Movie Review: Child’s Play (1988)

Heeeey, how ya doin’? Ready for more Month of Spooks ramblings? Ready for me to talk about what quite a few people consider a slasher classic? Well, ready or not, here I go.

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “Child’s Play”.

Karen Barclay (Catherine Hicks) is a struggling single mother who on her son’s (Alex Vincent) manages to get him the one thing he wants, a Good Guy doll. What Karen didn’t know however is that this doll is inhabited by the soul of a vicious serial killer. So we follow the family as they deal with strange, violent events around them, not really having any clue about the truth surrounding them. I found this story to have a bit more than I anticipated, as it blends in elements of a whodunnit and a bit of a gaslighting aspect to proceedings, and doing it in quite the effective way. It adds weight to the slasher shenanigans, which made me care about the characters’ struggles. But it also helps that there’s a bit of dark humor to it all, adding to the emotional spectrum and overall fun of the story. It’s a script that balances fun, thrills, and drama well. Did I find it amazing? No, but I did really like it and I found it to have a bit more nuance than anticipated.

I liked the characters in this, they’re charming and believable and I did find myself caring about them, the writing does a good job of making them people I want to be on the side of. What also helps are the performances, all of them killing it. Catherine Hicks brings a beautiful blend of vulnerability and determination, Alex Vincent does really well, the ever reliable Chris Sarandon plays the main detective looking into the Barclays and he’s stellar, Dinah Manoff is good, and Brad god damn Dourif is just perfect. Not a weak link in this cast.

The score for the movie was composed by Joe Renzetti and I thought it was fun. It mixes some typical slasher stings with a certain playfulness befitting of the toy/child angle, and I think it works well in setting the mood for this movie. Fun, creepy, a little emotional, it’s good stuff.

“Child’s Play” was co-written by Don Mancini, John Lafia, and Tom Holland (no, not Spider-Man, you youngins), with Holland serving as director. And I think the craft here is solid, it does a good job of making every scene feel a bit claustrophobic, even if we’re out in the open air. It really sells how the threat is always sort of lingering around, even if it just looks like a dead bit of plastic at times. Holland and his team really sell that element wonderfully and it gives the film such a fun vibe. And some of the effects in this are great, just wonderfully constructed and implemented.

This movie’s been decently well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 73% positive rating. On Metacritic it has a score of 58/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 6.7/10.

I very much dug “Child’s Play”, it’s a fun and surprisingly nuanced little horror flick. It has a really good story, good characters, great performances, good music, and great directing. Time for my final score. *Ahem*. My final score for “Child’s Play” is an 8.80/10. So I’d say it’s certainly worth buying.

My review of “Child’s Play” is now completed.

How much does a Good Guy cost? A Doll-ar.

Movie Review: One Cut of the Dead (2018)

Alright, time for another Month of Spooks review. And what would a month long horror binge be without something zombie-related? I mean, it’d probably still work, but it’s nice to cover all bases, ya know.

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “One Cut of the Dead”.

Somewhere in Japan, an independent film crew are shooting a low budget zombie feature. This venture takes a dire turn however when real zombies stumble into the set to wreak bloody havoc. And from this point, “One Cut of the Dead” provides one of the most clever and entertaining narratives I’ve seen in a while. It’s a funny and fiendishly smart tale filled with heart that, using horror as an ode to filmmaking, cinema, and the little guy. What also adds so much is that it’s meta without being smug, aware and audience-winking without making you feel like you’re being talked down to. And I found it all to be so much fun and highly engaging. It’s also very hard to talk about this story without revealing too much, so I’m gonna cut this segment here.

The characters in this are all so wonderfully written, with a lot of little nuances to them that make them so entertaining to follow. They perfectly ride the line between feeling real and theatrical, making for some believable and fascinating developments. The cast are great too. Takayuki Hamatsu, Yuzuki Akiyama, Harumi Shuhama, Kazuaki Nagaya, Manabu Hosoi, and more, all kill it.

The music for the movie was composed by Shoma Ito, Kyle Nagai, and Nobuhiro Suzuki, and it’s just so much fun. Highly energetic and filled with a strong can-do drive, it has this way of creating a really fun and wonderfully kinetic feel that gives the proceedings a real strong vibe that just works incredibly well for the movie.

