#I love being intellectually stimulated in IMAX

[chillininthe5thdimension]

I watched Oppenheimer. I’ve not seen Barbie yet but my argument will still stand I think. It applies to both films, but I can really only use Oppenheimer as an example for the sake of this post.

I loved Oppenheimer. I have my criticisms of it, of course (I firmly believe that you can poke holes in any film and still enjoy it). I thought it was expertly crafted and intellectually stimulating and overall an incredible work.

But the main reason I enjoyed it, and another reason why people are enjoying Barbie so much as well, is because the visuals and filmmaking style is so striking.

Films being based in some kind of hyper realism is more of a modern ideal. What I mean is, Hollywood films that engage in serious topics often try to make the film look and feel as real as possible for audience immersion. The lighting is natural, the shots are in sharp focus, the colors aren’t saturated etc so that the audience will feel like it’s in the room with them. Now this works for a lot of movies, and that’s great!

But I often feel that when directors like Greta Gerwig and Christopher Nolan lean into the fact that film is *not* reality, when they turn it back into a spectacle and let the camera do the talking, audiences will respond to it, and respond to it very well.

My only examples from Barbie are the color pallete, which is still a good use of film language to convey character ideas and emotions. Even outside of Barbieland, the color pops. You can never miss Barbie, and that’s the point. It serves as a reminder of the world you’re engaging in as well as turning the film into something that’s visually pleasing. And I’m sure there are better examples of this in the movie, too! As again I’ve not yet seen it.

Oppenheimer utilizes abstract imagery and asynchronous editing to demonstrate how Oppenheimer sees the world. The film is in color when we’re in Oppie’s pov, and black and white when it’s more objective. The movie uses sound (and the lack of it) to its advantage. The sound, the visuals, and the effects do an excellent job at conveying mood and atmosphere. You don’t need the movie to tell you that the explosion was huge. You feel it in the sound and blinding light. It’s not a realistic looking film 100% of the time. It leans back into what camera and lighting and sound and other technical aspects of film are good at. It experiments with the image. And it totally works!

I think part of the reason “Barbenheimer” became such a huge thing is because people knew that both films would be a spectacle, and spectacles are a treat. In the early days of film, the whole draw was the fascination with the image. Even when talkies became commonplace the reason you went to the cinema was to watch and marvel at the world that was built in front of you.

I don’t really have a point to this I guess, it just makes my little filmmaker heart happy that hollywood blockbusters are beginning to lean more into the spectacle again and utilize a unique style and film language while simultaneously remaining faithful to their message and themes. These movies (Oppenheimer from my own viewing, Barbie from reviews I’ve seen) are not shallow in the way that many hollywood spectacle films usually are nowadays.

Thank you Greta Gerwig and Christopher Nolan for giving us a reason to go to the movies again. You smashed it out of the park.

I hope this makes sense. I’m not good at the long posts.

[tallpaulspopcornponderings]

GHOST IN THE SHELL (2017):

So I should start by saying I’ve not seen the Japanese anime original. I went in to this Hollywood live-action take with an un-biased and open mind. I’d read the average reviews and seen how its bombing at the box office, so my expectations weren’t too high. That said I was pleasantly surprised. Don’t get me wrong, this is far from great and certainly not a game changer like The Matrix was for example. It’s pretty derivative, a little flat, predictable and anti-climatic (it’s a lean 100 mins and I wasn’t that impressed with the last third / final showdown) However, I certainly enjoyed the experience overall. The world we are immersed in isn’t particularly original or new but boy does it look and sound good, especially at the theatre. I loved the style / design on display here, mainly due to the Japanese influence. It has a visual aesthetic that the comic book / X-Box / PlayStation generation should lap up. Despite all the criticism, I think Johansson is good casting here. Drawing on similar themes to those explored in Lucy, Under The Skin and Her, she’s certainly now at home with this type of genre / character. Her beauty is transfixing - she conveys a lot through those eyes of hers - playing the cyborg “shell” who is slowly realising her human memories / origins with conviction. Contrary to what some have said I think she rocks the shorter, dark hair well. Balls to the white-washing criticisms! I actually think she elevated this above very average fare, so earned her $12million pay check! I hear they’ve simplified / watered down the more intellectually stimulating themes and concept of the anime original, so this movie has a fairly basic and predictable narrative. This is a shame as it could’ve benefited from giving the brain a work-out along with the eyes. Further, the 12 cert means it’s bloodless and I’d have liked it to have a harder, more adult edge, like the 15 cert original does from what I can gather. Whilst it does have some body horror via cyborg surgery scenes and severed limbs, it’s all a bit neat and tidy for my palette. Machine guns take down assailants without a smidge of blood being shed. I’d have thought even synthetic skin would bleed?! If Paul Verhoeven had made this it could’ve been sooooo much fun! I loved the synth / bass-heavy meets orchestral score, which was especially impactful in the theatre and complimented the visuals really well. Oh - and the opening credits sequence (paying homage to that of the anime original) is really good and has recently been mimicked on the superb HBO series, Westworld. It’s a real shame this movie hasn’t performed well as I’d love to spend more time in this world. It felt a bit like the starter of what could be a glorious three course meal. A sequel, in the right hands, could really build on this effort nicely. Perhaps someone like HBO should buy up the rights and produce the live-action TV series? Watch Ghost In The Shell on the biggest screen possible whilst you still can (this would look ace on an IMAX!) It’s made me want to check out the anime original for sure, so it must be doing something right.