To ask for your views on 'Barbenheimer'

[Whatafustercluck]

Curious to hear the views of those who have seen both, given that there's some Oscars controversy.

I was very pleasantly surprised by Barbie. I wasn't sure what to expect, but loved the ironic humour and related to it as a woman in a man's world. I thought it was very clever and loved that it was upsetting all the right people. It was just a thoroughly enjoyable watch, on every level.

I was bitterly disappointed in Oppenheimer, which had received so much hype and I was excited to watch it. Whilst I admired the acting and the cinematography, I just found it overly long and actually quite boring, with the exception of about 30 minutes of it towards the end. I know it was supposed to be brooding and foreboding, but it just felt pretentious to me - and I usually love Christopher Nolan films.

I haven't seen either but am perplexed that the person who directed the most commercially successful movie of the year wasn't nominated.

Exactly. The Academy make decisions like that, and then wonder why the average person believes they have less relevance than ever before.

I'm not a fan of them, but the fact that Marvel movies don't get nominated. Harry Potter never got nominated, Star Wars didn't get nominated - those are the movies that were, and remain culturally relevant.

America Ferrera's monologue in Barbie absolutely NAILED it for a lot of women how they feel about society and life in general. It articulated exactly what a lot of us thought, without even knowing we thought it. She absolutely deserves her nomination in my view.

Same.

Neither Ryan Gosling nor Margot Robbie deserved acting nods so I am surprised he got one!

The Holdovers was a far superior film to both the others for me. Also All of Us Strangers. I'm not a Nolan fan in general (portentuous male bah), but I usually like Greta Gerwig directing. This was far less interesting than Ladybird, though.

Everyone should see The Holdovers! Paul Giamatti is a genius.

Shout out for The Holdovers, which I caught at the weekend - a really lovely film - sweet, sad, funny, real.

Yes indeed. This was the surprise for me (in how much I enjoyed it). I think the Oscar for best actor will be between Cillian Murphy and Paul Giamatti.

I was incensed that Gerwig was overlooked. Barbie spoke to many many women in a way other films have not, it was brilliant imo. Yes the message was quite "direct" but it needed to be.

I think Greta Gerwig is incredibly overrated. Barbie was like Legally Blonde to me, fun but not Oscar-worthy.

Making a fuss about Margot not getting nominated and claiming Barbie was 'snubbed' when America Ferrara did says a lot about the ethnicity of the women we think matter.

I'll be honest I found Barbie to be funny, very entertaining and an interesting way of delivering it's message (albeit without much depth) but a bit lightweight if I am honest. All in all, a great film, with great direction and acting but in the context of a Hollywood A list film rather than a substantial piece of art. Legally Blonde was very similar and I think that too has been over-lionized as some seminal piece of culture.

Oppenheimer was a serious film about a very serious issue and a man who had huge influence over that issue. I respected the fact that Nolan didn't rush through important but perhaps not exciting plot points. I think it will stand the test of time as an important piece of cultural filmmaking far better than Barbie.

I think all the best actress nominees are there by absolute merit and it is a fantastic list. I am delighted to see Lily Gladstone on that list making history.

Didn’t think I’d like Barbie - was never a fan. Found it funny and light, enjoyed watching it.
Oppenheimer I was really looking forward to. Found it a bit long, all over the place and boring. Wasn’t sure what it was trying to cover.

It's funny isn't it, lots of people (women?) saying it was too direct and then you have a chorus of 'emasculated' men clamouring to prove that it apparently wasn't direct enough by completely missing the point. I think that has been the most interesting point. To paraphrase another of my favourite films, if you want people to really take notice, you can no longer tap them politely on the shoulder. I for one am very pleased that female producers, directors and actors are beginning to be so.... well, unashamedly and unapologetically direct.

I'm a hardcore Christopher Nolan fan so was chomping at the bit to watch Opp.

Was bored shitless, really disappointed.

Really enjoyed Barbie although I think it got itself in a muddle. The children smashing baby dolls at the beginning was disturbing and this being held up as a great thing was weird and quite offensive. I did have a tear in my eye when the reveal comes that it’s the mum who’s been playing with the barbies not the teen, they could have done a lot more with that. But the film seemed to change direction a few times. Was it a film about female empowerment being found in jobs not motherhood/men, or a film about toxic masculinity limiting women, or about growing up, or about not living in a fantasy world, or about career women needing to be kinder to men 😂… The film tried to do too much. Some parts were hilarious particularly all of the barbies listenting to the kens’ boring guitar songs on the beach. But I don’t think the film actually was coherent enough to deserve a ‘best film’ Oscar, and Robbie’s acting was good but not Oscar worthy because it was such a simple part. Gosling stole every scene he was in (but was only able to do so because his character has a much bigger journey).