Inspired by a play by Ryoichi Wada, “One Cut of the Dead” was written, edited, and directed by Shinichiro Ueda, and I have to say that he killed it. His filmmaking style isn’t necessarily flashy, but there’s a clear passion for what he’s doing that makes his direction stick out. Much like its story and characters, it’s both grounded and a bit theatrical, which keeps it feeling snappy and engaging. Speaking of which, considering the meager $25,000 dollar budget, it’s impressive to see a few of the things they pull off here. It’s pure passion and effort and I salute Ueda-san and his crew.

This movie’s been really well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 100% positive rating and a “Fresh” certification. On Metacritic it has a score of 86/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 7.6/10.

“One Cut of the Dead” is a stellar and really clever horror-comedy. It has a great story, really good characters, great performances, really good music, and great directing. Time for my final score. *Ahem*. My final score for “One Cut of the Dead” is a 9.77/10. So it gets the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”.

My review of “One Cut of the Dead” is now completed.

The Japanese film industry is two for two this Month of Spooks. Rad.

Movie Review: Bloodline (2019)

More Month of Spooks content comin’ your way. So what’s on the menu today? *checks notes* Murder? Can’t be more specific? Serial murder? Well that sure clears it up, let’s see if the movie itself can make more sense.

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “Bloodline”.

Evan Cole (Seann William Scott) seems like your everyday guy. Loving husband and father, caring and deeply liked high school counselor. But what is not known to the public around him is that he harbors a deeply violent bloodlust within him, which starts erupting when he finds out about some of the horrific things that happen to his young patients. I found the story here pretty interesting, a psychological horror-thriller that never really tells you how to feel about the violence or people you witness. This does bring a certain hypnotic tension to it, which keeps it somewhat engaging. I say somewhat though, because it’s not flawless. The pacing here is really strange. Now, if you’ve followed me for a while, then you know I like a slow burn, but “Bloodline” can feel outright sluggish at times, but at times it feels like some things can be too quick and underdeveloped. Generally I do think it’s an interesting chain of events and I do think its turns and big swings are enjoyable, but that pacing keeps the story from greatness.

The characters in this are… fine, nothing really special. Our protagonist, Evan, is arguably the most interesting, and I did find him interesting to follow. The rest though feel like they could use a bit more development. Now, obviously this is mainly intended as a character study for Evan, but the others get enough play that I started to feel like we could’ve gotten to know them a little better. Where I can give complete praise here however is for the cast, all of which are solid. Seann William Scott has been great in the comedies I’ve seen him in, but this is the best I’ve seen from him. An understated, nuanced, complex performance that I couldn’t stop watching, the guy was fantastic. Mariela Garriga is good, Dale Dickey is great as always, Raymond Cham Jr is really good, Kevin Carroll’s solid. Not a bad performance in this cast.

The score for the movie was composed by Trevor Gureckis and it is great. What we get are a series of driving synth tracks that add to the strangely hypnotic vibe of the movie, almost adding a bit of a weird dreamlike feeling that works really well to keep me engaged. It’s just great.

“Bloodline” was directed and co-written by Henry Jacobson, and I think he did a great job. His direction is very clearly inspired by De Palma, a lot of interesting angles, split diopter shots, and even a pretty cool split screen sequence are used throughout. There’s also a lot of stark colors, which is a bit akin to the works of Argento. Jacobson, along with cinematographer Isaac Bauman, wear these influences on their sleeve without making it feel like they’re just ripping them off or not doing anything of their own with it, because they do use these influences in interesting, gorgeously shot ways that don’t just feel like they don’t have their own vision. Add on top of that some stellar moment to moment editing by Nigel Galt, along with some gore that actually took me aback a few times, and you get some really good craft on behalf of the crew.

This movie’s gotten some mixed reception. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 50% positive rating. On Metacritic it has a score of 50/10. And on imdb.com it has a score of 6.0/10.

