Sci-Fi Interstellar - Part 10

[Dragon_316ca]

You can catch this film in IMAX one more time on Saturday, February 21st, in select AMC theaters. You'll be treated with 12 minutes of never-before-seen footage afterwards: https://www.amctheatres.com/movie-news/2015/02/interstellar-imax-encore-buy-one-ticket-get-one-free

SAN FRAN/SAN JOSE
Metreon 16
Cupertino Square 16
Saratoga 14

NYC
Kips Bay 15
34th Street 14
New Brunswick 18
Palisades 21
Stony Brook 17

LOS ANGELES
Burbank 16

BOSTON
Assembly Row 12

SEATTLE
Alderwood 16
Kent Station 14

PITTSBURGH
Waterfront 22

BALTIMORE
Columbia Mall 14

DENVER
Westminster Promenade 24

COLUMBUS, OH
Lennox 24

MADISON, WI
Fitchburg 18

WASHINGTON, DC
Rio Cinemas 18

MIAMI
Sunset Place 24

PHILADELPHIA
Cherry Hill 24

MINNEAPOLIS
Southdale Ctr 16

INDIANAPOLIS
Indianapolis 17

DALLAS
Parks at Arlington 18

TULSA
Southroads 20

ATLANTA
Barrett Commons 14

CHICAGO
Naperville 16

SPOKANE
River Park Square 20

OKLAHOMA CITY
Quail Springs Mall 24

ORLANDO
Altamonte Mall 18

TUCSON
Foothills 15

 

[Gee]

From NECA:

 

[max314]

Loved the film.

But, did I miss something, or does the whole film resolve with a deus ex machina with the reveal that the fifth-dimensional beings were basically doing everything all along?

 

[BatLobster]

It's a deus ex machina for sure, but one that I actually really dig because of the message it sends. I think the point of the ending and the predestination paradox is that Coop had to go on the mission, because Murph had to solve the equation, because humanity had to get off the planet and take that next step as a species.

Basically, it all stems from the mission first having to take place. I take it as a metaphor for humanity and that impulse to explore the unknown, and that playing a big role in the eventual exponential evolutionary path of the species.

If the fifth dimensional beings were simply benevolent aliens, then I would've found it to be a weak ending. The fact that the 5th dimensional beings are in fact just future humans is what makes the movie for me. I just think that's an awesome, positive outlook on the future and it's what makes Interstellar pretty distinct from a lot of other sci-fi for me.

 

[max314]

...the 5th dimensional beings are in fact just future humans...

Exactly. Which leads me to another problem:

Who helped the "future humans" survive in the first place?

It's the whole Kyle Reese paradox all over again...

 

[Snow Queen]

Exactly. Which leads me to another problem:

Who helped the "future humans" survive in the first place?

It's the whole Kyle Reese paradox all over again...

 

[Faora]

From NECA:

Cooper... Oh, no.

 

[BatLobster]

The paradox only really hurts your brain if you're thinking of time as linear. But the film invites us to see it as a special dimension, as the fifth dimensional beings do. This would suggest that everything that has ever happened and will ever happen lies along a single dimension that can be traversed and manipulated. You can't really apply our four dimensional understanding of the linearity of time to resolve this. So if you allow your head to get around that, a self-reflexive/cyclical causality chain being a part of the very fabric of the timeline becomes a possibility.

Or, Coop is Space Jesus and him falling into Gargantua is our salvation.

 

[max314]

The paradox only really hurts your brain if you're thinking of time as linear.

Er...

Or, Coop is Space Jesus and him falling into Gargantua is our salvation.

There ya go

 

[DarthDorranceBane]

Er...

You have to perceive time the way us humans DO NOT perceive time.

 

[AnneFan]

From NECA:

Annestronaut figure?

 

[Warhammer]

It's a deus ex machina for sure, but one that I actually really dig because of the message it sends. I think the point of the ending and the predestination paradox is that Coop had to go on the mission, because Murph had to solve the equation, because humanity had to get off the planet and take that next step as a species.

Basically, it all stems from the mission first having to take place. I take it as a metaphor for humanity and that impulse to explore the unknown, and that playing a big role in the eventual exponential evolutionary path of the species.

If the fifth dimensional beings were simply benevolent aliens, then I would've found it to be a weak ending. The fact that the 5th dimensional beings are in fact just future humans is what makes the movie for me. I just think that's an awesome, positive outlook on the future and it's what makes Interstellar pretty distinct from a lot of other sci-fi for me.

I like this.

 

[Anita18]

It's a deus ex machina for sure, but one that I actually really dig because of the message it sends. I think the point of the ending and the predestination paradox is that Coop had to go on the mission, because Murph had to solve the equation, because humanity had to get off the planet and take that next step as a species.

Basically, it all stems from the mission first having to take place. I take it as a metaphor for humanity and that impulse to explore the unknown, and that playing a big role in the eventual exponential evolutionary path of the species.

