Barbie vs Oppenheimer

[Reactionary Rage]

What a world.

[harrylemon]

I saw Oppenheimer last night at the GFT in 70mm. Really enjoyed it. Started like a Roeg movie till it calmed down. A few clunky moments here and there, mostly the sex scenes, sanskrit and during the hearing were a bit laughable.

The soundtrack was very good. Nolan delivered without resorting to his usual I'm really really clever shite.

Still to see Barbie.

[adamcoan]

Dec 8, 2023 14:07:18 GMT harrylemon said:

I saw Oppenheimer last night at the GFT in 70mm. Really enjoyed it. Started like a Roeg movie till it calmed down. A few clunky moments here and there, mostly the sex scenes, sanskrit and during the hearing were a bit laughable.

The soundtrack was very good. Nolan delivered without resorting to his usual I'm really really clever shite.

Still to see Barbie.

The sex scenes (sounds of curved plastic banging above the moaning) and the script of Barbie are really laughable. You will be pleased to know that absolutely no one tried to be clever, quite the opposite .

[Mr. FOLLARD]

Rob Brydon's the best thing about it. But blink and you'll miss him

[Sneelock]

I finally got around to Oppenheimer.

there's a lot going on at the house so watching movies can be tricky. As luck would have it, those who weren't really interested promptly dozed off. this is FAR preferable to being continually asked who the actors are, where they know them from, why was this movie made and what time are we doing that thing tomorrow.

I liked it very much. I liked it enough to feel like I should watch it again before naming the things that bothered me but where's the fun in that? I think some of Downey's dialogue late in the game is pretty on the nose. we've figured him and his motives out well before Downey and other characters mention his motives. on first viewing this doesn't really add anything and feels to me that it could have been tightened up. I don't mind long movies but having a major plot point layed out more than once seems like time wasted. maybe next time through I will feel like something has been achieved. I think Downey is very good here but I think he says out loud some shit we've already figured out in a rather screenwriterly way. it didn't bug me TOO much but it did seem like the movie just couldn't bear to end in a lot of ways.

I like what harrylemon called the Roeg type stuff a lot. I was surprised there was so much of it and how well it served the material. it seems you can divide the film into segments. Oppy leads the way. we build the bomb. KA-BOOM yay/ KA-BOOM Boo. Oppy gets the shaft.
the artsy-ness does seem to trail off by building the bomb. I think this is prudent and sets up the highs and lows afterwards that the lead actor gets on his weirdly vacant face.

given the demanding subject matter I do think it's pretty well thought out on the whole. The period details and the nuts and bolts of it are really pretty top notch.

While I won't say I think it's overrated necessarily I will say that I'm surprised it is as rated as it is. I mean, people I know who see all the Fast & Furious movies told me they loved Oppenheimer. I don't think it's a knock on people who like Fast & Furious movies to find that surprising.

I suspect I'd be even more enthusiastic about it if I'd trusted my instinct to see it on a big-ass IMAX screen. certain movies are just better when they fill your range of vision and I think this might be one of them

I liked all the performances but the lead really does take the cake. His weird blank face really suits these very large and ghastly concerns. I'd give it a 9 out of 10 possible labor meetings.

[davey]

I did see Oppenheimer on a big-ass IMAX screen, which no-doubt helped matters.

It was a good film. Perhaps a very good film. But it seemed to be telling me that the raw deal Oppenheimer got was the tragedy at the heart of the whole affair. That skewed the whole moral universe of the thing into something that still doesn’t sit well with me.

It’s hard to talk about Barbie, because you have to disentangle its intentions from it as an actual work of art. I’m not threatened by the points it was trying to make. I just ultimately didn’t love the aesthetic. Ultimately it felt like a film companion to an ongoing internet discussion.

[Sneelock]

Feb 22, 2024 15:17:30 GMT davey said:

 ...it seemed to be telling me that the raw deal Oppenheimer got was the tragedy at the heart of the whole affair. That skewed the whole moral universe of the thing into something that still doesn’t sit well with me.

me neither but I think this is what makes it a singular film. I think by focusing on Oppy that the film leaves us ALL holding the bag to some extent. 

when I was in first and second grade we still did Air Raid Drills and watched Bert the Turtle. when I got a little older I'd see these news segments on TV memorializing the Day we dropped the first bomb. These were presented as a great day to remember. they would often include JUST enough footage of the devastation that it really fucked my mind up.

as a more confident teenager I soon learned that, if I would even slightly suggest that maybe Fat Man and Little Boy were more than the job required to end the war people would go PSYCHO on me. I learned that people had a considerable emotional investment in looking at us as heroes that dropped the bomb to end the war. maybe this is the way they need to look at it well, I don't, I never did and I never will.

I think the Oppenheimer film bakes that emotional complexity into the cake. the same with it's relationship & labor concerns. people can't change each others minds. He was both hero then pariah as it suited the needs of those who ran the  program. this may be simplistic but I think it's a powerful metaphor. You can't blame him anymore for helping open Pandora's box than you can for wishing he hadn't.

[Sneelock]

there's one thing I liked about Barbie that I think got missed in all the Bill Maher macho defensive take.
America Ferrara's daughter doesn't need Barbie anymore - America Ferrara does. it's really just a silly goofy little movie but I think that thing really kicks it up a notch.

[Sneelock]

[davey]

Werner Herzog on Barbie.

www.avclub.com/werner-herzog-barbie-sheer-hell-1851283255?

[Mr. FOLLARD]

God bless 'im...