Oppenheimer (2023) - Nolan treats aficionados of history, politics, science - and cinema

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Cillian Murphy as the titular haunted nuclear physicist before his horrific invention on this fiery poster for Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer

 

J. Robert Oppenheimer studied nuclear physics in Europe before planting the new scientific discipline in America. With WWII underway and the nuclear race on to create the mightiest bomb the world had ever seen, the US government instructed him to invent and make them said weapon first.

 

Oppenheimer is written, co-produced and directed by English master filmmaker Christopher Nolan (Following (1998)), whose 12th feature it is. It is based on the real life Oppenheimer and the biography American Prometheus (2005) by Kai Bird (The Outlier (2021)) and Martin J. Sherwin (Gambling with Armageddon (2020)).

The film tells the awe-inspiring tale of the creation of the atomic bombs that ravaged Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, effectively ending the last open tangent of the war, forcing the Japanese to surrender. It is focused on the scientific race, the many strong and opinionated minds involved; in the personal costs for Oppenheimer and his family for the 'greater cause', the mammoth undertaking and the haunting and world-changing result of all their efforts. A large portion of the film is also dedicated to understanding the detrimental aftermath of the invention and specifically the way in which the overwhelmingly leftist (Socialist and Communist) scientists became chains around Oppenheimer's feet in the following Cold War era.

Cillian Murphy (The Party (2017)) does a bang-up job as Oppenheimer, appearing emaciated and troubled, apparently lost in the role. Robert Downey Jr. (Wonder Boys (2000)) gives arguably the best performance of his career SPOILER as the chameleon-like admiral Lewis Strauss, a formidable portrayal of a paradoxical, vindictive man. The cast is a very long chain of notable talents, as most every actor in the world today dreams of working with Nolan. Especially worth highlighting are Benny Safdie (Good Time (2017)), Josh Hartnett (Inherit the Viper (2019)) and Tom Conti (StreetDance 2 (2012)) in the very small but pivotal role as Albert Einstein. Excellence is all around, and the film is also a thrilling work from a production standpoint, and the 70 mm IMAX color and B/W (the latter is a first) photography (by Hoyte Van Hoytema (Spectre (2015))) is uniquely cinematic. The film is gorgeous and piercing. 

The story is told in appropriate epic length with only appropriate flourishes, and the perspectives of the bomb in 1945 as well as today reverberate clearly for all who see Oppenheimer. It is a frightful (but great) historical and biographical film.  

 

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Following (1998) - Nolan's ineffectual debut

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 100 mil. $

Box office: 400.3 mil. $ and counting

= Too early to say (but already a big hit)

[Oppenheimer premiered 11 July (Paris) and runs 180 minutes. Nolan shopped his Oppenheimer script around to the big Hollywood studios due to his split from Warner Bros. after his anger at their streaming strategy for films during the China Virus pandemic, hurting the release of his Tenet (2020). Universal Pictures gave him an extraordinary deal that he took: A 100 mil. $ budget, another 100 mil. $ for the marketing of the finished film, a 90-120 day exclusive theatrical release 'window', a three week space before and after the film with no films released from the company, and a 20 % first-dollar gross payment. The film's 3 biggest name stars Matt Damon (All the Pretty Horses (2000)), Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt (Jungle Cruise (2021)) all accepted 4 mil. $ salaries and undisclosed back-end percentage deals. Shooting took place from September 2022 - February 2023 in Zurich, Switzerland, New Mexico, California, including in Los Angeles, and in New Jersey. The film's release alongside new offering Barbie inspired a viral social media meme, 'Barbenheimer', which increased interest for both films: Oppenheimer opened #2, behind Barbie, to a 82.4 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it still ranks #2 in its 2nd weekend and has grossed 174 mil. $ at time of publishing. The film has yet to open in 5 markets in August, including South Korea, Italy and China. IMDb's users have rated the film in at #28 on the site's Top 250 list, sitting between Life Is Beautiful (1997) and The Green Mile (1999). Nolan does not have his next film announced yet. Murphy returns in Small Things Like These. Oppenheimer is certified fresh at 94 % with a 8.60/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Oppenheimer? 

Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003) - Production prevails in flawed Vermeer biopic

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Sensual, carnal lust issues from this steamy poster for Peter Webber's Girl with a Pearl Earring

Johannes Vermeer is a prominent artist in the Netherlands in 1655, but he works too slowly, and now his new housemaid catches his wandering eye.

