Iconic Movies That Came Out on the Same Day and Which Made More Money? + Movie Review Double Feature:  Barbie + Oppenheimer (IMAX 70 mm)

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Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome back to movie Mike's movie podcast. I am your host Movie Mike, and in honor of Barbie Oppenheimer Weekend aka Barbenheimer, I want to share with you iconic movies that came out on the same day and which one of them made the most money. In the movie review. It is a double movie review because we're gonna have to talk about both Barbie and Oppenheimer, which I saw in seventy millimeter Imax, and I want to tell you just about that experience alone and how that made the movie so much better. So thank you for being here, thank you for being subscribed and listening every single week. Shout out to the Monday Morning Movie crew. And now let's talk movies.

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Speaker 2: In a world where everyone and their mother has a podcast, one man stands to infiltrate the ears of listeners like never before in a movie podcast.

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Speaker 1: A man with so much movie knowledge.

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Speaker 2: He's basically like a walking IMTB with glasses.

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Speaker 1: From the Nashville Podcast Network. This is movie Mike's Movie Podcast. I love everything going into Barbenheimer Weekend. It felt like an event to me, and maybe you got annoyed with all of the promotion leading up to Barbie and Oppenheimer together. But I loved it. I think this is the pop culture moment we needed in movies, and probably since the start of this podcast in twenty nineteen, I really haven't seen anything like that where everybody knew that Barbie was coming out this past weekend and Oppenheimer really just rode the coattails of all the Barbie promotion because they got linked into it. And why is that, Well, both movies are Warner Brothers property, so they benefited from that. Even though Christopher Nolan wanted to see the release date shifted so they wouldn't feel like they were competing against each other, I think it was the best thing for both of these movies because they are so polar opposites, and that is where all the memes came from. That is where the discussion began. Because you have Pink on one side, all the bright and colorful things that go along with Barbie, and then on the completely other end of the spectrum you have Oppenheimer, which is associated with the all black attire because it's a much more serious movie about a much more serious topic and just a full on drama. And what it ended up being the perfect example of is counter programming at its finest. What is counter programming? It's really a term used more in television. Think of the super Bowl. How you know, every single person in America is probably going to watch the super Bowl, but other channels they counterprogram it with putting on the Puppy Bowl or just putting on maybe a show that appeals more to women who maybe don't want to watch the super Bowl. So we see this a lot in film too, and that's what we're going to cover on this week's episode. I'm going to give you two movies that came out on the same weekend. I'll let you know my thoughts on each of the films, and now I'll give you a chance to guess which one you think made the most at the box office and won the weekend. Up first, is my favorite on this entire list from two thousand and eight movies that came out on the same weekend, Dark Knight versus Mama Mia. This is another perfect example of movies that are complete opposite. You have The Dark Knight, which is a dramatic superhero movie also from Christopher Nolan back in two thousand and eight. And you just know when these movies are both going up against each other. There's such a higher demand for a Batman movie. There was so much hype around Heath Ledger playing the Joker and everything associated with that role at this time, which was just a crazy time in film, And then you think, what are you gonna put against that movie? Well, a musical drama with the songs of Abba and Mama Mia, so both really great and memorable movies. The Dark Knight is still in my top ten films of all time. For the longest time, it was my number one, and it's probably dropped a little bit since then. I still need to do an updated list of my top ten favorite films. But it is a perfect movie in my eyes. And again, even though I talk about it all the time, how I don't love musicals, Mama Mia is a good one. Maybe it's just because I loved the band Abba. They have so many great songs, even though I didn't see it in theaters because I had to go see The Dark Knight first. So which one do you think grossed more opening weekend? Was it Dark Knight or was it Mama Mia. The answer is Dark Knight making one hundred and fifty eight million dollars opening weekend, with Mama Mia falling short of that, only making twenty seven million dollars, which is actually still pretty good. I think that's a pretty good chunk of change for acounter programming movie. And even though it seems like there's such a big gap between those two movies, Mama Mia actually went on to do really well, so both of these movies are actually considered successes. The Dark Knight was just so massive and went on to make a billion dollars at the box office, but Mama Mia still came back and ended up making six hundred million dollars at the box office, so that's a big win, and it went on to be the highest grossing musical until twenty seventeen when Disney put out the live action Beauty and the Beast, and that movie went on to make one point two billion dollars. So in the battle of the Dark Knight versus Mama Mia in two thousand and eight, the Dark Knight wins. Moving on, now, let's go back to nineteen ninety nine. The Matrix versus Ten Things I Hate About You both came out on March thirty first, nineteen ninety nine, So what a fantastic day for any kind of movie lover. If you want your sci fi action movie, you go and watch The Matrix, which I felt at the time in nineteen ninety nine had much more of a hype around it. But you can't rule out ten things I hate about you being a teenage rom com in the nineties, which is where I really feel like this genre just flourished. Those movies made so much money in the nineties. It could really go either way. But I think looking back on these movies, even though they are both iconic in their own genre, there was much more of a hype for The Matrix because of its use of technology. Really, because I remember watching this trailer on TV and