'Now I Am Become Barbie, The Destroyer Of Worlds.'
Lol, that ruled.
My neck hurts.
To be fair, my neck usually hurts as my body is constantly breaking down in such a way that makes me consider my own mortality on a near-daily basis, but I think it hurts a little more than usual because I spent all of Friday in a movie theater staring up at a screen in *not the most comfortable* seats.
Also, in defense of the AMC Lincoln Square 13, I spent the last 90 minutes of Oppenheimer leaning forward rapt in attention, so no seat in the world was going to be able to protect my neck from craning injuries.
With all of that said, it was worth it.
For a few days, movies were once again the center of culture. Everyone and their parents went to see Barbenheimer, and if they didn’t, they missed out. The numbers back this up as the pair of films generated an estimated $235.5 million, one of the best box-office weekends ever.
This means two things. 1. The memes worked. And 2. People will go to the theaters for interesting movies. Sometimes it’s just that simple.
You can read about how this affects the industry or whatever anywhere on the planet, but only here on Aerial Shot will you get a breakdown of how I Barbenheimered. After the timeline breakdown, I’ll give you my initial thoughts on both movies. “Initial” because I’m for sure going to see both again at some point. That’s the rundown for this here newsletter. Best of luck.
How did Greg Barbenheimer?
Great question.
First things first, I may or may not have taken Friday off to accomplish this mission. It is what it is. The day at the movies didn’t begin until 2:30 p.m., so I started with a cycling class to get my body moving before a day of sitting and Buncha Crunch.
I made lunch, a burger on the stove, as I had run out of groceries, and then ventured over to the west side around 1:30. Both movies were at the AMC Lincoln Square, primarily because I needed to see Oppenheimer in 70mm IMAX. The reasoning for this is very clear: I don’t have a girlfriend.
Anyway, I was a bit worried as I had read online that Oppenheimer in this format wouldn’t have trailers and I was trying to time my pre-movie bathroom break just right, and then we had trailers anyway. This would ruin a lesser movie-watcher’s day, but I powered through like the icon I am. Oppenheimer fucking ruled. We’ll get into that more later.
One friend, Taylor, joined in for the first screening, as someone else, who will not be named but she knows who she is, bailed the day of.
Then, in quick succession, as we had around 90 minutes between movies. Early dinner at the diner. I had a pastrami sandwich with fries, thanks for asking. We stopped for ice cream (I did not have ice cream as I was getting ready for Buncha Crunch). And then an impromptu photoshoot next to a big photo of Margot Robbie’s foot.
Unlike Oppenheimer, we had an entire aisle for our Barbie group featuring a good deal of pink. I had my Greta Gerwig shirt on. We then Barbied (hell yeah) and eventually debriefed at a bar on the Upper West Side. I had a fancy jack and coke, which was very heavy on the jack.
I then went home, scrolled on Letterboxd for way too long, and eventually passed out.
Okay. I can wax poetic about my perfect Friday for another 500 words or so, but you’re not here to hear about me. You want the takes, and, boy, do I have some. I’ll try to keep spoilers to a minimum, but I can’t promise that. If you read this and you haven’t seen the movies, that’s on you. Don’t blame me. That’s anti-Semitic.
Despite the DRASTICALLY DIFFERENT source material, there’s a good deal of existential crossover between these two instant classics. Which makes the entire thing even more fun.
Oppenheimer Review
I’m just going to start here: This wasn’t just my favorite movie of the day; it’s my favorite movie of 2023. So far, of course. This is technically a biopic, I guess, but it doesn’t rely on any of the crutches that these films usually center around. Instead, it’s a three-hour nonstop roller-coaster that had me sitting forward in my seat like an absolute lunatic.
I don’t think this is a flawless movie, but even with its typical Christopher Nolanisms, I can’t imagine being more into an epic quite like this one. Kinda like Babylon despite the movies themselves being far from similar.