While it is flawed, I still think “Bloodline” is solid and makes for an interesting debut from director Jacobson. It has an alright story, okay-ish characters, great performances, great music, and fantastic directing/cinematography/editing. Time for my final score. *Ahem*. My final score for “Bloodline” is a 7.66/10. So while flawed, I’d still say that it’s worth renting.

My review of “Bloodline” is now completed.

Seann William Scott in… Dude, Where’s My Murder?

Movie Review: Evil Dead Rise (2023)

Oh hey, it’s the movie that I themed this year’s Month of Spooks poster/art from, but didn’t see until now because of terrible showtimes for horror movies at the cinema all year ’round! Yes, I’m salty, but that’s not important right now. What’s important is that I can talk about this movie now.

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “Evil Dead Rise”.

On a dark night, in a tall apartment building in the city, a sinister force gets unleashed, turning people into violent, flesh-destroying monsters. Caught in the middle of this disaster is a family who have to try their damndest to survive this bloody terror. I had fun with the story here, it takes some of the ideas established throughout the franchise, while evolving them into something slightly new and fresh. From the new apartment setting, to it being a loving family instead of random teens/Ash Williams, the story finds ways of giving us fun, creepy new ways of delivering deadite carnage, without making it feel like it doesn’t belong in this franchise. Is it my favorite chain of events in an “Evil Dead” movie? No, it does have some mild pacing issues early on, and overall I don’t find the narrative *quite* as enjoyable as some earlier entries, but it’s still a fun, compelling, blood-soaked ride.

I found the characters in this to be pretty enjoyable, they’re believably written and I do feel for them when they’re in the middle of the shit. They’re not necessarily the greatest horror protags ever, but they work well for this story. What doesn’t hurt either are the performances, all of which are great. Lily Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland (who gives my favorite performance here), Morgan Davies, Gabrielle Echols, and Nell Fisher all deliver damn good performances. Not one weak link here.

The score for the movie was composed by Stephen McKeon and it was alright. Fairly standard stuff, nothing that sticks out. A few decent string/brass strings, some okay droning, a couple string pieces I didn’t mind. On the whole it’s not something I can say much about because it’s neither here nor there. A passable horror scoreor.

Of course building on from the horror franchise created by Sam Raimi over 40 years ago, “Evil Dead Rise” was written and directed by Lee Cronin, and I must say, I think he did a really good job here. He of course brings in a lot of the visual tricks we’ve come to know and love from Raimi’s entries in the series, without feeling like he’s cribbing wholesale. He takes those chaotic vibes, but pulls back a little bit in order to keep the somewhat claustrophobic vibes of this dark, eerie apartment complex. And I think he pulls it off really well, balancing the blood-soaked insanity and snappy camerawork with the cramped environments to give the movie an enjoyable, unique-within-the-franchise atmosphere. It also helps that cinematographer Dave Garbett knows how to help deliver on some good, visually playful shots. And as with most parts of this franchise, this shit is GORY as all hell. Showers of blood, chunks of flesh, this delivers on some creative, hella entertaining, and sometimes disturbing gore.

This movie has been pretty well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has an 84% positive rating and a “Fresh” certification. On Metacritic it has a score of 69/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 6.6/10.

“Evil Dead Rise” is another winning entry in this long-running franchise. It has a solid story, pretty good characters, great performances, okay music, great directing/cinematography, and some awesomely spooky violence. Time for my final score. *Moves up deaditely*. My final score for “Evil Dead Rise” is an 8.67/10. So I would say it’s certainly worth buying.

My review of “Evil Dead Rise” is now completed.

Still not seen the 2013 reboot. Maybe I’ll do that some day foreshadowing, foreshadowing

Movie Review: Onibaba (1964)

Heya. The descent into spookness continues. So let’s get on with it.

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “Onibaba”.

Medieval Japan. While civil war rages on, a pair of women (Nobuko Otawa, Jitsuko Yoshimura) try to make a living killing samurai and selling their gear. But when one of them starts having an affair with their neighbor (Kei Sato), tensions start to brew amongst the three. The narrative in “Onibaba” is a fascinating one. A slow genre-bending mood piece about the effects war can have on the people not directly involved, and the issues greed and lust can have. It blends elements of historical drama with a surreal psycho-sexual horror, making for a story I found really compelling. It’s really eerie and tense, like a strange nightmare that you just can’t escape from, and it gives the movie a vibe I’ve personally never really experienced before. Even the slow burn of it feels completely earned, as it’s brilliantly used to build suspense and further the surreal nightmare vibes of it all. ’tis good shit.

