Interstellar - Part 9

[jmc]

Yeah, look, of all of Nolan's issues with exposition this is the one film you couldn't do without some explaining. For something like Inception it probably is a little overdone but when you're dealing with concepts that are difficult to grasp by even the smartest minds I think a bit more forgiveness is in order.

 

[Hunter Rider]

This has to be my favorite Interstellar review ever.

Thanks, apparently I am just too stupid to get it's greatness or something lol.

 

[Hunter Rider]

I love the film, but for what reason a lot of people did not like it. It may be that they don't get hard scifi as they've never seen it before, that the hype for this movie was unbearable, that they're loyal to Marvel, or that exploration doesn't interest them.

The fact that there are mixed reactions is interesting even if many of the critics lack the ability to coherently articulate why the movie didn't work for them.

 

[Hunter Rider]

I think you summed up how I feel about it pretty neatly. Mini Space McConaughey floating in the bookshelf of Time & Space was just....

The opening 45 mins dragged a whole heap of ass. I checked the time at one point to find it was only 30mins in, felt like over an hour.

Also, the death of Astronaut #4 (I don't have the fainest recollection of what his name was) on the water planet... the guy just stood there, by the ships hatch, and waited for the wave to kill him. PIS. And it's a meaningless death, too. We have no connection to that guy what-so-ever.

I'm hovering around 6.5-7/10.

I actually checked my Dad's watch a couple of times as well, I never do that during movies.

The only problem I had with his death was that they killed him before I could work out what I'd seen him in before. At least that sequence gave the big Hi-fi looking transgender robot a chance to show it's skills in saving Anne.

 

[Micromind]

If you're good at something never do it for free.

But, best things in life are free.

 

[DA_Champion]

I wasn't referring to you.

 

[Hunter Rider]

I wasn't referring to you.

I know, it was just bizarre in general, what does being a Marvel fan have to do with not liking this film, or say liking it but not loving it?

 

[DA_Champion]

Yeah, look, of all of Nolan's issues with exposition this is the one film you couldn't do without some explaining. For something like Inception it probably is a little overdone but when you're dealing with concepts that are difficult to grasp by even the smartest minds I think a bit more forgiveness is in order.

If anything there was too little exposition.

A lot of people are confused as to:

1) What Mann's motivations were.
2) Why the black hole didn't spaghettify Cooper.

 

[Micromind]

Considering how many people still don't understand the ending and think the movie meant for love to be some magical force, I fear that less exposition would have only compounded the issue.

Relativity is a difficult topic, even for expert physicists, and just throwing it at the general audience and expecting them to get it would have been a disaster.

If exposition makes the movie boring why is it doing so well overseas ?

Most people think that only action / monster / animated movies do well overseas, so by that logic a 3 hour long movie filled with exposition should fail in overseas market, but the opposite is happening.

I think that exposition=boring movie concept should be abandoned by critics /fans.

 

[DA_Champion]

I know, it was just bizarre in general, what does being a Marvel fan have to do with not liking this film, or say liking it but not loving it?

People are very tribal. They allow more leeway to their preferred creators and are more strict to their competitors. We see this on this forum all the time and thus you see this more than I do.

Alternatively, when watching a sports match, pay attention to how fans assess refereeing calls.

 

[Hunter Rider]

People are very tribal. They allow more leeway to their preferred creators and are more strict to their competitors. We see this on this forum all the time and thus you see this more than I do.

Alternatively, when watching a sports match, pay attention to how fans assess refereeing calls.

Well by that token couldn't it also be said that the "Nolanites" are every bit as tribal in their rating of the film? I also don't see how it's any competition for Marvel, it's hopeful Oscar bait released in November nowhere near any Marvel movie and could only dream of getting the same kind of numbers at the box office even if they were in some imagined competition.

 

[Snow Queen]

I actually checked my Dad's watch a couple of times as well, I never do that during movies.

The only problem I had with his death was that they killed him before I could work out what I'd seen him in before. At least that sequence gave the big Hi-fi looking transgender robot a chance to show it's skills in saving Anne.

Did I miss something?

 

[DA_Champion]

Well by that token couldn't it also be said that the "Nolanites" are every bit as tribal in their rating of the film?

A lot of people are saying this. You're a moderator, you've seen a lot of these posts for sure.

I think there's an element of truth to that.

I also don't see how it's any competition for Marvel, it's hopeful Oscar bait released in November nowhere near any Marvel movie and could only dream of getting the same kind of numbers at the box office even if they were in some imagined competition.

Oscar bait is used to describe movies made to win the oscars. If Nolan wanted an Oscar above all else he wouldn't make a science fiction film, he would make a small-budget historical biopic, about someone like Daniel Pearl or Jonas Salk.

