Interstellar - Part 8

[BatLobster]

I dunno, the main thing I'm excited to see is the visuals.

Those definitely do not disappoint either, IMO.

 

[DarthDorranceBane]

Director Christopher Nolan's attempt at doing his own version of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey that will tug at your heart, will make you cling on the edge of your seat, and will make you gasp at its visuals (especially when you see it in IMAX) despite the cobbled pieces of ideas-feel of the finished product.

 

[Motown Marvel]

The visuals are definitely the films strongest point. As much criticism as I may find for nolans films, particularly his writing/plotting, I'll always admire his traditional film making sensibilities. Particularly with special effects.

 

[BatLobster]

I think the marriage of the visuals and the music on this one was pretty astounding. It definitely left a distinct impression in my mind. Really, it was just incredibly potent filmmaking. It stayed with me.

 

[AnneFan]

Cannot stop thinking about it, that's the mark of great movies for me, seen it yday & it doesn't get out of my head, I've had a similar feeling before, but never like this. I'm going back on saturday, it's like I need my fix, I need this rush again, this experience.

Still yet to see the movie, but I think the above is the mark of a good movie. If it challenges your mind and stays with you long after the initial viewing. Nolan likes to go all out with his films, and it is most definitely the case here it seems, perhaps more than ever. Nobody can accuse him of not caring or putting in effort.

 

[titansupes]

Okay, I've processed.

It's definitely an all new Nolan. And Zimmer. It's him not really aiming at American sensibilities - As silly as this sounds, the movie feels European (which explains the French reviews/raves, in my mind).

It's incredibly visually striking, complex in it's subtext (but not in it's narrative, which I actually thought was pretty straightforward for the most part) and emotion. If Inception was about Nolan's mind, Interstellar is him ripping his heart out and putting it on the screen.

There's a few sequences of high-wire intensity

Spoiler

God, the sequence where Coop and TARS are trying to re-dock with the out of control Endurance)

It really connects with the audience in a big way. My whole (packed) crowd was enthralled (I feel probably more than I was). The shots where

Spoiler

the Endurance is a tiny glint travelling across Saturn. There were audible gasps across the whole theatre and then... silence. Not a cough or the ruffle of a candy wrapper. They were in awe. They were stunned just by watching the crew get into the cryo-chambers for the first time - it was something they'd never seen before. The discovery of the wormhole and the first time they go through it. The same happened when Dr. Mann blew the airlock - The entire theatre jumped, then dead silence. You could feel the tension throughout that scene and the subsequent re-dock. Hell, you could feel people quietly freaking out when they found the cryo-chamber and found a body in there, the surprise when it was Damon, the shock when he burst into tears etc.

The ending I know how to explain - But not the reaction to the ending. A mix of "What are we seeing?!" and awe, I suppose.

I also think a couple of things about he audience is true - This will be divisive amongst Nolan's fanbase. As I said - It's an all new Nolan. He's doing something new (though his DNA is present, of course. He likes to play with time and reality as they affect the mind/emotion). For me, it didn't feel as Nolan as I'd hoped, which was a let down. But I suppose I'll just have to get used to this new one. t:

So far, I rate it fourth behind The Dark Knight, The Prestige and Memento. But a repeat viewing is certainly in order.

 

[Jekecy]

I am going to posit that the fanboy idolization of Nolan will end with this movie. He is no longer the director of Batman films, and this movie (shockingly) is so anti-blockbuster in its pace and approach that it will turn off a lot of mainstream viewers who liked the whiteknuckled speed of his last three movies, including Inception. Further, the ending is so out of left field (but leaves you thinking more and more even a few days later) that it will piss a lot of people off.

Eh? The ending ending? What was so potentially dividing about it?

 

[JaD]

Heading out now to my IMAX theater to see this, can't wait!

 

[weezerspider]

This is a filmmaker's film. If you watch films simply for narrative, you may not like this so much, but the real art of film, the cinematography, the music, the score, the special effects are truly fantastic and awe inspiring. The combination of music and breathtaking visuals is really like the Baraka for space. It's like Nolan took aspects of Mallick and Kubrick and put them in a narrative-focused feature.

