to survive, which includes capturing humans. like a slightly confusing action sequence in which um killian murphy turns the tables on the scoot mcnary character who has no lines of dialogue in this entire film and it's like a fun cameo and a slightly confusing cameo because you're maybe spending two of the five minutes of that sequence wondering was that actually scoot mcnary nevertheless the creatures arrive when when we hear some noise and then they get out on a boat, and then we try to figure out, can the creatures swim? Can they drive a boat? What is actually happening here? Can Millicent Simmons and Cillian Murphy escape?

And in fact, they do escape, and they find themselves on the path to human civilization. Get to this island, and then there are people living comfortably, happily. It seems like they're camping and hanging out around a bonfire every night, which is kind of beautiful until it's not so beautiful. Right. I didn't care for like the zombie or the fake zombies, but the can they swim moment was like very exciting, you know, like very classic, but like communicated well to me. And I just found myself immediately just being like, oh my God, can they swim? Can can they swim he needs to get under can they swim I mean and that's fun that's like when a movie is working um and they they can't swim um but they can figure out how

to use a boat which you know again like how have they not figured out how to use boats before now is another question but they they definitely know how to use a boat and that was also like you knew it was coming but once they reveal it it's um very distressing i was like oh no they can use a boat eventually an alien does arrive on a boat and that alien lands in this you know this valhalla and this quickly just just wreaks havoc on everyone um can i ask you quickly about one of the characters on the island who's played by jiman hansu yeah what's going on with that what's going on with that great fisherman sweater great great sweater i agree uh but his his performance and that character is really weird i i don't i don't know i i don't understand this community really because i like i am happy for

them that they made it like basically to Martha's Vineyard if not Martha's Vineyard like it looks lovely they're all camping I don't understand why their distress message or their come find us message had to be in code like I you know why it needs to be beyond the sea beyond that like being like a cute movie thing but i don't think they're doing a great job of communicating with the outside world i don't really think they're taking responsibility as like some of the only survivors that we know seriously it's like maybe what i would do but also if you were killian murphy and you showed up and you were like you guys have just been here this whole time just like having a normal life and you weren't going to help us wouldn't you like be a little angry i would so but let's see it from the other perspective if you

were jiman hansu or some of the other people living on that island would you broadcast the signal to let people know that there is safe harbor there because i don't i feel like it's pretty that's a pretty dangerous decision and it didn't pay off yeah though they made it a year and a half and i guess at some point you want to know if anything else is going on right like curiosity being stuck on an island with people showing up that's the other thing it does seem like people keep showing up from time to time. It like started small and more people are coming. So I guess. Let me ask you this.

Where are they getting their rations? I did wonder about this. I mean, you know, maybe they're gardening. Maybe there's like a farming system. I don't know about long-term supplies that aren't available to grow on the farm. But, you know, where are John Krasinski and Emily Blunt getting like all of the oxygen canisters?

We know where, but like really that shop is still totally stocked. It's a little far-fetched. Yeah. Let me ask you this. There's just any prescription that you need just sitting there.

So what they replicate is commune living on this island. Have you ever wanted to be a part of a commune no of course not why not i just talked about how i didn't want to speak to other people at the movie screening right like no i don't want a commune life i nice ideals i would feel stressed out about it i would do terribly in an apocalypse we know this i. I'm dying on day one. As soon as I don't have access to my contacts or vision support, like the aliens or whatever are coming to get me.

I think in this particular apocalypse, I would do pretty well. Because what I love to do is just sit quietly and not speak. That's true. I feel very comfortable sitting quietly and not talking for hours at a time. Right. Which is weird that I've now chosen podcasting as part of my profession. You seem to, you mocked the plan.

