The Film Thread

dont_be_a_wuss · Franchise Player Joined: 29 Mar 2012 Posts: 21563

Managed to do the BARBENHEIMER opening weekend. Two great films!

OPPENHEIMER is one of Nolan’s best films in my opinion. It was 3 hours but it does a great job of telling the story in that time. It follows Oppenheimers hearing for security clearance renewal and Lewis Straus’s senate hearing for presidential cabinet confirmation, with the story of the film being flashbacks of the events discussed in those hearings. I saw it in IMAX with laser, not 70mm, which I think is good enough if you can’t get to CityWalk or the Chinese theatre for the true IMAX 70mm 1.43 aspect ratio. The resolution portion is a little slow, but for a 3 hour movie it moves extremely well.

I knew nothing about BARBIE going in to it, and the movie ended up being pretty good. A couple scenes in particular were hilarious for their satire. Definitely worth watching for a movie goer. A lot of social commentary on gender roles in society that are presented in a way that gives a lot of comedic value. And for the people who were in to Barbie, it seemed like a lot of fun, so many people showing up with pink clothing and bleached hair.

Triumph · Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2023 12:35 am Post subject:

DaMuleRules · Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2023 8:28 am Post subject:

dont_be_a_wuss · Franchise Player Joined: 29 Mar 2012 Posts: 21563

Buck32 · Star Player Joined: 30 Apr 2001 Posts: 7335

Wilt · LG Contributor Joined: 29 Dec 2002 Posts: 13743

^

Christian Bale was asked about that once and he provided an explanation. He said that many British actors, such as himself, live in the United States. They also grew up watching American films, so they were familiar with the accent from their early years.
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DaMuleRules · Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2023 9:33 am Post subject:

dont_be_a_wuss · Franchise Player Joined: 29 Mar 2012 Posts: 21563

I saw many people voting MEMENTO as the best Nolan film, so I bought it on iTunes. Part of the reveal is predictable, just enough to flatter the audience and make them feel smart, but there is no way you will figure out the final reveals. It’s a great move that keeps you thinking and makes you want to watch it a couple times after you finish to help you understand the story.

I still rate The Prestige slightly above Memento, but I put Oppenheimer in a separate class, far above them all, as a biographical film. Nolan’s films leave you thinking about them and coming back for seconds, but they have all depicted fictional worlds. Oppenheimer has you questioning the stability of the world we actually live in.

ChickenStu · Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2023 11:06 pm Post subject:

jodeke · Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2023 7:40 am Post subject:

ChickenStu · Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2023 12:36 pm Post subject:

jodeke · Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2023 1:25 pm Post subject:

Robblake · Star Player Joined: 05 Aug 2020 Posts: 1038

I’m a fan of Tom cruise as an actor and entertainer but I think as a stand-alone film IM7 was pretty damn good and well put together. But, as a movie in a series that has tightened up and gotten a bit more complex they suffer from what many great bands suffer when they are about 6 albums deep - they know their style almost too well and now it seems a bit deadened and stiff in parts. The movie would’ve done better for me if it was release ten years ago. I give it a B.. bordering on B-. The train scene at the end was amazing but the story up to that point was a perfected MI story formula IMO.

I’m still interested how part 2 will do. 84/100

kikanga · Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2023 10:25 pm Post subject:

Just got back from seeing Oppenheimer.

I really appreciated how it included little known details about Oppenheimer's life. For example, did you know he led a team of scientists that developed the first atomic bomb during WWII?! Sorry for the spoiler for those who haven't seen the movie.

Jokes aside. Fantastic movie by Nolan. My favorite one he's done since Interstellar.

I've heard fantastic things about Barbie. But I'll wait to watch it at home.
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MookieBetts50 · Star Player Joined: 22 Jul 2020 Posts: 1957

Love the Dark Night Trilogy and Dunkirk was alright but all other science or tech based films from Nolan is Valium level snozzery.

ChickenStu · Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2023 12:27 am Post subject:

C M B · Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2023 3:15 am Post subject:

wtf was that?

Is there anyone else who thinks that Nolan has pitched nothing but turds since the first 3/4 of Interstellar? What magic he had to give to the world was all but given at the time that The Dark Knight Rises was released over 10 years ago.

