BARB/ENHEIMER
Pre-shownotes note: CJ sounds bad because he was recording on his airpods like a complete rube.
Actual shownotes:
CJ does not complain about the giant corporation he works for
Why #barbenheimer? (the marketing phenomenon)
BARB/
Disclaimer: we’re dudes, talking about a movie made maybe not for dudes
Unsurprisingly, we loved Ryan G
Big hits (production design, cast, some humor), big misses (…the rest?)
What we should expect from a movie about a Mattel toy sponsored by Mattel
You can’t speak truth to power when the power is funding your movie
The third act culminates in an unearned sermon
A token zoomer in a movie made by and for millennials
Absurdism spins out of control without something to consistently ground it
CJ mic drops on the haters
/ENHEIMER
On the merits of seeing a Christopher Nolan movie twice
Jordan responds to CJ’s response to Jordan’s invitation to go see it with him for the 2nd time
Masterclass in filmmaking, but…
It’s too long, and too “important,” and not nearly entertaining enough
Whole first hour feels like a montage
Nolan loves his nonlinear storytelling, but his best films are his most linear
What kinds of movies earn rewatches?
A discussion of the film’s most unironically important scene
The emotional core of the film is Robert Oppenheimer being cursed with existential guilt
Special shoutout to Florence Pugh, who accomplishes a lot with a little
Also Casey Affleck
The visual conceits deployed to keep the audience oriented in space and time
Nolan is a great, very fallible director
An example of a director who understands how to conjure a truly great script: Denis Villeneuve
Where does Oppenheimer fall in the pantheon of Nolan films?
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Barbenheimer