What's this about?

Lately, it seems like many of the movies/shows are just a rehash or reboot of things that have already been done. And so I started to dive into the past. It's been fun, but I find myself losing track of which ones I’ve seen and whether or not I enjoyed them. Sometimes the titles themselves just don't tell me enough to remember.

I wouldn’t have voluntarily watched a lot of these movies when I was younger. It’s strange how interests change. That goes for what I read, too. I have another blog that explores books. I’m mostly reading older fiction and memoirs, and some of the books have led me to movies/shows and vice versa. In those cases, I may post the book review over here as well.

There will be spoilers, which is different than my book reviews. That’s mostly because I want to have enough information to help me remember what I’ve seen. I’m getting older. The brain doesn’t cooperate like it used to. What can I say? The gray hairs are catching up with me!

Monday, July 22, 2024

Oppenheimer - 2023

I'd been wanting to watch this movie for a long time, but the family wanted to watch it together, so it had to be at the right time. The man J. Robert Oppenheimer intrigues me and knowing Cillain Murphy was in the movie was just icing on the cake.

This is the story of Oppenheimer's life. It isn't told in a linear way, which I believe makes it more interesting. Normally, that wouldn't work for me, but this time it kept the movie going. It doesn't sugarcoat Oppenheimer. He was a womanizer and definitely not a saint, but the things he did doesn't make him an obvious villain either. Many saw him as that because of his moniker as "father of the atomic bomb," but I'm not sure he deserves all that hate.

I'm not going to talk about the bomb. What I think about the atomic bomb is irrelevant to what I think about the movie. I will address the amount of time/what was shown about that part of his life. I saw some people felt not enough screen time was spent on the effects of the bomb, but that's not what this movie was about. It was about the man. The movie was already three hours, and deviating to spend an appropriate amount of time that topic would deserve wouldn't be practical.

I liked the movie, but the first hour felt a bit slow. The other watchers with me agreed with that. Even though a lot of the visuals were stunning, something about that beginning hour was just something of a slog. I also didn't understand the nudity/sex scenes. They were unnecessary. They never showed any sex with his wife, so why bother to show it at all? Anyway, once the plot picked up, I was entranced with the frameup they were setting up for Oppenheimer. It was unfair and frustrating.

The movie is getting a Good Movie! review, but it's not something I would watch over and over. It's tough to watch injustice in action, and the scenes at the end with Albert Einstein were sad. It was good to see Tom Conti again. I saw a lot of other familiar faces, but he was an especially welcome sight. Great acting by everyone, and a super visual spectacle. Good Movie!


 

on

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)