Episode 107: Oppenheimer & The Christopher Nolan Power Rankings

What’s good homies?! It’s your favourite bird boys and we’re back to embark on an exhilarating journey through time, dreams, wormholes, memories, war, magic, and the INVENTION OF THE GODDAMN ATOMIC BOMB. That’s right! It’s time for us to dissect and rank the illustrious filmography of visionary director Christopher Nolan and talk about his latest scientific thriller and biopic, “Oppenheimer”! From mind-bending concepts to cerebral twists to intricate storytelling to huge action set pieces, we'll explore the highs and lows of his filmmaking career and give our Christopher Nolan power rankings later in the episode.  We start off by sharing some life updates and anecdotes, including some congratulations and a CTE diagnosis, and then hop right into it. First, we review "Oppenheimer”, which we saw together about a week ago, and share our thoughts on everyone’s favourite broken, naked, and possibly communist atomic scientist. Furthermore, we revisit the buzz surrounding the release of this film and unpack the whole “Barbenheimer” meme-turned-reality-turned-cinemas-savior thing. We also talk about what we loved about “Oppenheimer”, revel in the insanely stacked ensemble cast, marvel at the mastery of the technical and practical aspects of the film, praise Nolan’s use of various storylines and perspectives, explore some of the film’s themes, and share our nitpicks and gripes. Then we get into our tiered ranking of Nolan’s excellent filmography. It winds up coming down to the tiny details and feels kind of like splitting hairs for both of us. We talk through his excellent body of work, revisit some of his heavy hitters, and finally come to somewhat of an agreement. Let’s be honest, Nolan hasn’t really missed, so we’re talking about the best of the best and the… worst of the still really good? Be warned. There will be spoilers for Nolan’s films in this episode. Stop here if you haven’t seen all of them yet! So, brace yourselves for our raw and unfiltered reactions and takes that might be as blinding as the Trinity Test and as wild as that scene where good ol’ Oppy suits up like he is Batman. Join us as we ask the big question: Does "Oppenheimer" live up to the Nolan legacy and where does it fit in his filmography? It’s another themed episode of BIRD PROTOCOL, baby. Let’s get into it.