I’ve seen some pushback that there are too much of people in rooms talking, but with the editing and cross-cutting that Nolan uses here, even the most generic of scenes feels like an atomic bomb exploding. Also, all I really want out of movies is constant verbal one-upmanship. This really is the zenith of what Nolan can do between his science fetish, multiple timelines and distraught white men, it’s like a greatest hits for the director in all of the best ways.
Like what else can you want in a movie? You don’t feel a second of its runtime and the movie ends and you feel like absolute shit. That’s how all trips to the theaters should conclude.
I already have tickets to see this one again.
We can discuss Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr., both shoo-ins for the Oscars, but I’d also like to take a second to pinpoint Alden Ehrenreich who goes mano-a-mano with RDJ and holds his own. The actor has had quite the up-and-down career from his stellar showing in the masterful Hail, Caesar! to the unwarranted backlash for his turn as Han Solo in Solo, but the guy is back and as good as he’s ever been. Sidenote: He’s good in Solo, which is a fun movie and better than Rogue One. Fight me. Ehrenreich also has Fair Play coming later this year, which is getting quite the buzz. I’m glad he has returned.
A few other thoughts while we’re here. This movie looks fantastic. The Ludwig Göransson score is ridiculously pitch-perfect. I’ve been listening to it whenever I can already. And the screenplay effortlessly balances enough to ruin a lesser director. I’m sure I’ll have more to say on this one over the coming months/years.
What a picture. Go see it. Immediately.
Barbie Review
As much as I like Christopher Nolan, I don’t think there’s another living director that I value as much as Greta Gerwig. Her acting alone, from Frances Ha to Jackie to 20th Century Women, would be more than enough, but then she went on to direct Lady Bird and Little Women, two of my favorite movies of the 21st century. She’s got the juice and then some.
Ever since seeing Barbie, I can’t stop thinking about a Sean Fennessey take that Barbie is her The Dark Knight, an entry into big-top filmmaking using intellectual property but still crafting everything utilizing a specific voice and viewpoint on the world. The Dark Knight was Nolan’s step-up through Batman and Gerwig took one of the biggest female-centric products in history and then wrapped it up in her own perspective. I don’t see this as crass or an insult. It’s what filmmakers have to do now to move on up in the hierarchy and it’s a borderline miracle what Mattel allowed Gerwig to push through in such a critical blockbuster for the toy line and also for Hollywood.
My initial take is that this is a great movie despite some of my initial hesitancies that come with the Mattel New Yorker piece I’ve written about in the past. It takes Gerwig’s finely-tuned perspective and crams it inside an IP-centric bonanza. It’s a borderline miracle that this is as good as it is and has the jokes that it does with the top brass certainly picking through this with a fine-tooth comb.
The talking point from the opening weekend has been Ryan Gosling and for good reason. This feels like a summation of his last decade or so in which he’s let his comedic timing and freak flag fly. Go watch The Nice Guys if you haven’t seen it yet. The guy is so connected with the material here. He knows what movie they’re making from the get-go and I hope Gerwig casts him again in the future as the two seem truly simpatico.
With that said, Margot Robbie’s Barbie turn can’t be overstated. It’s a very bizarre role that requires optimistic bravado and existential despair. I’m not sure if there’s another actress that could pull this role off. She’s a star. It’s that uncomplicated.
I think the middle act is a bit rickety and America Ferrera’s Gloria is a tad undeveloped, but the comedy shines throughout as does Gerwig’s early-Hollywood-inspired color palette and script. It’s a phenomenal time at the movies, especially when you have a horde ready to laugh at even a semblance of a joke. Gerwig always fucking delivers.
Because this is an optimistic and cheerful post, we’re going to steer clear of the studios pushing movies back due to the concurrent strikes.
All we need to focus on is that we got two tremendous movies over the same weekend and so many goddamn people went to check them out. It’s a win for movie theaters and a win for culture, but most importantly … it’s a win for me. Because now I can talk about movies I’ve seen without others looking at me like I have two heads. Let’s discuss Oppenheimer. Let’s discuss Barbie. Because who knows when something like this will happen again?