 

Girl with a Pearl Earring is written by Olivia Hetreed (Birds Like Us (2017)), adapting the same-titled 1999 novel by Tracy Chevalier (New Boy (2017)), and directed by Peter Webber (Emperor (2012)), whose theatrical debut it is.

It is a decently made but not very inspired nor deep period film. It is a painter biopic that lets one become fascinated with things such as how colors are created for the paint that goes into the paintings, but we don't get very near to the artist himself.

The many Brits in the cast are fundamentally unfit to capture the Dutch environment, it seems. The story doesn't swell up to greatness here, and Cillian Murphy (Anthropoid (2016)) is miscast: He and his romantic interest, the picturesque Scarlett Johansson (Lucy (2014)) regrettably do not suit each other.

 

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Hannibal Rising (2007) - Harris returns famed cannibal in sub-par origins flick

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 10 mil. £, approximately 16.3 mil. $

Box office: 33 mil. $

= Flop (returned 2.02 times its cost)

[Girl with a Pearl Earring premiered 31 August (Telluride Film Festival, US) and runs 100 minutes. The rights were bought, before the novel was published in 1999. Production was set to start with Mike Newell directing and Kate Hudson and Ralph Fiennes starring in 2001, when Hudson withdrew. Shooting took place in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. The film opened #32 to an 89k $ first weekend in 7 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #17 and in 402 theaters (different weeks), grossing 11.6 mil. $ (35.2 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 5.9 mil. $ (17.9 %) and Germany with 3.3 mil. $ (10 %). It was the 14th highest-grossing (part-) UK film in the UK of the year. It was nominated for 3 Oscars, winning none: It lost Best Cinematography (Eduardo Serra) to Russell Boyd for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World and Costume Design and Art/Set Decoration to The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. It was also nominated for 2 Golden Globes, 10 BAFTAs, 3 British Independent Film awards, a David di Donatello award, won 1/3 European Film award nominations, was nominated for a Goya award, won a National Board of Review award, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 4/4 star review, translating to 3 notches over this one. Webber returned with Six Feet Under (2004, TV-series)) and theatrically with Hannibal Rising (2007). Colin Firth (Fourplay (2001)) returned in Love Actually (2003); Johansson in The Perfect Score (2004); and Tom Wilkinson (Belle (2013)) in If Only (2004). Girl with a Pearl Earring is fresh at 72 % with a 6.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Girl with a Pearl Earring?

Sunshine (2007) - Boyle's great-looking, suspenseful sci-fi

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+ Best Huge Flop Movie of the Year + Best Science Fiction Movie of the Year

Critical hype that's barely readable features on this visually promising poster for Danny Boyle's Sunshine

The sun is dying, and consequently, so is mankind. A second manned space mission is launched in 2050 to reignite the sun with a nuclear bomb. But the Icarus II mission encounters many problems along the way...

Sunshine is written by Alex Garland (28 Days Later... (2002)) and directed by great English filmmaker Danny Boyle (Shallow Grave (1994)). It is arguably one of Boyle's best films and could even be called the most exciting space movie since Alien (1979).
Sunshine has beautiful images (terrific, ambitious cinematography by Alwin H. Küchler (Morvern Callar (2002))), impressive visual effects, a handsome, talented ensemble cast, and good suspense.
What isn't wholly great is the film's ending, which is strange, as a mysterious, deformed person from the first Icarus mission is roaming onboard. SPOILER It all ends in a psychedelic conclusion, where Boyle sticks closely to the film's unexceptional score (by John Murphy (The Man (2005))).

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Watch a trailer for the film here 

Cost: 40 mil. $
Box office: 32 mil. $
= Huge flop (returned 0.8 times its cost)
[Sunshine premiered 23 March (Bochum Fantasy Filmfest Nights, Germany) and runs 107 minutes. Shooting took place in London, England, Sydney, Australia and in Stockholm, Sweden for 3 months, starting in August 2005. The film opened #25 to a 242k $ first weekend in 10 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #13 and in 461 theaters, grossing 3.6 mil. $ (11.3 % of the total gross). The film's biggest market was main production country the UK with 6.4 mil. $ (20 %). North America was the 2nd biggest, and 3rd biggest was France with 3.1 mil. $ (9.7 %). The film won 1/2 British Independent Film awards. Roger Ebert gave it a 3/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. It was criticized by scientists for scientific inaccuracies; for instance reportedly billions of the nuclear bomb targeted at the sun in the film would actually be needed to cause a reignition. Boyle said that he would not return to the sci-fi genre after the lengthy production process with Sunshine. The film made in excess of 15.83 mil. $ on North American home video sales; if added into the calculation, it would change the film's status to that of big flop instead. Boyle returned with Alien Love Triangle (2008, short) and theatrically with Slumdog Millionaire (2008). Cillian Murphy (Cold Mountain (2003)) returned in Watching the Detectives (2007). Sunshine is certified fresh at 76 % with a 6.84/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Sunshine?

