John Krasinski is in the hearts of many as likeable but snarky Jim Halpert from “The Office.” He’s playing Jack Ryan in the Amazon TV series starting this summer. He’s tried directing– I really like “The Hollars” with Margo Martindale- but hasn’t broken through in movies yet. But now Krasinski– who’s married to actress Emily Blunt– has thrown us a curve ball. He’s re-written, directed and stars in  a little masterpiece called “A Quiet Place” opening on Friday.

This is a tour de force. His friends must know because they turned out in droves last night for the New York premiere. Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively walked the red carpet, then went to dinner with Krasinski and Blunt while we watched the 85 minute slice of perfection at AMC Lincoln Square. Justin Theroux stayed for the screening. So did Doug Liman, director of “Edge of Tomorrow” and “Made in America.”

The after party was over at Lincoln Restaurant, where Peggy Siegal holds her Oscar Q&A’s in the winter. Classy. Stanley Tucci was there because he co-starred with Emily in “The DEvil Wears Prada” and also he married her sister, Felicity. They’re expecting their second child but sat through the movie. Felicity said, “I know it was pretty brave.” They all loved it.

“A Quiet Place” has a 100 on Rotten Tomatoes, 47 positive reviews. The number will drop. Someone will be the spoiler. But there’s nothing not to like. “A Quiet Place” is one of those rare gems, masterwork that I think movie buffs will study. It’s an ode to Hitchcock, but it’s also totally original.

It’s not just luck. Krasinski has been working toward this writing screenplays (“The Promised Land”) and directing a character driven family story that pre-figures “This is Us” (“The Hollars”).  Like Jim, Krasinski was not not going to stick around the office selling paper. He had bigger things up his sleeve.

“A Quiet Place” doesn’t look like it came cheap. Krasinski used the best crayons in the box. All the below line stuff– cinematography, editing, production design, lighting– is top notch. Marco Beltrami wrote what should be an Oscar nominated score, which is most important since the music is a character. You see, there is barely any dialogue in this film. It’s basically a silent movie. A very noisy one. There’s an alien–Krasinski told me he designed it with ILM– that looks like several million bucks. It is very scary.

The story (based on a screenplay by Bryan Woods and Scott Beck) We meet a family on the run in the woods. We’re told they’re 89 days into something –some kind of alien invasion has wiped out their town and almost everyone in the world, we glean from headlines. These aliens use sound to kill their victims. So the family– unnamed but according to the credits their name is Abbott– must be silent. Any noise will bring their deaths. There’s a mother (Blunt), father (Krasinski), and three children. The daughter is deaf (Millicent Simmonds from “Wonderstruck,” outstanding) so think about that turn in the story– the aliens are hunting for sound, she hears no sound. There’s a reason for all this, I won’t give it away.

The plot: they want to survive. They’ve made it this far. Then something happens. We jump ahead a year. The mother is nine months pregnant. They’ve found asylum on an abandoned upstate NY farm. But the aliens are not far away.

But can you imagine being silent this whole time? Not a word. One false move and your life could be over. Krasinski instills that in us from the opening– I’ve never seen an audience stiffen up so quickly. Right away, you see the filmmakers are not playing games. The audience last night was itself silent for longer than I can remember in any movie. You could hear people breathing. Or chewing pop corn.

“A Quiet Place” is a horror film the way “Psycho” or “The Birds” is– it’s transcendent. It’s about family and loyalty as much as it’s running from the specter of death, and having some hope you’ll make it out alive. The family, that is. Not the audience.

The Russo Brothers have posted an unusual letter to Twitter. They’re asking fans to keep their secrets and not risk letting out spoilers about the upcoming “Avengers: Infinity Wars.” What spoilers? Captain America dies? Someone dies? Everyone dies? Well, we don’t know. But we’ll keep their secrets. It’s the least we can do.

#ThanosDemandsYourSilence pic.twitter.com/dvyc26ju04

— Russo Brothers (@Russo_Brothers) April 3, 2018

To say that 38 year old actor/director/writer John Krasinski might have reached the pinnacle of his career with his latest “A Quiet Place,” at the outset might seem strange, but John himself admits it could be true as he said on CBS’s “Sunday Morning” yesterday. John noted,  “I know this might be the highlight of my career, and I’m okay with that.”

He later explained that the unabashed kudos he’s getting for his latest film, which he co-wrote (with Scott Beck and Bryan Woods) and directed and which also stars his wife the multi talented Emily Blunt, is unexpected and rattling to him.  But he’s earned all of it. 

“A Quiet Place” is truly a revelation.  A simple premise turns out to be an intense, exciting, poignant and ridiculously scary story.  In a post-apocalyptic world, monsters detect their prey by sound.  So whoever’s ieft has to be majorly quiet and in that quietness Krasinski shows how smart and adept he is.  He’s a thoughtful filmmaker, so his telling of the story wastes not one second, frame or even one word, which are few and far between in the film; the characters rely on sign language and gestures.  The sound /or lack of it is the major character here.  And the cast is perfect. He’s the unnamed Dad, Blunt is the fierce tiger mother, Noah Jupe and Millicent Simmonds are their brave kids.  Simmonds, who is a deaf in real life, is heartbreakingly affecting. 

From the get go with the Title Cards saying what day it is Day 89 the disaster, the suspense builds and the subtle, clever storytelling pulls you in.  Krasinski is right, Hollywood is tough and this kind of adulation might not every happen again for him. But for now, he’s earned it with “A Quiet Place.”

Paramount’s “A Quiet Place,” will be released this Friday, April 6^th. 

Marvel founder Stan Lee has released four photos— called “Easter eggs”– for the upcoming release of “Deadpool 2” starring Ryan Reynolds.

One of them is a photo of Deadpool pointing a gun at the head of a teddy bear. This must be funny somewhere but seems odd considering the current gun control debate.

Lee’s site says: “The Marvel Cinematic Universe and associated films are full of “Easter Eggs.” It’s a huge part of what ties the movies together and gives them the depth and scope that they deserve. You can throw all of the explosions and fancy choreographed fight scenes that you want into the pot, but it’s definitely the small things that some hardly notice that makes the “true believers” feel like they are apart of a comicbook culture that ‘s living and thriving.”

The other photos are less alarming. Interestingly, the teddy bear picture isn’t on Marvel or Deadpool sites, just Stan Lee’s. All the other promo material for “Deadpool 2” is irreverent, funny, witty, glib, good stuff. But this picture– not funny and really inappropriate. Here are the other pictures: