Destroyer of Worlds

Film: Oppenheimer
Format: DVD from Cortland Public Library on basement television.

I don’t think anyone was surprised when Oppenheimer cleaned up at the most recent Oscars ceremony. I hadn’t seen the film until today and I would have picked it to win more than the seven it did. Christopher Nolan was due to win an Oscar, as the best working director without one in the minds of many people (although I’d pick either David Fincher or Greta Gerwig). But it was Nolan’s year and nothing was going to knock this movie and Nolan off of that pedestal. It’s been one that I’ve been looking to watch for some time, but the last few months have been disturbingly busy, and this film is a good three hours long. As it is, it took me a couple of days to watch it.

This, of course, is the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), the man most credited with the creation of the first atomic bomb and the Manhattan Project. As befits a movie that is a good three hours long, Oppenheimer turns out to be a lot more complicated than we might think. The film has the good taste not to be hagiographic, although I wouldn’t call this a “warts and all” biography, either. Oppenheimer is painted as at least a sympathizer of communist sympathizers (his brother, his wife), as well as a womanizer. So, we’re going to be led to seeing him as brilliant, but flawed, which is probably the best we can expect.

I Might Roll a Brand-New Car

Film: The Fall Guy
Format: Market Square Theater (Theater 3).

So we went out to the movies tonight. I just finished grading for a few classes and needed a break and she’s going to be out all day tomorrow (she spends Mother’s Day with our younger daughter), so I thought I’d see what was playing. She showed interest in The Fall Guy, so we went. It would have been cheaper to go one town over, but the seats aren’t as nice, and what the hell? So we went.

The Fall Guy is loosely based on the television show of the same name. In the show, from about 40 years ago, a stuntman (played by Lee Majors, who shows up for a cameo at the end) also acts as a bounty hunter between movie gigs, usually using his stuntman prowess to capture bad guys. That’s not the case this time. In fact, while we’re still in the realm of stunt performers, this is going to take a much more literal, albeit slang meaning of the title.

The Shadow Over Point Dune

Film: Messiah of Evil
Format: Streaming video from AMC+ through Amazon Prime on Fire!

Paying homage to something without duplicating it or spoofing it is a fine line to walk, and it’s rare that a movie does it really well. When one of those movies pops up, it’s a rare treat. Messiah of Evil, despite its Satanic Panic-worthy name, is one such film. This movie has a lot going on in it, and it feels like it’s making reference to a lot of other tales. It still manages to tell its own story, though. So, while there are definite elements that are calling out to other films, the experience of this one is wholly its own.

When I say that there is a lot going on in this movie, I’m not really selling it hard enough. There is a definite connection to Romero’s zombie films in the storyline and the Italian homages to Romero in the visual aspects. If it had come out a year later, I’d suggest a connection to Romero’s The Crazies as well. There are aspects of the tone and feel of the film that are strongly reminiscent of Carnival of Souls. There is also a very strange sense of H.P. Lovecraft to this as well. While the film is set in California, it might as well be set in Innsmouth or Arkham. There’s also allusions to the Wendigo myth and the Donner Party. It also features cameos from Elisha Cook Jr. and The Warriors director Walter Hill.

What I've Caught Up With, April 2024

I was on the road a lot in April, which meant I didn't really spend a lot of time watching films. Total, I watched maybe a dozen or so just because I ran out of time. Family wedding, trip to St. Louis to visit my older daughter, and a few other day-long trips or events took their toll. Television was a lot easier for me last month because I could divide out show episodes a lot more easily. I finished (and reviewed) a couple of Mike Flanagan shows from NetFlix. I also watched Guillermo del Toro's The Strain and the very entertaining Russian Doll.

Succession?

Film: The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)
Format: Streaming video from NetFlix on Fire!

I’ve been going through Mike Flanagan’s multiple NetFlix miniseries. With The Fall of the House of Usher, I have now seen four out of the five, and mentally, I think I need a little break from Flanagan before I watch the one I haven’t seen. The reason is simple: Usher, despite being shorter than both The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, takes a much bigger toll on the viewer. This is angrier than Flanagan’s other series, and perhaps that’s a function of the way the story went.

Unlike Hill House and Bly Manor, The Fall of the House of Usher is not focused specifically on a building. In this case, “house” is referring to the family or lineage of a family called Usher. The story is vaguely based on the Edgar Allen Poe story of the same name (no surprise), but with a substantial amount of license taken. In Poe’s story, the Usher family is down to a couple of members who are preparing for their demise. In this version of the story, the Ushers are fabulously wealthy, connected to a multibillion-dollar pharmaceutical company, and also preparing for their ultimate demise.