It’s also worth remembering that the film was such a huge hit because of the crazy amount of marketing, it was almost impossible not to go see it! I actively didn’t want to see it but ended up going out of curiosity after seeing non-stop news coverage about it on the BBC. Whoever planned the public relations campaign definitely deserves an award.

The sets were stunning.

The children smashing baby dolls at the beginning was disturbing and this being held up as a great thing was weird and quite offensive

That was a replication of 2001 space odessy. If you watch the frame-by-frame replica, Gerwig absolutely nailed it.

Was it a film about female empowerment being found in jobs not motherhood/men, or a film about toxic masculinity limiting women, or about growing up, or about not living in a fantasy world, or about career women needing to be kinder to men

But I do think you're right that the film was partially a muddle with lots of different strands trying to make the same point. It won't win best picture but as I said earlier, when was the last time a film one that a mass audience went to see it?

Even the Academy themselves admit its a problem, hence their attempt to try and bring in a "best popular film" category before realising how condescending that was.

The Globes have huge issues, but I do think separating into best dramatic performance and best comedy/musical performance is the way forward. I also think that even though I personally don't like horror films, the way that specific genre is ignored is wrong.

💯 this. Oppenheimer an hour too long and the nudity was very offputting and completely gratuitous.

Barbie was atypical of the type of infantile social commentary expected from a nation without a well-established history in philosophical and ethical studies.
Cringe.
The US does best when being introspective. That's why Oppenheimer was better. The story was really about the political machinery of the US using and abusing Oppenheimer and his colleagues.

I loved both films.

I think comedy is often overlooked for awards and treated as being somehow easier and lighter than other genres, whereas in fact to do well is extremely hard and not necessarily light at all.

Didn’t like Oppenheimer. I thought it was too long, the dialogue was hard to hear and it was boring so I only watched half.

I dunno. Just because a film is popular and commercially successful doesn’t mean it is a dramatic, cinematic or directorial masterpiece. A film about Barbie - especially one that was THAT hyped up pre-release- was always going to do well. The Harry Potter films were absolutely huge but none of the main actors in that were ever nominated for any awards because their acting was shite. Was MR really that amazing, or do people just think she should have been nominated because RG was?

Also- RG has been nominated for male
in a supporting role, and America Ferrera has been nominated for female in a supporting role- so actually, there is equality there.

I thought that Oppenheimer was excellent. Thought provoking, educational and beautifully painful.

I didn't think I'd enjoy Barbie but was dragged along by my fiercely feminist teen who wanted to see it for a second time. I loved how empowering it was for girls of her age.

Both films sparked endless debate for days afterwards. Not many films can do that.

I went with my sister, 14yo niece and 13yo ds. My ds wasn't crazy about going, but it provoked discussion and debate afterwards, and he admitted it was 'alright' and he 'got it', which ultimately was my aim. If nothing else, I hope he'll be more enlightened than some of his friends! Not that he'll admit to having watched it, of course. But if he 'gets it' that'll do for me.

I loved Oppenheimer and want to see it again. I did not enjoy Barbie.

I'm a bit shocked that both films have been nominated tbh ahead of Napoleon, which imo, although not perfect, was superior to both of them. Infact Napoleon has been well and truly snubbed in favour of some far inferior films. I wonder why.

I loved Barbie and was actually surprisingly quite choked up in parts. Loved the aesthetic, the actors, the humour just everything.
Oppenheimer..too long and brooding.

I'd seen so many trailers and previews of Barbie I felt like I'd seen half of it already which is funny since I turned it off after about 40 minutes bored to fucking tears. I accept I am not normal fodder when it comes to film though.

I thought Barbie was spectacular and funny and I enjoyed it a lot. The plot was a bit thin so I was a little bored during the last 15 mins or so but overall I thought it was very good.

I checked out of Nolan films after Batman 3. I loved his early films but these days all his films are way too long and pretentious for me. I would rather have a colonoscopy than sit through Oppenheimer.