You know, you mocked the whiteboard. So would you be ready to do the survival planning necessary? Yes, but it would be in spreadsheets. Okay, great. Good. You know, the movie obviously ends in a somewhat similar fashion to the first film, which is to say a very dramatic showdown with the alien that has come to the island

and using the sort of like feedback technology to disable that alien and then blow its head off. It's pretty exciting. I thought it was a pretty dramatic conclusion, if very similar to the first film. And I do think that that's potentially a challenge for making future films like this is how do you not just keep repeating the same thing over and over and over again? I do wonder if there is a third film. And as you said, there probably will be,

will it be a lot bigger? Will they do something that is like on a massive scale about how to actually defeat this invasion with the remaining survivors on earth? What do you think? Yeah, it's certainly opening it up much wider though she's doing it on the broadcast system so how many people have their radios on probably very few because most people are dead and also you don't really use the radio in this world but yes the idea is that to the as far as this radio signal can reach

they're now trying to take on these aliens so maybe like quiet place three is north america and quiet place four is international because they figured out how to use boats um also you know were there people were their ships landing different places probably it seems like a pretty complete international takeover the other thing that was interesting especially the last half of this, is that it's really about the kids. It's really about Millicent Simmons and Noah Jupe is put in charge of the baby because Emily Blunt has to go get oxygen. And she gets one really good scene staring down a creature as she's coming back and she sacrifices one of the oxygen canisters which again is my primary source of stress throughout this movie but for the most part

she's like really a supporting character even more so than the first movie and it's about the kids learning what their dad taught them and trying to take responsibility and like fighting the monsters themselves which is essentially at this point, just stranger things. But that's fine. A lot of people like stranger things. So I think the other thing about Quiet Place 3 is that it seems like it will be a lot more about the kids. I think that's reasonable to assume. Emily Blunt does survive this movie, though just barely. That sequence that you're talking about where she has this showdown with an alien in this and, you know, where the furnace is set is intercut, is crosscut with the sequence on the harbor.

And it's a pretty similarly a very pretty thrilling. I think it's I've got that right. Right. It's that it's that sequence. It's not the train sequence. Right. It's the sequence in the in the harbor where they're cross I think yeah I think that's correct um and again very Spielbergian move that is very effective um so that's a quiet place part two we both really

liked it I think a lot of people are really going to like it I think they're going to feel happy that this was the movie that they returned to movie theaters for you think it's the ideal movie you think it's the best possible movie you could have i mean i don't know about best possible but it is i think it is best case um it moves really fast uh it just in terms of like and here's another monster and here's another thing that's going wrong which you know as you pointed out it's maybe not as like nuanced as the first movie there are a lot of creatures but. But also, if you're in a movie theater, you just want lots of stuff happening all at once. That's certainly what I've wanted after the last year and a half, watching quiet films of people talking.

And listen, quiet films of people talking are my favorite type of movie. But I was like, oh, OK, you have my attention. And in terms of the setting and the bigness of the very gross creatures, they're really gross. I like I don't really need that much of it, but whatever. But also the sound and how they use the sound. This is a bit louder than a quiet place one. But just just like the difference, my home system is not really set up to communicate all of it. So it's like pretty immersive and and quick, 90 minutes and you're out. Yeah. Relative to the first film, it is missing a couple of those indelible signature moments, thinking specifically of obviously that

introduction where we see the son get taken away by the alien, which is pretty upsetting and a very effective way to open the movie. Then of course, Krasinski's character sacrificing himself for his kids where he screams and then you see the alien attack movie. Then of course, Krasinski's character sacrificing himself for his kids where he screams. And then you see the alien attack. And then of course that finale that you talked about at the end with Emily Blunt cocking the shotgun, but it's pretty effective. It's pretty fun.

And I'm happy that we have it. I'm looking forward to more movies this summer because stuff's happening. Stuff's being released. You know, Cruella, we can start thinking about Cruella too. That's great. What else? What else are you anticipating this summer anything uh fast nine is arriving i listen they go to space there's not a lot of space in the quiet place movies but apparently there is in a franchise about car racing and we'll go from there

this has been The Big Picture. Thanks to Bobby Wagner, our producer, for his work on this show. Amanda and I will be back later this week to talk about another new summer movie

along with Chris Ryan. I'm talking about The Conjuring, colon, The Devil Made Me Do It. We'll see you then. Thank you.