#BARBENHEIMER

The movie #Oppenheimer is a 3-hour long collage – random newspaper cutout, pasted on a reel and then, and as if this was not enough, the narration was further compounded by periodic back and forth in story time-line, and again, as if this was not enough, color and black and white scenes at periodic intervals were added into the mix. The final result is one big disarray.

It is understood that a movie about the making of the “Nuclear Bomb” is much too complicated for the lay audience, but then, why add to the confusion with assorted news clippings randomized over the movie timeline?

At the end of it all, no justice was ever done to any of the characters. Most of them are long dead to really bother with this messy attempt to tell their story.

If you have not seen Oppenheimer, skip it. You haven’t missed anything.

Now moving on to the other over-hyped bonanza – Barbie which hit theaters alongside Oppenheimer and thus created the portemantau, – BARBENHEIMER. The movie Barbie is a good attempt by the moviemaker to create an alternate thesis around the cultural significance of the Barbie doll.

The movie is well crafted and has an engaging story. But the only weak point is that it tries to be philosophical at junctures, and in those moments, the dialogues are not convincing.

What Barbie needed was better writing. Because when one is delving into philosophical waters, one needs to be simple and exact and also prepare the audience for a dose of Proust.

Compared with Oppenheimer, Barbie is a better watch.