What a weekend of films that required an ample amount of risk not only to make, but to release in a season mostly known for bombast and escapism. It's pretty wild that so much of the entire Barbenheimer meme seemed to sell something that was far less telling about the questions they pose to the world in 2023, so it's pretty exciting and in a way painfully evident that not only is big budget cinema swinging harder than it has..probably ever? But that the studios know that playing it safe isn't going to save them.

One movie makes the case for what leads men toward disaster in hopes of averting another, to the detriment of humanity while the other not only questions the role of our pop culture icons in a wildly changing social spectrum, but muses about how said culture is more an aspirational barometer, and not a zero sum game complete with table-setting for even more radical conversations going forward.

This is a moment I never imagined happening in my lifetime. Is it radical to folks like you or me? Perhaps not. But for multiplexes, it's a lot like your parents coming clean about the messes they've made, seeking a clearer, more painful dialogue without a hint of self-preservation. The audible audiences I experienced with both films tell me that not only that we seem to be ready for these conversations, but that art should always seek ways to entice our deepest wishes to have them openly.

And for me, this weekend can't help but be a milestone of a development.