I have been looking forward to Oppenheimer ever since it was announced. I am unapologetic about my love and adoration for Christopher Nolan, and I revere him as one of the best directors of his generation, someone whose movies are always uniquely “his”, no matter the subject matter. And it precisely is that unique “Nolan” flair that makes this movie such a spectacle. I know the word “spectacle” can be used as an almost derogatory term, but leave it up to Nolan to show you how to make a “humble” spectacle about a guy who developed the atomic bomb. Throughout the years, we have seen many different biopics about various people, from heroes to villains, from great biopics to those ones we would rather forget. And here comes Nolan, and delivers on every front, with our protagonists arguably being someone, who is neither here nor there. Some might see Oppenheimer as a hero we needed at the time, others as a questionable man with a complex past, and this movie presents him with all his flaws and quirks. And it does it in such a cinematic way that you will have a blast.

Usually, I know where I want to start my review and what to mention first because many movies (even great ones) tend to have one category they excel at, whether it’s casting (and therefore performances) or the soundtrack, the camera work, the CGI… With Oppenheimer, there are so many excellent elements/parts that it is hard to pick “the one” I have enjoyed the most. It feels almost criminal not talking about performances first, but I need to start with the score by Ludwig Göransson.

This movie marks Ludwig’s second collaboration with Nolan (he also scored Tenet (2020)), and I sure hope this won’t be the last. As much as I love and admire Hans Zimmer and the movies he has done with Nolan, I would not be mad if Ludwig and Nolan became “best buddies” for a while. It is insane how vital the sound/score is to this film and how it never overshadows what happens on the screen until it must. I am talking about the anxiety-inducing main (?) theme that sounds like a stampede or locomotive leaving the station. Throughout the movie, we can hear it often, and every time we do, we can see Oppenheimer almost “lost”. And I kept wondering what that sound was, and then, the film revealed what it was and… everything “clicked”. You understand not only the significance of the sound but also why it was so vital to our protagonist and his character arc. I hope Ludwig gets recognised and at least nominated for this score.

Speaking of nominations and recognition, let’s talk about actors. As it’s almost a trademark at this point, everyone and their momma want to be in a Christopher Nolan film, so we have half of the Hollywood here, and they all deliver, some I could argue were their best performances ever. Cillian Murphy should get all the awards and recognition he is seriously due as he nails this complex role. Because of the nature of this role, he portrays Oppenheimer in an almost unapproachable manner. There are scenes where you think you understand him, and then there are scenes where you can’t be sure what he thinks or where he stands. It’s almost as if Nolan wanted to tell us that we shouldn’t celebrate him too much, but also, we can’t condemn him either. He asks us to see him for what he was – a flawed person who, unfortunately, was needed at the time. Cillian found that balance of being familiar yet distant and cold when needed and displayed him brilliantly. I can’t imagine this was the easiest performance in his life, but he makes it seem so effortless he deserves all the praise he will hopefully get.

But my biggest surprise with acting performances must have been Robert Downey Jr. Firstly, I didn’t expect his role to be as big as it was; the trailer misdirected us into thinking his role would be more like a cameo, but no, he might have as much screen time as Cillian. And he excels in it. I don’t want to say too much, but it’s a departure for Downey, and he nails it. I wouldn’t be shocked if he managed to get nominated. Jason Clarke has also been awesome; I love seeing Josh Hartnett back in the spotlight, and he seems more sure of himself and his acting than ever before.

I will be honest; at first, I wasn’t sure about Emily Blunt. Respectively, her character. Because for the vast majority of Oppenheimer, she is either crying, drunk or a bit of both. It almost seemed like she was wasted in this role, and then her deposition scene happened, where she went toe-to-toe with Jason Clarke’s character, and you finally see her fully, her character and fierceness. Sure, is she the most flashed-out character here? No, because it’s not her movie; therefore, we don’t get much more of her than absolutely needed, but that scene makes us understand there is more to her than her drinking and crying.

And that is the genius of this movie in a nutshell. Where Oppenheimer shines is by showing us flawed people with certain labels (I didn’t expect that much talk of communism) and how they navigated that era, and more importantly, how you can be more than the ideals you stand for, your “label”. Oppenheimer himself is shown as a communist sympathizer. But he never labelled himself as one, and in reality, he never joined the Communist party either, yet many only saw that. “He supports these ideas; therefore, he must be a communist!” It was fascinating that this biopic about a man who “gave us” the atomic bomb had deeper themes of tribalism that still apply today. Just replace the word communist with any other word that dominates our thinking today – and there are many to choose from, like liberal, democrat, republican, woke, etc. How often do we choose to see each other based on our labels rather than what we stand for? Oppenheimer‘s brilliance is showing us those shades of grey, where you can be on board with many things a certain ideology talks about and yet not be fully on board with it, for whatever reason. Those small details are precisely what made this movie just that tiny bit better, smarter and ahead of most other biopics or films in general.