Interstellar will probably get Oscar nominations in the technical categories, I think that it would get those same nominations if it came out in April, and anyway "best CGI" is not what people refer to with the expression Oscar bait.

 

[Travesty]

If anything there was too little exposition.

A lot of people are confused as to:

1) What Mann's motivations were.
2) Why the black hole didn't spaghettify Cooper.

After I asked that question about Mann, I went and read tons of reviews, and that issue came up time and time again, whether the critic loved it or didn't. Even people explaining it aren't sure, because the movie didn't really tell you exactly what's going on, especially with a character we know little about.

And as far as the exposition in this movie goes, it really didn't feel that natural. Why would NASA scientist/pilots need a refreshers on Relativity every so often? Basically, the exposition that was there was too heavy handed, and when it was actually needed, it was completely absent. Exposition is fine, but it seems Nolan has a hard time juggling it more than most directors. Eh, but what do I know? I'm too stupid to know what's going on. I miss everything in movies.

 

[DA_Champion]

So who wins best special effects at the Oscars this year?

Interstellar?
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes?
Guardians of the Galaxy?
Hobbit 3?

 

[Agent Orange]

I think that Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a lock. It's taken mo-cap to a brand new level. Interstellar is a close second. I doubt that The Hobbit has a chance -- Smaug looks great but some of the CG in the Hobbit trilogy is iffy as hell.

 

[Frosty81]

The more I think on this, the more I love it. Previously the Prestige had been one of my favorite films of all time, certainly my favorite by Nolan.

But there is something about Interstellar still lingering with me. Maybe I'm biased because of my sincere appreciation for the space program and genuine interest that we get it back together.

In any event I loved it from start to finish. The score is certain to become a new regular addition.

 

[Phallic]

After I asked that question about Mann, I went and read tons of reviews, and that issue came up time and time again, whether the critic loved it or didn't. Even people explaining it aren't sure, because the movie didn't really tell you exactly what's going on, especially with a character we know little about.

And as far as the exposition in this movie goes, it really didn't feel that natural. Why would NASA scientist/pilots need a refreshers on Relativity every so often? Basically, the exposition that was there was too heavy handed, and when it was actually needed, it was completely absent. Exposition is fine, but it seems Nolan has a hard time juggling it more than most directors. Eh, but what do I know? I'm too stupid to know what's going on. I miss everything in movies.

Cooper wasn't a scientist, he was a pilot. What exposition did you find was missing?

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

I'm sure we'll be seeing fan vids like this for the film soon. [YT]dVrhGFIU9RM[/YT] In 20 years time it will be interesting to see what we will think of both film's visions of space travel and the future.

 

[Anita18]

Cooper wasn't a scientist, he was a pilot. What exposition did you find was missing?

He was also an engineer, but engineers for pilot-type things aren't automatically experts on relativity.

My husband has an aerospace engineering major, and I had to tell him the giant waves came from that planet being so close to the black hole. (Uber-crazy version of tides.) And I didn't even major in anything related to physics.

 

[Tequilla]

The more I think on this, the more I love it. Previously the Prestige had been one of my favorite films of all time, certainly my favorite by Nolan.

But there is something about Interstellar still lingering with me. Maybe I'm biased because of my sincere appreciation for the space program and genuine interest that we get it back together.

The film entices the imaginarium of a lot of people , especially by grounding everything in scientifically plausibilities. To break barriers , to push the boundaries of our existence as a species. It's a pretty wonderful sensation after seeing the film after a few days.

Not in our generation. But we will try to go out there. And Interstellar sorta glimpses to that , and how small we still are in the vastness of space.

 

[DA_Champion]

Evrn if worm holes exist I suspect we'll never go far into space.

 

[Tequilla]

Evrn if worm holes exist I suspect we'll never go far into space.

We won't be here to find out t:

 

[Dr.]

Why would NASA scientist/pilots need a refreshers on Relativity every so often?

As I recall one scene (in particular)… Cooper expressed surprise that the wormhole entrance was a sphere. Presumably, he anticipated (as per descriptions/representations in both science and sci-fi ) a “hole in space” or a “mouth” or a hollow (star) “gate.” Indeed, how could a three dimensional object - like a sphere - be a hole? So Romilly does his little demonstration with the folded piece of paper - explaining that a 2D/circular entrance in the folded paper would necessarily be translated as a sphere in higher dimensions. Now, Cooper had likely seen the “paper model of the Universe” (as an explanation of warped space) many times, and didn’t really need that part of Romilly’s tutorial (though, obviously, it was very useful information for the audience). But the model served as a pretext to answer Cooper’s original question about the shape of the wormhole entrance. This is a fairly standard way to "camouflage" exposition.

 

[Steamteck]

RT audience score is useless.

Actually for my purposes, if the film is entertaining to watch and good for its genre, its much more useful that the critics' scores for me