Oppenheimer

“A must-see in IMAX at soonest possible convenience. Truly a ride.”

“Even better than I could have hoped for? I read the translation Nolan based this on as a refresher and recommend that too. The casting was so fantastic. It was a thrill of a movie even with it being, you know The Odyssey. My hot take is that we need to make teenagers read the Odyssey again.”

“yeah. sorry. if you’ve been wondering if you have to see it on a big big super screen, yeah. you do. maybe one of the small imax sub types will do, but normal size cuts off about 35% of each shot. this is a big budget sweeping movie like the epics of the 60s, and you will be asking a lot of “how the hell did he do that” moviemaking questions. you will have fun. robert pattinson continues his generational run. the score is delicious. not “woke” as idiot grifters claim, whatever that means, but it’s liberal in a conservative way — hard to explain. something only the english could think up. it’s long but not boring. suck it up, get a big popcorn or sneak in a non odorous sandwich and have a ball. what the movies are all about.”

“Movie night for the hags at The Grove”

“If you have seen the movie already, you get it. If you haven't seen it yet, pick some up from the hardware store before you get to the theater. I promise you won't miss any dialogue and you will enjoy the rest of it a million times more. Trust me on this.”

“But moreso because I think the film is crafted so expertly it can take you along for the ride without needing much of any background knowledge. I read American Prometheus, which inspired the film, and sure, there is more information about Oppenheimer's life and context, but it really is stunning how little you can walk into Oppenheimer with, and get so much out of it.”

“Given the intentional departures from the source material, Nolan is definitely saying something interesting about our time. The dissolution of honor, the sacrilege of inhospitality and the cruelty of impotent power grabbers. About literacy and rebuilding culture when the world’s gone to hell. About personal surrender to the divine. It’s a deeply spiritual film to me (and, I reject some reviewers’ takes about the role of the gods and divinity in the film, tbh.) I’ve seen it twice this weekend, and truth be told, I’m not the biggest Nolan fan. But every once in a while he strikes a chord with me. This is one of those times.”

“Stellar sound design and cinematography”

“Highly enjoyable movie from start to finish.”

“yes, I know. everyone is talking about this film already. do I care? no, I’m giving my take and agreeing with the masses that this is another masterful release by nolan. I know there will always be people who may perhaps say it is mid, but I will say this: no matter how anyone feels about it, the cultural effects this movie had were immense and you can’t really go anywhere atm without it coming up in conversation, and that’s something I respect about any piece of media that has a global impact. we don’t have to be contrarians about everything and it’s okay to admit that something popular deserves that popularity. also I tried not to spoil too much but if you haven’t seen it yet, SPOILER ALERT just in case, maybe circle back to this after you see it pls. I honestly never read homer’s the odyssey, never studied it in school, and I genuinely thought the trojan horse was a real event in ancient history LMAO. I went into the movie theatre completely blind with my man who is an avid movie theatre enjoyer, so ofc I joined in to see what everyone’s been talking about. do you ever watch a youtube video, tiktok or ig reel that is so high production with great storytelling that you check the comments to see if someone else was thinking, “did I just log into instagram/tiktok premium?” that’s how I felt about this movie. idk how else to explain it other than it feels like MOVIE PREMIUM. everything from the practical effects to the sound design (there were moments where the sheer shock of the sonic effects alone sent me into orbit), to the stunning visuals, the scale of the production was colossal and immersive. I had no clue where this plot was going at the start (again, knew nothing of the epic poem) but as soon as the characters came face to face with their first greek mythological encounter, I locked in and became all consumed by terror, disgust and anticipation. that’s all I will say on the plot, but every step of the anti-hero’s journey had me on the edge of my seat and led to a finale that I was very impressed with. at first, I wasn’t sure if matt daemon had the aura required to execute odysseus but he has since grown on me and nolan’s choices for the casting came across very intentional, which I do respect. with a cast this stacked, there was bound to be high expectations, so it was very illuminating to see so many “main character” actors embrace their supporting roles with such precision and restraint, making their parts in the complex tale more memorable while not taking away from the heart of the story (zendaya, tom holland, mia goth, lupita nyong’o). himesh patel, playing odysseus’ second in command, skillfully channeled the frustration and confusion of all his soldiers, elliot page in his hurt and betrayal, and of course, robert pattinson in his dedication to playing comedically pathetic men. I also enjoyed seeing will yun lee take on his role after being obsessed with altered carbon, his arc kind of made me laugh because it just seems so him (iykyk). jon bernthal also killed me because he seems to play himself in everything. I was also impressed to see travis scott take on this project within the movie and collaborating on the music production side with james blake (already such an atmospheric, identifiable artist) for an original track. I enjoy seeing the versatility of artists as they expand into different industries and explore beyond the confines of their predetermined “lane.” I think another aspect of this movie that I liked the most, happening outside the movie, is the cultural conversation that followed on social media. as people saw the film and began posting their youtube in depth film reviews and lore commentary, to the memes exploding on x, tiktok and ig, this movie created a hype that people wanted to be a part of in order to be in the know, to understand the jokes, to participate in debates online and at parties. it is a moment in media history where I don’t think something of this scale has been released in a long time. and I have a wealth of memes I get to laugh about for the next few weeks or months until it dies down, but tbh that’s one of the parts I really love the most. I know this is all high praise, but for the men who can’t stop thinking of the roman empire and for the greek mythological baddies, it is a movie to watch as a timeless analogy to the destruction of war and questions of morality, injustice, karmic debt, and being at the whim of merciless gods.”

“I read The Odyssey (Emily Wilson translation) to prepare myself for the film …and it is wonderful! Warning - if you read the book it will spoil the movie for you - not because it gives away the ending - but because the story is so delicious you’ll be disappointed by Nolan’s interpretation, particularly his representative of women. There is a reason it has survived and delighted for thousands of years.”

“It’s so obvious that it’s almost too obvious and that’s why it warrants recommendation. I felt that shit in my bones for all three hours and it’s still lingering there.”

“wow wow wow wow wow it's a great day to be a filmbro/nolanbro! our guy did not disappoint, the film astounds. and the sound design... my jaw was on the floor.”

“I like Nolan and the movie looks great”

“Maybe the best movie ever made”

“holy shit chris nolan really did his big one with this movie. well cast but somehow i wish it was all unknowns. SO GOOD. i know the end is different than the book it made me want to reread the book”

“best book i have ever read in my entire life”

“one of visual storytelling’s crown jewels, if not its crowning glory. the apotheosis of 21st century cinema. one of my life’s big regrets is not witnessing this greatness in 70mm imax. if you can, don’t rob yourself of this experience. nolan you have once again reclaimed your title as the greatest filmmaker of our time. and condolences to every culture warmongering keyboard warrior on x.com who participated in the chud backlash to this movie. elon and his merry band of racist reply bots can cry me a river💙”

“Best theater experience I’ve had this year. The music, the production, the performances. I want to see it again and again and again and again-”

“Circe scene alone makes this movie a masterpiece”