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FEATURE CINEMA

”T he scale of this story is bigger and more terrifying than ever before,” promised Lupita Nyong’o at this year’s annual CinemaCon event in Las Vegas, before unveiling a sneak peek of the third instalment of the gripping horror sci-fi franchise - A Quiet Place: Day One . After conceiving and directing the first two A Quiet Place films, John Krasinski hands over the reins to Michael Sarnoski, who made his feature film directorial debut just three years earlier with Pig starring Nicolas Cage as a lonely and isolated truffle hunter. Presumably, this put him into the mindset of The Quiet Place ’s bizarre and silent world. Not that this prequel flick, Day One , is anything but silent - as its new characters quickly learn that staying mute is the only way to survive. Starring Nyong’o, Djimon Hounsou, Alex Wolff, and Stranger Things ’ Joseph Quinn, Day One ’s dazzling and terrifying preview clip made it clear we are no longer in the countryside where the first two films were set. A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE Words Gill Pringle

Martin Lawrence and Will Smith

BAD BOYS: RIDE OR DIE

Words Gill Pringle

W ill Smith had just finished filming Bad Boys 4 when STACK met with him a few months ago at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia. ”When we made Bad Boys . I didn’t realise first off the power of collaboration. That was the first time I learned that Martin and I together wasn’t just one plus one equals two. It was one plus one equals TEN!” he says. ”So, the power of collaboration is exponential and that was one of the things I saw on Bad Boys , which was a global phenomenon,” says the former rapper. ”In the beginning, I was against sequels. Until Bad Boys 2 and I just saw the energy that comes around it and that realisation that you’re cultivating a relationship with the people who go and see the films. ”And my thing with the sequel is, I refuse to make one just to make a sequel. I’m always trying to figure out: What is the elevation of the character? What is the new idea? What is the change that will match the changes in our lives? I want the character to grow and learn and expand as we’re learning and growing and expanding in our lives; to not just make it because it would be cool to make a sequel but to be able to make it because there’s something new to say and share,” he says. Returning to their roles as Miami detectives Mike Lowrey (Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Lawrence), they are investigating corruption within the Miami PD when their late Captain Conrad Howard is posthumously accused of being involved with drug cartels. What was unique about the original Bad Boys film was that it combined action with outrageous comedy, a winning formula repeated across all the films. ”That was always the goal,” says Smith, 55. ”You usually don’t laugh that hard in an action movie, right? So it’s hard to sustain the seriousness of the action, but also get big giant laughs sometimes when you’re laughing that hard - it breaks the seriousness of the reality that you need for the action. So it’s a really delicate balance.”

Lupita Nyong'o

Set to deafening action sounds, this is an apocalyptic version of a New York under wide scale invasion. Taking to the CinemaCon stage with her co-star Quinn, Oscar winner Nyong’o said, ”Now we are no longer in the isolation of the Abbott family’s farm. Instead, Day One finds our characters navigating one of the busiest cities on the planet - on the day it has to fall silent. The story is at a scale more compelling and horrifying than ever,” teased the celebrated actress. Giving a shout-out to their director, who was seated in the audience, Quinn added, ”His brilliant story asked the question: What would happen if New York City - one of the loudest cities in the world - went quiet? Filming this was a thrilling experience. And one I will never forget,” said the Brit actor whose break-out performance as Stranger Things ’ Eddie Munson made him one of the hottest properties in Hollywood, next up starring in Ridley Scott’s highly-anticipated Gladiator II . Unlike the first two films, A Quiet Place: Day One doesn’t follow the Abbott family, instead, focussing on Nyong’o’s Sam in New York City. Here, she must work through the first moments of the alien invasion in the notoriously loud and busy city. The movie features the same creatures as the first two films: an alien species that hunts humankind by sound.

Bad Boys: Ride or Die

A Quiet Place: Day One

is in cinemas June 30.

is in cinemas June 27.

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