 

[titansupes]

This is a filmmaker's film. If you watch films simply for narrative, you may not like this so much, but the real art of film, the cinematography, the music, the score, the special effects are truly fantastic and awe inspiring. The combination of music and breathtaking visuals is really like the Baraka for space. It's like Nolan took aspects of Mallick and Kubrick and put them in a narrative-focused feature.

I do agree.

 

[DACrowe]

Eh? The ending ending? What was so potentially dividing about it?

Do not read this if you have not seen the movie. You were warned...

Spoiler

Cooper is the ghost at the beginning of the movie that sends himself on his mission. He is trying to at first convince himself to stay and then to pass along the quantum physics scanned by traveling through a black hole to his daughter and he does this because (wait for it)...humans apparently already have mastered gravity/time travel centuries later and have come back in a time loop to allow Cooper to go on this journey....so that he can talk to his daughter and tell her (as a ghost) how to build the gravity technology that will save mankind. And he does this by falling into a black hole and getting placed inside by unseen forces into a visual approximation of Murphy's lifespan.

At first I wasn't sure about it. But overall, after having a day, I really liked it. My only complaint is that it is all overly explained via expository dialogue between Cooper and [blackout]TARS.[/blackout] I wish that it was more vague, but that the minimum amount of nuance comes with a blockbuster budget, I suppose.

 

[titansupes]

Do not read this if you have not seen the movie. You were warned

Spoiler

Cooper is the ghost at the beginning of the movie that sends himself on his mission. He is trying to at first convince himself to stay and then to pass along the quantum physics scanned by traveling through a black hole to his daughter and he does this because (wait for it)...humans apparently already have mastered gravity/time travel centuries later and have come back in a time loop to allow Cooper to go on this journey....so that he can talk to his daughter and tell her (as a ghost) how to build the gravity technology that will save mankind. And he does this by falling into a black hole and getting placed inside by unseen forces into a visual approximation of Murphy's lifespan.

At first I wasn't sure about it. But overall, after having a day, I really liked it. My only complaint is that it is all overly explained via expository dialogue between Cooper and [blackout]TARS.[/blackout] I wish that it was more vague, but that the minimum amount of nuance comes with a blockbuster budget, I suppose.

I see what you're saying, but just judging by my crowd, it needed to be explained. Especially after the preceding two hours where everything else was grounded and talked about. If it feels like a jump to people now, imagine they'd not put forth a theory in the movie itself.

 

[Marvolo]

Watching this tomorrow at 6:50 pm!

 

[Tacit Ronin]

Came back from it....and I have the same reaction from it as I did when I watched Aronofsky's The Fountain. Thoughts are fragmented. Will need time to give them form. I shall post my review tomorrow.

But aside from that, I didn't realize how important that shot of the bookshelf on the teaser was. Like really really important.

 

[BatLobster]

This is a filmmaker's film. If you watch films simply for narrative, you may not like this so much, but the real art of film, the cinematography, the music, the score, the special effects are truly fantastic and awe inspiring. The combination of music and breathtaking visuals is really like the Baraka for space. It's like Nolan took aspects of Mallick and Kubrick and put them in a narrative-focused feature.

This is why, I really do think regardless of all the polarized reactions to the film, Nolan does at least deserve a Best Director nomination just for the sheer craftsmanship of this thing. I kind of doubt he'll get one, but that would qualify as another snub IMO.

 

[Tacit Ronin]

This is why, I really do think regardless of all the polarized reactions to the film, Nolan does at least deserve a Best Director nomination just for the sheer craftsmanship of this thing. I kind of doubt he'll get one, but that would qualify as another snub IMO.

Who cares? As long as he gets recognition from the DGA. I'm sure that matters more to him.

 

[Marvolo]

Nolan might get a BAFTA. They dont have a problem awarding fantasy and sci-fi.

 

[BatLobster]

Who cares? As long as he gets recognition from the DGA. I'm sure that matters more to him.

Oh, completely agreed.

 

[Tacit Ronin]

Regarding verbal exposition, I no longer expect it to get better. For better or worse, it's clear that it is a part of the Nolan experience, just like monologues are a part of the Malick experience. While those monologues get more than a few eye rolls from me, it doesn't prevent Malick from being one of my most treasured filmmakers. It has been transformed from a flaw to a quirk. And I have a feeling Nolan is traveling down the same path. Demand a Nolan experience? Expect exposition in the packaged deal.