thinking, man, this is next level. They're never gonna make a movie with better special effects than this. I just remember being very excited about the idea of The Matrix. And both of these movies came out on a Wednesday, which is weird thinking that even back in the nineties they kind of wanted to jump ahead and make a little bit more at the box office. So we saw that happening recently with Barbie and even the week before with Mission Impossible, both coming out on a Wednesday. So this one kind of gives me similar vibes as the Barbie Oppenheimer Weekend. Which one do you think grossed more? The Matrix or Ten Things I Hate About You? The answer is the Matrix it went on to make twenty seven point eight million dollars its opening weekend, and Ten Things I Hate About You only made eight point three million dollars in the opening weekend. The Matrix went on to make two hundred and sixty three million dollars worldwide in its original run. Things I Hate About You went on to make fifty three point five million dollars worldwide, which is still blockbuster numbers for a rom com. But sometimes just because a movie doesn't really dominate at the box office and the hundreds of millions of dollars doesn't really have an impact on its legacy, which I feel like Ten Things I Hate About You is probably now still a top ten rom com of all time. But in the battle of the Matrix versus Ten Things I Hate About You, the Matrix wins. Let's go back now to the eighties. Nineteen eighty four Ghostbusters versus Grimlins both came out on June eighth, and this one is interesting because not only did these two movies come out on the exact same day. They're very similar, and they are both iconic movies from the eighties, which I feel like as a whole. There are maybe only ten eighties movies that I would just consider movies that I love that I couldn't live without. Outside of those ten, not a whole lot of things. I go to the eighties four, but Gremlins and Ghostbusters they're in that top ten. Ghostbusters is much more of a comedy than Gremlins. Gremlins falls a little bit more into the horror side, So Grimlins is usually a movie I tend to watch around Halloween. Ghostbusters the movie I can watch whatever I think. When you have to rank their iconicness, I have to say Ghostbusters because of the cast. It's just a stronger cast, and overall more things have come out of that movie that have really stood the test of time. But man, that would have been a tough decision for me in the eighties. If I had to pick one to go to it came out in the summer, I probably would have gone Ghostbusters, just because I wanted the comedic aspect of Bill Murray. But the more important thing, which one made more at the box office that weekend. The answer is in its opening weekend, it made thirteen point five million dollars, and that is Ghostbusters. But Gremlins was not far behind, making twelve point five million dollars its opening weekend, So only a million dollars separates these two movies. I feel like, just like I was, audiences were pretty split in the eighties, but Ghostbusters went on to make two hundred and twenty nine million dollars at the box office and Gremlins went on to make one hundred and forty eight million dollars. So in the grand scheme of things, Ghostbusters brought in just a little bit more cash, but still both movies that have continued to just stay in our hearts and on our screens over the years. But in the battle of the opening weekends Ghostbusters versus Gremlins, Ghostbusters wins. I love this next one because, just like that last matchup where the two movies were very similar, these two are in the same genre and again would also be considered to be some of the most iconic Christmas movies ever made. That not only would it be hard to believe that both of these movies came out in the same year, but mind blowing that both of these movies came out on the exact same day. The matchup is Elf versus Love Actually, which both came out on November seventh, two thousand and three, and both movies are continuously watched every single Christmas season. Elf on any given day is my favorite Christmas movie of all time. It is the one Christmas movie I have to watch every single year. It's Elf, Bat Santa and a Christmas Eve on Sesame Street that I have to watch every single Christmas. Otherwise it doesn't feel like Christmas. But for some people, Love Actually is that mandatory Christmas movie as well. Nonetheless, on this Friday, both of these movies came out, giving everybody the decision which one is gonna be your Christmas movie in two thousand and three. There's really no wrong answer here, but which one do you think made more money its opening weekend? Elf or Love Actually? The answer is Elf, which made thirty one point one one million dollars it's opening weekend. Love Actually only made six point eight million dollars its opening weekend. Elf went on to make two hundred and twenty three million dollars worldwide, but surprisingly, Love Actually really picked up and ended up making two hundred and forty six million dollars worldwide. The interesting thing here, though, is even though Elf made more money than Love Actually opening weekend, it wasn't number one at the box office that weekend because the movie that had been dominating, and it had been out now for a while, was Matrix Revolutions. That was number one. Elf was number two and Love actually was below that. So showing you the power of the Matrix movies in the two thousands, So Matrix Revolutions was a movie that was not going to slow down and be beaten out by a couple of Christmas movies released in November. But still in the battle of Elf versus Love, actually Elf wins. Moving on now to our next matchup, Let's go back to the nineties. November twenty second, nineteen ninety five Toy Story versus Casino, both released on the same day. In one corner, you had Woody and Buzz in the first ever Pixar movie, which was the first computer generated movie in a full feature Lenk released back in the nineties. In the other corner, you have Robert de Niro, Sharon Stone, and Joe Peshi in Casino and arguably one of Robert De Niro's best movies ever. I mean I would still put Goodfellas at number one, but Casino is still a top five Robert De Niro movie. Two movies that are completely opposite. On one hand, you have an animated, family friendly movie, but still, at this time, not only was Pixar not a household name, nobody knew about Toy Story. These weren't established characters. This was all brand new and original, so none of those things were what they are today. So you would think, oh, yeah, that would be an easy win to pick Toy Story, But this was Pixar's first run at