A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)
Ashley: 5/10; Hamlet: -100/10
It’s been a while since I saw the other films in the A Quiet Place franchise, but I remember the gist: you have to be quiet or an alien monster is going to absolutely wreck you (aka, I would survive because I hate talking to people). I don’t recall much about where the monsters/aliens came from, what people did when the attack first happened, etc., so I was really hoping “Day One” was going to answer some of these questions (if they weren’t already answered—again, I was too lazy to rewatch the other 2(?) in this franchise).
None of my questions were answered. The movie focuses on Sam (played by Lupita Nyong’o), who is in hospice and dying of cancer. The movie follows her into NYC for a day trip with her hospice group, which I guess just happened to coincide with the day the aliens/monsters also chose to take their day trip to the city (world?) as well. Not sure why the monsters arrive on that day, their method of travel, or whether they packed any snacks. Anyway, Sam wants some pizza while she’s in the city, which is a cool premise for a movie—she is going to get her pizza even in the midst of a massive alien attack. (Of course, there’s a deeper meaning to her wanting to get the pizza from the particular restaurant she’s going to, but I digress.)
The most important part of this movie is Frodo, Sam’s therapy cat. I can’t believe it took three paragraphs of text to mention the greatest character in any of the Quiet Place films, but here we are. [Spoiler right here, skip this line if you don’t want to know some good news about Frodo: he lives to the end.] Frodo likes pizza, too, and can also hold his breath under water for quite a while. This is where I also discovered that the monsters cannot swim. Not sure if that answers any prior plot-holes, but it’s wild to me that these things have such epically long arms and cannot figure out how to paddle around in some water.
0 boobs but 2 kitties (Schnitzel and Nico both play Frodo in the film and deserve Oscars). The story was decent and all, but I wish I would’ve gotten some more monster lore and perhaps some indication of what other people were doing to survive. I give it a generous 5/10 because Frodo carried the movie on his adorable back. Hamlet gives each of the actor cats 1000000/10 but -100/10 for the film itself because Frodo got wet.
You can see this movie in theaters, if you want, but only if you’re okay spending the money to see Frodo. Otherwise, wait until it’s out for you to stream somewhere. Hamlet is also looking for a version of the film that shows only the scenes with Frodo, if you have any recommendations.