 

[BatLobster]

Regarding verbal exposition, I no longer expect it to get better. For better or worse, it's clear that it is a part of the Nolan experience, just like monologues are a part of the Malick experience. While those monologues get more than a few eye rolls from me, it doesn't prevent Malick from being one of my most treasured filmmakers. It has been transformed from a flaw to a quirk. And I have a feeling Nolan is traveling down the same path. Demand a Nolan experience? Expect exposition in the packaged deal.

That's my attitude as well.

Nolan films tend to be overwritten, and I kinda love them for that. For the most part I'm hooked on every line anyway.

The guy is an auteur, full stop.

 

[stlblues84]

Regarding verbal exposition, I no longer expect it to get better. For better or worse, it's clear that it is a part of the Nolan experience, just like monologues are a part of the Malick experience. While those monologues get more than a few eye rolls from me, it doesn't prevent Malick from being one of my most treasured filmmakers. It has been transformed from a flaw to a quirk. And I have a feeling Nolan is traveling down the same path. Demand a Nolan experience? Expect exposition in the packaged deal.

Similar to his flashbacks...the only movie he has made that didn't need a flashback was The Dark Knight...and that scene when Harvey looks at the coin and then flashes back to him tossing it to Rachel...I almost screamed out, "Damn you Nolan, just couldn't help yourself." haha

 

[titansupes]

Regarding verbal exposition, I no longer expect it to get better. For better or worse, it's clear that it is a part of the Nolan experience, just like monologues are a part of the Malick experience. While those monologues get more than a few eye rolls from me, it doesn't prevent Malick from being one of my most treasured filmmakers. It has been transformed from a flaw to a quirk. And I have a feeling Nolan is traveling down the same path. Demand a Nolan experience? Expect exposition in the packaged deal.

That's my attitude as well.

Nolan films tend to be overwritten, and I kinda love them for that. For the most part I'm hooked on every line anyway.

The guy is an auteur, full stop.

Well said.

 

[DACrowe]

This is why, I really do think regardless of all the polarized reactions to the film, Nolan does at least deserve a Best Director nomination just for the sheer craftsmanship of this thing. I kind of doubt he'll get one, but that would qualify as another snub IMO.

I think it will depend if it is a box office hit. If it has a robust run akin to Gravity, then I imagine that he will have an outside chance of a nomination. I know Aronofsky won but that movie is much "neater" with more typically Awards friendly performances by Bullock and Clooney (though the latter was too slight for nomination). I think I may actually prefer Interstellar (still too early to decide), but this movie is too hard sci-fi weird and perhaps simultaneously conventional on the sentimental home front side for the Academy's taste.

But it'd be nice if he finally got a nomination after all his hard work, but they may consider the Inception Best Picture nom good enough at recognizing him....when with 10 slots, it really is not. Say what you will about Interstellar, or Dark Knight Rises for that matter, but I see at this point Nolan on the same trajectory as other populist auteurs like Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick and pre-Schindler's List Steven Spielberg. At least, until he makes an important biopic one day.

 

[titansupes]

Say what you will about Interstellar, or Dark Knight Rises for that matter, but I see at this point Nolan on the same trajectory as other populist auteurs like Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick and pre-Schindler's List Steven Spielberg. At least, until he makes an important biopic one day.

Seems that way.

And on the bolded, Chris has talked about how proud he is of the Howard Hughes biopic script he wrote year and years ago. He said it was the best he's written. Jonah recently mentioned it again, calling it "One of the finest scripts he's ever read".

So, here's hoping that comes to fruition one day.

EDIT: Oh, also, I woke up to an email confirming that my Interstellar 'Making of' book is on it's way to me.

 

[jmc]

I think the thing about Nolan, whether you like Interstellar or not, is that at least he's trying to do something different with blockbuster films in an industry that thrives of the same thing being repackaged time and time again. We're at a point of creative stagnation with blockbuster films nowadays, it's just a damn shame Nolan seems to be the only allowed to challenge the status quo.