it is that enough to make it number one and beat out Casino? Because on this hand, you have established legendary actors like Robert de Niro teaming up yet again with Martin Scorsese. So even though I was four when this was going down, I feel like there would be much more of a demand and hype around Casino coming out on that day. But which one one at the box office? Was it Casino or was it Toy Story? The answer is Toy Story became number one in the US pretty much immediately. It made fifty seven point four million dollars on opening weekend and Casino, even though it was star studded, only made fourteen point five million dollars its opening weekend. And then Toy Story went on to make about a half a billion dollars at the box office, and Casino went on to make one hundred and sixteen million dollars at the box office. So in the battle of Toy Story versus Casino, Toy Story wins up next. Going back to nineteen ninety one, the year I was born July twelfth, nineteen ninety one, I was less than a month old, so don't really remember the landscape of film at this time, but I've learned about it. Boys in the Hood Versus Point Break both take place in southern California, So even though they take place in the same area, two very different stories going down, both went on to win a bunch of awards. If I had to pick my favorite of the two. Boys in the Hood is just an amazing movie. It is one of the only movies that I remember a death of a character having such an impact on my life. And overall, the movie isn't sad. It's not really a movie I put on and think, all this movie is gonna make you weep throughout, but there is so much tension and so many themes covered in this movie. It makes you angry at times. It makes you happy though, but ultimately it leaves you on such a low. Oh no, you feel so after watching this movie one movie I really remember the first time. It made me cry because man, it is sad. And Point Break has one of the best action sequences of the nineties. You have Keanu Reeves, so another great movie and iconic in its own way. But if I had to pick one of these to put into my library of movies forever, I would go with Boys of the Hood. But ultimately, which one do you think made more its opening weekend? Boys in the Hood or Point Break? The answer is Boys in the Hood. Surprisingly here, Boys in the Hood made ten million dollars its opening weekend. Point Break made eight point five million dollars its opening weekend, but Boys in the Hood went on to make fifty seven million dollars worldwide. So Point Break went on to beat Boys in the Hood, but overall in its opening weekend it lost. So in the battle of Boys in the Hood versus Point Break on opening weekend, Boys and the hoodwins. Before we continue on movie crew. I want to let you in on the way my brain works well thinking of these episodes. Every single week, I usually try to formulate a topic around that week's new movie release, and we just happened to have two really big movies coming out at the exact same time, so I thought of this concept. And sometimes when I think of a concept for an episode, I think, oh, that's gonna be great, and I get halfway into recording it and think, oh man, is this as good as I thought it was going to be? But I'm still committed into it. I keep going. This is an episode that as I've gone along here and giving you all of these matchups, I've loved this topic more and more. So I hope you're enjoying it. This is one that I looked to and think, oh man, this would ended up being even better than I thought it was going to be. So hopefully you are enjoying this as much as I am. So I'm gonna keep going here and rattling these off. But now we're moving on to a matchup that went down on July sixteenth, nineteen ninety three, Hocus Pocus versus Free Willie, two very very nineties movies. I would argue that two movies that could have only been produced in the nineties because of the cast, because of the plot of both of these movies, even though they made that Disney Plus sequel last year, which should not have been made. But I still would say that the first movie could only have existed in the nineties, more so than Hocus Pocus Free Willie. That is just a movie that screams nineties family movie to me. So in one corner you have Disney's Halloween film, probably the best one they have ever done, and we get to know the Sanderson sisters. But in the other corner, you have a story about an orphan befriending an orca, and you had me at Orca. Orcas are my favorite animal of all time. My lifelong dream since I was a kid is to go orca watching. I just think they are such majestic animals. They are so intelligent, and I love getting to learn about how much of a bond they have with their families. How not only do they communicate with orcas in their pod, but are able to send messages to other orcas in different parts of the world. I've been following the Orca Revolution on TikTok, where they are going after boats after one boat killed an Orca and they got really mad and started defending themselves very much Team Orca. So although I didn't see either of these movies in theaters, I remember watching them both on VHS and I have that Free WILLI cover just embedded in my head. Free WILLI making that leap over Jesse. But let's get to the question in this showdown, which one made more money at the box office opening weekend, hocus Pocus or Free WILLI. The answer is hocus Pocus making eight point one million dollars at the box office. Free WILLI right behind it, making seven point eight million dollars at the box office. This is another one I feel is pretty split because they are both family films, so it comes down to what do you want to see in the summer. Which is interesting to me that hocus Pocus ended up winning, proving that you don't have to put out a Halloween or scary movie out in October for it to do well. I think there should be no limits on when a horror movie can come out, So still surprised that one just slightly beat out Free Willy. But in the grand scheme of things, Free Willy ended up dominating, and maybe it's because it's much more of an inspirational and emotional movie. Because Free Willy went on to make one hundred and fifty three million dollars worldwide, when hocus Pocus only ended up making forty five million dollars worldwide, So Free Willy ended up making three times the amount of hocus Pocus. In the end. It even had a sequel that came out just a couple years later in nineteen ninety five and made sixty eight million dollars at the box office. But if I'm being honest, I really don't remember what happens in Free Willy to the Adventure Home, so maybe they should have stopped at one. But in the battle