Dunkirk (2017) - Nolan champions cinema with masterful war movie

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+ 2nd Best Movie of the Year
+ Best English Movie of the Year + Most Suspenseful Movie of the Year + Best War Movie of the Year

Fionn Whitehead finds himself in a hellish inferno on this poster for Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk

Summer 1940, France: WWII is raging in its early stages, and a huge number of Allied soldiers, mainly English, are pushed towards the long beach stretch of Dunkirk. Evacuation Operation Dynamo is launched.

Dunkirk is the 10th feature from British master writer-director Christopher Nolan (Inception (2010)), and it is a beast of a movie. It grabs you with its very first scene, - which shows us one of the film's leads, young Fionn Whitehead (Him (2016), TV miniseries) fleeing a rain of bullets to the barren beach, - and it doesn't let you off its hook again until it ends. Even thereafter, it is sure to stay in the minds and hearts of everyone who sees it.
It is violently intense, comparable to Steven Spielberg's masterpiece Saving Private Ryan (1998) in this respect, yet in focusing on this gigantic retreat, which must be among the largest in human history, (400,000 British troops are said to have been rescued in the 9-day long military and civil effort), it is really more about survival than combat.
The film has been called impressionist, and it is an auspicious description of it. We follow the major undertaking in three scenarios: One from the viewpoint of a few British fighter planes which are heading over towards Dunkirk, facing enemies along the way. One from the viewpoint of a young cadet, who as thousands of others is a part of the evacuation effort and finds himself in mortal danger several times. The last scenario is from the viewpoint of one of the civilian boats that sailed across with brave upstanding citizen seamen at the helms, risking their lives to bring home as many of their temporarily beaten countrymen as possible. Dunkirk lets us go along with these men and see and feel what they did during this calamitous situation, as it unfolds. Although its scope and ambition seems also comparable to older WWII films such as The Longest Day (1962), Dunkirk does not burden its portrayal with the political discussions behind the evacuation, neither with the war's experience from the German nor other nation's soldiers' point of view. Because of this, and because it portrays a British effort of defeat but also of humanistic splendor, some critique the film as being nationalistic and restricted. I don't believe that the inevitably proud English feeling that runs through the film robs it of any power, and I believe the criticism mostly grows out of an unhappiness with the Great Britain that is today.
Contrarily, Dunkirk shows an honest and tremendously powerful and intimate portrayal of a specific historic event, while also implicitly schooling its audiences in the inhumane nature and the horror of war, when lives become nothing but enemy numbers, and the world nothing but a battlefield.
Dunkirk is shot on glorious 65mm and 65mm IMAX film stock, making for a huge picture that has an encompassing feel to it; the flying sequences in particular are dizzying and among the finest such ever created. Never do we sense an artificially rendered part of an image here. The cinematography by Hoyte Van Hoytema (Her (2013)) is astounding, and the film's editing by Lee Smith (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)) is masterful. Dunkirk is almost too exciting, SPOILER and especially its scenes of getting trapped underwater are sure to go straight into the nightmares of thousands if not millions of people. Another element that pushes the film to its constant high is its first-rate, very loud sound design coupled with a ticking, unrelenting tension-building score by Hans Zimmer (The Boss Baby (2017)).
Dunkirk, in part due to its structure, is not primarily an actors' film, but it still has many fine performances: Newcomers Whitehead, Aneurin Barnard (Bitter Harvest (2017)), pop-star Harry Styles, Tom Glynn (The Last Post (2017), TV-series) and Barry Keoghan (The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)) do well and show promises for the future. They are supported by veterans who deliver portrayals full of integrity and dignity: Mark Rylance (Anonymous (2011)), Tom Hardy (This Means War (2012)), Cillian Murphy (Sunshine (2007)) and Kenneth Branagh (Five Children and It (2004)), relishing a paternal performance as Commander Bolton.
Dunkirk is what cinemas are made for. It is suspenseful and emotionally arresting to a fault. Furthermore it stays with you. It is a war movie for the ages and possibly the year's best film.

