Rob -
I have been thinking about Interstellar a
lot since I saw it last Saturday. I like what Sam Thielman said about the film, which
is mainly that character development gives way to plot in every way. You could
almost say that the only two constants in the universe of Interstellar
are gravity and McConaughey’s character, Cooper.
Even the plot has some early gaps. Primarily,
Nolan has to get these people into space as quickly as possible in order to
start showing us some really incredible visual effects. Backstory with
potential, be damned. Once there, we can safely enjoy the ride without fear of
being disappointed by the price of our IMAX ticket. Nolan is a great director:
he knows how to make a movie that audiences will love, even if we don’t
understand everything that’s happening.
I didn’t get all the space and multi-dimension
stuff in the theater. But I respect that Nolan didn’t water down the science,
even if the science is what makes the film hard to follow. At some points, the
music overwhelmed the dialog so that I couldn’t make out exact explanations of
events or phenomena. Suppose that’s the movie telling us that the emotion is
what matters more than the quantum physics. I like that.
But here’s the kicker for me: I wasn’t sure when
I left the theater if Interstellar was a good movie. I’m not going to
address it’s length besides saying that it was too much movie for one movie. I
get all the science stuff (or I get that it is science stuff), and
that’s cool. I get that in some ways this movie is an ode to a time when space
seemed like a place we could go and conquer. I’m for that, I’m pro-NASA. I just
can’t decide if things got too complicated outside the characters to
make their interpersonal interactions really meaningful. That’s what makes a
good story to me. The only time a real human feeling breaks through the
wormhole is the sequence with Matt Damon’s character. That taps into something
deeper—way deeper. That whole scene is just buzzing with that question: what
must it be like to be all alone on a cold planet literally millons of miles
away from Earth and know that you will never be rescued? Oh, and his
character’s name is Dr. Mann. That’s deep, too.
I have to admit, despite my hesitation about Interstellar
as a great movie, I have thought about it, talked to friends about it, even
googled science facts trying to understand it better. If the quote at the top
of this blog means anything at all, then maybe Interstellar is a good
flick. I’m just not certain.
Don’t let this review keep you from seeing the
movie. It’s fun…I just think that for all the fireworks, it’s missing that big bang.
Kyle -
I had so much fun watching this movie. Had
Nolan attained sci fi perfection then I'm not sure I would have had fun. I
might have called it a good movie -- because then it would have really taken me
somewhere -- but I wouldn't have had as much fun. I mean, 2001 Space Ody is
work to watch, right? I even enjoyed the rushed parts of this. Some were so
rushed that it felt like I was watching a B movie. That's interesting isn't it?
I need to think more about that (possible to mix A list and B list movie making
practices?).
I loved it. I thought the whole
thing was a blast. I loved the cast and the score/music/soundtrack was really
cool. Ultimately, I'm a sucker for blight, the future, deep space, decent
tunes, and Matt Mc. I didn't need the emotion that wasn't there. I just needed
the fun stuff. This might be the theme of Christopher Nolan -- I can't recall
any moral/value introspection I've had during any of his movies. But I do say
things like, "Whoa, Inception was so much fun and cool and
expensive." In this way, Nolan movies are like your first European travel
experience -- everything looks so cool and inviting, and then you realize that
Europeans can be annoying just like Americans can -- we're all B-Listers, Nolan
included.
Last things I'll say, I don't tell
everyone to go see it. I only tell certain friends to go see it. I know many
people that will hate it. I also know some good souls that will join me and
Nolan on our cinematic pleasure cruise. (Weirdest sentence I have ever written,
that last one). I'm going to predict that Luke will only like certain parts of
this. I think he will think that most of the movie is wasting his time -- and I
won't disagree with him. But I'll have fun on that re-watch.
Luke -
Interstellar is a
fantastic movie. I mean, Interstellar was fantastic for me. Are you
like me? I once attended a talk by a prominent scientist from California,
after which there was an informal question and answer session for students to
“learn how to think” or some shit like that. One student asked the
scientist, “What do you read?” Now, let me paint this picture for you.
