Oppenheimer (Nolan)

[52-80 19,147]

45 minutes ago, Eskimohorn said:

The sex scene and nudity made perfect sense to me. And, for authenticity sake, she did not have a perfect body or bolt ons. She was intense. And raw. She should earn an Oscar nod.

For the record, I support the tone-setting of females getting sweaty and nekkid as a launching pad to an Oscar

[MAUFRAIS 6,619]

Too bad the casting couch is no more. The Oscar Nod would be a great euphemism.

[TheStoicPaisano 9,922]

On 7/30/2023 at 12:49 AM, LonghornSean said:

Interested to hear why/how Nolan decided to go with Ludwig Göransson instead of Hans Zimmer for the score, but damn it was incredible. And I love Zimmer.

 

Zimmer is committed to Dune, Göransson was brought in for Tenet and Oppenheimer. He has a lot of work for someone under 40.

[Brisketexan 105,071]

Well, that was some heavy duty shit. Cillian Murphy is always freaking great. I thought Downy did a great job as well. Emily Blunt is a real damn talent.
And yeah….Florence Pugh was sexy AF in that role. Real, sweaty, sexy. Which actually served a point in the story as to Oppenheimer’s weakness and sense of connection to her.
I’d have liked to have been connected to her.

[Smax 3,800]

I agree with most here, very good not great, too long and soundtrack was a bit distracting at times. Did anyone else notice during Jean's suicide scene one shot appeared to show a black gloved hand on the back of her neck pushing her head into the water?
Was Nolan suggesting she was murdered?

[speed817 19,256]

3 minutes ago, Smax said:

I agree with most here, very good not great, too long and soundtrack was a bit distracting at times. Did anyone else notice during Jean's suicide scene one shot appeared to show a black gloved hand on the back of her neck pushing her head into the water?
Was Nolan suggesting she was murdered?

Yes. There has always been a thought that the government took her out because of her Communist views and connection with Oppenheimer. This was a nod to that conspiracy by Nolan.

[destroya 374]

In the very good but not great chorus.  I read Strauss's wiki this morning after seeing the movie last night and think the movie would have been better served by exploring him more.  There were references to his past (son of a lowly shoe salesman) but there was a richness and depth to the character that the movie ignored: He didn't go to college; was set to graduate at the top of his high school class, which would have gotten him a free ride, but he got sick and didn't graduate with his class; after he graduated he worked for a few years to save money for college then moved to Europe to serve in the rebuilding after WWI, while there he was offered a job at an investment bank where he made a shit ton of money; he was an active jew and may have resented that Oppenheimer was not a practicing jew; and he was strongly against the sharing of any nuclear technology with our allies.

[Rip76 4,925]

On 8/1/2023 at 6:45 PM, Smax said:

I agree with most here, very good not great, too long and soundtrack was a bit distracting at times. Did anyone else notice during Jean's suicide scene one shot appeared to show a black gloved hand on the back of her neck pushing her head into the water?
Was Nolan suggesting she was murdered?

Yes.

Me and the lady looked at each other like, “was that a glove?”

[Fudge Nuggets 19,189]

On 7/22/2023 at 6:09 PM, cabowabo said:

I look forward to seeing this again with subtitles. It was hard to understand a lot of the dialogue because of the constant background music and everything being too loud.   I thought it was hard to follow as they jumped around constantly to different time periods. Admittedly, I’m not real up to speed on my Oppenheimer history, so knowing a decent amount of that would assist in following it. 

Just got back from seeing it and had the exact same reaction you did.  I'm not an Oppenheimer biographical expert, but I read up on his story so knew more about it that the average bear and still found it difficult to follow at the beginning.  As it progressed it became a lot easier to determine which part of the story was playing out in each scene; but I think Nolan did it on purpose so people would go back and see it again.  J/K.

[Fudge Nuggets 19,189]

On 7/22/2023 at 10:03 PM, cabowabo said:

Also, I love all the precautions taken for the Trinity test….everything except hearing protection. 

Spoiler

I liked when they were all putting on goggles and sunscreen when Teller asks Feynman who is sitting in his car where were his goggles.  Feynman says the glass (windshield) will stop the UV radiation.  Teller asks, "What will stop the glass?"

