Oppenheimer

Normally, the movie industry wants to shy away from bombs. But this story ain’t normal. Perhaps that explains the way director Christopher Nolan presents this tale—in a most unconventional way, particularly for a biopic. The storytelling here is eccentric, impressionistic, and idiosyncratic, with an almost staccato rhythm and pacing in the way it weaves its the tale. And 'weaving' is the correct term, as this story is nearly a co-biography of the title physicist and businessman and government official Lewis Strauss, with the parallel paths that the two men follow in the later years of their public careers displayed in intertwining narratives. Cillian Murphy is fine in the title role—he carries a heavy load here, being in almost every frame of the film—though Robert Downey Jr. almost steals the show (and will be a strong contender for a supporting actor award come next spring) as the antagonistic Strauss. The movie does have some flaws: some character introductions and scenes feel obligatory, the sorts of cinematic elements one often sees in a biopic; even with this work's nonstandard DNA, it can’t avoid some of the genre's cliches. Also, Nolan’s penchant for representational visual interjections—which lends a lot of that aforementioned staccato pacing—grows annoying after a while. Really, the whole style of the film is the greatest challenge the average viewer will face in watching this one. If you’re open to a non-conventional approach and allow the story to do its work, you will find this film to be rewarding, intriguing, in stretches even engrossing. But I also suspect that many viewers will be put off by the way Nolan’s direction asks a lot of the audience. That may be why, of the summer's two most anticipated releases, this one appears to have been left somewhat in the dust. Perhaps this should have been an Oscar-season release after all, and should not tried to swim against the summer blockbuster tide. Such a decision might have aligned expectations better for this film. Nevertheless, this movie is ultimately a success on its own terms, and one more interesting entry in the catalog of one of today’s most successful and intriguing directors. No bomb here; this project produced its intended product, be it a blockbuster or not.

A Quiet Place Part II

The interesting—or, if you prefer, scary—subtext of this sequel: the government today is so screwed up that, if an invasion of alien monsters ever happens, we should expect no coordinated, effective response from authorities. We’ll all be on our own. Such is the story depicted here. That "Part 2" part of the title is legit; excepting a flashback prologue, this movie stands as a near direct continuation of the events of the first film. Though this flick comes with a few quibbles—mostly around the standard horror-film trope of people doing things they obviously shouldn’t do—for the most part this work succeeds in keeping the tale moving, the scenario interesting, and the frights coming at a just-right pace. Eventually, this storyline will burn itself out if it spawns too many sequels, but if they stop at a third ‘conclusion’ part of the story, that would be perfectly acceptable—not something worth shouting about, perhaps, but probably worthy of somewhat muted (but legitimate) enthusiasm.

Girl With A Pearl Earring

Competent, but hardly compelling. Such a languid film should bring some serious goods when it finally reaches its climax, but this one just doesn't come through. I'm still not sure what point the movie was trying to make; or maybe there was no point at all. And that begs the question: why bother?

28 Days Later

Strangely unengaging for an apocalypse movie. Not to say it doesn't hold the interest, but I really didn't find anything particularly special in this. Plus there's enough seeming inconsistency to make suspension of disbelief that much harder. (I say "seeming" inconsistency, because let's face it, how would you know what such a calamity would really be like?) If you really dig this sort of movie, then go ahead and enjoy. But otherwise, you can skip it.