#Jason wanted to see Barbie not Oppenheimer

[stararch4ngelqueen]

Movie Night Gone Right

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Time Written-8:55 p.m.

Jason Todd/Fem!reader smut

—

“God, how on Earth did you hide being such a goddamn slut from me?” His seemingly angry tone of voice echoed throughout the limited space, calloused hands grasping onto your waist with a relentless, steel-like grip.

Date night would’ve been better if you both hadn’t decided on a god awful movie to watch at the theatre.

He told you to cut it out, at first, when your bored hand settled precariously along his thigh instead of reaching for popcorn. Even he wasnt dumb enough to do something that could easily be recorded on this shitty theatre’s night vision security cameras.

But no, you just kept on fucking pushing, kept teasing your fingers dangerously close to the buttons of his jeans, kept lightly teasing him when his self control withered at your syrupy sweet, annoying persistence.

“Get in,” he demands after yanking you out of the theatre early, somewhat grateful under all of his irritation that he had an excuse to leave the pain in the ass movie

“That’s fucking ridiculous, babe. You just can’t listen, can ya?” He chastised, forcing you in the passenger seat of his car.

Your back laid flat against the backseat after a short, risky drive, sweaty skin sticking to leather with your black skirt pulled over your thighs, his fat cock stuffed deep in your crying hole, bullying your insides with little remorse.

“Yeah? This what you wanted, huh babe? Being bred like a damn slut in the backseat?”

His nails dug crescent shaped moons into your hips, joining the handprints along your ass as temporary tattoos for the evening. He had half a mind to stop at three quick, chaste orgasms, but you didn’t exactly deserve mercy right now, did you?

Your belt bound hands could only settle against his broad chest, your nails scratching down his fully clothed body all you liked, leaving lipgloss smeared kisses against his chin as a pitiful attempt at an apology, anything to make him go just a teeny bit easier.

Nothing would stop him from abusing your cervix all he pleased, looming over you like a beast inside this rocking, semi-hidden car.

“No, no you’re not puttin’ your fucking panties back on after this, not after I give this pussy what it needs,” he grunts into your ear before biting your lobe, certain words punctuated by every angry, heavy slap of his balls against your plush, sore ass.

“I’m not done with you yet, pretty girl. You’re gonna sit in your own damn mess on the way home, and you’re gonna- Fuuuck, you’re gonna shove those little fingers up your pussy, an clean up the mess you made. Then I might forgive ya, understand Princess?”

You may or may not have pretended to listen the first time, your mind too lost in the mind numbing ecstasy of his cock prodding all the right spots, eager to be full of his thick cum.

“D’you understand me??” He gutturally questions again, yanking a fistful of hair to force your gaze on his flushed face, smirking devilishly at your open mouthed whimper.

“Y-Yes Sir!”

He chuckles handsomely against your cheek, expecting a full show once he was done filling up your cunt.

Maybe he’ll thank you for giving you both the perfect excuse to leave a dreadfully uneventful movie, but he couldn’t help being a sadist sometimes. Especially with his eager to please woman.

“Good girl.”

[im-not-buying-it-ether]

I wholly blame @thefantasmarex

The Lazarus pits can’t save my brain rn

[auroreliis]

forcing the batfam to wear pink suits and watch the barbie movie. thats it. thats the request.

Platonic Yandere!Batfam

Summary: You HAVE TO watch The Barbie film, but what do your brothers have to say?

CW: the choice between barbie and oppenheimer

(not edited or proofread)

Dick:

-Barbie all the way

-There was zero hesitation when he pulled a pink, glittery suit out of his closet

-Everyone tried to make fun of him, but he just looked so good that their insults didn't reach him

-When the others were struggling with finding a pink outfit he pulled 6 more glittery pink suits from his closet and offered them

-Oddly enough, the sizes were perfect for each member of the family, but they all refused to wear it

-Probably helped you choose your outfit

-He loved the film

Jason:

-He said Barbie, because he knew about the message behind the film

-Actually watched Oppenheimer the day after without telling anyone and is a firm believer that you can like both films

-Wore a hot pink suit and looked amazing

-Made fun of Damian for wanting to watch Oppenheimer over Barbie

-Actually really enjoyed the film

Tim:

-Hesitant to admit it, but he was actually really excited for Oppenheimer

-When asked about it, Tim said Barbie because he didn't want to be considered a pushover

-Damian made fun of him for saying he wanted to watch Barbie, which annoyed him, because he actually wanted to watch Oppenheimer

-He decided to wear a pink button down shirt with a pair of beige dress pants

-Was very satisfied with the Barbie film and has troubles deciding if he liked Oppenheimer more or not

Damian:

-Oppenheimer

-The setting of Oppenheimer piqued his interest more and he didn't really know what the Barbie film was about

-"Fine, but I'll only watch it because my sibling desperately wants to see it"

-Tim made fun of him for being forced to watch the Barbie film

-He was quite reluctant, but you and Dick convinced him to wear a pink blazer

-Was supposed to wear a pink suit, but didn't want to match with Jason

-He watched Oppenheimer a day later because he didn't have the chance to watch it before the Barbie film

-Was actually very impressed with the Barbie film and did not expect to enjoy it as much as he did

-Has quoted the Barbie film a few times

Bruce:

-Neither, but if he had to choose, Oppenheimer

-Dick's shocked face was not enough for him to change his mind, but yours was

-Tell him you want to bond as a family and he will be renting the whole cinema

-He wasn't really passionate about either film, so it didn't really mean that much to him

-Didn't dress properly for the occasion, since none of his clothes were pink, but at least he wore a suit

-Was rather impressed with the film and secretly rewatched it

[junimo-hexed]

The Batfam goes to see Barbie/Oppenheimer

Bruce: Damian refused to see Barbie and Bruce did not like the idea of him going to the theater on his own. He eventually saw Barbie and wasn’t impressed.

Babs: she didn’t originally want to see Barbie because she felt it redundant and that it wasn’t going to offer much, she felt herself pretty much right, but something kept nagging at her. Something about it seemed familiar… Oh shit Batman is Barbie and we’re all the Kens. She explained her wild idea to Dick who responded “but, your my Barbie… oh shit you’re right.”

Dick: he and Babs fought about the order that they saw them in. Eventually he gave into seeing Barbie first and he's glad because he could not get Cillian Murphy's stare out of his mind. Something about it just scared him. He rooted for Ken to become a better person and is hoping that Ken finds happiness. He also adored every Barbie's outfit and dances to all of the songs regularly. He and Babs are going as Barbie and Barbie for next Halloween.

Jason: movie about a bomb? No thanks, he’d rather get glammed up for a movie that he thinks is going to be just a fun time only to leave with an existential crisis.

Tim: he debated with himself for hours over the order before pirating both and watching them at the same time. This was not the best decision.

Damian: he’s not ready to watch Barbie. Very film snobby about Oppenheimer.

Steph: *cough* so that Ken, am i right?

Cass: she didn’t have much interest in either. In the end she didn’t quite understand Barbie and thought Oppenheimer was alright. Cass isn't the most media literate and that's alright.

Jean-Paul: he didn’t originally plan to watch Barbie, but Babs called him and told him he NEEDED to watch Barbie. Like a good little brother he did. He related to Ken on a very deep level and by the end of the movie was balling his eyes out. He felt very called out by Ken in a good way.

Alfred: read two history books instead. And watched them during family movie nights by occasionally checking in on the screening room.

Jason, Jean-Paul, and Steph all related to Ken on a spiritual level, he’s just like me for real. They all feel like they're on the sidelines and like they pay the consequences of Batman's "righteousness". Dick, Babs, and Tim all related as well feeling like they're stuck in Bruce's shadow. Babs was there to help them all cope bought everyone Kenough sweatshirts.

[intimidating-fettuccine]

Do you think the creeps did anything for barbenheimer?

That’s honestly a really good question.

I don’t know if all of the creeps would want to see either movie, but I know some of them absolutely went to at least one of the movies.

Sally and the other girls definitely went to Barbie and I also know they went to see it with Jeff/BEN/Toby/Liu/Smiley/Brian/Jason/LJ/Candy (with the supernaturals in their human form disguises of course) and they were ABSOLUTELY dressed in pink dresses for it. Every single one of them. Helen accompanied them too but due to his trauma he didn’t wear a pink dress, but he did wear a pink suit, and Tim went as well, wearing a pink suit in solidarity with Helen so he didn’t feel like the odd one out.

I honestly think far less of the creeps were interested in Oppenheimer, but I think Jane/Natalie/Smiley/Helen/Pup/Tim/Brian went to see that one together.

Although, that’s just at the mansion.

At Zalgo’s castle, Nina (who works there in my canon) also absolutely talked Zalgo into letting her go, and she also talked him into coming with her as well for a much needed day off. He accompanied her to both, one after the other, and they both wore pink, Nina in a dress and Zalgo in a suit. Nina like Barbie more and shockingly so did Zalgo.

[lordcryosrealmoftrash]

Okay so the batkids reaction to barbie -Barbara

Steph: went for the meme, stayed for being understood, left crying and sobbing

Cass: went because Steph wanted to, understood parts but not all, it's her second favorite movie this year after spiderverse

Dick: Is obsessed with Ken and Kenough

Jason: also is obsessed with Ken but also understood the greater meaning of how the patriarchy hurts everyone

Tim: boy feels guilty, can't stop thinking of the bullshit he and Bruce put steph through

Duke: feels seen but not by barbie or ken, no the first line mentioning how there are no duplicates of Allan seized Duke and did not let go for the entire time Allan was on screen

Damien: only went because they said they would see Oppenheimer after they didn't because steph was crying too much

Edit: btw inspired by this post by @maddie-w-draws

[i-upset-to-dead-65]

Percy Jackson Barbenheimer Headcanons

Annabeth would want to see Oppenheimer (whose definitely a child of Hephestus) but Percy would take her to see Barbie. She'd have her reservations, but end up loving it.

Percy would also take Tyson to see Barbie and Tyson would be briefly converted to the Ken Patriarchy because of the horses.

Grover would refuse to watch Oppenheimer but would adore Barbie.

Nico would refuse to see Barbie but Will would take him and he'd love it.

Piper and Jason would go see Oppenheimer and have long talks about it afterwards.

Rachel Dare would dress up for Barbie and go see Oppenheimer, then dress as Oppenheimer to go see Barbie.

Luke would watch Oppenheimer and be furiously taking notes. He would talk shit about Barbie without ever seeing it.

Thalia would go with Artemis and the Hunters to see both Barbie and Oppenheimer, mostly because Artemis wants to show her Hunters the folly and hubris of man.

Frank and Hazel would see Barbie together in matching outfits, Frank would wear an "I am Kenough" shirt.

Leo Valdez would sit in a theater and watch Barbie 4½ times before he gets caught and kicked out.

Clarisse would refuse to watch Barbie. Selina takes her anyway. Clarisse would afterwords insists it's not good, but Selina saw the tears on her face in the dark theater.

Charlie Beckendorf would watch Oppenheimer then meet up with Selina to watch Barbie (again).

Chiron would watch Barbie, Oppenheimer hits too close to home. He trained the real Oppenheimer after all.

[kadencrafter78]

Is each Robin seeing Barbie or Oppenheimer?

Dick: Barbie; it looked like a fun time and he didn't think he'd have the patience for Oppenheimer

Jason: He's doing the Barbenheimer circuit, but only after reading a review for Barbie. He read American Prometheus and found it interesting. Plus, the big explosion.

Tim: Tim gets over his bias against Christopher Nolan and sees Oppenheimer with Jason. He sees Barbie a week or two later with Bernard for date night.

Steph: She sees Barbie. Oppenheimer just seems boring to her.

Damian: He wanted to see Oppenheimer, but "I'm the son of the richest man in the city" apparently doesn't work as an excuse not to get carded before an R Rated movie. Dick drags him to Barbie.

[lightwing-s]

Dick saw Barbie and was dressed in all pink for it. All the girls tag teamed Barbiheimer. Jason saw both. Damian saw Oppenheimer but would definitely see Barbie when it comes out. He'll lie about it tho. Tim pirates them both.

lmaooo.

dick is definitely a barbie goer, that's for sure, and he took jason with him and tries to convince him to wear pink as well, but jason is too stubborn and wears his normal clothes, but he wears a pink bracelet or another accessory "in secrect" just becuase he's cool with it but does not want to follow the trend.

i think tim goes along with the girls, and comments and jokes with them all, but rewatches it at home later to get a better understanding of both movies.

damian is too proud to admit he wants to watch barbie, and when everyone goes together he either is at home crying himself to sleep or watching oppenheimer on his own while wishing he was with the fam.

so eventually he goes to watch it on his own, wearing all black, hood and sunglasses included, just so no one will notice him, but in a place where everyone is dressed in pink he clearly stood out and there were pictures of him rounding the internet.

everyone was making fun of him on the group chat he's not included in, but bruce forbids them for ever mentioning it in person because he just wanted to watch a fun movie and also because bruce went with him and somehow didn't get in any of those pictures, so he's scared damian will outs him to the others and he'll be made fun of too.

[dhampiravidi]

here's my favorite HCs for Jason Todd

6'2" = 1.8796 m (apparently). in other words, he IS just the teeniest bit TALLER than Bruce Wayne, his dad. & it's even better when they're both in costume, because his boots add a teeny bit MORE (ofc it's offset by Bruce's Batman boots, but stfu). he's a big boy who Alfred insists is "still growing" & therefore he deserves lots of food. specifically, bread, which he's always had a fondness for. that, hot dogs & spicy noodles (pad thai, Nona's* spaghetti, Alfred's secret recipe chicken noodle soup)!!

he's half Latino & half Italian. yes, I know that "Todd" & "Haywood" are names of English origin. I am aware. & I don't care. he speaks Spanish as a second language & Italian as a speaking-only third (since some of the families in the neighborhood know some Italian). yeah, he was born with auburn (reddish-brown) hair, but he dyes it black. no one knows why & no one asks. and ofc there's the white streak, which almost magically pops back up every time he tries to dye it.

his eyes were more blue, maybe a glassy hazel when he was Robin. after the Pit, dark green leaked into his irises, even more so when he gets incredibly angry/upset.

his butt is toned, duh, but his thighs and pecs are the stuff of legend. he just naturally has a broader chest and thicc thighs (that can crush watermelons--and they will, if you're close with him and you ask nicely, promising a gift of cookies or cuddles in return). he's actually kind of self-conscious about his thighs, because they're so big.

he's always had a soft spot for innocent creatures, to the point where he's unfazed that they're attracted to his presence. strays try to follow him home when he patrols, to the point where he keeps a bag of cat food in each of his hideouts. one, out of the many reasons why he has a motorcycle is to outrun the strays. when he visits Selina, he plans to stay for at least two hours because they're all gonna lie on him, and who is he to move?? also, babies calm down as soon as he makes noise (speaking normally, singing a lullaby, goo-go-gah lingo, etc.).

he's pansexual, but demisexual and demiromantic. I mean, the guy had a rough childhood home, he was ratted out by his biological mom, and he still has issues with most of his family. ironically, he tends to put his heart into everything he sees as worth doing, even when that comes to people he doesn't know. that's why he takes being a vigilante so seriously. he wants other Gothamites to have a better city than he had growing up, even if it'll never be free of crime.

you bet your ass he likes the classics, namely The Prince, Hamlet, some Jane Austen, and The Catcher in the Rye. do not ask him if he has read Moby Dick or Ulysses. he has (at least, partially) and he hates them both.

he respects women, and with the exception of Alfred, he tends to prefer them to men when it comes to working and doing platonic activities. is being a BIG Wonder Woman fan related to this? no. but he is one.

he saw Barbie. he read about Oppenheimer before the movie came out, and he wasn't amused.

Jason can't do horror movies, especially ones like Saw, or anything that has to do with psychological scares or torturing characters. considering how he died, plus the times he's been hit with fear gas...yeah, he'd much rather watch some action-suspense, a good book adaptation (he gets so fucking unhinged when they don't follow the books), or a witty historical romance.

he actually respects all of his siblings for the most part, and he'll help them with whatever if it's serious. he just feels uncomfortable regularly associating with them because they still have some kind of allegiance to Bruce, who he refuses to treat as a superior/leader of his. he and Bruce do talk one-on-one when Alfred guilts him into coming home for a meal, or when the world's almost ended (for the 59,211,948th time) and they want to say "I'm glad you're not dead" without really saying it. he loves Bruce but he doesn't fully trust him with his heart, if that makes sense.

he mentally separates the Gotham Rogues into those he'll let off with a warning, and those who are scum. the first kind only gets confronted and fought if they're actually hurting people (physically or socioemotionally).

yes, he still uses guns and knives.

[crowdvscritic]

behind the scenes // ST. LOUIS FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION AWARDS (2023)

The winners have been revealed! The St. Louis Film Critics Association has announced its picks for the most outstanding filmmaking in 24 categories. Like all of the Nobel Prize winners in Barbie, they all worked hard for and deserve the recognition. 

If you’re interested in the mechanics of how critics’ voting works , I recently provided a behind-the-scenes look at last year’s voting with a more logistical view. (Read it here or just keep scrolling to the next post if you’re on the home page of Crowd vs. Critic.) For this year's behind-the-scenes look, I’ll be sharing more about why I chose my nominations and how I decided on final voting. Of note, I had not seen every film that ended up being nominated before I submitted my nominations ballot, so if you’re wondering why I ignored Anatomy of a Fall, Bottoms, Evil Dead Rise, The Holdovers, Godzilla Minus One, Knock at the Cabin, Menus Plaisirs - Les Troisgros, Perfect Days, Poor Things, Robot Dreams, Skinamarink, Talk to Me, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, or The Zone of Interest, the simple reason is that there are only 24 hours in a day!

Unlike awards shows, I’m starting with the big kahuna: Best Picture! The SLFCA decided to up this category’s number of nominations to 10 from 5, and you’ll keep seeing these 10 titles in my voting:

Priscilla - My favorite Sofia Coppola movie since 2006’s Marie Antoinette. It just missed a lot of nominations, which I suspect is because too few in the group had seen it, but those who had seen it ranked it highly. Unfortunately, every critic in the group only has 24 hours in a day!

Air - I rewatched this just before submitting my nominations, and it still rules! Based on chatter from my colleagues, I suspected the first six films on my list didn't have a ton of support across our group, which is why I ranked them higher. As you can see, my suspicion was correct since none of them made the final cut

BlackBerry - Another film that just missed nominations by a few votes, including Glenn Howerton’s performance as a most terrorizing boss

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. - My first notable theater cry this year

Asteroid City - The 4th of 7 movies in my top 10 that were released before October—a rarity! I’ve been thinking about all of them for months since their release, which tells me it's not just Awards Season hyping them up in my mind

The Iron Claw - This is the most recent viewing to make my list, and it's also the one that made me cry the most

Past Lives - I ultimately ended up voting for Past Lives because its simple elegance moved me so much that it has stayed with me since seeing it in June

Barbie - The funniest movie of the year and one with big ideas...aka the heart of Crowd vs. Critic!

Oppenheimer - Practically eligible in every category—what wasn’t well-done here?

Killers of the Flower Moon - The same note as Oppenheimer, which is to say, no notes! I correctly assumed Past Lives, Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Killers of the Flower Moon would earn nominations without ranking them at the top of my noms, which was why I ranked them low even though I think they are all outstanding

Also on my long list: Creed III, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, The Killer, You Hurt My Feelings

Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor are two categories I never wavered on how I would vote. Lily Gladstone and Ryan Gosling put performances for the ages on the screen this year! I also wanted to recognize the incredible year Jason Schwartzman has had between Asteroid City, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. His lead role in Asteroid seemed like the best bet for widespread support, but basically every time he breathed in The Hunger Games, I laughed.