I tried to avoid reading about the movie. I'm a geek for 20th century arms race history and test footage, so when I'd heard that he was insistent on IMAX film I became excited that maybe someone could bring some primo mushroom cloud and shockwave action to the big screen. Maybe Nolan can achieve something that will instill nuclear fears in ways that haven't really been tried in high-profile cinema since way back in Terminator 2, or even further back this amazing TV movie that had Steve Guttenberg in it. What Nolan actually turned out were scattered kibbles and bits of cool FX, and then for the Trinity money shot, the explosive equivalent of Florence Pugh's titts. If someone had told me that it was possible for a hollywood blockbuster to undersell an atomic detonation, I would have chuckled. Speaking of Pugh, precious screen time was utterly wasted on the "love" angle with her character. It was a loser from the moment it was written in, but then they decided to include the most awkwardly placed and executed sex scene in recent memory. "Ugh" was the prevailing sound in my theater that accompanied the cut to Pugh's nipples. Before tonight, I was actually quite infatuated with Pugh...she is a beautiful woman and a terrific actor. After that trainwreck I do not care to see her face nor her naked chest ever again.

Other than the outdoor Los Alamos set pieces, the movie was tight shots in small rooms. It looked like it could have been shot entirely within a medium-sized sound stage. Wtf was the point of IMAX if this was all it was going to be? Just a few minutes of remastered/re-created footage of the Hiroshima bomb would have delivered and refreshed the threatening terror of global thermonuclear destruction better than this 3 hours of heavy-handed Prometheus references and unglamourized closeups of Florence Pugh riding Oppenheimer like a stallion. They could have featured/focused on some of the mathematics/theory that created the bomb, that would have been cool. No, no, we should be happy with the shots of Murphy hastily scratching a chalkboard with illegible, unexplained numbers that he pulled out of his ass. Is he/isn't he a pinko sympathizer--who cares? That part of the Oppenheimer story is not a compelling film, and Cillian Murphy, while not a bad actor per se, has zero screen presence. The bomb is everything; this movie was not the bomb.

RIP christopher nolan
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kikanga · Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2023 5:33 am Post subject:

^I do agree with you CMB that Oppenheimer isn't a "better in IMAX" style film. I think it was pitched that way to try to combat people waiting to see it streaming from home.
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Wilt · LG Contributor Joined: 29 Dec 2002 Posts: 13743

Saw it yesterday in IMAX. It was nice to see a full room of people. I agree that IMAX didn't really add much to it.

I agree with some of your other points, but I still say it was an enjoyable movie.

My main problem is the constant and unnecessary background music. It's distracting and it makes it difficult to decipher what people are saying. I'd say that I couldn't understand 20% of the dialogue.

I have nothing against non-linear storytelling, but it was a bit too much. Just when you get into a scene, it cuts to something else, and then something else comes, with the music constantly in the background.

I understand why he didn't want to spend much time on math equations and how nuclear fission actually works, but the movie would have benefitted from some of it. There's talk about atomic bombs and hydrogen bombs, but none of that is adequately explained other than hydrogen bombs are more powerful.

I think the Communist angle was fine, as it was a huge issue in the late 40s and early 50s.

Overall, a good movie. The only reason I'd watch it again down the line is to turn on closed captioning and to catch all the stuff I couldn't understand in a very loud theater with an orchestra seemingly playing for three hours.
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MookieBetts50 · Star Player Joined: 22 Jul 2020 Posts: 1957

kikanga · Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2023 7:10 pm Post subject:

jodeke · Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2023 3:22 pm Post subject:

The Little Mermaid. It's the usual good vs bad, good wins movie. Ursula played by Melissa McCarthy is the bad woman. Halle Bailey is the good woman. The Little Mermaid being played by a Black actress shows Hollywood is a changing venue. I didn't like the dark contrast. IMO it took from the visuals. 1 to 10 I rate it 8.
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C M B · Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2023 11:27 pm Post subject:

Studio Salvages Terrible Film’s Box Office Numbers By Marketing It As Movie Liberals Don’t Want You To See
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jodeke · Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2023 6:48 am Post subject:

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