The characters in this are so fascinating. Complex, deeply flawed individuals who’s writing somehow makes their motivations feel both clear and obscure, making me question everything going on and never letting me feel like I can trust them or myself watching them. What also helps are the marvelous performances on display. Nobuko Otawa is my personal standout, giving a performance for the ages. But Jitsuko Yoshimura and Kei Sato are absolutely stellar as well. Just a fantastic trio of performances.

The score was composed by Hikaru Hayashi and I found it to be quite interesting. From a purely musical standpoint, it is pure fucking chaos, a cacophony of heavy percussion, piano, woodwind, and some other things I can’t quite pick out from memory. Anyhow, it’s an insane mix that on its own is just not something I’d listen to. But when paired with the rest of the movie, it works. It’s not played often, so when that brash cacophony comes in, it hits like a damn truck and sets an uneasy, at times terrifying mood that had me glued.

“Onibaba” was written and directed by Kaneto Shindo, and he killed it. Shindo had a way of framing scenes to make the limited sets feel fresh and unsafe at all times. From the small hut the women live in, to the swaying grass outside, to the nearby water, Shindo makes every environment become like a character on its own, and that turns each and every shot (beautifully captured by cinematographer Kiyomi Kuroda) into an unsettling bit of psychological torment.

This movie has been pretty well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 90% positive rating. And on imdb.com it has a score of 7.9/10.

“Onibaba” is a fantastic erotic horror-drama. It has a great story, great characters, stellar performances, interesting music, and fantastic directing/cinematography.  Time for my final score. *Ahem*. My final score for “Onibaba” is a 9.80/10. So it most certainly gets the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”.

My review of “Onibaba” is now completed.

If you make a horror movie with sexual themes to it, is that called a hornor?

Movie Review: Poltergeist (1982)

Friendos, it has become that time of year again. That time when I dedicate my blog to the spookier side of entertainment. From now until the end of October, we will partake in the Month of Spooks! So get ready.

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “Poltergeist”.

A normal family, living normal lives, in a seemingly normal home soon start having their lives turned upside down when they start getting haunted by a strange, supernatural force. And we follow them as they try to work together to get through these horrific happenings. I enjoyed the journey of this, it’s a wild, intense, quite fun haunted house ride, finding a nice balance between the gruesome, the unknown, and even a bit of Spielbergian sentimentality. There were moments I found somewhat touching, there were moments I found funny, I did mostly care about the family’s plight. With all this said, I didn’t necessarily adore the narrative here. There’s nothing actually wrong about, and I can’t technically find fault. But it didn’t have me totally gripped either. It’s a really enjoyable spooky haunted house story, but that’s about it.

The characters in this are pretty enjoyable, the movie does a good job of making them pretty charming and easy to care about. They are likable and when they feel distressed, I did feel for them somewhat. What else helps is that the cast here is absolutely killer, with not one weak performance among them. Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams, Heather O’Rourke, Dominique Dunne, Oliver Robins, Beatrice Straight, and more, they are all stellar.

The score for the movie was composed by Jerry Goldsmith and it is absolutely spectacular. The tracks here are layered, intense, and surprisingly playful, providing some emotionally nuanced ear candy that help sell the horror, drama, and humor (that we get before shit hits the fan) in some astonishing ways. Goldsmith always brings his A-game, and this is one of his best.

Co-written by Steven Spielberg, Michael Grais, and Mark Victor, “Poltergeist” was directed by Tobe Hooper… with a fair bit of input from hands-on producer Spielberg, from my understanding, but Hooper is seen as the primary guy behind the camera. And he did a great job with it. There’s so much fun, creepy, intense camerawork that playfully toys with the audience a little bit and allows for set pieces to have an added sense of spookiness and tension. Mix that with the awesome visual effects and Matthew Leonetti’s stunning cinematography, and you get a wonderfully produced horror picture.