More actors on my long list: Matt Damon, Air; Scarlett Johansson, Asteroid City; Anthony Hopkins, Freud’s Last Session; Florence Pugh, A Good Person; Jason Schwartzman, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes; Zac Efron, The Iron Claw; Michael Fassbender, The Killer; Carey Mulligan, Maestro; Jessica Chastain, Memory; Jodie Foster, Nyad; Teo Yoo, Past Lives; Colman Domingo, Rustin; Julia Louis-Dreyfus, You Hurt My Feelings 

These categories are always difficult for me to pin down. For Ensemble, is it about the breadth of performers and the number of familiar people I am happy to see? For Director, is it the size of the production and the level of difficulty the shoot appeared to have? Those are all factors, but I think it comes down to weaknesses being nigh invisible in both categories. For example, in The Iron Claw, it was difficult to identify which actor stood out the most because they worked so well in tandem. In Past Lives, the camera work, performances, and writing aligned perfectly to support its theme in every moment. Barbie ended up being my final vote in both categories because Greta Gerwig's vision of Barbie Land was inspired and every member of the huge cast found a moment to shine.

More directors on my long list: Ben Affleck, Air; Matt Johnson, BlackBerry; Sean Durkin, The Iron Claw; David Fincher, The Killer; Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon; Bradley Cooper, Maestro; Todd Haynes, May December

More ensembles on my long list: American Fiction, The Boys in the Boat, The Color Purple, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Leave the World Behind, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One

Which stories felt clever, sharp, and authentic to the human experience? Which felt fresh with a unique point of view? Which created moments I've never seen before onscreen? Which explored its ideas with honesty, empathy, and thoroughness? It’s no coincidence 8 of these screenplay 10 nominations align with my picks for Best Film.

More screenplays on my long list: American Fiction, The Boys in the Boat, Freud’s Last Session, A Good Person, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, The Iron Claw, The Killer, May December, Memory, Oppenheimer, Polite Society, You Hurt My Feelings

There’s no such thing as objectivity in criticism, but it really goes out the window when looking at these focused categories. Animated and Documentary films aren’t as plentiful as live-action narrative films, and I’m not naturally drawn to Horror and International films as much as other genres, though I’m trying to grow in those areas. (Seeing Cocaine Bear, Renfield, and A Haunting in Venice in theaters felt like big risks for me!) Not including My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 on my ballot would have felt dishonest since I saw it three times in theaters, and Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour is one of the most fun theatrical experiences I’ve had in years. Perhaps my most unpopular vote this year was for Elemental over Spider-Verse—I'm one of the few people who liked but didn’t love that sequel.

More genre films on my long list: Cocaine Bear (Comedy), The Covenant (Action), The Equalizer 3 (Action), Extraction II (Action), Gran Turismo (Action), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Action, Comedy), A Haunting in Venice (Horror), The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (Action), Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Action), Kandahar (Action), The Meg 2: The Trench (Action), Polite Society (Comedy), Renfield (Comedy), You Are So Not Invited to My Bar Mitzvah (Comedy), You Hurt My Feelings (Comedy)

In many ways, Stunts and Visual Effects are extensions of the Action Film category, with a few exceptions. The Iron Claw is a drama with insane wrestling stunts, and Polite Society is an action-comedy that centered on the art of stunt work.

More stunts on my long list: Creed III, Extraction II, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Kandahar, Sisu

More VFX on my long list: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, John Wick: Chapter 4, M3GAN

This is where my Spotify Top 100 comes in handy. The Air, Barbie, BlackBerry, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and Priscilla soundtracks all charted for me this year, which made those votes no-brainers. Asteroid City, Creed III, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and Past Lives all had soundtracks I spent time with as well, and May December’s score almost acts like a narrator, adding comedic and dramatic punch when needed.

More music on my long list: Creed III, A Good Person, The Iron Claw, The Killer, Killers of the Flower Moon, Leave the World Behind, Maestro, Oppenheimer, Wish

These come down to wow(!) factor, and the categories were some of the hardest to rank. I voted for Priscilla for Costume Design in the final round because I hoped that movie would win something, but to be honest, I adored the costumes in Barbie and Killers of the Flower Moon, too. Same with Production Design: I picked Asteroid City, but it's a three-way tie between Asteroid City, Barbie, and Killers for me.

More editing on my long list: Barbie, BlackBerry, The Iron Claw, Leave the World Behind, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, Missing, Oppenheimer

More cinematography on my long list: The Iron Claw, John Wick: Chapter 4, Killers of the Flower Moon, Leave the World Behind, May December

More costumes on my long list: Asteroid City, The Boys in the Boat, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Oppenheimer

More production design on my long list: The Boys in the Boat, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, The Iron Claw, The Killer, Maestro, Oppenheimer, Sisu

I saved Best Scene for last when picking my nominations since I'm better at remembering how a movie makes feel as a whole than its scenes. I started thinking through my favorite movies of the year, and these moments were the ones that left the biggest impressions (more wow factor!). Barbie’s scene of tricking the Kens made me laugh so hard I cried, but I happily voted for America Ferrera’s monologue in the end since it just made me cry, period.

More scenes on my long list: Killers of the Flower Moon, lots of choices!, Maestro, lots of choices!, May December, hot dogs; Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, the train falling; Past Lives, bar conversation

See more about the St. Louis Film Critics Association picks for 2023 at STLFilmCritics.org.

