Still Watching...

Spoiler-free thoughts on "Oppenheimer," "Black Mirror," a movie called "A Simple Favor," "Severance" and liking things without enjoying them.

What do we mean when we tell ourselves (or our partners and friends) that we’re “not in the mood” for a certain TV series or movie? Is it just that simple — in the moment it takes to make a decision you’re just too tired to watch subtitles or you’re feeling too glum to watch something bleak?

Makes sense, right?

You say no to a rom-com because “you’re not feeling it” and want something with more gravitas. Or, to put this in the light of the present, you say yes to “Barbie” and say no to “Oppenheimer.”

Maybe it really is that simple.

Or maybe only sometimes it’s that simple and the rest of the time we’re lying or we’re using the easy “not in the mood” excuse because we haven’t quite come to terms with the fact that, no, there’s nothing about Show X or Movie Y that will make you want to watch it. Ever.

It’s really hard to get me to watch a horror movie, for example. They are decidedly not my thing. It took me forever to watch and like zombie movies and even now I’d rather not put my psyche through it. (But I’ll watch pretty much any other post-apocalyptic movie or TV series).

By the way, I’m not going anywhere especially creative or revealing with this. I’ve just been thinking about the choices we make. I really do think that if I watched a movie or a TV series the way I prefer to listen to music — on shuffle, never looking at what’s cued up or what title flashes on my dash or my on my phone — then I would be open to so much more content. I think we all would.

(If I see an upcoming song on shuffle, I skip it about, oh, 78 percent of the time; if I don’t see it, I’m often delighted with the choice that I otherwise would not instinctively make. If you understand that, then we are simpatico.)

Sometimes our experiences with series and with films entertain or enlighten us far less than we expected and the fallout from that is sometimes more interesting. I’m thinking about some recent choices I made (and some really odd ones I’m about to make).

For example, I had no preconceptions — no excitement, no reluctance — to see either “Oppenheimer” or “Barbie.” I had read nothing about either and I’m not the kind of person who cares even slightly about “box office” figures and stories. I just knew that of the two, I would probably be more interested in “Oppenheimer” and it had been a long time since I saw a movie in a theater, so why not.

I know the J. Robert Oppenheimer legacy story well enough, I like Christopher Nolan movies well enough and I love Cillian Murphy since his “Peaky Blinders” star-making turn. And it was showing in 70mm at the place I chose in Portland. Easy decision.

I’m not sure “disappointed” is the word. But “Oppenheimer” is a hot mess, mostly because Nolan can’t help himself in how he Rubik’s Cubes all of his scripts. In this instance, it seemed not only unnecessary but the primary distraction (and primary cause of the bloat in the film).

I read reviews about the movie later, briefly. The words “masterpiece” were used a lot. Each review I started and didn’t finish seemed to talk a lot about the masterpiece stuff and not a lot about the problematic pacing or dropped plot lines (let alone those never brought up). It’s possible I tired of the back and forth lurching of the story, but a number of moments either seemed superfluous or begged for clarity. I mean, I’d be happy to look at Florence Pugh OR Cillian Murphy naked if you want, but I only got one choice — spoiler it was Pugh — (in two scenes) and I’m still wondering why those scenes were needed? (Reminder: I love nude bodies; bring them on. I just prefer a point to it all other than the whole tiresome male gaze thing and showing Pugh naked and topless talking to Murphy, naked with his legs awkwardly crossed — both of them in chairs! — seemed rather pointless and egregious).

As for clarity, well, again, I was probably getting woozy but Kitty AND Robert Oppenheimer can’t be bothered to raise an annoying baby but then decide to have more? Also there are so many scientists in this movie that I was stunned to see that Richard Feynman was one of them. Good to know!

Anyway, why rattle on about with this. It was a good not great movie. I liked it without enjoying it. Masterpiece? Well, OK. I guess reasonable people can disagree.