Interstellar
Go! Taste the enormity of the universe.
Overcomplicated, yes, but majestically overwhelming.
You can go and see Interstellar (with its five Oscar #noms) on IMAX screens; albeit for the same price as a second-hand Volkswagen Polo. I understand that it is a big deal deciding whether to go to the cinema and see an 169 minute film or go slightly further down the road and buy a car (especially when the Polo gives such excellent mileage) so I will try to be particularly insightful on this occasion to make your money go further.
Christopher Nolan (Inception, The Dark Knight Rises) has become a directing Goliath over the past 10 years. His films tend to have a mind-blowing quality to them, and in Interstellar, he is at it again, launching a full-scale nuclear attack on our tiny brains; this time from the noiseless death-trap of space. Helping him with the launch codes is last year's Oscar darling Matthew "alright, alright, alright" McConaughey (Dallas Buyer's Club, Wolf of Wall Street) who has himself gone stratospheric in the past two years with a series of stellar performances. With their respective recent histories the Nolan/McConaughey combo promises more than the distant LED glow of a kebab shop sign at 3.05am on a drunken Saturday night. But will the shutters be down when we get there, or - as hoped - will we find our chins dripping with delicious meat juices and oh so rich garlic sauce?
Christopher Nolan (Inception, The Dark Knight Rises) has become a directing Goliath over the past 10 years. His films tend to have a mind-blowing quality to them, and in Interstellar, he is at it again, launching a full-scale nuclear attack on our tiny brains; this time from the noiseless death-trap of space. Helping him with the launch codes is last year's Oscar darling Matthew "alright, alright, alright" McConaughey (Dallas Buyer's Club, Wolf of Wall Street) who has himself gone stratospheric in the past two years with a series of stellar performances. With their respective recent histories the Nolan/McConaughey combo promises more than the distant LED glow of a kebab shop sign at 3.05am on a drunken Saturday night. But will the shutters be down when we get there, or - as hoped - will we find our chins dripping with delicious meat juices and oh so rich garlic sauce?
Well, brace yourself. Getting that tasty lamb wrap ain't going to be a breeze. In Interstellar (not unlike Inception) Nolan tackles a story of such conceptual complexity and visual magnitude that the kebab shop is in danger of being sucked into a wormhole before you get there. I'll try to explain...
McConaughey plays Cooper, a former astronaut and present-day widower who was re-purposed as a corn farmer when the world started running out of resources and could no longer support the superfluous indulgence of space travel. But it turns out that unless humankind finds another planet to live on in another galaxy, then we'll all be intergalactic toast. So, by a series of unusual gravitational events in his farmhouse and the persuasiveness of kindly NASA Professor John Brand (Michael Caine), Cooper is pulled back into his old job and rocket-propelled into the far reaches of the universe, in order to save humanity. Left behind on Planet Earth are his two kids, Murph and Tom who grow up to become Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty) and Casey Affleck (Gone Baby Gone). What follows is a lot of scientific-theory-based-drama as Cooper and his crew (which includes Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables) go galaxy hopping and black hole surfing, with time bending relentlessly around them as they go.
McConaughey plays Cooper, a former astronaut and present-day widower who was re-purposed as a corn farmer when the world started running out of resources and could no longer support the superfluous indulgence of space travel. But it turns out that unless humankind finds another planet to live on in another galaxy, then we'll all be intergalactic toast. So, by a series of unusual gravitational events in his farmhouse and the persuasiveness of kindly NASA Professor John Brand (Michael Caine), Cooper is pulled back into his old job and rocket-propelled into the far reaches of the universe, in order to save humanity. Left behind on Planet Earth are his two kids, Murph and Tom who grow up to become Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty) and Casey Affleck (Gone Baby Gone). What follows is a lot of scientific-theory-based-drama as Cooper and his crew (which includes Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables) go galaxy hopping and black hole surfing, with time bending relentlessly around them as they go.
Importantly, because the film is so long, not only will you need to ration your fluid intake to survive the piece, you will also need to ensure that you remain both concentrated enough not to miss anything, and relaxed enough to accept the gargantuan leaps of faith that are necessary to make the story work. Like looking at those 3D-optical illusion pictures, you'll need to stay focused, but always with the goal of blurring reality.
This sounds like a lot of effort, but if you manage to find the stamina (and bladder control) in order to make it through, you will be richly rewarded. This is a tale about our teeny-tiny place in the universe and nowhere will you be made to feel smaller than under the three-story-tall glow of Interstellar's bountiful scenery and filmography on an IMAX screen. Although Nolan's "one small step for the script, one giant leap for the storyline" approach threatens to derail the whole film several times, if you give him the benefit of the doubt, the expansive landscapes not only consume your imagination but also provide a backdrop for some intensely psychological and at times heavily emotive drama. In this respect, the film echoes aspects of Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, Boyle's Sunshine, Scott's Prometheus and Almadovar's Gravity; which are all compliments to Interstellar, but equally indicates the huge scale of this film, which is perhaps a little too much for one piece of work. Nonetheless, the grandeur of this film - particularly in the IMAX format - makes this a spectacular cinematic experience. It might be 3.05am, you might be tired, drunk on special effects and desperate for the loo, but if you keep going just that little bit further, Nolan will eventually satiate you that seemingly evasive kebab.
So go if you think you have the stomach and stamina for nearly 3 hours of intense visual simulation and intellectual stimulation in the beam of the IMAX's enormous screen. Pay up, push through and you'll be richly rewarded. But if all that sounds to you like a horrendous chore, save your money and instead head to your nearest used car dealership where VW Polos are going cheap.
This sounds like a lot of effort, but if you manage to find the stamina (and bladder control) in order to make it through, you will be richly rewarded. This is a tale about our teeny-tiny place in the universe and nowhere will you be made to feel smaller than under the three-story-tall glow of Interstellar's bountiful scenery and filmography on an IMAX screen. Although Nolan's "one small step for the script, one giant leap for the storyline" approach threatens to derail the whole film several times, if you give him the benefit of the doubt, the expansive landscapes not only consume your imagination but also provide a backdrop for some intensely psychological and at times heavily emotive drama. In this respect, the film echoes aspects of Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, Boyle's Sunshine, Scott's Prometheus and Almadovar's Gravity; which are all compliments to Interstellar, but equally indicates the huge scale of this film, which is perhaps a little too much for one piece of work. Nonetheless, the grandeur of this film - particularly in the IMAX format - makes this a spectacular cinematic experience. It might be 3.05am, you might be tired, drunk on special effects and desperate for the loo, but if you keep going just that little bit further, Nolan will eventually satiate you that seemingly evasive kebab.
So go if you think you have the stomach and stamina for nearly 3 hours of intense visual simulation and intellectual stimulation in the beam of the IMAX's enormous screen. Pay up, push through and you'll be richly rewarded. But if all that sounds to you like a horrendous chore, save your money and instead head to your nearest used car dealership where VW Polos are going cheap.
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