[denimbex1986]

'Tom Cruise knows how to sell tickets—even to other people’s movies. “This summer is full of amazing movies to see in theaters,” the Mission: Impossible star wrote on Instagram recently, while he and director Christopher McQuarrie posed with tickets in front of posters for rival films. Cruise congratulated Harrison Ford for “creating one of the most iconic characters in cinema history” with Indiana Jones, and identified himself as one of the many people who’d make a double feature out of Oppenheimer and Barbie, which will go head-to-head in theaters as of July 21. His act of goodwill proved to be contagious, as he must have hoped it would. A few days later, Barbie director Greta Gerwig and star Margot Robbie tweeted their own photo shoot, in which they also waved tickets to their rivals: “Mission: Accepted!”

Summer box office used to be the ultimate showbiz blood sport. Now, publicly at least, it’s all kumbaya and collegiality, which says a lot about the industry’s enduring post-pandemic fears. Beneath the gracious social media shoutouts is a pervasive sense that if the public doesn’t fall back in love with in-person moviegoing for good now, the bottom will continue to fall out of the studio system and take stars down in the process. So far, summer 2023 has proven to be a bumpy ride. Sure-things have struggled, surprise sleepers have failed to emerge, and pressure is mounting on a handful of July titles to save the season.

Box office watchers are still predicting that movies like Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One and Barbie can help summer ticket sales in the US and Canada hit $4 billion, which would be taken as a sign that the industry has indeed recovered from an anemic three years. But a trail of early underperformers—including DC’s The Flash, Pixar’s Elemental, and Indy’s fifth and final outing, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny—has only stoked worries. With his cheerleading post, Cruise, the man who “saved Hollywood’s ass” last summer with Top Gun: Maverick, is attempting to stage a rescue mission again. This time he’ll have some help from Barbie and the atomic bomb.

Hollywood power brokers are watching all this closely, to say the least. “I was very excited after Super Mario Bros., and then I got a little more concerned after the last four weeks,” says producer Jason Blum, best known for low-cost horror hits Paranormal Activity, Insidious, and M3GAN. “The movie business has in no way bounced back like the live events business has, but I really think that it’s a matter of time.” Few expect earnings to surpass summer 2019 levels—when 32 films brought in $4.34 billion—but anything close will be a win. The industry is used to absorbing bad news—and hoping for last-minute salvation. “Not everything works,” says another studio executive poring over summer ticket sales, “but that’s just the movie business.”

There are reasons to be at least optimism-adjacent. Moviegoers still want to see spectacle—and they are willing to pay extra to see it on premium large-format screens. “2023 has definitely been a much fuller slate than pre-pandemic times,” says IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond. “And for us, it’s even a little more intense because the audience has shifted more to premium on a global basis. IMAX’s market share went up by 50% in North America and it’s gone up by about 40% globally. So it’s not only more competition within the industry, it’s more competition for IMAX screens. We think our box office will be similar to 2019.”

Similar is the new amazing.

Moviegoers signaled that they were ready to return to theaters last summer when they showed up in droves for Top Gun: Maverick, the top performer of the year with a staggering $719 million in US ticket sales, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which outperformed 2016’s Doctor Strange. But the robust performance of a handful of titles belied ongoing challenges. Last winter, as one Oscar contender after another died gasping at the box office, a senior awards strategist told Vanity Fair, “the audience is just not there anymore for these sorts of movies.” One obstacle was simply a volume problem: Even though tentpoles like Avatar: The Way of Water were dominating the weekend, there just weren’t enough movies in theaters.

This summer, every weekend offers multiple options, and they’re often aimed at disparate demographics, as with the showdown referred to in some quarters as “Barbenheimer.” Since May 5, when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 dropped, there’s been a steady beat of new releases, among them The Little Mermaid, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. The major studios are expected to release 42 films widely across the country by Labor Day weekend. One studio executive moans about all this in a way that sounds almost nostalgic: “It’s such a crowded summer.”

Before Cruise began his goodwill campaign, the actor was involved in a behind-the-scenes fight for IMAX screens, according to Puck. His latest Mission: Impossible outing will play on IMAX screens for about a week, but then must give them up for Oppenheimer, which debuts a week later on July 21 and has all the screens exclusively booked for three weeks. That has little to do with earnings expectations, and everything to do with relationships. Nolan, a longtime IMAX champion, had struck a deal long before with the exhibitor to guarantee that his movie would play on those screens, regardless of who else parachuted into the market on a motorcycle.

IMAX’s Gelfond tells VF that he worked closely with Nolan and Universal on Oppenheimer’s release date more than a year ago. He visited the Mission: Impossible set and is “a huge fan of Tom’s,” he says, but this is the bottom line: “We made a commitment to Chris. Obviously, I think the movie’s going to be great, but irrespective, we honor our commitments.”

Executives worried about a crowded schedule are one sign that movies are back, baby. “We’ve had really big films since reopening from the pandemic, like Avatar and Top Gun and Spider-Man, but now we’re talking about many titles,” says Elizabeth Frank, the executive in charge of programming AMC Entertainment’s more than 10,000 screens. “People are saying, ‘Well, which one do you want to see first?’ And that’s a different level of excitement. In an industry where momentum is really important, it’s an opportunity for us to build back habitual moviegoing.”

