Welcome! If you came here from my Substack newsletter, here’s the full post for my four favorite first-time movie watches for this month. And if you’re just here because you read this website, please consider subscribing to Jacob’s Letter, my free Substack newsletter.
But first….BARBENHEIMER
What a year. A double feature of a movie about a beloved Mattel doll and a three-hour movie about the so-called “Father of the Atomic Bomb” ended up being the hottest ticket of the summer, and the phenomenon shows no signs of slowing down.
I’m talking, of course, about Barbenheimer — the portmanteau given to the double bill of Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer.” Once people realized the two films were opening on the same day (a studio-level decision borne out of Warner Bros. fighting with Christopher Nolan over his move to Universal), seeing both movies in the theater on opening weekend became a meme.
I’ve recorded no less than four hours’ worth of audio about “Oppenheimer,” which you can listen to below, so I’ll talk instead about the interesting similarities between “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.”
Both, in a way, are about how power corrupts, and how the decisions made by the powerful are often made with the emphasis on the wrong consequences. Both also focus on a loss of innocence — Oppenheimer, obviously, with creating the bomb, but I saw a really interesting YouTube video that ties Barbie’s entrance into the real world to the Fall in the Garen of Eden.
Both movies also are the first theatrical releases I’ve seen in a long time that feel like they could have only come from their directors.
Nolan took all the lessons in imagery and montage he learned from “Dunkirk” and “Tenet” and used them to make something akin to an anti-biopic; “Oppenheimer” is as much a film montage as it is a look at a man’s life.
And Gerwig managed to take a piece of corporate IP and turn it into a commentary on feminism, American womanhood and growing up — and it’s also funny and heartwarming, just like “Lady Bird” and “Little Women.”
Both are still in theaters; see them on the biggest screen you can.
“Asteroid City”
The atomic bomb also looms large in another auter film released this summer: Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City.”
This film is framed as a (bear with me) black-and-white TV special about the making of a stage play named “Asteroid City,” and you, the viewer, are seeing a recorded version of that play. It is Wes Anderson at his most Wes Anderson, and while most of the movie focuses on the filmed version of the play, the framing device does get confusing at times. But if you just let the deadpan dialogue and beautiful visuals wash over you, it goes down a lot easier.
“Asteroid City” is the name of a desert town somewhere in the southwest famous for an asteroid that fell from outer space one day. The atom bomb is being tested somewhere off in the distance — an occurrence so normal, the townspeople stopped paying it any mind long ago.
It’s here where Augie (Jason Schwartzman) and his children get stuck after his car breaks down while dropping his eldest child off at space camp. While there, an alien visits the town and sends everyone into disarray. That’s the plot in a nutshell.
Most of Anderson’s filmography is about grief and loss, despite his reputation as “quirky” and “twee” (something the current TikTok trend of making one’s life look like an Anderson movie is lacking). “Asteroid City” is perhaps his saddest movie.
I couldn’t help but think about the COVID pandemic while watching this movie. How many people during that time were stranded in places they didn’t want to be, grieving things they didn’t know how to grieve, for who knows how long? Many films have been made about the pandemic. This is one of the first I’ve seen that fully taps into that feeling of collective loss.
And yet, also like the rest of Anderson’s filmography, “Asteroid City” says there is beauty to be found in the mundane, and there’s beauty in the ways we continue to move forward in the face of grief and incomprehensible events. There’s beauty in the ways we look for connection with each other while the world burns around us.
“I don’t understand the play,” one character says toward the end of the film.
“Doesn’t matter,” comes the reply. “Just keep telling the story.”
Available to stream on Peacock or rent or buy on video on demand.
“BlackBerry”
“BlackBerry” is a capitalism biopic. But it’s a capitalism biopic about a product nobody uses anymore, and that’s what makes it interesting.
In a world of iPhones, it’s hard to believe that the BlackBerry once ruled the market. But for a few glorious years, it did, thanks to the Odd Couple relationship between inventor Mike Lazaridis and venture capitalist Jim Balsillie. “BlackBerry” is more about the rise and fall of that relationship than the titular phone, which makes this closer to “The Social Network” than “Air.”
Director Matt Johnson largely dispensed with most of the traditions of this type of movie and instead focused on the actors. Jay Baruchel as Lazaridis and Glenn Howerton as Balsillie look like they’re having the time of their lives playing against each other here. Both of them are making meals out of these roles, and it’s the audience who gets to feast.
Available to buy or rent on VOD.
“Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One”
The two biggest trends at the summer box office — cliffhanger endings and fear of fallout from a terrible new weapon — combine in the dumbly titled but deliriously fun seventh installment of the “Mission: Impossible” series.
This time, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is fighting The Entity, an artificial intelligence weapon that basically acts like God (or, a god; its human acolytes are Hunt’s flesh and blood enemies here).
But don’t worry: Hunt is aided by his usual roster of hot brunettes and the Impossible Missions Force. No need to get bogged down in the specifics when the setpieces are this bombastic and consistently elevated. It’s no “Top Gun: Maverick,” but then again, what is?
The only big downside is that this is only half the story. “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One” tells a more complete story than “Faxt X,” and almost as full of a story as “Spider-Man: Actoss the Spiderverse.” This cliffhanger trend will continue next year when “Dune: Part Two” finally hits theaters.
Even still, this is a ton of fun. If not for “Oppenheimer,” it would be the IMAX draw of the summer.
In theaters now; awaiting physical media and VOD release date.
“Past Lives”
I have not stopped thinking about this film since I saw it nearly two months ago.
“Past Lives” puts words and imagery to some thoughts I’ve had for a long time but never quite knew how to express: I’ve moved a lot in my life. Three countries, six states, 14 cities, 23 homes. Am I the same person now that I was at every point everywhere I’ve lived? What would I be like if I made a slightly different choice somewhere along the way at any of those places? Have I just compartmentalized the person I was when I was 12 and lived in Hawaii, or the person I was when I was 22 and working at my first job in Decatur, Texas — or are those versions of myself still in me somewhere?
“Past Lives” says both “yes” and “no” to all of those questions. The film follows Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), two childhood sweethearts who lose touch after Nora’s family emigrates to Canada.
They rediscover each other years later, rekindling a spark that’s not quite romantic but not merely friendly, either. When they finally agree to meet in person after decades apart, it’s an opportunity for both to take stock of who they were, and who they have become. Do they miss each other, or do they just miss who they were back then?
Director Celine Song often zigs when you expect her to zag. Some of the most emotionally trughtful moments in the whole film come from Nora’s husband (John Magaro), who doesn’t understand this connection between Nora And Hae Sung, but so badly wants to understand his wife.
The trailers tease a romantic dramedy that focuses on a love triangle, but the actual film is much more interesting and thought-provoking than that. This is one of my favorite films of the year.
Available to rent or buy on VOD.
Jake Harris 