of opening weekends, hocus Pocus versus Free Willy, hocus Pocus still wins. I want to wrap up with a few more that I'll run through a little bit quicker. Going back to the seventies. On June sixteenth, nineteen seventy eight, both Greece and Jows two came out, which kind of like Free Willy too. Sometimes we forget that they made a sequel to Jaws, which one ended up winning at the box office. Still went to Jows two, making nine point eight million dollars, just slightly beating out Grease, which made eight point nine million dollars when they both debuted against each other that opening weekend, but Greece went on to dominate in its theatrical run, making three hundred and ninety six million dollars, compared to Jaws two, which made one hundred and eighty seven million dollars in its theatrical run, moving on to the two thousands. On August three, two thousand and one, the Princess Diaries and Rush Hour two both came out that same day. Who won at the box office? Well, it was Rush Hour two. Again. This is counter programming at its finest, but still both movies had really strong opening weekends. But I just feel like there was much more of a demand for a sequel to the iconic Rush Hour. It ended up winning the weekend at sixty seven million dollars, and Princess Diaries still came in strong with twenty three million dollars. Rush Hour two went on to make three hundred and forty seven million dollars worldwide at the box office, and Princess Diaries went on to make one hundred and sixty five million dollars, also in the two thousands. On June fourteenth, two thousand and two, both The Born Identity and Scooby Doo came out on this day. Who ended up winning at the box office? This one is surprising. It was Scooby Doo that brought in fifty four million dollars while Jason Bourne only made twenty seven million dollars in comparison, and Scooby Doo went on to win in its theatrical run, making two hundred and seventy five million dollars at the box office worldwide. The boorn Eyedda Identity made two hundred and fourteen million dollars. And yeah, maybe the boorn Identity had a better impact overall in its franchise, But I remember loving that Scooby Do movie. I feel like that has kind of become a cult classic, which is weird to say about a Scooby Doo movie, But I feel like that movie should have had much more of an impact when it came out. So I stand by my love of Scooby Doo. And the final one I want to mention is from June twenty ninth, twenty twelve, both Magic Mike and Ted came out on this day. Which one do you think I went to go see opening weekend? Place your bets now, because this was our first look getting to know Channing Tatum as a stripper. And on the other hand, you had Mark Wahlberg and the creator of Family Guy as a foul mouth bear. Which one ended up winning at the box office that weekend and was the movie I went to go see. It was Ted, making fifty four point four million dollars at the box office, and Magic Mike right behind it making thirty nine million dollars at the box office. Ted also dominated the worldwide box office in its theatrical run, making over half a billion dollars at five hundred and forty nine million dollars in its worldwide box office numbers. Magic Mike ended up making one hundred and sixty seven million dollars worldwide. Both TED one and TED two were fun movie theater experiences. For me, that is a movie I will sit down and watch anytime it randomly comes on TBS, which is a lot. So that is the list for this week. I feel like there will be some twenty twenty three examples that I'll do an episode on ten years from now because on February third of twenty twenty three, both Not at the Cabin and eighty for Brady both came out, which are two very completely different movies, and Not at the Cabin is the one I ended up seeing in theaters that weekend. And also on June second of this year, both Spider Man Across the Spider Verse and Past Lives both came out on that day, which are now in the running for my favorite movies of twenty twenty three. So someday I'll look back and think man both of those movies came out on that exact same day, looking at some future nostalgia there. So we'll come back and do a double movie review of Barbie and then Oppenheimer. After this, let's get into our first spoiler free movie review of the episode. I want to start first with Barbie. This was one of my top ten most anticipated movies of the summer. I think the reason is because it's from one of my favorite directors right now, Greta Gerwick. And really, there are only a handful of directors that, in their first few films know exactly what they want to say and how they want to say it, and are perfectly able to execute all the elements when it comes to just filmmaking at its finest, and Greta Gerwick is one of them. So I just knew that this was going to be a movie that we weren't expecting, and that's exactly what it is, because all I really knew going into this movie is that it's gonna be about Barbie having an existential crisis forcing her to leave Barbie World and go into the real world. And I am glad that is all I knew, because somehow this movie was nothing what I was expecting, but yet everything I wanted. And I want to start first with my theater experience going into Barbie, because there was so much promotion going into this movie, which I feel really added to the level of anticipation for me, and unlike any movie I've seen in the entire time I've been going to movies since I was a kid, I haven't really experienced anything like this before. The lobby was a sea of pink and you could feel the electricity. Even myself and my wife Kelsey, we got all dressed up, like I wore pink, this pink shirt I'm wearing now, I wore pink shoes, my wife wore her pink blazer, and I thought to myself as we were eating dinner before the movie, are we gonna look like, you know, losers going to watch this movie because we get so excited that we wanted to dress up. But almost everybody in the theater was dressed in some form of pink, and that just made it feel like much more of an event and like a bonding experience, one that I haven't experienced in all of my years of going to movies, not in a Marvel movie, not in a DC movie, not in any legacy action movie. This was something truly unique. So I think, aside from the movie, this is gonna be a moment that we remember in cinema forever. I'm always gonna remember the day I went to see Barbie, and this entire weekend, Barbie Oppenheimer Weekend is something we needed in film, and Barbie is what we needed right now. So I was all in and invested in this movie. And from the very beginning, this movie just grabbed me in a way that I wasn't expecting. And