If the fifth dimensional beings were simply benevolent aliens, then I would've found it to be a weak ending. The fact that the 5th dimensional beings are in fact just future humans is what makes the movie for me. I just think that's an awesome, positive outlook on the future and it's what makes Interstellar pretty distinct from a lot of other sci-fi for me.

Yup, that's why I dig it too. It's so optimistic at its core, and it's something I definitely relate to, as an unflagging optimist myself.

I mean, most sci-fi is pretty dystopian and ends with humans nuking each other or something. The fact that we evolve enough to manipulate time and save ourselves is pretty awesome

 

[lime]

The movie just won Best Picture at the TFA Movie Awards!

 

[max314]

You have to perceive time the way us humans DO NOT perceive time.

Which is impossible.

Which is why BatLobsterRises' explanation – whilst eloquoent and imaginative and endearing – feels a lot like a "Get Out of Jail Free" card for writing a deus ex machina.

But I'm not here to crap on anyone's parade. It's still a fantastic movie.

 

[Warhammer]

You must admit, it is refreshing, deus ex machina or not. How many dystopian sci-fi films do we get every couple of years? The positive ones we usually get is Star Trek. And that was only 3 films in 13 years.

 

[BatLobster]

Which is impossible.

Which is why BatLobsterRises' explanation – whilst eloquoent and imaginative and endearing – feels a lot like a "Get Out of Jail Free" card for writing a deus ex machina.

But I'm not here to crap on anyone's parade. It's still a fantastic movie.

It is a get out of jail free card for me. Because to me, there's a difference between when a deus ex machina ending is very intentionally engrained into the plot from the beginning for a specific purpose, and when it just feels like a lazy cop-out because the writers ran out of ideas. I definitely don't think it's a case of the latter in this movie, because the nature of the ending/loop crystallizes a theme that was being hinted at from the first teaser onward. On top of that, I don't find it impossible to think of time in a different way, at least in brief spurts. That's what our imagination is for, and the movie itself wonderfully depicts it for us as a spacial dimension too. It's trippy and mind-bending for sure, but not incomprehensible. We can fathom it (or at least approach fathoming it), despite not understanding it.

Like I was saying in the JA thread, I'm not such a stickler about the "rules" of filmmaking, I care more about why a filmmaker conforms or doesn't conform to them. In the case of Interstellar I very much think the ending is a big part of what makes the film great rather than merely good. That said, I could see why some would find the existence of a deus ex machina to be a weakness, mileage may vary and all.

Good discussion point though, surprised it didn't come up sooner.

 

[DA_Champion]

I don't see much of a problem with the movie's plot logic, other than the fact it's difficult to follow.

Within General Relativity, it's expected that rotating black holes have closed timelike curves near the ring singularity, which the movie portrayed via the library. The movie basically exploited this.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Listen to a 30-Minute Interview Between Christopher Nolan and Rian Johnson on INTERSTELLAR

http://collider.com/christopher-nolan-rian-johnson-interstellar-interview/

Early last month, Nolan participated in a post-screening Q&A about Interstellar at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica with Looper, Brick, and the upcoming Star Wars: Episode VIII writer/director Rian Johnson acting as the moderator. Audio of the Q&A portion has now made its way online, and it’s a must-listen.

This was a blast. Don't think I said anything too dumb.

https://***********/rianjohnson/status/567474805176156161

 

[redhawk23]

Although facilitated by the future humans, the plot reveal is a bit less of a deus ex machina because the protagonists are still active participants. The 5th dimensional folk don't really swoop in an save anyone so much as create the opportunity for Coop to guide himself to a position where he can A) send the message to himself to initiate his involvement in the mission and B) Give Murphy the final clue to complete the equations.

The 5th dimensional beings don't give them the answers. The characters have to seek them out themselves. People died or were isolated for decades on the mission to do so.

 

[Galactus10]

https://roccocaz.squarespace.com/config#/|/interstellar/


Interstellar Review.

 

[DA_Champion]

Although facilitated by the future humans, the plot reveal is a bit less of a deus ex machina because the protagonists are still active participants. The 5th dimensional folk don't really swoop in an save anyone so much as create the opportunity for Coop to guide himself to a position where he can A) send the message to himself to initiate his involvement in the mission and B) Give Murphy the final clue to complete the equations.

The 5th dimensional beings don't give them the answers. The characters have to seek them out themselves. People died or were isolated for decades on the mission to do so.

Moreover, the 5th dimensional beings only exist because of Cooper.

It's a closed timelike curve.

Cooper completing his mission enables the 5th dimensional beings to exist -> 5th dimensional beings enable Cooper to complete his mission.

I know that "circular logic" is usually considered ridiculous, but that is in fact the exact logic of time travel.

Normal logic:
A -> B -> C -> D

time-travel logic:
A -> B -> C -> A

 

[Supernova]

Who would want action figures from this movie?

 

[redhawk23]

Who would want action figures from this movie?

CASE or TARS would be a slight step up from this.

Think Geek actually used to sell those.

 

[Zeus]

CASE or TARS would be a slight step up from this.

Think Geek actually used to sell those.

Lol that just looks like a plastic rectangle.