Ambulance

Network or Service: Apple TV, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play

Starring: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Will Sharp), Jake Gyllenhaal (Danny Sharp), Eiza González (Cam Thompson), Jackson White (Officer Zach), Garret Dillahunt (Captain Monroe), and Keir O’Donnell (Anson Clark)

IMDb Summary: Decorated veteran Will Sharp, desperate for money to cover his wife’s medical bills, asks for help from his adoptive brother, Danny. A charismatic career criminal, Danny instead offers him a score: the biggest bank heist in Los Angeles history. But it becomes about much more than that when the brothers take an EMT and police officer hostage in an ambulance.

What I Found: Yes, admittedly a Michael Bay movie on its face, but certainly the most original and inventive one he’s put out in years. His hallmarks of using practical effects and employing stunt performers are ever present here, and he also introduces some absolutely wild drone shots that make his usual over-the-top action even more awesome to watch. The chemistry of the central trio — Abdul-Mateen, Gyllenhaal, and González — is essential to making this movie work at all, and I am here for the hammier, more unhinged Gyllenhaal performances after seeing Nightcrawler. The writing, premise, and plot are all silly but by no means bad. If that means getting more tense, emotional movies confined to one setting, especially one as chaotic as an ambulance, I’m good with it.

Barbie

Network or Service: Google Play, YouTube, Vudu, Amazon Prime Video

Starring: Margot Robbie (Barbie), Ryan Gosling (Ken), America Ferrera (Gloria), Ariana Greenblatt (Sasha), and Will Ferrell (Mattel CEO)

IMDb Summary: Barbie suffers a crisis that leads her to question her world and her existence.

What I Found: A very bright pink, very tongue-in-cheek movie about a beloved toy property that had no right to be this good. Robbie and Gosling couldn’t be any more pitch perfect casting as Barbie and Ken, and the casting choices for the other Barbies and Kens are really strong, too. I daresay the movie almost lulled me into a little bit of boredom at the beginning until an actually unexpected plot twist happens, and everything takes off from there. Yet the humor and heart are wonderful throughout, and I think Barbie can be sincere in what it’s trying to say and not be taken too seriously at the same time. It’s ultimately a fun movie, and I had a fun time!

Oppenheimer

Network or Service: still in theaters (will update when streaming options are available!)

Starring: Cillian Murphy (J. Robert Oppenheimer), Emily Blunt (Kitty Oppenheimer), Matt Damon (Leslie Groves), Robert Downey Jr. (Lewis Strauss), and Florence Pugh (Jean Tatlock)

IMDb Summary: A dramatization of the life story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, theoretical physicist and director of the Manhattan Project. From his first days at university to the heights of his fame post-World War II, Oppenheimer is embroiled in political machinations, romance, and the kind of science that could dramatically change or even end the world.

What I Found: Second only to The Prestige, probably one of my favorite Christopher Nolan films. It helps to be a fan of his movies, and it helps that I lived much of my life in New Mexico, where many of these historical events truly took place. It warms my heart to see the New Mexican deserts on the big screen because the story is in fact set there, not just filmed there for cheap. The performances are so impressive, almost shockingly so from Damon and Downey in particular. The horrors of war, the complexity and abstractness of science, and the intricacies of different relationships between people are superbly examined and extremely effective. And I don’t think any other film will ever capture the first atomic bomb test in such a flawless, haunting way as Oppenheimer has.