very few times now when I go watch a movie do I get fully immersed in every aspect of it and allow myself to just lose myself in the movie going experience. This was one of them. Once we were in Barbie world, I was fully transformed and living in that world. And I loved it because Greta Gerwig did such a great job nailing every single aspect from the fashion, the music, the set design. This movie is gonna win all the Oscars when it comes to set design and fashion, like that's just a given. I don't think that's me going out on a limb saying that. There's just so much attention to detail that is just mind blowing to me. And also, and I experienced something in this movie that doesn't really happen to me very often, because I didn't get all the references to all the Barbies, and I had to look over to my wife who was laughing at things that I didn't fully get because I didn't grow up playing with Barbies, But after watching this movie, I wish I would have. So I think there were things in this movie that were so much geared towards true Barbie fans who played with him as a kid. I felt like when we went to go watch the Super Mario Brothers movie and I was laughing at some of the references to all these video games and looking over to my wife and it wasn't really doing anything for her because she didn't grow up playing Super Mario like I did. The script was turned here, So aside from that of not getting some of the references, this movie was really funny. It's very smart comedy, and I feel like it takes a little bit of time to get used to it and realize that the movie is in on the joke. And I think people just have different tastes when it comes to comedy. You listening to this now are gonna find something funny that I probably don't find funny. So I think it's so hard to make a comedy right now that you don't really go into comedies anymore and just ah, laugh like crazy. That doesn't happen anymore. And I really think that only happens when you're a teenager or a kid. So I think adults who have expectations of going to a movie and just laughing NonStop like that's not gonna happen, you have to go see some stand up comedy for that. What comedies have to do now is have a unique perspective and be so good at the writing and have actors who can deliver it effortlessly and you almost have to be in on it a little bit. So this is a meta comedy. It's very aware of itself. So for those reasons, once you allow yourself to get into the style of it, you have to fully immerse yourself and want to be a part of it for it to be funny to you. But in our theater people were laughing NonStop, and I think that also helped for me to find it more funny, because when you go see a comedy like this and experience it with other people and hear what other people are laughing at, sometimes it heightens it a little bit. So if you wait to watch this movie streaming, you may think, what exactly is this? What did people see in this movie? You got to experience it with people. I think that is the same with comedies and also with horror movies. Sometimes you can watch a good horror movie at home and still be scared. But there's something about going to see a comedy and a horror movie in theaters that just adds to the experience and makes maybe things that aren't as funny a little bit more funny, makes things that are actually funny hilarious. So same thing with horror, same thing with comedy. Go watch it in the theater and get the full experience. And I think the reason this movie was so so important for me to see as a guy is it was a great commentary on what women have to go through and face every single day. The different things that apply to women that don't apply to men, that things men are able to get away with that women aren't, and all of the battles and things that women have to go through. There's such a great monologue from America Ferreira in this, one of the best monologues in the last ten years. I would say you don't really get monologues in movies anymore, but this one was so impactful that every single line in her monologue hit it all made a really great statement. So again, the writing in this was just excellent, So I think that scene alone needs to win an award. And really the movie is all about finding your purpose and questioning things around you because Margot Robbie's Barbie lives in Barbie world where everything is just perfect every single day. That is what you see in the opening scene. She does the same thing over and over again and nothing ever changes because in this world of Barbie world. All of the issues that women have had to face have been solved. They are in the highest power. Do you have a women president, a women's Supreme Court? And it's the kens aka the dudes, just there serving the Barbies, and deep in the back of her mind she just starts thinking about death and dread and all of these things that are the complete opposite of what a Barbie is supposed to feel. There is a line in this movie I related with so much, Barbie just saying, you, guys, ever think about death, which just comes out of nowhere, because she is such a bright and positive person, but yet she's struggling with the idea of death and us as humans, I feel like sometimes we mask those things we are actually feeling. It's easier to just smile and fake it until you make it, but deep down inside you could be feeling like the worst. And when she said that line and how everybody reacted is sometimes how I feel like. Sometimes I just have those dark thoughts that you don't know what is going on, and it's so easy to just kind of fake a smile, you know, move on with your life, and that ends up being what forces Barbie to leave Barbie Land and go figure out why this is happening to her, which I have to say, I love the way the movie handled transitioning from Barbie World into the real world and how you go from a place where everything is perfect and nothing ever bad happens and then going into the real world and realizing, oh man, that's not how it is at all. And I think it's a true testiment of how great of an actor Margot Robbie is. You think maybe playing Barbie is easy, it is not. You see the evolution of her character throughout this entire movie, and it's almost like what we all experience growing up as adults. How when you're a kid, everything is great and awesome, and then when you learn more about life, you just kind of get jaded a little bit more and more, until life just kind of wears on you and you see it on your face that you're a little bit more tired, you're a little bit more dejected. You see that evolution. And Margot Robbie, so the way she was able to handle that and showed that evolution throughout the