Movie Review - Interstellar

Interstellar

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Mackenzie Foy, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, John Lithgow, Anne Hathaway, Bill Irwin, Timothée Chalamet, Wes Bentley, David Gyasi, Matt Damon, and more.

Directed by: Christopher Nolan Written by: Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan Cinematography by: Hoyte Van Hoytema Music by: Hans Zimmer

Premise: Earth has been devastated by a blight that is slowly destroying different types of crops. It's turned much of the world into a dust bowl. With his dreams of space flight reduced to the high tech farming of corn, Cooper gets an unexpected opportunity when chasing down a weird anomaly in his daughter's bedroom. The coordinates from the anomaly lead him to a secret base, one where NASA is being pursuing two different plans to try to save the human race from extinction. And an old colleague has need of Cooper's unusual skill set, but it will mean leaving his family and no guarantee that he will ever see them again in his lifetime. (Rated PG-13)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Matthew McConaughey knocks it out of the park with his portrayal of Cooper, an ex astronaut turned farmer. His deep emotions when watching the videos from his kids are heartwrenching. Mackenzie Foy as young Murph makes the audience connect with her and Cooper, captivating our hearts for the ride ahead. Jessica Chastain as an older Murph ties it all together. Anne Hathaway did a great job as Brand and an even better ying and yang to Brand's father, played by Michael Caine. John Lithgow was endearing and quite amusing as Cooper's father-in-law, Donald.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: Most of the effects are quite subtle in nature, with very little flare except in a few spots. But it doesn't make the efforts any less grand. They even use actual real footage of space and weave it in with created content. The look and feel of the spaceships make the film feel like something that could happen tomorrow. The dust storm effects were very well done. And worked excellently with how the dust was used in Murph's room.

The worlds we see are cool in their contrast, even as they end up very much on the same par. The use of the blockish (and quite versatile!) artificial intelligences gave the film a very future feel, even as the AI's themselves grew more human by the moment.

There are several scenes that spin about for realism, but luckily they don't last too long and do give the film a fun and more realistic feel as they largely fit our current modes of space travel.

The wormhole and blackhole were nicely done - some lovely light refractions - but again are done in an understated way. They permeate everything yet aren't blaring. Everything felt very real. And wait until you see the special tunnel towards the end... Nicely done!

3) Plot/Story - Total Thumbs Up: Science Fiction is about social matters, emotion, and human change as well as science. "Interstellar" definitely fits the definition and even brings the heavy science into play without losing the audience. They bring in things like time dilation, the laws of relativity, and more. The film also explores family, the ties of love, loneliness, keeping or discarding our humanity, and plain human stubbornness - at times one of our best and worst traits.

There's not a lot of information on the Blight aside from quick bits fed to the audience throughout the film. Using interviews from those who lived through the real Dust Bowl was a nice touch and gave a bit of homage to those who experienced those hard times. Gave the whole film a higher level of authenticity.

Most, if not all, of the science was solid and explored a lot of fun bits having to do with quantum physics, gravity, and time. Several big unexpected surprises and lots of hard, emotional moments. If you've ever have gotten tearyeyed at a film, I strongly suggest bringing some tissues.

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: Mad driving through cornfields, being battered around in space ships, some hand-to-hand fighting, the stunt department was not left without fun things to do.

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: In this too there was a lot of subtlety, but still made from some grandiose or beautifully spanning fields of view. The chase of the glider through the cornfields and the view bringing us close and also fanned out visually increased the excitement of the sequence.

Great open shots on each of the planets, making the small areas filmed look like huge open spaces that might never end. The views of the black hole as they neared the system proved again and again the epic scope of their mission. At other times the shots would focus on small details, like the clamps opening and closing as they're unable to lock in place, visual portents of what is soon to come.

Amazing job in setting the different moods as well. Hear, hear!

Conclusion: "Interstellar" has strong science elements going hand in hand with the emotions that drive us, Good and subtle effects make everything seem all the more viable. If you ever get teary eyed at movies, bring tissues! You'll need them! The film is 3 hours or so long, so no giant drinks. :)

Rating: 4.25 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Would Pay Full Price To See Again)

Movie Review - Now You See Me

Now You See Me

Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Mélanie Laurent, Morgan Freeman, Dave Franco, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Michael Caine, Michael Kelly, Common, David Warshofsky, and more.

Directed by: Louis Leterrier Screenplay by: Ed Solomon, Boaz Yakin, and Edward Ricourt Story by: Boaz Yakin and Edward Ricourt Cinematography by: Mitchell Amundsen and Larry Fong Original Music by: Brian Tyler

Premise: Four magicians receive a mysterious summon. A year later, they put on a huge show in Las Vegas and seemingly rob a bank in Paris with magic. The FBI and Interpol get involved, wanting to make sure to stop whatever the group is up to, though they have no evidence yet to make an arrest. (Rated  PG-13)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Mark Ruffalo was fun as the befuddled and out of his depth FBI agent, whom, despite himself, might just start believing in something. Mélanie Laurent will make you want to believe. Woody Harrelson added a lot witty humor. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman were awesome when going at each other and when working together.

2) Special Effects - Thumbs Up: This may sound weird, but there were a couple of places where I wished the special effects team had figured out how to make a piece of illusion or two with real components rather than CGI. The fact CGI was used stole, in my opinion, from the premise of what the film was about. When the group was on the stage and the sheets twirled up and around, it was too obvious they were CGI, so it took away from feeling of the show being an actual stage performance.

