Monday, November 10, 2014

"Interstellar" | MOVIE REVIEW




I have a soft spot for Christopher Nolan flicks, and I have an even softer spot for space flicks, so, the moment I heard about a little Christopher Nolan project by the name of Interstellar, I knew I just HAD to see this movie. Why? Because I had a gut feeling that this movie was gonna be great.


It's science.



Basic genetics, man. They teach you this stuff in 7th grade.


I mean, you have Christopher Nolan at the helm, and you have both him and Jonathan behind the proverbial typewriter, Hans Zimmer manning the orchestra, and Matthew Mc-freaking-Conaughey as lead actor. It's also a sci-fi movie. About space travel. Everyone knows how much I freaking love space movies. I was already throwing money at this movie as soon as I saw the first couple of frames in the trailer.


Like I said, I knew this movie was gonna be good, but I didn't know it was gonna be my-friend-messaging-me-in-the-middle-of-the-night-just-to-tell-me-how-awesome-it-was good.


I kid you not.


I had more than enough reasons to see this movie, and, by some miraculous stroke of luck, I had enough money to afford a ticket.


I don't regret spending a cent on this movie, because it was worth it.


The film's premise was straightforward: the human race is dying, and we need to leave Earth in order to ensure our continuity as a species. So, Matthew McConaughey is tasked to pilot a spaceship in search of a habitable planet. Everything's all really well written from the plot to the characters to the dialogue. The movie plays on all the right sentiments and reaches into parts of my subconscious I didn't even know existed. The movie makes you think. The movie makes you contemplate your very existence.


As with any *great* movie, it's difficult to get into the nitty-gritty of things without giving away any major spoilers, but I will say that the film's plot and execution alone already make it a worthy contender for the title of the "Best Film of 2014".



The movie's also got beautiful visuals to boot. The CGI is absolutely spot-on, and the spaceship shots are all angled perfectly, and nothing ever looked out of place or like it shouldn't be there. The art direction was great and the overall feel was consistent.


Now, I have two favorite things about the movie: one, the characters, and, two, the sound. I think I'll talk about the sound, first.


Interstellar is one of those movies that never stops making passionate love to your ears. Unlike a pushy SO, however, it actually GIVES you a great reason to actually stay and keep letting it make love to your ears. The score is absolutely stellar. It's Hans Zimmer's way of reminding the world why he's so great at what he does. It's bombastic, it's overflowing with grandeur, it's downright bloody amazing. And all the other sound elements are brilliant, as well (especially when you don't hear anything apart from the shaking of the spaceship). While it was difficult to understand Matt Damon (yes, Matt Damon) and Michael Caine in some parts, everything else in the sound was absolute class.


And the characters were even better.


There was just so much dynamic and chemistry between Matthew McConaughey and, well, just about everyone else in the movie. The bonds between characters were tangible and never left me unsatisfied as a viewer. I ended up loving just about all of them (and hated some with a passion). I loved how I was able to feel the emotions Matthew McConaughey was feeling.


And it’s the characters in this movie that make you feel many things.



Especially these.


Now I’m not gonna go into too much detail about how emotional this movie made me, but all I will say is that it’s been a while since I’ve seen a movie that’s made my cry harder than Click.


Interstellar also happens to be one of those movies that leaves very little to gripe about (except – potentially - the science, to some extent, but, let’s be real here, who the hell watches these movies for the science?), and you’re left marveling at the sheer scope and brilliance of this movie. My only complaint about this movie would be that some lines were almost unintelligible at times, but that’s really just about it.


Overall, if you’re gonna spend 230 bucks at a movie theater hoping to get a lot out of it after, Interstellar is the movie for you. It’s everything we’ve come to expect from a Christopher Nolan movie: deep, engaging, a slow boil, well-balanced, thought-provoking, interesting, and filled to the brim with the unexpected. In my book, this movie could very easily go down as the best film of 2014, and only faces actual competition from Gone Girl (which I shall get to soon) and, potentially, the next installment in the cool-to-hate Hobbit trilogy.


In other words, Interstellar blows 22 Jump Street and X-Men: DoFP right out of the water.



The face I was making throughout the movie.


PROS: Too many to list

CONS: Some lines are difficult to hear and/or understand (at times, and very seldom), could be paced too slowly for casual moviegoers

OVERALL: 10 out of 10 (absolutely amazing!)

Let's throw in an extra cat for good measure.

PHOTO CREDITS:

http://www.interstellar2014-movie.com/gallery/Interstellar%20Movie%20Images/58/
http://www.quickmeme.com/img/c5/c5f7369ca5a1ab939cb703ac63794fbc3c333bdf9ea90bec61487865b553de18.jpg
http://www.opinionatedbastard.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/KeystoneButWaitTheresMore.jpg


http://9gag.com/gag/aOyeYXR  

(C) Rafael Alfonso Duran, 2014
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 

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