A new idea. This is the problem with screenwriting because very often it seems that every idea or story has already been done. The new movie “A Quiet Place” is an exception because something like this has never been done before. The idea behind this science fiction horror movie is a genius idea. “Aliens have taken over the earth and they will not know you are there so they can kill you, unless you make a sound”. Because of this new and very smart idea, this movie is the first ever “mostly” silent horror film. More impressive is that the screenplay was co-written and directed by the star, John Krasinski. Also unusual here is that the two main stars of this movie are married, John Krasinski and his wife Emily Blunt. I cannot remember the last time that has happened in any movie I have ever seen.

From the start this story takes us into the dark and depressing world of a family with 3 kids who can only communicate with sign language because if they make any sound at all they may be killed instantly by an alien creature that looks like a large brown flower that opens up showing a huge number of teeth with a skeletal lizard-like body. The killing is instantaneous because these alien creatures are so fast and vicious.

There are understandable rituals that we see with this family and routines they have created for emergencies, but what did not make sense to me is why any of them would ever risk going outdoors. What even makes less sense to me is that in some scenes the children are walking outside by themselves. Clearly this is done for dramatic effect, foregoing any reality about what any parent would allow under such extreme life and death conditions.

The rotten tomatoes ratings on this movie are very high, currently 96%, but my rating would be around 80% mainly because of the logistical problems. I was happy to see absolutely no smoking in this movie, unfortunately a rare occurrence today. I thought the acting was outstanding and this movie proves that acting in a film is more about showing than telling and a look in an eye, sweat and panic is not something that ever needs to be spoken.

I thought this movie was very good and I do recommend it.

I have often wondered about Hollywood board rooms and conference rooms and discussions executives have about money and what works and what does not work with new movies, movie franchises and decisions to remake a movie. Why are some movies considered possibilities for remakes and others not? Why Death Wish? Perhaps one reason could be the setting of this movie in Chicago that in the last few years has been one of the most violent cities in US history.

Death Wish has also been remade in other forms over the years, with Kevin Bacon in “Death Sentence”, 2007 and Jodie Foster In “The Brave One” that also came out in 2007. The premise for these movies are all the same. A horrible crime has been committed, the police and the courts can do nothing to find the criminals and the person suffering incredible grief goes on a shooting rampage to achieve justice and revenge. I found it very disturbing that in the trailer for this film, it is said that 1 in 4 people will become a victim of a violent crime. Of course the averages go way up around cities like Chicago.

Bruce Willis used to be a huge star in Hollywood for many years but unfortunately his last Die Hard movie “A Good Day to Die Hard” just about ruined his career and destroyed a very strong movie franchise. Since then he has made a string of movies that have gone right to DVD and have never been released to movie theaters, proving once again just how fleeting movie success can be and with only one big bomb the whole miracle of you’re acting career can be over very quickly.

As far as this new Death Wish movie remake, directed by Eli Roth, I thought it was well done and believable, and about as good as the original Death Wish that was released in 1974 starring Charles Bronson. The actor Dean Norris is perfectly cast as the police officer in charge of the case, and since his performance in Breaking Bad, Norris could just about be one of the believable actors to play a police officer. Unfortunately for Bruce Willis the Rotten Tomatoes reviews are very low, only 14%, so the odds are that this film will be in and out of the theaters relatively quickly.

Overall, I thought this movie was just OK and I do recommend it.