Nolan’s Three-Hour Biopic Opus ‘Oppenheimer’ is Not Da Bomb

July 19, 2023 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Casey Affleck, Christopher Nolan, Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Kenneth Branagh, Matt Damon, Out in Theaters, Rami Malek, Reviews, Robert Downey Jr. 2 Comments

Christopher Nolan, the revered father figure of Film Twitter Bros the world over, has made his Mank (or his JFK, depending on who you ask.) Much like David Fincher’s polarizing and 10-time Oscar-nominated biopic, Oppenheimer offers a sprawling and contemplative portrayal of technology that reshaped the world, all while navigating the invasive presence of McCarthyism in America. It presents a sprawling, intricately layered narrative reminiscent of a Russian Nesting Doll, with stories within stories and a dynamic interplay of multiple timelines, including both colorized and black-and-white sequences, complemented by an ensemble cast of A-list actors. Those who caught early screening have already flocked to Twitter to lob terms like “masterpiece” and “best of the century” at Nolan’s three-hour biopic about the Father of the Atom Bomb but, much like Mank, Oppenheimer sees a celebrated filmmaker delivers a work seemingly tailored for awards recognition, though very clearly near and dear to him, yet ultimately fails to ignite the explosive impact it promises. Read More

Handsome, Dull ‘DEATH ON THE NILE’ Paddles Towards Predictability

February 10, 2022 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Agatha Christie, Annette Bening, Armie Hammer, Death on the Nile, Emma Mackey, Gal Gadot, Kenneth Branagh, Letita Wright, Michael Green, Reviews, Russel Brand, Sophie Okonedo, Tom Bateman 1 Comment

Death on the Nile begins with the origin story of Hercule Poirot’s (Kenneth Branagh) ridiculous mustache. His face was half-blown off in WWI you see, this facial deformity informing his older self’s reclusive and fussy nature. The overly coiffed, quadruple-pronged mustache was a cover up all along. A way to throw people off the scent of his great trauma and deep-seated pain. The detective, it seems, is indeed human after all. Surmising why the world-famous detective became who he is proves the best material in this sequel to 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express, a murder mystery that is otherwise haunted by an almost total lack of mystery. Read More

Blockbusting Bore ‘TENET’ Revels In Nolan’s Worst Instincts

September 1, 2020 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Christopher Nolan, Dimple Kapadia, Elizabeth Debicki, Himesh Patel, John David Washington, Kenneth Branagh, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Robert Pattinson, Tenet 3 Comments

Christopher Nolan’s fascination with time as a storytelling variable is well-documented throughout his filmography. In his breakout indie hit Memento, the story of John G and his murdered wife ran backwards with consecutive scenes taking place before what we have just watched; with Inception, dreams within dreams meant that different levels of the film’s universe occurred at different speeds creating a kind of temporal layer cake; and most recently, Dunkirk saw a major military event unfold over land, sea, and air in a matter of a week, a day and an hour, respectively, the various timelines intersecting and blending into one another. And the less said about Interstellar, wherein Nolan got all mushy over time and love, the better. This obsession with time as a resource and narrative centerpiece has finally gotten the best of Nolan in Tenet, an overblown blockbuster absolutely suffocated by tricks, bloated by exposition and wholly lacking in a human touch. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS’

November 9, 2017 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Agatha Christie, Alexandra Byrne, Daisy Ridley, Haris Zambarloukos, Johnny Depp, Josh Gad, Judi Dench, Kenneth Branagh, Michael Green, Michelle Pfeiffer, Murder on the Orient Express, Out in Theaters, Penélope Cruz, Reviews, Tom Bateman, Willem Dafoe 2 Comments

You can heave a sigh of relief everyone, Johnny Depp doesn’t make it far in Kenneth Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express. An adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel of the same name, Murder quickly dispenses with the weaselly superstar, here playing a slimy criminal who ends up a pin cushion the very night the titular Orient Express departs. The attention then turns to the patrons of a first-class coach traversing the snowy countryside, each of whom may have reason to want Johnny Depp dead. Read More

Out in Theaters: CINDERELLA

March 12, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Cate Blanchett, Cinderella, Disney, Helena Bonham Carter, Kenneth Branagh, Lily James, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Richard Madden 1 Comment

From the first time they put pen to paper, the House of Mouse changed things. Classics from Snow White to Sleeping Beauty capitalized on groundbreaking innovation, brokered a new medium for entertainment and launched the phenomenon of the Disney princess, a cultural landmark that lasted for decades. Maybe it was my being a teenager and all, but from what I gathered, that cultural landmark dried up around Y2K, petering out with a string of computer animated duds. Dinosaur, Atlantis, Brother Bear and Chicken Little all represented a low point for the imaginative power of the ubiquitous studio, especially when juxtaposed with the meteoric rise of Pixar. With a certifiable hit in Princess and the Frog reviving the old-fashioned charm of the Disney engine a year earlier, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland arrived on the scene to dominate the box office to the tune of a billion dollars. Dollar signs in their eyes, the once great studio turned its attention to recycling old mainstays with new CGI to the collective groan of people everywhere. Read More