In Hollywood, the weekend box office is treated with the same seriousness as the World Series. “I have a group of friends, we get together at the beginning of the year and we have a draft, we pick all the movies for the year, and points are awarded based on Metacritic score, based on box office, based on awards, and based on profitability,” says Blum, whose company, Blumhouse, has��Insidious: The Red Door out on July 7. “We text each other every Thursday or Friday. I’m currently in second place.”

Guys like Blum no doubt pay closer attention to movie ticket sales than the average American, but even he has noticed that more people are following the money as they did years ago. “The box office derby is one of those things that everyone can be a part of,” says Paul Dergarabedian, an entertainment industry analyst for Comscore. “Not everyone has played professional sports or ridden a horse professionally or driven a race car, but we can all sit in a movie theater.”

More scrutiny, of course, means more headlines when movies stumble. For every winner like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (with its $356 million in domestic grosses) or Spider Man: Across the Spider-Verse ($346 million), there’s something like The Flash, which has pulled a meager $102 million in the US in spite of its reported $200 million budget, or Elemental, whose $29.6 million debut was considered a major flop for Disney’s Pixar. Meanwhile, Dial of Destiny, which reportedly cost $295 million, arguably needed to make a lot more over Fourth of July than it did. One bright spot? Studios are focusing more on profitability, which Blum contends, “everyone forgot about for about five years.” Now, he says, there’s more pressure to rein in costs: “The budget conversation was the last conversation when you were introducing new projects to buyers. Now it’s the first, which makes me happy because I think less expensive movies are often better and more interesting.”

Even before June gloom hit the box office, Hollywood had largely put its faith in Mission: Impossible, Barbie, and Oppenheimer to carry ticket sales. Now it’s even more imperative that all three titles find their audiences. Early tracking—which pegs the Mission: Impossible opening at around $90 million, Barbie somewhere north of $70 million, and Oppenheimer around $40 million—suggests that they will. Though Ethan Hunt will likely be the biggest star of the summer, media attention has focused squarely on the matchup between Barbie and Oppenheimer.

“I do think a rising tide lifts all boats,” says a top film agent. “When we have pictures in theaters that start to feel like they’re ‘watercooler’—which I really think the Barbie-Oppenheimer thing is becoming—it’s incredibly healthy for the box office, because what we’re doing is delivering an experience that people feel like was worth their time and money.”

AMC has been preparing for the summer movie season by extending operating hours at its theaters, hiring more staff, and making sure its Icee dispensers are full. “Increasingly, fans of different films are also looking for movie-themed merchandise and movie-themed drinks,” says Frank. “It makes the moviegoing experience that much more engaging and dynamic. It’s a little complicated, though, to be moving in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cups while you’re figuring out whether you’ve still got a bunch of people who want the Mission: Impossible ones or the Barbie ones.”

Predicting the box office has always been like reading tea leaves or tarot cards. Even IMAX’s Gelfond admits to fixating on the returns—from the first night to the last. “Like a junkie,” he says. “I hate to admit it, but yes. Most of our movies open on Thursday nights because they’re big blockbusters. So by Friday morning, I’m on the phone with our distribution and marketing teams trying to understand what the weekend’s going to look like and what’s working and not working and why and why not.”

If you want to know how summer 2023 turns out, you’ll have to wait for the final reel.'

[goldenfharry]

Olivia does have more oompf in the acting business(yes also cause of jason) i do believe that studios saw how a lot of movies that aren‘t alreadyhyped cause of their nature (like barbie or oppenheimer) need some other way of pulling moviegoers in and i do believe that is why harry or anybody with a fanbase can be a good pulling point. I also do not see flo‘s reaction to harry a minus for his future acting career, harry is good with all of the dunkirk aka christopher nolan cast and also with the eternals cast so i believe dwd and flo gave olivia more minuses in her career than harry‘s, even when olivia has been in the business for far longer. and i do think olivia saw this, specially now with her only being able to do this podcast thing and trying to play into the tattoo thing but it not carrying any fruits…she is pretty much jobless, even without the strike and doesn‘t have a backup plan. H does, his music career and he is marketable, olivia not cause she is not liked

Oh yeah, she was the one that suffered the most from this, specially because Florence and Harry’s career are both in ascension. Harry just really needs to do a good job on his next project and he is good to go, if he wants to. And with his devoted fans, any movie where he is at will be carried by them. So yeah, it was a bump for him, but not his ending.

[prqltothesql]

Summer Movie Gauntlet

Me and my best friend and platonic life partner Drew, he's a big movie buff and so we always go see movies together. We splurged and got the Cinemark Movie Club for the summer because there was a new movie we wanted to see every two weeks. And we just wrapped up what I believe is our last hurrah yesterday, so I wanted to go through them.

FAST X

This was awesome, although I didn't like Jason Momoa's performance, way too over the top and cartoonish. The F&F series is over-the-top and requires you to suspend your disbelief, but this was too much. Regardless, I had a blast, the movie was super fun, the cast was great. We had seen F9 in theaters and marathoned all the F&F movies before that after I'd literally only seen 1 and 2. So seeing this was very cool.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

I think we were both prepared for this to be great, not as great as it actually was. The first 20 minutes of the movie with Gwen was movie of the year, and then the title card played and it only got better. Hilarious, heart-wrenching, mind-bending, great twist, great cliffhanger, animation was outrageous, score was incredible. One of the top films of the year by far.

