Life is a crazy thing. I was texting Fred just before I wrote this, and I said the same. After a couple of crazy weeks, things are finally settling down. I am going to see Barbie this afternoon. I am doing that thing that the internet is doing but with a huge gap in the middle. I am looking forward to it. I have heard good reviews. I saw Oppenheimer recently, remember? Would you like a more concrete review? Sure. Welcome to Monday Moaning, by the way. I hope your Monday was up to your standards. I have a word count cutoff, so I will keep writing the review and see how it goes.

First and foremost, Cillian Murphy is a captivating actor. Like many people, I am dumbfounded that, having worked with Christopher Nolan on many of his films, this is the first time he has starred in a Nolan film. I should say that I haven’t seen Peaky Blinders either. I know. I am a shame to my Irish arts community. It is next on my list. I am always impressed with Murphy when I do watch him. It’s crazy that this guy grew up only a few counties away from me. I have a complicated relationship with Christopher Nolan films. I always tell the story about watching Inception for the first time at a friend’s house and having to stop because my head couldn’t handle it. But, after about 20 minutes into this film, I was so immersed in the story I didn’t worry about not following it. Perhaps this has come with both expectations and maturity. The film does a great job of hopping between times too. I appreciated that. As a writer, I find tracking time in my stories hard. It’s easier said than done.

One thing that I took issue with early on was the montage sequence style. One thing that I don’t see Nolan do a lot is to have straightforward dialogue scenes. There is a lot of score under several scenes, and I wished it was turned down at least a little bit. I am not sure if it calmed down in the latter half of the film or if it became white noise. One thing you can’t fault Nolan for is the sheer spectacle of his films which are famously all practical effects. Yet another thing I respect about his work. I won’t spoil it and tell you when the actual detonation of the first bomb happens, but it happens. A lot of character work is done throughout that hammers home the severity of the project and its effects on Oppenheimer’s mental state and life, professionally and personally, in the aftermath of the bomb drops.

To conclude, it is a spectacle, and you should go see this film if you want three hours to fly by and to be captivated by a homegrown Irish talent that will surely be seeing some nominations coming his way soon. Don’t drink too much, or you will need to leave halfway through and miss a sex scene, like someone I know.

Thank you for reading. I have an idea for a creative project that I am excited about and will tell you about in due course. See you on Friday for some fiction. Thank you for reading, and thank you for your time.