But aside from that, the special effects were very well done! The final trick and light display over the building looked great.

3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: From the beginning the audience knows there's a fifth person. Even the symbol for the Four Horsemen is made of five squares. So half the fun of the film is trying to figure out who's behind it all. Clues for motivation are sprinkled throughout, but beware the false leads.

The part of the plot which most impressed me, however were the understated subplots. Several were running concurrently, but one especially means so much more than we initially realize until the end. Even magicians can be surprised by other types of magic. It was fabulous! Yet it's also so understated, it could easily be missed. But I felt it added a lot. And the same concept was done in a couple of ways to more than one person. So that was fun too.

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: Some great 'gags' are in this film - a super fun fight in an apartment, big car chase through downtown New York, foot chase in New Orleans, escapes, explosions, and more. You'll also see the most bizarre, yet useful use of a kitchen sink grinder...ever.

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up:  "Now You See Me" used some great filming locations in Las Vegas, New Orleans, New York City, and Paris. With the large scope of some of the action and tricks, the cinematography showed it all from different angles and panning back enough to show the audience the whole scene. It was used especially well at the site of the third trick, giving the audience an amazing view of the moving art being flashed on the buildings.

Conclusion: "Now You See Me" is a fun ride. Between the magic, the great acting, and the mystery of what set all these things in motion, viewers will have lots to keep them occupied. Plenty of old tricks and new, and the more they show you, the more they reveal while giving nothing away.

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)

Movie Review - Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Michael Caine, Josh Hutcherson, Luis Guzman, Vanessa Hudgens, and more.

Directed by: Brad Peyton Written by: Richard Outten, Brian & Mark Gunn Screenplay by: Brian & Mark Gunn Based on the Novel by: Jules Verne Original Music by: Andrew Lockington

Premise: Trying to bond with his step-son, Hank goes with Sean in an attempt to find Sean's Grandfather after Sean receives a cryptic coded message. A message stating that Jules Verne's Mysterious Island is real.  (Rated PG)

Review: "How about an adventure?" a repeated theme with stunning visual results, just lacking in good writing. Sad to say as I'd really been looking forward to the film.

We lost Frasier and gained Johnson. Not a bad deal as both are more than capable. Even gave the writers fodder for internal conflict. If only they'd not been so heavy handed about it.

Gorgeous visuals. The storms out at sea and then the vistas on the island were magnificent. One promised breathtaking view definitely was that. The flaura and the fauna were all well done and pretty darn cool. The underwater scenes totally rocked.

But for every place the visuals or the acting sang, the story telling pretty much crashed. Which is a pity. Heavy handed, with awkward conflict, the only parts that somewhat worked were the comedic bits. Luis Guzman added a lot to the film to make it tolerable, and of course the Rock's dating tip number three was a hoot. (No, guys, that does NOT work! lol)

The story ran hot and fast, so fast, you couldn't appreciate much of the island. And there were discrepancies or conveniences that just couldn't be explained or made no sense. Sorry, but an old man alone for two years on the island could not do what Alexander did, even if it was cool.

Ten to thirteen year olds won't see those flaws, so they should have a blast. For us old timers, seeing the city and the Nautilus will be half the treat, even if the sub is kind of small.

So for a family film, it will do. Give wonder for the kids, hormones for the teenagers (boys and girls), and cool visuals for the adults.

Rating: 3 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Better For Matinee)

Movie Review - Cars 2

Cars 2

 

Starring: Larry the Cable Guy, Owen Wilson, Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Eddie Izzards, John Turturro, and more... 

Directed by: John Lasseter and Brad Lewis  Screenplay by: Ben Queen  Story by: John Lasseter, Brad Lewis, and Dan Fogelman  Original Music by: Michael Giacchino

Premise: Mater inadvertently gets Lightning McQueen to enter the World Grand Prix. Except unbeknownst to them, the WGP will be the site of a nefarious plot! Mater gets thrown into the mix as he is in the wrong place at the wrong time and gets marked as a US spy.

Review:  All the great characters from the original CARS are back and much fun is to be had.  Just like the original CARS followed closely the plot of the movie Doc Hollywood, CARS 2 is a combination of James Bond epics and Bob Hope's My Favorite Spy.

Anything that has CGI in it that comes out in IMAX pretty much must be SEEN in IMAX to be most thoroughly enjoyed. CARS 2 is well worth it. The amount of awesome detail the Pixar folks gave to each of the four countries our heroes travel in (Japan, France, Italy, England) and their customs and the look and feel of the real places, yet mutating them just slightly so they fit into the CARS universe was phenomenal! (And yes, there are some Japanese toilets that do seem that complicated!)

While a spy story with loads of great chases, mistaken identities, covert ops, secret plots, super cool gadgets and more, it still centers around the main theme of the friendship between McQueen and Mater. Also a big lesson that despite what you are given by life, you can choose to make more of it and never judge a book by its cover. 

The story was solid, clues given along the way if you keep your eyes peeled. I did feel sorry for the lemons, though I will say from personal experience that Hugos were totally dependable cars and served me well, so not sure why they picked on them. :P

Be on the look out for in-jokes or homage bits. Several places in other Pixar films show up (the restaurant in Ratatouille among them). The pre film short based on Toy Story was darling!

Overall it was a super fun film with loads of great sequences and will leave you with a happy heart when it ends. (No extra stuff after the credits, though the background stuff during the credits was most amusing and some of it totally neat.)

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby said it was Worth Full Price of Admission)