This movie has been quite well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has an 88% positive rating and a “Fresh” certification. On Metacritic it has a score of 7.9/10. And on imdb.com it has a score of 7.3/10. The movie was also nominate for 3 Oscars in the categories of Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, and Best Original Score.

While I don’t necessarily adore it like so many other, people I still found “Poltergeist” to be a really solid horror film. It has a good story, good characters, great performances, great music, great directing, great effects, and some decent scares. Time for my final score. *Ahem*. My final score for “Poltergeist” is an 8.23/10. So I’d say it is definitely worth buying.

My review of “Poltergeist” is now completed.

The Month of Spooks is go

Movie Review: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

What if things weren’t as they seemed? What if people weren’t who they seemed? What if… aliens?

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”.

After mysterious plants start emerging in San Francisco, health inspector Matthew Bennell (Donald Sutherland) and his colleague Elizabeth (Brooke Adams) soon start suspecting that people are being replaced by strange clones. And thus begins a journey of figuring out what’s going on, and who can still be trusted as the invasion grows. Take the bug-eyed tension of paranoia thrillers, mix in some body horror, and you get the narrative of this movie. And I found it to be some of the most suspenseful and eerie storytelling that I’ve experienced in a film. Right from the word go, there’s this unease, a lingering dread that made me suspicious of pretty much anyone stepping in front of the camera. It’s a slowly creeping tension that kept me on my toes, making me never feel truly safe, and yet it also somehow always managed to catch me off guard every time it decided to go a bit bigger with its thrills and turns. Adding to it is also this sense of hopelessness, even as characters keep telling themselves “We’re gonna solve this”, there is this overwhelming dread that makes the proceedings way more intense and scary. It’s such a clever and tense story that I loved.

I really liked the characters in this, they’re flawed and believable, and it makes it easy to really feel for them as they have that grounding. What also helps is the absolutely fantastic cast. Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright, Leonard Nimoy, and many more appear in this movie, and there’s not a weak link amongst them. It’s such a strong cast, all giving nuanced performances that really bring these interesting characters to life.

The score for the movie was composed by Denny Zeitlin and I think he did such a great job. He manages to really bring forth the different kinds of anxiety that happen throughout the movie. Early on it’s slower, more droning and eerie, as the invasion starts creeping in. But as things ramp up, he starts bringing in more dissonant notes and brash instrumentation that frequently leans on an affrettando to create this overwhelming “Oh shit” sensation. It’s the type of score I wouldn’t necessarily find myself listening to in my spare time, but it’s perfect for this movie in building suspense, intensity, and at times even a little sadness. It’s good stuff.

Based on a novel by Jack Finney, “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” was directed by Philip Kaufman, and he knocked it out of the damn park here. Inventive camera movements, frenetic editing, creeping zooms, the man pulls out so many interesting tricks to build as much tension as possible and he nailed it every time. He also knows what to reveal and when, knowing when less is more and when it’s time to give us the goods. Not always seeing the threat does often help make things scary, but he also shows the frankly disgusting effects and makeup work just often enough to keep it creepy and a bit gag-worthy. The man brings such a good balance between the paranoia and the body horror that just blew me away. Speaking of good shit, Ben Burtt’s sound design is horrifying, from the smaller creeping sounds to the louder noises that fans of the movie know very well, it’s all so well designed in its horribleness.

This movie has been well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 93% positive rating and a “Fresh” certification. On Metacritic it has a score of 75/100. And on imdb.com it has a score of 7.4/10.

So as you may have understood from the constant praise above, I absolutely adored “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”. It has a great story, really good characters, fantastic performances, great music, and fantastic directing/effects/sound design. Time for my final score. *Ahem*. My final score for “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” is a 9.91/10. Which means that it gets the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”.

My review of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” is now completed.

Me? Alien? What makes you think that? *subtly shoves pod under rug*

Great Music #39

Heya. Been a while since we did one of these posts. But if you’re newer, welcome to Great Music, the series I come back to every few millennia on this blog where I just ramble on about songs I like. So I guess without further delay, let’s see what we have in store.