The Flash

I really enjoyed this movie. I had a giant smile on my face the entire time and just absolutely loved it. I got past the CGI and some of the goofy comedy like Flash putting babies in the microwave. This is the DCEU's portrayal of the Flash, which probably is different than the upcoming DCU and different than the Arrowverse. Michael Keaton was alright, Sasha Calle was amazing as Supergirl. I had a blast watching it, despite it doing awful at the box office.

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One

Another one that I'd never seen, he made me watch all the MI movies (I'd never seen any of them), and we did Ghost Protocol, Rogue Nation and Fallout in one sitting and each one was better than the one before it. This one was fabulous and I keep thinking about it, even now 2 weeks later. Amazing action, great cast, fun plot, great stunts, great cinematography, and a nice bookend to this chapter setting up the next movie. It's in a bad spot release date wise, more people should be talking about it because it was fantastic.

Oppenheimer

I'm 24 hours removed and I'm still thinking about it. What Christopher Nolan was able to do with no action scenes, practical special effects. Doing a biopic like it was Tenet or Inception and it totally worked. Ensemble cast, great actor after great actor, all of them seemed to be in competition with each other to try and steal the movie. Great twists and turns again for a movie with no action. Trinity test scene was awesome. Last third of the movie was incredibly gripping despite all of the exciting stuff being over.

Barbie

I wanna see this one again cause I don't feel like I fully appreciated it, although I had an absolute blast. Absolutely a fever dream of a movie, everyone committed 1000% to the bit. Super fun, I laughed my ass off at so many scenes. And someone else said it best, this movie really tackles what it means to be a female in the world today, something I cannot appreciate or experience. And it does it in a way that doesn't put down men, which would have muddied the message. And at the same time, it has a message for men too that isn't derogatory. And at the same time as all of that, it has great commentary on the human condition and what it means to be alive. Totally not the movie anyone expected, but an amazing spectacle and one that will stand the test of time.

Sadly, our movie adventures are over until the double whammy of Dune Part Two and The Marvels in November, although if this strike continues, both have been talked about being pushed back. Regardless, this was a string of 9 weeks and 6 movies that were quite incredible and I'm grateful to have done this and done it with my best friend.

[cryxngxnrxd]

Jul 2, 2023

Actually I don't know what's up.

Why nek is so upset with me, i don't know what's up with that?

She usually sleeps downstairs beside me but tonight she went up and I didn't even know she went up.

Maybe it's because i dressed abit too revealing in her eyes, resulting in her displeasure at seeing my being and then ignoring me straight up.

Or it's just my bpd brain talking and tallying it up to being left behind and abandoned when all it is what If she just wants to sleep upstairs today instead of down.

I don't know. I just feel so upset somehow.

And i think im allowed. I'm allowed to be upset.

Im overthinking it and being very anxious about it when i should focus on having the entire space to myself and there's blachie with me as well to keep me company.

So, i feel sad and i may be at the brink of tears, but I'm not gonna cry.

I had alot of fun with Jess and Jason today. I'll remember the good memories and cherish it. Elemental was such a good movie and i wish i could rewind it again when i watched it with Jessica. I love it so much.

I can't wait to watch Barbie and Oppenheimer next.

I can't wait to go house home too.

I'm just so tired but I'm content and happy.

Im going to rest now.

Goodnight world.

[denimbex1986]

'...The return to in-person movie theaters was a welcomed one. With the most unlikely crossover successes, films like “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” made alliances, both to their commercial benefits...

“Oppenheimer”

“Oppenheimer” is a must-see film from the summer of 2023. It has everything you would expect from Director Christopher Nolan: multiple converging plot lines from different periods, fast editing, jarring cuts and, of course, white male actors galore.

But perhaps what is most impressive is the amount of suspense Nolan is able to build in a film about theoretical physics. “Oppenheimer” builds tension without any fight scenes or action, but rather, with clashes of personalities between the scientists, the government’s distrust of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) and the ever-present external pressure of the Nazis acquiring an atomic bomb. Through his excellent portrayal of Oppenheimer, Murphy portrays the pressure of leading the Manhattan Project. The genius of his acting lies in the subtleties since his character is not the most ostentatious of men.

In fact, the acting in “Oppenheimer” is both the film’s greatest strength and weakness. Because of the sheer number of great actors, not everyone can have the spotlight for long. I wish Florence Pugh’s Jean Tatlock had more screen time, as she shines in her few scenes . Emily Blunt also excels as Kitty Oppenheimer, giving one of the most emotional and heroic performances in the film as the only person who stands up for J. Robert Oppenheimer in the face of disgrace. The most underrated performance, in my opinion, is Jason Clarke as Roger Robb: his relentless grilling of J. Robert Oppenheimer during the scientist’s trial for security clearance is both frightening and electric — Clarke makes me feel the smothering, interrogational treatment endured by the main character.

— Samuel Bartlett, Staff Writer...'