 

[Dbeasy 15,042]

Finally saw it and liked it a lot. The style of the movie really stuck with me afterwards. 

I have partial hearing loss and could hear the dialogue reasonably well, but I like to be able to fully follow every scene and all of the dialogue/plot, and it was difficult to follow sometimes. I really want to see it again at home, maybe with subtitles. 

Oh and I had to piss ten minutes into the movie and ended up holding it for the 3 hours and ten minutes. Didn’t realize it was that long. Ouch. 

[Fudge Nuggets 19,189]

On 8/1/2023 at 6:45 PM, Smax said:

Did anyone else notice during Jean's suicide scene one shot appeared to show a black gloved hand on the back of her neck pushing her head into the water?

[CycleTex87 2,967]

Saw it this afternoon in an IMAX theater in Corpus Christi.  The sound was unbelievable, like shaking the theater.  Fantastic. I did look at my watch a few times towards the end. Great acting and construction of the film by Nolan. Now I need to read up on Oppenheimer some more. 

[NWBuck 8,552]

On 7/30/2023 at 7:21 PM, Stella Link said:

Already working on the sequel.....

 

[Wally Pryor 5,261]

Bullock IMAX just opened up showings for Friday the 11th and Saturday the 12th. As of early this evening there were still tickets available.

https://www.thestoryoftexas.com/

 

[Fudge Nuggets 19,189]

On 7/30/2023 at 9:21 PM, Stella Link said:

Already working on the sequel.....

 

2 hours ago, NWBuck said:

 

I don't get either of these.  Are they supposed to be historically funny or poking fun at Nolan?

[Fudge Nuggets 19,189]

Upon more reflection from my viewing today, I guess I'm just not that big of a Christopher Nolan fan.  I've been to two of his movies in a theater because of the plot, Dunkirk and Oppenheimer.  But both times I got annoyed as shit by the loudness (I'm one of those people with hypersensitive hearing so bad on me for thinking Oppenhimer might be different).  I'm also not a big fan of the close up zoom in on faces while the person is talking and you can't see their mouth move while the score is blasting at 120 dB; but that's probably just me.  Oppenheimer didn't seem near as bad about it as Dunkirk but it still raised its head every now and then.

I consider both Dunkirk and Oppenheimer as very good movies and I'm glad I saw them, but neither one would be considered in my "best ever" list.  It's probably just a sign that I'm officially an old like @Beau Vine, but yesterday and today were the first times in seven years I've been in a theater and I don't miss it at all. 

Speaking of yesterday, I went with the daughter to see Barbie and we both enjoyed the shit out of it.  As far as an enjoyable experience, yeah... Barbie kicked the shit out of Oppenheimer.  I never thought I would say this back when I was in high school, but I think Ryan Gosling is one hell of an actor.  He was great in The Big Short and I thought he was fucking brilliant in Barbie.

[52-80 19,147]

On 7/29/2023 at 5:31 PM, 52-80 said:

I found Tenet impossible to hear.  Wife has megasonic hearing ...

 

On 7/29/2023 at 6:32 PM, speed817 said:

Don't they all???

 

4 hours ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

I'm one of those people with hypersensitive hearing...

..I went with the daughter to see Barbie and we both enjoyed the shit out of it.  I never thought I would say this back when I was in high school, but I think Ryan Gosling is one hell of an actor.

It's all starting to make sense

[LonghornSean 3,989]

10 hours ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

 

I don't get either of these.  Are they supposed to be historically funny or poking fun at Nolan?

Think they’re just wordplay jokes in reference to the “Barbenheimer” trend.

Edited August 3, 2023 by LonghornSean

[nnm 36,351]

I’ve been out of the country for a couple of weeks so missed the BarbieHeimer opening. 
I grew up in Northern NM, and have known a lot of people that worked in the atomic program, including Manhattan. I read “American Prometheus” and loved it. 
With all of that background, of course I have really been anticipating this movie. 
I live out in ETX so thought I might run into Dallas this weekend and check it out in IMAX. 
What the hell? Every IMAX showing in Dallas is sold out except for handicapped and front row tix. This is for the next 2 weeks, as far as the theater shows tix available. Is there some trick to finding out when tix become available and then snapping up those tix?  Is there some kind of secondary market for them?