entire movie was amazing. So it's on her, It's on Greta Gerwig. This movie to me felt like a mix of life size with Tyra Banks and The Truman Show throwing in these very outrageous moments, but also these moments of gentleness and clarity. There are some very beautiful moments in this movie that allow you as the viewer to really feel what Barbie is experiencing and to see these emotions actually come out of her because she hasn't really felt anything like this before. The other thing by the end of this movie I was really into was the music. And I always say, I've probably said it earlier on this episode how I'm not entirely into musicals, but the soundtrack on this was amazing, and also just all the singing moments really added to the big, over the top nature of this entire movie that I was seeing. I am just a Ken by the end of it. Other standouts from the cast, of course, you have Ryan Gosling as Ken, who you kind of forget or maybe don't really know how funny of an actor he is because he normally does a lot of more serious roles, but every now and then you get a glimpse of him being funny. I thought he played that character incredibly well. But I have to say, aside from Margot Robbie. Kate McKinnon was my favorite as weird Barbie. I feel like this was the role that she was meant to play, because she gets thrown into movies as you know, the quirky character, the off the wall character, and she did that so well on Saturday Night Live. But seeing her as weird Barbie thing everything she has done now completely makes sense. This is the character she was meant to be, so I'm glad they cast her as Weird Barbie. No one else could have done that role. So, like I said, I was fully immersed in the Barbie world and by the end of the movie I didn't want to leave it. So not only did it meet every single one of my expectations, but it set the bar for movies for the rest of the year. For me, I'm not gonna soon forget this movie. So for Barbie, I give it a rare perfect score. It is five out of five Barbie Dreamhouses. Next up in our movie reviews in Barbenheimer Weekend, It's time to talk about Oppenheimer and I feel like my demeanor needs to change because unlike after I went to go see Barbie, I had this really happy and positive outlook on life, like I could take on the world. After watching Oppenheimer and walking out of the theater, I felt the complete opposite way. I had, like this feeling of dread inside of me, this icky feeling after learning about Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, and really the weight of what that creation had on him, the effects it had on history and all the moral dilemmas, and really the way it changed how the entire world goes to war. It was very unsetting and the way the entire movie unfolded, even from the very beginning, the opening scene, it was just like, oh, man, this is going to be something different. And I really didn't know how Christopher Nolan was going to take on a full on historical drama because a lot of his movies really pushed the envelope on filmmaking and some piece of technology, whether it be tenant. Even though that didn't really land with me completely, I appreciated him trying to make something completely different. I just didn't really think it worked. I didn't really think that entire movie made sense. But you look at movies like Inception, Interstellar, even what he did with the entire Dark Knight franchise, even with Dunkirk, a much more straight ahead war film. There was always an element of action. So I wondered how taking away all those elements and just making a movie with a lot of dialogue and being such a deep character study, exactly how that was going to feel like a Christopher Nolan movie. And he showed me pretty soon on in the movie exactly what that meant. So, like I said, the entire movie is about Oppenheimer and his role in the creation of the atomic bomb. So you go back to World War two and everything that was unfolding with the war with Hitler and how the United States was trying to essentially end the war. So they looked to JD. Oppenheimer, who is this mad, crazy scientist, and they come up with the idea for him to build this town, bring in all the best scientists from around the world, and have them work for years on this project of developing the atomic bomb. So before I get into more details about the movie without really spoiling it, even though it is based on history, so if you are fully versed in World War two, you may know a lot about this. But for me, it was almost like relearning things that I learned in high school and college. But before I get into more of that, I want to talk about the theater experience, because I actually got to see this movie in seventy millimeter. I'm at so this is the best quality you can see, Oppenheimer. It's how Christopher Nolan would really want anybody to see the movie. And if you don't know what that means exactly, So when you just go watch a normal movie at the movie theater, it is shown digitally. There isn't anybody there running the projector having the film on a reel and hitting play. They just all run digitally. And there is also Imax where even though you see more information on the screen, it takes up more space. You go see it in Imax theater. A lot of those movies are still digital. There is also thirty five millimeter, which is another format that I love. But the millimeters is in reference to how big the actual film is. So you have thirty five millimeters and then you have seventy millimeters, which, if you do the math, is double that. So you go from having this much amount of information on the film to double that. What that means is when you go watch this movie, you are fully immersed in the world of Oppenheimer. So normally when you watch things on your TV, or even if you go to the movies, it takes up the entire screen, your entire TV. What seventy millimeter imax does is not only extended a little bit from left to right, but also from top to bottom, so it kind of just stretches the entire thing out. So while watching this movie, you are fully immersed. When it goes to a close up of Killean Murphy's face, you see their entire face and it's unlike anything I've really experienced. And when you see it projected on seventy millimeters, this film weighs six hundred pounds and is eleven miles long, so that is a lot of information on the film Reeal. You can actually hear it spinning in the theater. During Quiet Park, you hear that little ticking of a projector, which as a movie fan I enjoyed. I would elbow kelsey when you could hear that sound because it felt so cool to see it the way it was intended to be seen. And you can tell the difference between something