Benny Safdie – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

BARBENHEIMER Rules: Conflating BARBIE and OPPENHEIMER – Pam Grady Comments

July 21, 2023July 27, 2023 Pam Grady barbenheimer, Barbie, Benny Safdie, Billie Eilish, Christopher Nolan, Cillian Murphy, Cyndi Lauper, David Krumholtz, Dua Lipa, emily blunt, florence pugh, greta gerwig, Margot Robbie, Oppenheimer, rhea perlman, robert downey jr, Ryan Gosling

There are places where the two films intersect, making Barbenheimer less ridiculous than the memes suggest: Both Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) and Barbie (Margot Robbie) are midcentury icons, Oppenheimer as the father of the atomic bomb that forever changed the way humans live in the world, and Barbie as the doll that broke the mold, freeing little girls from the tyranny of baby dolls and forever changing the way children play with dolls.

Reviews

OPPENHEIMER – Review by Rachel West

July 20, 2023September 12, 2023 Rachel West alden ehrenreich, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, Benny Safdie, Christopher Nolan, Cillian Murphy, David Krumholtz, emily blunt, florence pugh, kenneth Branagh, matt damon, Oppenheimer, robert downey jr

Nolan pieces the film together out of chronological order, sometimes whipping between pre- and post-bomb at a clip, switching from colour to black-and-white. It doesn’t make the narrative hard to follow, but the frequent cutting doesn’t give scenes enough time to breathe, lessening their impact on the audience. The climax of the film is undoubtedly the desert Trinity test of the bomb capabilities. Arriving at around the two-hour mark, what makes this whole sequence of events stand out is that Nolan gives it time to build tension and unfold in front of the audience instead of time-hopping to the next scene.

Reviews

ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT’S ME, MARGARET – Review by TJ Callahan

May 1, 2023May 5, 2023 T. J. Callahan abby ryder fortson, ann roth, are you there god? It's Me Margaret, Benny Safdie, Elle Graham, kathy bates, kelly fremon craig, lionsgate films, rachel mcadams

It’s difficult to reinvigorate excellence, but this cast and crew has. Sometimes
you want your favorites to be so good, you become too critical, but this feature version manages
to keep our memories intact of reading the book under the covers with a flashlight and taking
some of the pain out of puberty.

Reviews

ARE YOU THERE, GOD? IT’S ME, MARGARET – Review by Valerie Kalfrin

April 25, 2023April 25, 2023 Valerie Kalfrin abby ryder fortson, ann roth, are you there god? It's Me Margaret, Benny Safdie, Elle Graham, kathy bates, kelly fremon craig, lionsgate films, rachel mcadams

If you know a tween girl—or you remember being one—go see Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret. Judy Blume’s beloved book about an eleven-year-old girl’s budding puberty comes to rich, layered life in this charming adaptation that’s funny, empathetic, and affecting. Abby Ryder Fortson takes the lead as Margaret, an easygoing, wide-eyed girl who returns home from summer camp to find her world upended. Her mom and dad have bought a home in New Jersey, leaving the bustle and clutter of a New York City apartment behind. For Margaret and her paternal grandma, moving across the Hudson might as well be across the country.