So today we’re talking about a little song I only discovered earlier this year. A pop track that has captured my heart in a way I didn’t think entirely possible. The song in question is “River” by Japanese pop artist Anonymouz. Little is known about Anonymou- ooooooooh, I get it. Anyhow, while I can’t find much about this individual, I can chat about the song.
“River” is this sweeping pop track, a passionate cry to the skies and to nature itself, a want of redemption… a cry to move forward, to find peace within oneself, to have the pain of the past washed away by a mighty river. I first found this song through season two of anime series “Vinland Saga“, where it was used as the opening theme for the first half of the season. And it’s a very apt tune to use as its themes line up with that of the show’s, as it’s about a young viking seeking personal redemption after leading a violent, hate-filled life. But what also adds to the song is that it blends elements of modern pop writing with those sweeping ballads you’d find in big, epic Oscar movies, making for a song that is both modern and timeless, sweeping and bopping, powerful and just easy to listen to. It has that kind of nice dichotomy and I’m glad to have in my life.

As always, I will be sharing the song below, but I will also be putting in the shortened version they use in “Vinland Saga”, just for a bit of fun comparison. Anyhow, have a good one and enjoy.

Series Review: Guilt – Season 3 (2023)

Over the past few years I’ve been covering this show. And earlier this year it came to an end with a third and final season. So let’s see if it’s a solid bookend to the complex cavalcade of the McCalls.

Ladies, gents, and non-binaries… “Guilt” season 3.

After heading to Chicago to get away from a bad situation, brothers Max and Jake (Mark Bonnar and Jamie Sives) find themselves having to head back to Scotland to deal with everything that’s been causing them trouble, hopefully finding a solution to them once and for all. Add conspiracy, the Scottish underworld, and old wounds getting opened back up, and you get a recipe for the events that unfold this season. And I found the story here to be really engaging, presenting a really intense, nuanced, and funny path to a really satisfying end. It is a bit hurt however by its episode count. 4×60 minutes is not optimal for such a big story, it makes it feel a bit stuffy, causing the pacing of each episode to drag. The story itself is great, so it is ultimately a satisfying narrative, but I do wish it’d been split across maybe five 45 minute episodes instead. It’s a bit polarizing in that sense. Great story, poor pacing.

The characters (both old and new) remain as colorful, complex, flawed, and insanely entertaining as we’ve come to expect from this show. And what this season solidifies most is that Max McCall remains one of the most interesting protagonists of recent years. As shady, spiteful, and slimy as always, his journey here is so engaging and Bonnar is as spectacular as ever. Jamie Sives is also great once again, making for a warm, fun counterpoint that works really well against Bonnar’s Max. The rest of the cast, containing people like Emun Elliott, Greg McHugh, Phyllis Logan, Anders Hayward, Isaura Barbé-Brown, and many more, all absolutely killing it.

Arthur Sharpe returned to compose the score for this final season and he killed it as ever. A fun mix of inspirations (typical thriller score, a little rocky, a little jazzy infusion), it really fits the colorful world of the show. There’s also a decent amount of licensed tracks used throughout, most pertaining to older rock music, and it fits each respective scene in such a fun way.

As with the previous two season of “Guilt”, each episode was written by series creator Neil Forsyth, with season 2’s Patrick Harkins returning to direct all four episodes. And the craft here is just great. Nicely shot, edited in a tense and fun way, holding just long enough on each shot, it’s just each member of the crew bringing their A-game to make this the best possible end to this series.

The show/season has been pretty well received. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 100% positive rating. On Metacritic it exists without any real score. And on imdb.com it has a score of 7.4/10.

While its rough pacing does bring it down a bit, the final season of “Guilt” is a satisfying end to the McCall brothers’ journey. The story is great, the characters are great, the performances are fantastic, the music’s really good, and the directing is great. Time for my final score. *Ahem*. My final score for “Guilt” season 3 is an 8.45/10. So while flawed, I’d say it’s definitely worth watching.

My review of “Guilt” season 3 is now completed.

Gonna miss looking forward to new episodes of this.

