NOPE and Thor Love and Thunder

Jordan Peele's "Get Out" and "Us" established him as a director to watch, and you definitely should watch his new film, "Nope." In this podcast episode, HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano share their enthusiasm for this mashup of the science fiction and western genres. Keke Palmer and Daniel Kaluuya star as siblings whose California ranch supplies horses for TV and movie productions. Imagine their shock when a UFO hovers over their ranch! Also, the ranchers' occupational tie to the movie industry provides Peele with wonderful opportunities to comment on our media-saturated society. Marie and Mike especially like how this movie balances its comic and scary moments. In short, our critics say yes to "Nope." As for the second movie discussed in this episode, Marie and Mike say nope to "Thor: Love and Thunder." Although Chris Hemsworth is reliably enjoyable as the title character, the movie is such a goofy self-parody that it quickly wears thin.