Another thing I appreciated was another staple of Nolan’s film-making – following several timelines. I won’t lie; at times, it was harder to get my head around where we were in the story or who is this person again, but I expect that to “clear” upon multiple viewings, as is expected for a movie with so many supporting characters, told over several decades, to be slightly convoluted. But I was never lost; the film never confused me; I was able to follow everything, even though some details might have escaped me. Often, my biggest criticism of modern biopics is they don’t cover enough ground, or they would skip over parts that I was intrigued by. I have not had that issue watching Oppenheimer despite its three-hour runtime; I was never bored, and it never seemed like it was too rushed. Sure, some side characters could have been more fleshed out (like his wife, portrayed by Emily Blunt, as already mentioned), but I thought this was an entertaining, well-paced, and brilliantly filmed story.

Have you noticed I have not even mentioned anything about the bomb sequence? It was insane because the moment we saw the bomb test, the cinema was silent, and as I complimented Ludwig’s score before, Nolan knew when to use it and when to pull back. He realises the power of sound/score and uses it so you can be overwhelmed by it, but he also understands the importance of silence and the lack of any score/sound and that made for one of the most memorable scenes in the entire movie. Also, I witnessed one of the biggest jump scares I have seen in non-horror films. I feel like with Nolan’s understanding of moviemaking if he ever decided to shoot a straight-up horror movie, he would have delivered something so unnervingly scary… Think of the elevated horror of Ari Aster and now imagine the “Nolan” touch. I don’t know about you, but I am already terrified. Back to Oppenheimer, I think that somehow tells you how brilliant this movie is if there is a stunningly haunting scene of the atomic detonation, and somehow, I (and many others) have been talking about many other brilliant things. I can easily imagine Oppenheimer climbing up my Nolan ratings as one of the TOP films he directed… and he already has some excellent movies on his resume. Yet somehow, he keeps on getting better.

Overall, Oppenheimer is worth your money. It is a movie I had high expectations going into, and not only wasn’t I disappointed, but the film managed to surprise me with almost everything. From its approach to the story, to how many great actors delivered the career best, to the score, the bomb sequence, everything that happens after… I strongly suspect this movie will age like a fine wine, and the more I see it in the future, the more I will love it. It’s a layered, complex biopic with a runtime of three hours and contains a lot of science and communism talk, and somehow, you don’t feel exhausted at the end. You will feel many emotions, but I can’t imagine “underwhelmed”, “bored”, or “meh” would be one of them. Watch Oppenheimer on the biggest screen possible (I envy everyone living near the IMAX cinema).

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

I remember watching the first trailer for No Hard Feelings a few months ago and thinking this would either be a funny movie or a pretty miserable experience, but I was intrigued by Jennifer Lawrence acting in a straight-up raunchy comedy. After fairly positive reviews from critics and audiences alike, I caught it in the cinemas and was glad I did.

Let’s establish something – this doesn’t redefine the genre. No Hard Feelings is a raunchy comedy; one could argue it is also a pretty straightforward gender-swapped remake of Can’t Buy Me Love (1987). But unlike that movie, this one has two things Can’t Buy Me Love doesn’t have – Jennifer Lawrence and the social commentary aspect that is relevant.

I have admired Jennifer’s career almost from the very beginning; I was happy when she won her Oscar and never understood why, all of a sudden, people seemed to hate her. No Hard Feelings proves she could make anything work because she has the acting chops and charisma. Her character, Maddie, spent about 40% of this film acting like she was stuck in a 1980s comedy. But it makes sense within the movie, given she’s used to dating men of different ages than Andrew Barth Feldman, as she was hired by his parents to date him and “date him” (as said in the movie). However, when Maddie realises she must change her strategy as her looks only get her so far, the film improves. I can’t say the jokes didn’t work for me before that, but I don’t think I laughed as much. And Jennifer balances everything brilliantly here; she has no issue playing over-the-top sexy, is great in more dramatic moments (after all, she is an Oscar winner), and bears it all, especially in that nude fight scene on the beach; I didn’t expect that, but I am not complaining.

Since I have mentioned Andrew already, let’s talk about him briefly. I wasn’t familiar with him before this movie, so I wasn’t sure what to expect, and he was great in his role. He never went too much into this anti-social character where he’d become unlikable, annoying, or it would be hard to relate to him. Quite the opposite, he was given a backstory that explained everything and made it easier to sympathize with him. Also, his chemistry with Jennifer was top-notch; they played off each other brilliantly. He should get the same recognition as Jennifer, even though his character didn’t have to bear it all as she did.

As hinted above, I was surprised by the movie’s setting and themes. The whole story starts with Maddie owing some back taxes, so she must make money quickly to pay those off; otherwise, she will lose her house. And those back taxes are enormous, given she lives in a beautiful town that is used by rich people, who own many properties and live there for only a few months of the year. And that fact makes it harder for the locals to live there, as her friends (played by Natalie Morales and Scott MacArthur) can’t afford to get their place. I don’t know about you, but I don’t expect my raunchy comedy movies to talk about gentrification, so that was a pleasant surprise, and it also made sense. It made sense not only to kick start the film but also the situation with Jennifer’s friends, and when you think it’s all over, the movie sneaks in one more reminder of how expensive it gets for the locals when rich people move in. But I would have to get into spoilers, so let’s not do that.