As an aside, what kind of psycho watches Oppenheimer in IMAX in the front row?  

[HornOnTheBayou 8,915]

Honestly, I don't think you need IMAX for this one. I saw it in a normal theater and don't think I missed out on anything. 

[HouTex 1,866]

7 minutes ago, HornOnTheBayou said:

Honestly, I don't think you need IMAX for this one. I saw it in a normal theater and don't think I missed out on anything. 

This.  But I suppose some people are really into IMAX.  I enjoyed the movie but I wanted more on the bomb making part and it could have been shortened by about 30 min.

[mchookem 16,322]

yeah...Dead Reckoning is much more IMAX worthy than Oppenheimer. 

[washparkhorn 9,939]

Loved it. As with most Nolan movies, the lack of chronological fidelity is a feature, not a bug. The Red hysteria of the moment was well depicted—as highlighted by Emily Blunt’s evisceration of the prosecutor. Florence Pugh earned consideration for a supporting actor nomination. The sound illustrated fission—explosive and bonds—masterfully. 
 

It is not a film for the average Marvel brain. Kubrick would have enjoyed it.

[Biff Tannen 45,665]

Liked it a lot.  Helps a ton to already know the history.  As I said early in this thread, the mini-series Manhattan on AMC was amazing and I think I actually like it better than this.  

[4th&Five 41,515]

I really liked it. Downey and Blunt stood out to me. 

[Nice Guy Eddie 13,509]

On 8/2/2023 at 9:11 PM, CycleTex87 said:

Saw it this afternoon in an IMAX theater in Corpus Christi.  The sound was unbelievable, like shaking the theater.  Fantastic. I did look at my watch a few times towards the end. Great acting and construction of the film by Nolan. Now I need to read up on Oppenheimer some more. 

To each their own but I was distracted by the soundtrack shaking the theater. I understand that at some points you want to emphasize a point with loud music or sounds but it was overkill. Oppenheimer was a drama not a marvel movie.

[MAUFRAIS 6,619]

Finally saw it. Repeatedly thought of Amadeus and Asteroid City.

Wanted to look up who played Feynman cause I thought they had something and see that it was the Quaid boy. Also liked Safdie and previously liked him in Licorice Pizza and thought Uncut Gems was great so will need to check out Good Time.

Real good. Fuckin’ long. Bullock seats are too low and hurt my knees.

[Reynolds Woodcock 4,739]

10 minutes ago, MAUFRAIS said:

Finally saw it. Repeatedly thought of Amadeus and Asteroid City.

Wanted to look up who played Feynman cause I thought they had something and see that it was the Quaid boy. Also liked Safdie and previously liked him in Licorice Pizza and thought Uncut Gems was great so will need to check out Good Time.

Real good. Fuckin’ long. Bullock seats are too low and hurt my knees.

Good Time is a great fucking movie. 

[TexArcher 37,767]

Just saw it.  Really, really good movie.  I put it in his second tier, along with Dunkirk.  His first tier is still Inception, Interstellar, and the Dark Knight.

But this is a damned good movie, and it shows Nolan's range once again.  The guy can tell absolutely any type of story.

[closetohumping 17,435]

Yes

[Herpa Derpa 6,123]

On 8/4/2023 at 5:55 PM, washparkhorn said:

Emily Blunt’s evisceration of the prosecutor.

Now imagine it coming from the real Kitty. Something tells me her bite really hurt when she wanted.

[RamjetFDO 10,575]

Just saw it... truly enjoyed it.

I tried my best to avoid reviews ahead of time, as I knew most of the history and enough of the physics to be conversant, but I saw this and it made a huge Nolan-esque bonus viewing the first time that usually would've been a second or third viewing epiphany:

Scenes in color are from Oppenheimer's point of view. Those in black-and-white are supposed to be from Strauss' account.

 

[WBT 20,561]

I saw it today and loved it.  Murphy was great and Damon, Downey, and Blunt were also really good.  She didn't really have a whole lot to do until finally getting a great scene with the 'prosecutor'.

