 |
Image by Vinithasree3 (via Twitter) |
Twenty years from now a middling movie will be released about this weekend in the summer of 2023 where filmgoers placed all of their hopes on the dual releases of two auteur features: Greta Gerwig's subversive yet commercially friendly toy adaptation, Barbie, and Christopher Nolan's mammoth examination of the man who led the development of the atomic bomb and the existential toll it took on him, Oppenheimer. I don't know if I'll go see that film (Will we ever recover from this wave of minor key how-was-it-made movies like Tetris and The Beanie Bubble?), but given the opportunity I will definitely go see these two juggernauts back-to-back again. Both films had their predetermined audiences (children and the nostalgic for the former, any number of nerd subset and your dad for the latter), but when they joined hands and strode into your local cineplex on July 21 they brought just about everyone else with them too, becoming a bona fide cultural phenomenon in an era where the zeitgeist is on to the next exciting thing before the current thing has even wrapped. (Look no further than last thing Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, Part 1 for proof.) The films smashed box office expectations and created a much needed moment of unity amongst film communities. I don't know how long the high will last, or when the backlash (beyond the boneheaded conservative pearl-clutching that was happening before the films were even released) will arrive, but I'm trying to hold onto this vibe for as long as possible. Because I had a great time at the movies. And, from what I could tell, so did everyone else. Let's get into it.
