This past July, I had the pleasure of seeing two fantastic movies back-to-back not once, but twice. Those movies — of course — were Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer.” 

My first viewing was at the AMC Aventura in Miami, where I watched “Oppenheimer” then “Barbie” — a combination called “Oppenbarbie.” When I got home, I saw the reverse (‘Barbenheimer’) at the local Carlisle R/C. 

Both films were great. I would suggest seeing Oppenheimer in IMAX if possible. Regardless of your opinion on whether “Oppenbarbie” or “Barbenheimer” is the correct order, I enjoyed both and can highly recommend both movies.

Barbie

“Barbie,” which recently overtook “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” to become 2023’s highest grossing film, is a fun and engaging summer blockbuster. Gerwig’s creative freedom allows her to make some choices like poking fun at Mattel’s less-than inclusive history that elevate this film. 

In the film, Barbie -- Margot Robbie -- and Ken --Ryan Gosling-- embark on an adventure to the “Real World” and leave “Barbie Land” to help straighten out a rift between the two worlds. A stacked supporting cast, including Will Ferrell, Michael Cera, America Ferrerra and Ariana Greenblatt are joined by over a dozen others, most portraying Barbies and Kens.

Margot Robbie is about as perfect casting for “Stereotypical Barbie” as one can get. Robbie’s portrayal of the kids’ doll coming to life is engaging, and it is clear that the actress had fun in this role. Her range is used to great effect when the movie takes the occasional turn from spirited romp to emotional deep-dive. 

Ferrera and Greenblatt play a mother and daughter duo who, while at first are at odds, mend their relationship and help Barbie fix things at home with the intervention of Robbie’s Barbie. 

Ken is also there. Jokes aside, while the movie and the world tends to ignore Ken in favor of his better half, Gosling’s Ken actually serves as an excellent lens to focus on a core theme of the film: how patriarchy fails both women and men. 

Without getting into too many spoilers, for those of you unlucky to have not seen it yet, in the real world, Ken finds a society dominated by men in stark contrast to his own experience playing second-fiddle to the Barbies. When he returns, he overthrows the matriarchal society and institutes a system that is designed to benefit the Kens.

Some, especially on the conservative end, have criticized the film for being “anti-man,” but that claim couldn’t be further from the truth. The film is decidedly anti-patriarchy, but not anti-man. The furnishings of patriarchy that Ken brings from the real world such as horses, trucks and ostentatious clothes do not make the Kens happy, but rather give them a false sense of power.

When that power is stripped away, they’re forced to recognize that their masculinity and sense of self cannot be made up of the things they own or the people they interact with, but developed from their own identity. 

While on the surface the film is a fun, comedy-filled summer bash, it also contains some heartfelt and sincerely feminist critiques of patriarchy.

Oppenheimer

“Oppenheimer” serves as the more somber half of this double feature. Writer and Director Christopher Nolan brings his usual magic to this historical drama depicting the eponymous scientist. 

Following a trend in Nolan's work, “Oppenheimer” uses time as a plot device. The film shifts between several points in time, using a Senate confirmation hearing and a security clearance hearing as anchors to recount Oppenheimer's story as the creator of the atomic bomb, a project that changed the field of physics and the nature of war.

Cillian Murphy's performance as the Manhattan Project's leading scientist is a chilling portrayal of guilt, anguish and remorse. Murphy is joined in the cast by Robert Downey Jr. and Matt Damon, who respectively portray Lewis Strauss and Lieutenant General Leslie Groves, two colleagues of Oppenheimer. Both deliver award-worthy performances and are responsible for some of the rare comedic moments in an otherwise somber film.

Emily Blunt portrays Kitty Oppenheimer, a biologist and botanist who married Robert Oppenheimer in 1940. Throughout the film, Blunt artfully sells the complicated relationship the two shared. Two scenes stand out: a fight with her husband and later a passionate defense of him. These two scenes exemplify Blunt’s artistic talent, which she certainly brought to this film. 

Florence Pugh's performance as Jean Tatlock is also spectacular. Tatlock and Oppenheimer have a passionate relationship, which does not end happily. Tatlock had a powerful impact on Oppenheimer’s life, and Pugh’s performance is as chillingly somber as it is stunning. 

Tom Conti’s performance as Albert Einstein was an unexpected highlight. While the eccentric physicist only makes a few appearances during the movie, Conti portrays the man with the weight you would expect for such a famous historical figure. 

The movie’s strengths do not end with its cast. Throughout the film, viewers are blasted by the product of both visual and auditory genius that elevates this already stellar film to another level.

The film is chock-full of stunning visualizations of stars, subatomic space, and the inner workings of Oppenheimer’s mind. According to the filmmakers, the bulk of these astonishing sequences were achieved through entirely practical effects. 

Genius was not the only part of Oppenheimer’s mind depicted. Throughout the film, we watch his view of the world become warped by hallucinations driven by the weight of the world on his shoulders, and the guilt and anxiety that continues to build. Combined with the sound design and masterful score by Ludwig Göransson, these sequences are hypnotizing. Göransson’s score throughout the film is commanding. In the IMAX showing in Florida, I was physically shaken by the music that never seemed to relent. 

The climax of the film — both narratively and in an audio/visual sense — is the Trinity nuclear test. In what is the most suspenseful 15 minutes of this already suspense-filled movie, we watch those who worked on the Manhattan project observe the culmination of their years of work. 

The tension, excitement and fear felt by the characters is shared by the audience as the clock counts down to the detonation of the world’s first atomic bomb. The anxiety and tension they are feeling is felt equally by those watching and listening. In each of my two viewings, you could hear a pin drop.

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