Nope (2022)

Nope spends a big chunk of its middle on a flashback to an old sitcom set, and you’ll spend the drive home arguing about why it’s there. It’s the most unsettling stretch of the movie, and it barely connects to the thing in the sky. That’s Jordan Peele for you: more ideas than one plot can hold, and a first hour that moves slower than the cloud everyone’s staring at. Stick with it. Daniel Kaluuya plays OJ as a man who talks to horses better than people, and his squint says more than most speeches. Keke Palmer is pure energy as Em, hustling and joking nonstop. Brandon Perea’s Angel, the tech guy who invites himself in, is a gem. When it finally goes big, it goes huge, and the sky starts to feel like it’s watching you back. It made $171.2 million worldwide on a reported $68M. A 7.8 because it’s a strange, gorgeous spectacle with one subplot too many. $6,081 says you spot a cloud that isn’t moving this week and decide not to stare at it.

What works: Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer make a terrific sibling team, and the big daylight spectacle in the final act is stunning.

What doesn’t: The sitcom flashback is gripping but barely tied to the main story, and the first hour moves at a crawl.

Who it’s for: Sci-fi and horror fans who like big ideas, slow builds and a mystery they can argue about afterward.