Speaking of the prosecutor, it was bugging me that he looked familiar but I couldn't place him until I got home and looked him up on imdb...Jerry West on Winning Time.

[Foosters 17,841]

Haven't seen it yet and have avoided reading much about it.

Tickets tomorrow on IMAX 70mm at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

Can't wait.

[MAUFRAIS 6,619]

Always nice to see a movie in the theater where a scene was filmed. Trippy.

[Sbbruin 21,829]

Just saw it, and while I enjoyed it, it did drag in spots.  Could’ve easily been a half hour shorter without anything lost.  And would have been interested in more of the science behind the bomb, which was hardly discussed.

[Eskimohorn 5,630]

I saw it today and loved it.  Murphy was great and Damon, Downey, and Blunt were also really good.  She didn't really have a whole lot to do until finally getting a great scene with the 'prosecutor'.
Speaking of the prosecutor, it was bugging me that he looked familiar but I couldn't place him until I got home and looked him up on imdb...Jerry West on Winning Time.

Jason Clarke is like in every other movie

[Beau Vine 54,208]

On 8/4/2023 at 2:50 PM, HornOnTheBayou said:

Honestly, I don't think you need IMAX for this one. I saw it in a normal theater and don't think I missed out on anything. 

My daughter was complaining that one of her friends really wanted to drive eight hours to see it in 70mm IMAX.  I thought she was exaggerating, but she wasn't:

Edited August 13, 2023 by Beau Vine

[Foosters 17,841]

Thought it was fantastic. Only complaint was the final quarter of the movie - revoking his clearance over a personal grudge - seemed wholly unimportant considering the subject matter of the film.

Visually it was stunning

[DDD Dad 14,325]

On 7/27/2023 at 8:48 AM, Eskimohorn said:

Good
>Every performance. Surprisingly Matt Damon might have been the weak link but I sensed he got some scenes cut. Probably gonna see 4-5 noms. Took me awhile to figure out that was Josh Hartnett, who was very good.
>Truman scene. Wonder if that happened that way.
 

Agreed on both points and thought Oldman's performance (in just one scene) was outstanding.

[Eskimohorn 5,630]

Thought it was fantastic. Only complaint was the final quarter of the movie - revoking his clearance over a personal grudge - seemed wholly unimportant considering the subject matter of the film.
Visually it was stunning

The grudge was set up masterfully. Early on they set up the microsnubs (a lowly shoe salesman, Einstein meeting). Downey being a likeable actor was perfectly cast to pull the switch. The clearance was central to two of the stories we see, and part of the unraveling of the third - Oppenheimer’s linear storyline.

[Foosters 17,841]

35 minutes ago, Eskimohorn said:

The grudge was set up masterfully. Early on they set up the microsnubs (a lowly shoe salesman, Einstein meeting). Downey being a likeable actor was perfectly cast to pull the switch. The clearance was central to two of the stories we see, and part of the unraveling of the third - Oppenheimer’s linear storyline.

No, I get it. And I thought Downey was brilliant. Liked the twist at the end with Malik's character. But considering the subject matter was the building of a doomsday device and the moral/ethical concerns in doing so, I personally found it difficult to get invested in the ultimate outcome of that struggle.

[nbmishoid 949]

Oppenheimer, and others, were keenly aware of what they had unleashed.  They rightfully feared an arms race.   The politico’s were in no way able to think like that, so his destruction is one reason why we have had to live under this massive existential threat.  Existential.

[Eskimohorn 5,630]

No, I get it. And I thought Downey was brilliant. Liked the twist at the end with Malik's character. But considering the subject matter was the building of a doomsday device and the moral/ethical concerns in doing so, I personally found it difficult to get invested in the ultimate outcome of that struggle.

The movie focused on Oppenheimer’s rise, peak, and fall. 2/3 of the movie focused on what you felt was extraneous. And the irony of something so petty as personal grudge just adds meat to the bone.

It’s like a “Rosebud” moment in Citizen Kane. The reporter searches for meaning, and its just a sled (or a euphemism for Marion Davis’ pussy). We follow the story of Opp’s downfall and learn its largely orchestrated.

