Review: "Tenet" is a Messy Achievement in Time and Regret

Scene from Tenet (2020)

*NOTE: Contains vague spoilers

Even as a human construct, time is a precious commodity. It is a constant reminder that we are mortal, that one day we will run out of time. Nobody has done more to explore man's relationship to this structure than director Christopher Nolan. Going back to his sophomore film Memento, he has continually explored the compromise of an uncertain future with a past we are quickly forgetting. We exist in the moment, and it's unclear how fragile the road ahead will be. He's made it into an art form, turning space travel into these time trials with Interstellar, and (most cleverly) history into its own maze of madness with Dunkirk. One can argue that his peak exploration of time came with Inception, when a dream within a dream found time-shifting in new and innovative was, finding him at his biggest galaxy brain, quite literally. This is the epitome of Nolan. We just have to trust him to handle our time wisely.

In what has been called an "in-law" sequel by actor John David Washington, Tenet is his most exciting and strange movie yet. Not since The Dark  Knight Rises has he been so off-kilter, taking risks that don't always land. Still, it's what makes it one of his most interesting movies, finding time moving forward and backward, usually at the same time. There has been nothing like Tenet, though mostly because few directors have the competency of Nolan to make it work. It's a miracle that this works as well as it does. It may not all make sense, but it's the perfect example of what cinema should be: constantly challenging expectations, meddling with the unknown, and thinking about it for years upon years. Tenet is one of his most imperfect movies, but it's one that asks to be talked about, and in that right makes it one of his most enjoyable films to nitpick maybe even get a physics degree. To like Tenet is difficult, though rewarding to those nerdy enough to do so. Press play and sit back. Don't expect to get it all on the first watch. Just know you'll be spending a lot of time here, if you want to.

Failed Oscar Campaigns: "Dunkirk" (2017)

Scene from Dunkirk (2017)

As awards seasons pick up, so do the campaigns to make your film have the best chances at the Best Picture race. However, like a drunken stupor, sometimes these efforts come off as trying too hard and leave behind a trailer of ridiculous flamboyance. Join me on every other Saturday for a highlight of the failed campaigns that make this season as much about prestige as it does about train wrecks. Come for the Harvey Weinstein comments and stay for the history. It's going to be a fun time as I explore cinema's rich history of attempting to matter.

Nolan Performs a Timely Stealth Mission with the Official "Tenet" Trailer

Scene from Tenet (2020)

In case you haven't been to the theaters in the past six months, you'll be surprised to know that Christopher Nolan has a new movie coming out next year. In a move that's largely unprecedented, the first teaser for Tenet premiered in theaters and miraculously avoided any official version on the internet. Even if it didn't generate a consistent buzz, it at least managed to create a need to be at a certain place at a certain time and wonder in ways that most movie marketing won't allow in this day and age. After months of guessing what this movie is about, it's finally revealed an official trailer on the internet. The issue is that while some questions about what Tenet is have been answered, several more have only begun to surface. It's a Nolan trailer, and that means you'll want to watch this a few times before making up your mind on what's going on.

Review: "Dunkirk" is the Greatest War Movie Since "Saving Private Ryan"

Tom Hardy

Director Christopher Nolan's latest Dunkirk opens on a bit of an intimate shot. As a group of English soldiers run towards safety, fliers fall from the sky. It's a threat from the Nazis that is made more difficult by the reality that they're on an island and an air strike would likely kill the 400,000 men like sitting ducks. There's desperation and uncertainty in the air as they finally approach that safety: a beach where the rest of the film will take place. The Nazis have made escape nigh impossible without a torpedo to the side of a ship. Much like Nolan's other films, there is a mystery at play. How do these men survive against an unseen enemy? By finally tackling a nonfiction story, Nolan has managed to centralize his tendencies as a director and delivered one of the most breathtaking, horrifying, and gorgeous cinematic experiences of the decade. It's a film that molds the war genre to Nolan's whim, and in the process makes something both reverential of classic cinema and a sign of a new horizon ahead.