Despite these themes, No Hard Feelings never feels preachy. And because of Jennifer Lawrence, it never felt sleazy, either. This movie balanced everything very well, whereas others would have leaned more into the sleaziness or the social commentary No Hard Feelings knows what it wants to say and says it. But it knows it exists mainly to entertain you for around 100 minutes. Yes, it’s not perfect; the story is fairly predictable, but you won’t be bored in the hands of Jennifer and Andrew. And I am glad to see an A-lister like Jennifer not taking herself too seriously and doing a raunchy comedy about her trying to seduce soon-to-be-college student. I wish more Oscar winners would do that.

Overall, No Hard Feelings surprised me on every front. From the nude beach fight scene to its themes and comments on the current housing problem, something about this film felt real and sincere. But the main reason you should see it is undoubtedly Jennifer and Andrew, as they are both funny and their chemistry is superb. There is a very strong possibility that when I revisit this film, I will rate it even higher because I left the cinema with a smile. And those minor complaints about predictability were only tiny voices inside my head. I hope we will see Jennifer in more comedies like this on top of her more serious work.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

Out of all the franchises, I thought we didn’t need back, anything Rocky related was at the top of my imaginary list. That was until Creed (2015) came out, and it was a perfect boxing movie. I was on board with everything that movie did, and even the sequel Creed II (2018) was almost perfect (I rated it 4.5/5*). And what Creed III confirmed is the quality is slowly declining with each sequel, but this is still a great movie worth seeing, albeit it has some Major(s) problems.

Just as I did with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023, my review here), let’s address the elephant in the room. According to many allegations, Majors, who was on track to be “the next big thing” in Hollywood, is an abuser, allegedly. Nothing has been proven yet, just many, many things have come out since this movie came out, and it looks bad for him and his career. The long-time readers know I am one of those “let’s separate the art from the artist” types, so I won’t and didn’t “deduct” any points for him in this movie. And despite him being the best part of the third Ant-Man movie, here I thought… he was fine. I thought he was great in some quiet scenes, but in others, he came across as a bit all over the place; I didn’t believe him and thought he was almost over-acting (yes, that’s a word, don’t bother googling it;-)).

This movie was predictably surprising. I know that sounds contradictory, so let me explain. Creed III‘s biggest weakness by far was its predictability. And even in terms of a boxing movie, this one was outrageously predictable. You knew what would happen, what characters will or will not die just to move the story along… And yet, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed… the family element?! In a boxing movie? Yep, I was as surprised as you are reading it.

This movie is Michael B. Jordan‘s directorial debut, and I thought he did a fine job with two exceptions where he did a phenomenal job. One was the family dynamic, and the other was the last fight, which I will address soon. You can tell Michael cared about portraying the Creed family faithfully, post his retirement, so we get a bit more of Tessa Thompson and their daughter, Mila Davis-Kent. Tessa doesn’t have much to do, but her role is crucial because it serves as a reminder of how to deal with the cards you have been given (her character losing her hearing and not being able to do the thing she loves, sing and perform). Her influence on Michael’s character and her scene with Jonathan Majors talking about that tells you a lot without being “showy” about it.

My favourite scenes, however, were when Michael interacted with his daughter and how you could tell she adored him. Her story arc of wanting to fight for herself and her wanting her dad to teach her could have gone the usual “violence is not an answer” route we are all accustomed to, and it goes there for a bit, but it ultimately ends somewhere else. And their scenes together felt authentic and personal, and I wished we would have spent more time with them. I really hope Michael B. Jordan will direct some family drama at some point because this is where I saw his true potential; those scenes simply worked and were magical.

As far as the rest of the movie, it was a pretty straightforward ride until we reached the “silent” fight. And that is when I got convinced Michael has a promising future because he did something I have not seen done, maybe ever. To understand the moment is about everything that happened in their past and how they only see each other and not the crowd in that round… chef’s kiss. And even the scene after, where it goes someplace different than I thought it would… I can’t wait to see what Michael directs next.

And that was the most baffling thing about Creed III for me. How you can have most of the movie be so predictable in every aspect, yet somehow you nail the family moments, and then the last 20 minutes or so, you deliver something great. I am not saying the stuff before was bad, no. It was just your stereotypical “a hero’s past comes back to bite him in the ass” concept, and if it weren’t for those family moments, I would have been bored. You could argue that this is the most personal, most intimate out of the Creed films. And I really hope this is the end for Creed and that they have learned their lessons about too many sequels from the Rocky franchise and let Creed be a trilogy because this was a fitting end.

Overall, Creed III is a great film with a few exceptional elements that show Michael B. Jordan’s promise as a director. I admired Michael’s and Jonathan’s physiques; I loved the family moments and the last 20 minutes of this film. Everything around it you have seen before, but given we spent time with some likeable actors like Tessa, Michael and Mila, I didn’t mind too much. I hope they will stop here, and this will be regarded as a great trilogy nobody believed we needed.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke