Every film feels like 20-40 mins too long. What happened to leaving people wanting more?
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Saw Oppenheimer, its good but not an ATG as I’d read in some places. Really good performances throughout. Score was oppresively loud at times as often the case in Nolan films, distorting the dialogue track.
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Splashed out on taking 5 of us to the Imax as it had been kind of promoted as an ‘Imax-first’ movie and I’d never been to one before. In the end wasn’t really sure why you needed to see what’s basically a courtroom drama on that big a screen. Although I did enjoy the 20-foot tall close-ups of Cillian Murphy’s beautiful face.
Agree on soundtrack, was fingers-in-ears a few times for me, almost violently loud.
Looking forward to Dune 2, that’ll be an Imax one I reckon.
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PS has anyone seen Barbie yet? Who dressed up?
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We saw it. I had no expectations at all other than I’ve enjoyed Greta Gerwig stuff before.
I thought it was incredible, a modern masterpiece. Funny, touching, it’s a proper enjoyable film.
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The book by David Grann is highly recommended. Looking forward to this movie
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Exactly my experience too.
Good film, but couldn’t help feeling disappointed.
I didn’t watch any trailers or read any reviews/spoliers in advance, so maybe my fault for building it up, and my first Imax experience, in my mind.
I of course knew about the subject matter, but with Nolan directing and only seeing the promotional poster, I was anticipating a film like Inception 
Equally gutted because I hadn’t been to a cinema since Avatar 2 (long recovery).
Bring on Dune 2 though.
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My other half took my daughter and her friends, then came back and made her brother do a ‘I am Ken’ video in our street.
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I got talked into it by the family and just got back in from it. The first 45 minutes were enjoyable with some funny moments, the set is great, good to see the patriarchy getting a kicking, but then the film ran up against the significant obstacle of having no real story…It then spiralled downwards rapidly and went on and on. They really stretched it out beyond breaking point I thought. With studios calling the shots and everything commercially-driven, why do so many films go on longer than necessary, incurring unnecessary expense?
Great thread, I really love going to the cinema. I can see it struggling in smaller cities like ours and myself and Mrs Chris try our best to go as much as we can
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Book is in the pile next to my bed. Might make it the one I read next
this is how I felt about it. some ace funny bits, ryan was good but I thought the story was really weak and it just felt all over the place.
I didn’t mind oppenhiemer, I struggled to engage with the first hour of the film but it picked up in the 2nd half. I thought Dunkirk was a better film tho.
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We went in for Oppenheimer at IMAX as well. Honestly, the first 1/3 was pretty bad–the science, in particular, was very poorly done. Men scribbling at blackboards and hackneyed dialogue. Things perked up once the project started.
My charitable opinion is that it was an honest attempt to capture a complex character that largely succeeded despite Nolan’s annoying tropes–primarily the intrusive score and ADHD editing. Scenes change so quickly it feels like a film trailer. Nolan, like Tarantino, cannot do character development and so he leans on the soundtrack as a crutch to tell you what his characters are feeling. It feels ham-fisted and overwrought. And there is a kind of earnest ersatz profundity generated by closeups of Cillian Murphy’s face lost in wonder.
But kudos to Nolan for not taking the biopic easy way out and shedding light on some very interesting historical events - not simply the making of the atomic bomb, but the political considerations and skullduggery that ultimately pushed its genius inventor (or, more correctly, project manager) into the wilderness.
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Finally got to see Oppenheimer at the IMAX. Some interesting points made above regarding the sound & editing. I can see why they could be off-putting to some, but I think, for me at least thats why you go see a Christopher Nolan movie at the cinema. He has a very singular and unique style. It’s a proper event going to watch them. And while its not really an action picture as such, the IMAX cameras do give it an edge and richness that elevate the experience over other films definitely. Its an excellent film, and kind of hard to review. My head was spinning aftewards, very dense and a lot to absorb. And what a cast. Oscar nominations abound I’m sure.
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I’m totally with you. The music is so intrusive and never ends. Is there a single scene longer than 90 seconds long? It is like watching a three hour film trailer and that is exhausting. I really disliked it.
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Went to a few screenings at Melbourne International Film Festival recently.
The highlight for was easily Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days, a vignette of a serene Japanese toilet cleaner who drives between jobs listening to cassettes.
Beautiful architecture, great music, funny characters, well-paced (for a slow cinema-esque film), lots of depth, and ultimately wholesome.
Worth a watch, and leaves you wanting just the right amount more.
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Since Interstellar I’m all tapped out on Nolan. The music was oppressively loud, the running Channel 4 ident robot thing almost made me and my GF puke with laughter from which we never recovered, and the ending was heinous levels of Live Laugh Love schmaltz. Absolutely hated it. Won’t get fooled again…
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I’m with you. The only film of his I think is excellent is Dunkirk. The rest are very overrated imo.
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I really want to see this.
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