I may not be aiming for 365 films in 2018, but I’m still indulging in as many movies as I can fit into my schedule! I’ve already seen some great films this year, and am finally settling down enough to formulate a posting plan regarding recommendations and general reviews. Considering the Seattle International Film Festival is just around the corner, this feels like good timing!

Getting back on the horse is a challenge, so in this review I’m focusing on just two films. They are very different from each other, but they are both fantastic, and they feature two fabulous female actors in standout performances.

Get Thee to the Cinema!

‘A Quiet Place’ (2018)

Tonight I am seeing ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and I’m utterly failing at keeping my expectations in check, so I’m really hoping it will be great and then I will recommend it as the film to see in cinemas in my next post. (If you don’t like Marvel movies, I don’t know what to say, except to inquire why you don’t like fun?)

But there is already a GREAT film in cinemas right now - it’s been out for a little while and has enjoyed a couple weeks at number one, and it’s just generally a well-made film, and that is ‘A Quiet Place’.

Before you say “but I don’t like horror films”: I’m with you. I don’t like horror films either. But this isn’t a horror film. Will it make you jump? Yes. Is it scary? Kinda, though it’s more the low-level tension that builds throughout the film that gets to you. But it’s not some alien/creature slasher horror film. It’s a dramatic thriller with a great concept that is well-executed, with a good heart at its center.

The only premise you need to know is that there are creatures who hunt using sound, and are so sensitive to small sounds that something as innocent as dropping a lamp could bring them running. The film focuses on a family, headed by real-life couple Emily Blunt and John Krasinski, and it really just shows their everyday struggle to be a normal family, to nurture and teach and love, while also surviving under this constant threat.

What is brilliant about this film is the use of sound. There are various levels of silence: some scenes utilize a score, some scenes are pure background noise, and in some scenes that present the world from the daughter’s point of view, who is deaf (played by the magnificent Millicent Simmonds), sound is even more conspicuously absent, nearing total silence. In addition to the brilliant sound editing, visual representations of sound - bags of chips, a child’s toy, a distressed man - are treated with the terror one would usually reserve for a ticking bomb.

The actors all do wonders with a screenplay that was light on dialogue (both signed and spoken) and heavy on looks, body language, and pure emotion. Emily Blunt is a standout - there’s an amazingly tense sequence that features her character in several layers of distress, all of which she is forced to face alone, and it’s one of the best sequences in the film.

Catch this in cinemas now - just make sure to turn off your phone, your tablet, your pager, anything that makes noise. You may even want to hold your breath while you experience ‘A Quiet Place’.

Watch this if you enjoyed: Taut thrillers more along the lines of ‘Signs’

Classic Catch-Up

‘The Lady Eve’ (1941)

I can’t resist a good screwball comedy with a strong female lead, and Barbara Stanwyck is one of my favorite actresses from classic Hollywood. So it was surprising that I had not yet sat down to enjoy ‘The Lady Eve’, and that’s what this film is - immensely enjoyable.

The film set-up is a trio of card sharps who travel in search of wealthy card players to take advantage of during their ship voyage. Jean, the daughter, played by Barbara Stanwyck, accidentally falls in love with one of their marks, played by Henry Ford, and away we go! What follows is a fantastically fun series of card tricks, fast talking, “mistaken” identities, and a weird yet wonderful romance.

Now, you’ve probably seen Henry Ford in a dramatic role, such as the iconic ‘12 Angry Men’ or perhaps the western ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’. What you don’t really see in those roles is Ford’s comic abilities, but he definitely has them! His slap-stick game is on point, considering the number of pratfalls he takes in this film, and he masters the air of a man who has completely lost control of his own fate, but is oddly okay with it.

Because really, from the moment Charles, aka ‘Hopsie’ (Ford) trips over Barbara Stanwyck’s outstretched foot, she takes the wheel and we’re all just along for the ride. Stanwyck is another dramatic actor who has brought life to incredibly emotional roles (‘Stella Dallas’ never fails to make me cry) but here she embodies the screwball goddess who, with her witty, fast dialogue and all-too-keen understanding of the male mind, is in complete control of her mark by the time he manages to regain his feet. Stanwyck is magnetic on film - Hopsie can’t keep his eyes off Jean, and we can’t keep our eyes off Barbara, always waiting to see what her next move is as she plays her game of love.

From the stylish 40s fashion created by Edith Head to Stanwyck’s incredible screen presence, this film is so much fun to watch. Even if you haven’t been up the Amazon for a year, you’ll fall in love with ‘The Lady Eve’.

Watch if you like: Screwball comedies such as ‘Bringing Up Baby’ and ‘My Man Godfrey’