being shown digitally and being shown on actual film and how I would describe it. When you see a movie in seventy milimeter, it appears that every single scene could be its own photograph print. So it was as if they took a camera in the highest quality and just took individual pictures of every scene, and if you were to pull one of those, you could print it and put it on your wall and it would look like a piece of art. Like every shot was so perfectly orchestrated, and there was also a level of warmth and depths to it seeing it in seventy milimeter IMEX. So this was the first movie I've ever seen like this. And the reason it also makes so much a difference is because this is how this movie was shot with Imax cameras with films, so this is as close as it gets to seeing something in three D without three D glasses. I don't really like three D movies. I don't really think it adds the level of depth that they say it does. This is the way more people should be making movies at this scale. Christopher Nolan is one director that I fully trust to do it. So he actually paid to have this IMAX projector fixed in Nashville because there are only I believe nineteen maybe twenty theaters in the United States who are showing it this way because it is so expensive because it takes up so much room, and the theater here in Nashville had the capabilities of it, but it was broken. So Christopher Nolan paid out of his own pocket to have it fixed so that Oppenheimer could be seen how he intended it to be. So it adds depth and it adds clarity. That's how I would describe it. Now, another issue people are going to have going into watching Oppenheimer is the three hour runtime. I feel like directors of his caliber have a vision. And I saw this a little bit with Avatar and James Cameron, and I realized the format they are using is they are making each act an hour long, So that is exactly what this movie is. In that first hour, you really get to know about Oppenheimer, how really he's not even the best person. He is a womanizer. He is so just obsessed with his work and neglects the other parts of his lives. So you really get a deep dive into his character in that first hour. And the second hour is all about the development of the Adam Baum and all of the trials and tribulations that go into that and essentially leading up to the moment of detonation, and then the third hour, the third act is really all all the falling action and the repercussions of what they just created, what they just unleashed on the world, and how it affects Oppenheimer. And the way Christopher Nolan was able to make this story his own was one with the cinematographer, with all the aspects of it, having that real film look and these beautiful scenes. There is one scene in particular. I love it when movies have a scene that take place at dawn in a landscape where there's mountains and just that like blue color and that sun coming up just a little bit that you really can't tell if it's dawn or dusk. That looks so beautiful on cameras and really capturing the essence of all these characters. And the other thing that he is kind of known for and is able to do is build a lot of tension. And this movie has a lot of dialogue, so you're gonna be listening and paying attention throughout this entire movie. And how he adds that tension in Oppenheimer is through the use of the score where it's all just chugging along, chugging along, and making it feel very dramatic, like it is building towards something, because really that is what this movie is doing the entire time. It is building and building on that moment, and through the use of the score, it just gives it that feeling that something really impactful is happening. It also just kind of builds this feeling of dread, and it reminded me a lot of the score in the Dark Night, where it just so chugging along throughout the entire movie that you think, oh man, this is not gonna end well, and it really doesn't. And there were just so many beautiful scenes and just rushes of sound that were very big and jarring because characters would just be having this conversation and all of a sudden, the entire screen is just flames and there's a big whoosh that happens that really just kind of catches you off guard. But one of the most beautiful scenes I have ever seen in a movie is once they actually test the atom bomb, and how that scene was handled was so beautifully done, and I don't want to spoil it if you haven't seen it, but I felt something during that scene and there was just kind of this chilling moment that I was in a sold out Imax theater and the entire theater went silent. You could hear a pin drop, which is amazing because you have all these adults that probably just want to be on their cell phones. But in that moment, it was so quiet and it was so peaceful that I felt this moment of serenity while watching a movie. And if I could experience one moment in filmmaking again, it would be that moment, because after you watch it for the first time, it's not going to have that same impact. So that was something beautiful. That was something that can't be taken away from me. And I'm glad that the entire story up to that point was so well done that that moment was so significant and so beautiful and just made me think, oh man, this is the reason that I love movies. So it had one of the best payoffs out of any movie, and it also had one of the most impressive casts, not only in a Christopher Nolan movie it's by far his most impressive case, but really in any movie that I have to pull up my letter box just to see the entire cast, because I don't want to forget a bunch of people, which I'm going to anyway. But you have Killy and Murphy for the first time having the lead role in a Christopher Nolan movie, which he has been one of his go tos throughout his entire history of filmmaking. And that's also what I love about Christopher Nolan, And it's kind of like an artist having this palette of colors he likes going to that he feels comfortable with. That is how I feel that directors really show their tone and their style that they go back to this color palette and use it over and over again to make their art because he knows that these are the actors who can do his vision justice and he trusts them. So seeing Killy and Murphy get that starring role and be able to show us just how great of an actor he is what's truly amazing. But I would say there are probably twenty actors in this movie that could easily star in a movie and carry their own like they could be the A list actor of any movie. But yet you have this ensemble cast that works together so well that it makes the experience fun because you think, oh