New Movies for Summer 2023

[Nancy OShea]

Can't wait to see Barbie.

Directed by Greta Gerwig, staring Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Will Ferrell

Released by Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Pictures.

[celetea.com]

Is it good to watch in cinema or OTT.

[Nancy OShea]

Barbie is all about the visuals.  I intend to see it at the cinemaplex after it opens on July 21. I'm not sure streaming on a small screen will do it justice.

Oppenheimer is another film I'm interesting in seeing.  It's going to be at our IMAX theatre on July 20.  But the running time of 3 hours— well, I don't know if I can sit in one place that long.

[Nancy OShea]

Somewhat related:

[Nancy OShea]

Barbie is smashing the box office, grossing over $300 million so far.

Oppenheimer has grossed $120 million.

[Ricky336]

Have you seen Barbie @Nancy OShea ?

Worth seeing?

Some critics in the UK scorn it. Apparently, it is making a mockery of men! Men are just 'Ken'.

Isn't it just a movie with no deep and meaningful message behind it? (And lots of pink.)

Do people have to do psychoanalysis it, as one might have done when studying literature at school?

[Leslie Moak Murray]

I haven't seen it, but while it inserted the stupid political angle of a trans character, I applaud it because it's a step toward bringing people back to the theaters and the big screen. Tom Cruise is doing this too with his Maverick and the new Mission Impossible. We saw both on the big screen, and they were fantastic.

[puja30954509ju4l]

I think having a trans character in Lightyear is a good thing because it can make being trans more normal and people might become more okay with it. But I also think the way they did it could have been better. Overall, it's nice that Lightyear is trying to include everyone, and I hope other movies will do the same.

[Nancy OShea]

Pixar's 'Lightyear' is a different movie that released in Feb.

Anyway, getting back to @Ricky336's question about the Barbie 'controversey,' a Philly-born trans actress, Hari Nef as one of the many Barbies in Barbieland— has drawn ire from far-right-wing crowds who oppose inclusiveness.  What's the big deal you ask?  I don't know.

Personally, I don't care how people dress or which pronouns they prefer.  It's not my concern.  We all begin as phenotypical female fetuses anyway.  At approx 7 weeks of cellular division & replication, a Y chromosome may emerge that activates male hormone production.  About 1.5 -2% of the time, it doesn't work as expected, resulting in births of mixed or ambiguous phenotypes.

Trans people are just people in search of an identity, no more mysterious than being born with a cleft-palate or clubfoot— all curable with appropriate treatments & surgery.

[Nancy OShea]

We're seeing it on Friday. 

Based on what I've read, the story is a 'fish out of water' adventure when Barbie & Ken get a chance to go to the 'real world' and soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans.

[Nancy OShea]

Critics who said Barbie would never be successful just choked on crow as Barbie's box office surpasses $1 Billion globally.  17 days after release, Greta Gerwig is the first s-o-l-o female director to enjoy "A Billion Dollar Baby."

When you exit the theater after seeing Barbie, I guarantee you'll feel sympathy for Ken who was brilliantly portrayed by Ryan Gosling.  But this movie is chocked so full of nuances, it begs to be seen again. I will definitely go to a 2nd viewing as have countless other Barbie movie goers. 

This film needed to be made.  And I'm so glad that Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbi made the impossible possible.