Markus Pulls a Barbenheimer

Heya! So if you’ve been on the internet for the past however many months (I’ve personally lost count), then you’ve been aware of this dichotomous phenomenon. Two films, diametrically opposed in tone, style, and color scheme to a lesser extent, releasing on the same day. It’s become both a huge meme and a genuinely exciting time for film fans. From those who dress up for the occasion, to those who see both movies in the same day, it’s been wild and fun. No animosity, no rudeness (mostly)… just good vibes about a cute coincidence. And I recently took part in it as well… for the most part at least, I didn’t dress up in the style of ol’ Babs as pink ain’t my color, and I didn’t catch them in the same day because I don’t have the energy for that. But I did see them both this weekend and I wanted to talk about them. And in honor of the meme, I thought I’d bring back the multi film post, like I used for The Fable and Along With the Gods.

So without further ado, ladies, gents, and non-binaries… Barbenheimer.

Oppenheimer (Watched Saturday)

The story of this film follows the tumultuous life of scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), showing his many trials and tribulations before, during, and after the development of the atomic bomb. From his rocky love life, to the tension around getting the weapon done before the nazis, to him being suspected to be a communist, it covers a lot of ground and does it well. And for a three hour runtime, it moves quite well, weaving through its threads marvelously to create a layered and sometimes quite tense narrative surrounding this fascinating individual, and the people around him.
What helps bring it to life further is Christopher Nolan’s direction, which is as reliably skillful as we’ve come to expect from him. But there’s also a different kind of energy to his ways here, as he blends reality with abstract, borderline hypnotic scientific visuals, which gives us a look at both the process going on within the science people’s experiments, as well as working as a little bit of a look into Oppenheimer’s brain in itself, kind of lining up with his emotional state at the time.
The movie also has a killer cast, from Cillian Murphy (one of his best roles), Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Benny Safdie, Florence Pugh, Robert Downey Jr,  Josh Hartnett, and an absolute shitload of other TV/character actors rounding out the cast, with everyone delivering tremendous work. The score by composer Ludwig Göransson (SWEDEN REPRESENT!) is absolutely spectacular as well, creating an eerie, often dreamlike state within the soundscape, making each scene considerably more haunting. It’s just a film where everything comes together well, making for one hell of an intense and engaging watch. I absolutely loved it, one of my favorites of the year so far.

Barbie (Watched Sunday)

Barbie (Margot Robbie) is living the dream in Barbieland, loving her mimed milk, beach sessions, and nightly parties with all the other Barbies and Kens. But this life in plastic stops being fantastic when Barbie begins suffering from a mysterious and sudden existential crisis. So her and Ken (Ryan Gosling) set out on a quest to figure out what the hell is going on, and hopefully see if there’s some kind of solution to the situation. I thoroughly dug this movie, the story blends broad, silly, borderline absurdist comedy with well written messages about gender roles and people’s places in the world to make for a really enjoyable story about finding oneself. It’s kind of a coming of age story, but with dolls instead of people… though that makes me question if dolls ARE people, if they’re able to have these kinds of existential crises *slapping sound* right, back on track. But I thought it was fun and warm and decently engaging in tis writing. I laughed, I found its discussions on its themes to be interesting, and I even had this fuzzy feeling in my heart at a point. Greta Gerwig (along with co-writer Noah Baumbach) did a great job with the script, and her directing was really great too.
And much like “Oppenheimer” before it, the cast here is stacked and stellar. I’ve already touched upon Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in the leads, both of which who kill it. Especially Gosling in my opinion, who just goes so all out on Ken’s shenanigans, which makes for one of the most fascinating and amusing figures in the movie. But you also have people like Issa Rae, America Ferrera, Ariana Greenblatt, Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Kate McKinnon, and so many more, all delivering flawless work in this. So yeah, I thoroughly enjoyed “Barbie”, it’s a really solid, clever comedy about finding oneself.

So not only did this coincidence lead to some fun, surprisingly wholesome memes on the ol’ internet, we also got two good movies out of it, which I think is just awesome. A fascinating phenomenon and a pair of good flicks… what more could you ask for?

Have a good one.