Thursday 24 August 2023

Meg2 - The Trench, the Haunted Mansion and Oppenheimer

 

What can I say. The original was reasonable fun and Meg2 - The Trench had OK reviews. It does try hard to be witty and sometimes succeeds. Jason Statham plays Jason Statham and the rest of the cast are fine. I never really enjoy underwater sequences (I did drop off during Thunderball but it was a midnight showing). When we arrive on dry land, we are in for that big finale. But it's the submarine that is made for a fairground ride with all it's battering and danger.

From movies made for a theme park to a theme park ride made into a movie. The Haunted Mansion could have been so much better with a half decent script. But this was just awful. The dialogue was the worst I had listened to in a very long time. Rosario Dawson is the best of a motley crew who are outshone by the ghosts. 

In the absence of any decent new films, I was very glad I went to see Oppenheimer for the second time. The three hours seemed to go faster this time round. It's the politics that are so incredible. Just who can you trust in 1940's America. However, there was that point about a third through when Matt Damon as General Leslie Groves interviews Cillian Murphy's Oppenheimer for the big job. It might have been the music or the intensity of the acting as both gradually ramp up as Oppenheimer gets to the blackboard. I felt this was one of the best things I had ever seen at the cinema. Yes, a job  interview!

The last section is again excellent as Oppenheimer chooses to face the enquiry where he knows the odds are stacked against him. All taking place in a tiny room and very theatrical in it's setting. The acting is all top drawer. But for me, the best of all (and I never thought I would ever say this) was Robert Downey Jr as Lewis Strass. He's not even mentioned in Tom Shone's five star review in the Sunday Times. 


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