“Cruella” premiered last night in Hollywood starring Emma Stone as a hip, modern day Cruella deVil. On social media the movie got raves, at the premiere every one loved it. No one would have predicted Craig Gillespie, whose “Lars and the Real Girl” was such a nice film, would emerge as a new Tim Burton!

No one should be happier about “Cruella”‘s reception than one Glenn Close. She’s a surprise Executive Producer on the film. Glenn was not an EP on either of her “101 Dalmatian” movies in which she created the original live action version of the famed animated character.

But one thing no one can deny: this movie is the origin story chapter of what Glenn invented back in 1996. The look, the attitude, all of it reaches back to her original creation.

Is that how she got an EP credit? Executive producer credits are given to people who either kick in money as investors or have a financial interest in a film. Glenn could have one or both. Or is she planning to appear in one of the obvious sequels? That would make sense. And she did say recently to Variety that she has an idea for a new installment of the saga.

An Emma Stone-Glenn Close “Cruella” feature? Dalmatians will barking up a storm!

We saw “A Quiet Place Part 2” on March 8, 2020. There was a lovely premiere at Jazz at Lincoln Center, followed by a swell party at the Central Park Boathouse. The movie was set to open in April, we were asked to hold our reviews for a couple of weeks til “this virus thing” passed.

Uh huh.

Now “AQP2” will open May 28th, 2021. I saw it again two days ago at a press screening at the AMC Lincoln Square with about 30 people. The movie complex was like a ghost town which added to the eeriness of John Krasinski’s beautifully crafted horror thriller. When the film stopped abruptly on a cliffhanger note– there will be a third and presumably resolving chapter — I really felt haunted by it wandering around in empty corridors.

The second film picks up before the start of the first one, so we get to see Krasinski’s Lee Abbott as he and his family, having an easy Sunday afternoon in a small town, react to their alien invasion. When the bugs from outer space start dropping onto Earth, the audience starts jumping out of their chairs. Krasinski has you right in the palm of his hand.

But then we wake up from this dream because Lee died at the end of Chapter 1, and his wife, Evelyn (the great Emily Blunt) has had their baby, their third child. She is on the run with older kids played by Millicent Simonds (deaf in real life) and Noah Jupe grown up suddenly and able to help in their silent from the space monsters. (The funny thing here is that we’ve Jupe older already, in “The Undoing,” from last winter since “AQP2” was held for a year.)

In short order they run into their old neighbor, played by Cillian Murphy in his best and and most relatable work to date. His family is gone. But quickly he and Simmonds’ Regan take off to find a distant radio signal playing Bobby Darin’s “Beyond the Sea.” There, they think, they may find help. Eventually they will run into some survivors, led by Djimon Honsou, who think they’ve got it made in the shade.

Krasinski has another taut thriller, edited beautifully and within an inch of its life by Michael Shawver. There is a relentless melodic score from Marco Beltrami that never lets up yet is almost a character itself as it loops through Blunt’s hope and despair over protecting her kids and surviving this nightmare. She is just superb conveying all these emotions as a mother who must be resourceful, athletic, and sympathetic.

But it is really Simmonds, who has just turned 18, who will get awards attention and rave reviews. So maybe she was still 16 when they made this installment. Amazing. Her focus and ferocity, intelligence and composure, speak volumes of who she already is as an actress and what’s to come. I imagine she will be the focus of Krasinski’s final chapter and emerge from all this a big star.

We know John Krasinski mostly from “The Office,” where his character Jim Halper, the only normal person in the office, we knew had higher aspirations. Then Krasinski got buffed up for his “Jack Ryan” series. But he’s a director. He made a little family movie called “The Hollars” that was sort of dismissed, but I really liked it. It showed that he could create an onscreen family with empathy and warmth and move them through life changing moments. Now this has all paid off with “A Quiet Place.”

Forget the other “blockbusters” coming our way. “AQP2” is the movie of the summer, and you must see it in a theater. Wear a mask, gloves, whatever you need. Bring your Clorox wipes. But get in there and see it!

Here’s the new trailer for Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin in “Respect.” The movie with music and a lot of sass hits us August 13th from MGM, which will probably be called Amazom MGM by then. MGM as it stands has no money to promote this movie, they were waiting for the James Bond film “No Time to Die” to generate some cash.

But as we all know, “No Time to Die” has had no time to release, and by November without a sale to Amazon, MGM would have to depend on word of mouth. “Respect” will need a big Oscar campaign as Jennifer Hudson will no doubt be in the running for Best Actress but maybe for Best Song. She wrote an original song for the end credits, as I reported exclusively yesterday.

Yesterday was the first day of press for “Respect.” I knew nothing about it, but I wandered into a Zoom call with Jennifer and director Liesl Tommy for the lucky few who were invited. It seemed like a lot of fun although no one asked why the soundtrack doesn’t include songs Aretha wrote. (That will be my own nitpick on this movie.) Otherwise, JHud was a STAR and Tommy seemed like she was going to have fun, and the movie looks very promising.