This scientist is a badass and he has figured out all sorts of innovative
and insanely cool ways to answer his scientific questions. He publishes
all the time in top scientific journals and he is well-respected. He also
looks like a total punk—all black clothes, stringy long hair, shorts and black
leather boots—which I appreciated. So, “what do you read?”
He replied, “I read two
things. First, instrument manuals” [which are huge-ass, boring magazines
of all the different scientific machines and equipment you can buy] “because
they are our tools. You can’t know how to approach a problem unless you
understand what tools are available to you. And secondly, I read science
fiction—well, good science fiction—because it is creative and incredibly
predictive of the future.” Okay I’ll be honest that’s not a direct quote
but it’s really close.
Anyway, I was obsessed
with science fiction before hearing this advice and I am all the more obsessed
now. So that is what I am like. Interstellar is good science
fiction. Christopher Nolan appointed a theoretical physicist from
Caltech, Kip Thorne, to keep the science of Interstellar on point. Check
this guy out: http://www.its.caltech.edu/~kip/. I
invite you to navigate to “publications” on his page and scroll down.
Your computer will probably die of too long. The point is that,
while Interstellar is a movie that paces out the ledge of human knowledge and
then just belly flops right on into the void, it is a well-instructed process
up until the leap. And then, who knows, am I right? That is how
science fiction should be.
And let’s be honest: I
cried four times. This wasn’t a cold film saturated with science boredom;
it had some major dramatic moments that tore at the ol’ heartstrings.
Murphy, the daughter, just basically raged through my emotional
fragility, breaking lamps and Russian dolls and shit. I could barely look
at the screen during her scenes. You know how sometimes you tear up and
other times a tear actually rolls down your cheek, and then, when shit gets
really real, there’s as much snot coming out of your nose as there are tears
streaming out of your eyes? That’s what this was like for me.
I also enjoyed the
depiction of our future not only in a post planet meltdown scenario—towards
which we are rapidly heading due to climate change—but also the themes of
distrust in science, which are unfortunately more widespread in our current
society than I’d like to think about. And, in comparison to Gravity—which
depicted the female scientist as a total freakout who needed the calm and
collected Clooney hero to save the day—Interstellar presented its two secondary
protagonists as intelligent and competent female scientists. I was a big
fan of that. Maybe one day there will be an intelligent and powerful,
competent, and somewhat hubristic female who plays the primary protagonist in a
major blockbuster. Keep working, Hollywood. If you make it, I’ll
buy a ticket. I promise.
I have two major qualms
with the movie (spoiler alert).
1)
This is a bit obvious, but when we find out
towards the end of the movie that the gravitational communications Murphy was
receiving do not come from aliens but rather from her own father in the future,
that nixes the pre-existing plotline framework that the wormhole next to Saturn
was placed there by extraterrestrial beings to help us reach new worlds.
So, how the hell did the original wormhole get next to Saturn if neither
aliens nor her father could have put it there? It seems extraordinary
that chance would place the wormhole in our system considering the incredible
expanse of the universe.
2) Marine
sciences, bitches. On the first planet they visit where they discover the
wreckage of one of the original astronaut’s ships in knee deep water, they
immediately find themselves in danger of massive (~1000ft) rolling waves.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is impossible. That is not how waves
work. The wavelength (the distance between the tops of two waves in
succession) of these waves appeared to be on the order of miles.
According to the physical properties of waves, the water depth for this
rolling, non-breaking wave would have to be greater than half of the
wavelength. In other words, if the distance between the two big rolling
waves that they try to escape from was 1 mile, then the depth of water would
have to be greater than 2,640ft, so this could definitely not be knee deep water.
Fuck you, Christopher Nolan, you should have hired a marine scientist!
Just kidding, I love your movies.
All in all, Interstellar
was a fantastic movie. And regarding the predictive nature of science
fiction, consider this for a moment: human beings are specialized to survive
under certain planetary conditions and those conditions are changing rapidly.
Not only is it feasible, it is likely that our species will have to make
drastic changes to survive in our future environment. Meanwhile, NASA launched
an unmanned Delta IV rocket into space yesterday. The success of this
mission was crucial because NASA intends for this rocket to carry humans to an
asteroid in the next 10 years and also to deliver humans to Mars by 2030.
Also, do y’all think there
are aliens?