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Batman Begins (2005) or, Modern, Dark, Smooth Batman  

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 150 mil. $
Box office: 105.9 mil. $ and counting
= Too early to say
[Dunkirk premiered 13 July (London) and runs 106 minutes. Nolan reportedly got the idea for the film 25 years ago but waited until he was a veteran of huge blockbusters to launch his vision, based on a 76-page script. Shooting took place from May 2016 in France, including Dunkirk, as well as in Holland, England and California. 12 of the boats used for filming had actually been used in the evacuation. 6,000 extras worked on the film. The film opened #1 to a 50.5 mil. $ first weekend in North America. Dunkirk is certified fresh at 95 % with an 8.9/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Dunkirk?

Batman Begins (2005) or, Modern, Dark, Smooth Batman

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+ Best Superhero Movie of the Year

A beautiful, hand-painted poster for Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins

How did Gotham City's mysterious billionaire Bruce Wayne also become its dark-robed protector and disguised vigilante, the Batman?

 

My favorite superhero returned in 2005 in the hands of English master filmmaker, co-writer/director Christopher Nolan (Inception (2010)) and in the shape of the impressive, Welsh Christian Bale (Rescue Dawn (2006)). Batman Begins is the first in Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy of modern, darker, less mythical and more realism-adhering Batman films than what is known from earlier entries in the DC Comics franchise started by Bob Kane and Bill Fingers in 1939.
The action, gadgets and new Batmobile (known as the tumbler) are especially awesome. Nolan uses a minimum of CGI, and refused a second unit to keep his vision consistent throughout the film.
The cast is impressive. To pick out a few of the most noteworthy performances, Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later (2002)) looks good and feels completely right as the villain, Dr. Jonathan Crane who becomes the Scarecrow. Tom Wilkinson (Valkyrie (2008)) is pungent as Gotham's gangster overlord, Carmine Falcone. And Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption (1994)) is handy as Lucius Fox, the series' sympathetic Mr. Gadget.
The script by Nolan and David S. Goyer (Blade (1998)) tells much of Batman's origins, and it works well, except for the one, original character created for the series, Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes (The Extra Man (2010))), or Miss Moralizing, who is too close to Mary Jane Watson of Spiderman sugar-sweet to fit the quite dark tone of the film.
Generally, however, Batman Begins is too bereft of sex, filth and really colorful villains to compete with the best of the Batman films, which in my opinion remains Tim Burton's Batman Returns (1992), a masterpiece in lavish entertainment, Gothicism, villains and wild eye-candy.
Nolan here launches himself big-time with a solid, dramaturgic construction of the Batman character in one of the most popular films of the 00s, Batman Begins.

 

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2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
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2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 
2008 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2008 in films - according to Film Excess
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2005 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 
Memento (2000) - Nolan's overrated amnesia mindfuck   
Following (1998) - Nolan's ineffectual debut 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 150 mil. $
Box office: 373.6 mil. $
= Even

[Batman Begins premiered 31 May (Tokyo) and runs 140 minutes. Nolan and Goyer were hired for the reboot in 2003. Bale was paid 9 mil. $ for his performance; Liam Neeson (Love Actually (2003)) 2 mil. $; Holmes 1 mil. $. Shooting took place from March - September 2004 in Iceland, England, including in London, Chicago, Illinois and in New York. The film opened #1 to a 48.7 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another weekend at #1 and then another 3 weekends in the top 5 (#2-#3-#5), grossing 205.3 mil. $, which with later re-releases has grown to 206.8 mil. $ (55.4 % of the total gross). It was the 7th highest-grossing film of the year in North America. The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 30 mil. $ (8 %) and Mexico with 12.8 mil. $ (3.4 %). The film was nominated for 1 Oscar: For Best Cinematography (Wally Pfister (Moneyball (2011))), lost to Dion Beebe for Memoirs of a Geisha. It was also nominated for 3 BAFTAs, among many other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, translating to 2 notches over this one. IMDb's users have rated the film in at #126 on the site's Top 250, sitting between For a Few Dollars More (1965) and Dangal (2016). The film had additionally made 167 mil. $ on domestic home video sales by Summer 2006. Bale's Batman returned in Nolan's second in the trilogy, The Dark Knight (2008). Nolan first returned with The Prestige (2006). Bale first returned in The New World (2005). Batman Begins is certified fresh at 84 % with a 7.70/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Batman Begins?