man, how are they going to use this person. How are they going to use that person? You have major stars in I don't want to call them minor roles because in movies there are no small parts that are only small actors. But you have really a list actors having one or two scenes. It's like going to a restaurant and asking them to take their finest food and stuff it with their second finest food. It's just layers and layers of great acting. So Aside from Kelly and Murphy, you have Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, who was amazing in this movie. He's really not one of my favorite actors, but he continues to surprise me again and again. I don't think he'll ever make it into I love Matt Damon, but was really good in this movie, maybe because it was a little bit unexpected. But Robert Downey Junior the entire time, I wanted to see him as iron Man, but he totally eclipsed that. And he says this is the best movie he's ever done. Like I said, as an Ironman fan, as a fan of The Avengers, I found that insulting but exciting going into this movie, and he truly delivered. Florence Pugh was amazing. In this movie. You had a safty brother, Josh Hartnett, who is kind of having a comeback. I just see him as his character in Halloween h two. Oh, Michael Myers is dead, but now seeing him in this and in Black Mirror earlier this year, I guess he's coming back. But even moving further down this cast, like Rommy Mallick has a pretty minor role in this movie. An Academy Award winner is not a main character in this movie. Then you have Josh Peck, who the entire time he was on screen, I just wanted him to go Megan. It's spher recal Spheruco. You also have the guy who was the star of Sky High. There are just so many actors in this movie, even even one of the best character actors, Gary Oldman, who I didn't even realize he was President Truman until afterwards, because you put makeup on that guy and he can easily transform into any character. He's very underappreciated. But the list goes on and on and on with talent, and Christopher Nolan did a great job at managing all of their characters and getting the performances out of him that he needed to carry this movie along. There are some movies that get an ensemble cast like that and you don't know what to do with it. You don't know how to direct them. They just kind of get on screen and do whatever they want. This movie, Christopher Nolan had complete control on every aspect of the film, and what the movie also did ultimately was give me a refresher on history. And now I'm never gonna forget the timeline of World War Two and the fact that Oppenheimer, Einstein, President, Truman, Heisenberg all existed at the same time. It's a lot easier for me to place it right now. So I feel like this is one of those movies that I not only learned a lot, but I felt a lot after watching this movie. But Oppenheimer was so good and it meant all of my expectations. I still don't want to say it's a top five Nolan film for me, because you have The Dark Knight, which is number one, you have Interstellar, which is probably number two for me, and then I would probably throw in I mean, I love The Dark Knight rises. I know a lot of people don't love that movie, but I felt like that was such a great close on that story. I also really love the prestige. I mean, there's so many movies that have meant so much to me that it's probably just right outside the top five. Maybe later, after I think about it a little bit more, it'll earn its way into the top five. I know some people were saying this is his best movie of all time. I don't think it is. It's really really good. But he's made some amazing movie. I didn't even mentioned Inception. Inception is up. Yeah, it's no way a top five movie of Christopher Nolan, but it is so good. It's just those Top five are so great and have meant so much to me for so long. Now it's hard to put it there. Even coming days off of seeing this movie. It's not quite there. But I still think one of the best movies of the year and one that will live on for decades, for probably a lifetime. So for Oppenheimer, I get five out of five Atomic bombs all right, we did it movie cru closing out the episode now and to keep the theme going in the Battle of Barbie versus Oppenheimer, like we've been doing all episode long. Who won Opening Day? Was it Barbie? Was it Oppenheimer? With seventy point five million dollars on its first day. It is Barbie coming in right behind It was Oppenheimer with thirty three million. Who won the weekend? Will Barbie brought in one hundred and fifty five million dollars and Oppenheimer brought in eighty million dollars? But it is now the fourth biggest weekend at the box office of all time. But in the battle of Barbie versus Oppenheimer, Barbie wins. But really we all win because man, it was such a great weekend at the theater. And before I go, I gotta get my listener shout out of the week. This week, I'm going over to my Instagram dms and the shout out is to Cee Trout, who sent me a DM with this question that maybe more of you have in regard to me seeing Oppenheimer in seventy milimeter imax? Ce Trout wrote, was it worth seeing it that way? We live four hours from Nashville and it's the only theater near us that has it. Would it be just as good of an experience if we just saw it in imax? After watching it in seventy milimeter I would have to say, first of all, I got lucky in the fact that there was one just down the road showing it this way. Is it worth four hours? Four hours is a long time to be in a car. You're looking at eight hours there, I would have to say, even as much as I love the movie and love that experience, I don't think it's four hours worthy. Maybe the two to see it in normal IMAX in digital, but that's just a really big investment, and it does add a lot of depth and clarity, like I was saying, so it'll maybe make you like the movie fifteen to twenty percent more. If fifteen to twenty percent more is enough to drive four hours for you, then yes, I would say it's worth it. But aside from that, I think you can still get a similar experience if you go see it in IMAX digitally. So I would say, if you don't have one of the twenty showing it in seventy milimeter Imax, try and see it at least in IMAX. But if you don't have that and just go to a normal two D showing, I still think you'll love this movie. It just adds a little bit more to see it in IMAX. To see it in thirty five or seventy milimeter, but I could not endorse you making a four hour trip just to see it that way. But thank you for that question, thank you all for listening this week, and until next time, go out and watch good movies and I will talk to you later