[Sawbonz 27,541]

9 hours ago, Foosters said:

No, I get it. And I thought Downey was brilliant. Liked the twist at the end with Malik's character. But considering the subject matter was the building of a doomsday device and the moral/ethical concerns in doing so, I personally found it difficult to get invested in the ultimate outcome of that struggle.

I think we don’t have a reference to how big a star he was in the post war era. He was one of the most famous people on the planet, and was one of the most important minds in the world. I think Nolan played up the personal slight angle for dramatic effect. He was a real threat to the hawks in terms of shaping nuclear policy. A lot of powerful people wanted him silenced. 

[Beau Vine 54,208]

Saw the 6:30 showing at at the IMAX in SA yesterday.  

If my wife hadn't been with me and the seats hadn't been reserved, I probably would have stuck around and watched the 10:30 showing, too, because it was 3 of the fastest hours of my life.  

The only criticisms I could make of the movie are:

1.  Kind of agree with Foosters above.  I would rather have had an extra hour about the actual bomb-making part of things and life on The Hill than the hour they spent on Strauss's confirmation.  But the Einstein speech at the pond at the end was probably my favorite scene in the whole movie. 

2.  I've read a lot about Oppenheimer, and hell, I've literally spent the last 4 months trying to buy a house in Los Alamos, and I cannot imagine the movie being that very fun for someone who didn't have much background knowledge of the events (or any knowledge of physics).  

I went into the movie with criticisms of the over-bearing score in my brain, but I really only thought that was even remotely an issue in one scene.  

Also, this guy had a very small role, but he absolutely killed it:

And I had no idea until a couple of minutes ago that he was this guy:

 

 

 

Edited August 14, 2023 by Beau Vine

[GreenspointTexas 9,598]

On 8/14/2023 at 10:03 AM, Beau Vine said:

Saw the 6:30 showing at at the IMAX in SA yesterday.  

If my wife hadn't been with me and the seats hadn't been reserved, I probably would have stuck around and watched the 10:30 showing, too, because it was 3 of the fastest hours of my life.  

The only criticisms I could make of the movie are:

1.  Kind of agree with Foosters above.  I would rather have had an extra hour about the actual bomb-making part of things and life on The Hill than the hour they spent on Strauss's confirmation.  But the Einstein speech at the pond at the end was probably my favorite scene in the whole movie. 

2.  I've read a lot about Oppenheimer, and hell, I've literally spent the last 4 months trying to buy a house in Los Alamos, and I cannot imagine the movie being that very fun for someone who didn't have much background knowledge of the events (or any knowledge of physics).  

I went into the movie with criticisms of the over-bearing score in my brain, but I really only thought that was even remotely an issue in one scene.  

Also, this guy had a very small role, but he absolutely killed it:

And I had no idea until a couple of minutes ago that he was this guy:

 

 

 

Han solo?

[linux 1,660]

This movie was fucking excellent, the whole morality play really fucked with me for the entire afternoon. 

[ztejas 43,411]

Finally got around to it. I agree the dialogue was hard to hear at times but I have some slight hearing issues. YMMV.

 

This is an instant masterpiece. I can't wait to see it again because I think it will get better upon repeat viewings. Without hesitation I'd put it in his top 3 and it may be closer to TDK than The Prestige. Hopefully they give him the best picture they should have given him 15 years ago. 

I thought it was maybe 10 minutes too long. Cut it by 30 minutes and you miss out on the weight of the ending. Between the Trinity test and his wife defending him in the hearing I thought it dragged a bit. 

That said - I think Nolan intentionally misdirects the audience and challenges you to catch back up. He probably loses some folks that might fail to understand a lot of the commentary of the 2nd half, but, you know, fuck em. And in taking you through all of the various hearing rooms and Washington politics I think it makes the ending stick a bit harder - in that none of that shit really matters because there's no going back - there's pre and post Atomic and that's our reality. 

The entire thing was a technical marvel. At one point I caught myself just zoning out taking in the cinematic beauty of what was being stitched together and barely listening to the dialouge.  

I'm a big Nolan fan but I've never been a huge dweeb for Interstellar or Dunkirk. For me, this is a level he's only reached once previously - and I wouldn't rule it out as his best effort ever until I've seen it a few more times.