Interstellar (2014)

Interstellar may be the hardest movie of the year to review, and not for any one tangible reason. It’s hard to explain unless you’ve seen it, but there’s something about this epic tale; is it perfect? Not by a long shot, and I don’t think I would call it a masterpiece, but one can’t deny that it is one of the most epic cinematic journeys in years. The sheer effort that goes into this movie is astounding, and regardless of who says what about this film, you should definitely see this one in theaters, however, don’t expect the flawless work of art that many may have expected from Christopher Nolan’s latest non-Batman film; what you can expect, is a long, entertaining journey across the universe and back, one quite unlike anything you’ve ever seen.

At its core, Interstellar is really a very simple movie; humanity is dying and we have to find a way to save Earth… or leave it. Of course, Alfred… er, Michael Caine insists that the only way to save humankind is to find a new home, and of course Matthew McConaughey is the only man fit to do the job; that job being leaving Earth behind and finding a new planet for humanity to flee to. This sets up a rather heartbreaking scene where McConaughey is forced to leave his family behind, possibly forever; it’s moments like these where Interstellar is strong. The acting is superb (McConaughey’s drawl can be distracting sometimes, but it really fits the character in this movie I think) and the effects are all breathtaking, it’s in other areas where Interstellar falls short.

As this film is all about the existence of humanity, there is a lot of philosophical logic being thrown around at certain points; this is where things start to get ridiculous at times. The film seems to be grasping at something over its head, at one point Anne Hathaway talks about love as a quantifiable force (with a totally straight face) attempting to make a point about love perhaps being another dimension or part of evolution or something ridiculous; keep in mind this woman is a serious scientist (and I don’t think they brought any space weed so we can rule that out), or so we thought, so this all seems a bit ridiculous, especially because the film seems to validate that theory near the end.

While there’s certainly some shaky science in this film, there’s plenty of interesting theories being thrown around. At one point (probably one of the best moments of the film) the team lands on a planet near a black hole, which throws off time on the planet, meaning that every hour they stay there is seven years on Earth. There are several other breathtaking moments on the journey, like traveling through wormhole, or encountering waves taller than skyscrapers, and this is definitely the main attraction in this movie.

Towards the end of the film things really gets crazy and there’s a moment where you have to decide whether or not you’re going to accept the film’s logic as it leaves all realms of scientific reality. I don’t want to spoil it, but you will either hate it or love it, or perhaps you just won’t know what to think (like myself), however, I can’t deny the journey to get there is well worth it.

At its core, Interstellar is about humanity and when it focuses on this it strives; there’s some really great moments (like McConaughey telling his daughter that he can’t “be your ghost right now”) and we see both the good and bad that survival mode can bring out in humanity. Unfortunately, when the film reaches for broader, less concrete ideas, it can’t quite adequately explain or sell the idea, and it comes across as half-baked, at least it did for me. That doesn’t take away from epic journey that this film is, but it does prevent it from being the masterpiece that I was expecting.

 Even though it wasn’t another 2001: A Space Odyssey, it still manages to be highly entertaining and I was on the edge of my seat for most of the film, and while it may sound like I’m being mostly negative about it, that’s more of a reflection on how hyped up the film was; it’s still a terrific movie and I highly recommend it. Regardless, go see this film (and see it in actual film because that’s how Nolan would want it) because you may never see another spectacle like this for some time.

One last note: I liked certain parts of the score, but someone needs to tell Hans Zimmer that sometimes less is more. The music blared on for most of the movie, and there were times when I couldn’t even hear the lines because the score was so loud. I get it, this part’s supposed to be exciting and have suspenseful music and all that, but I’d really like to hear what the actors are saying too.

An additional final note: I don’t understand how any planet near a black hole is considered inhabitable; honestly, I’d rather die on Earth.

I promise this is the last last note: There's a lot of talk about gravity in this movie (talk that doesn't make any sense of course) maybe this film should have been titled Gravity instead.

-Ryan Maples

Rating: 8.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816692/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Europa Report (2013)

Europa Report is definitely not your average found-footage film. A fictional story about an international voyage to one of Jupiter’s moons, Europa Report is about scientists’ search for life outside of Earth, and how said voyage goes (predictably) horribly wrong. On its face this sounds a lot like Paranormal in space, but the pacing and cinematography serve to set this one apart.

It’s hard to know what to think of this film; the use of all the cameras on board of the vessel to present the whole story is very well done, and not nearly as distracting as many other found-footage movies of the past; also, the movie effectively makes you believe the crew is really in space and if you’re into astronomy there’s a lot for you to like in this one, but the fact remains, this movie is really slow.

The movie breaks up the footage of the crew with interview from scientists back on the ground, who tediously explain the mission and its purpose to us, which is honestly something I could have done without. It seems as if this is only done to try and foreshadow a horrible end for the astronauts on Europa, and also in part to stretch the length of the film, (it runs at a tight ninety minutes) but honestly it messes with the flow of the film and makes the whole movie less tense.

Another problem with the film is the wooden acting by all of the astronauts throughout. There are no recognizable American film stars in this one, but a few foreign actors that I recognized, such as Michael Nyqvist so it’s not as if these actors are inexperienced. However, I found it strange that for the most part the astronauts remain emotionless and cold through several, shall we say, emotional situations (no details in interest of spoilers) I don’t know if this was intentional or not, but it didn’t cause me to sympathize with the characters any more (if anything I sympathized less).

It’s hard to say much about the end without giving the whole movie away, but suffice it to say that most of the action takes place in the last twenty minutes. I definitely respect this movie for not going the jump-scare route that most found-footage horror movies tend to go (I’m looking at you Paranormal Activity 7), however, what does happen isn’t particularly exciting. In fact, a lot of what happens seems to be the consequences of questionable decisions made by the astronauts. In addition, I have to say I don’t understand the mentality of the crew; it’s clear that they are willing to risk their lives, despite the fact that many of them have families, all for the sake of proving that there is life elsewhere in the universe. Of course, I’m in full support of space exploration, and finding evidence of alien life would be ground-breaking, but I have to think my survival and my love for my family would have to come first, but I guess that must be why I’m not a scientist.

Europa Report is a confusing movie for me, I honestly can’t tell if I like it or not. On the one hand, the space footage is breath-taking and the idea behind the mission is original and refreshing; on the other hand, this movie simply lacks a heart and soul and fails to make me care about any of the characters. This is a shame because there is a real good film under the surface here. Really all Europa Report needs to make it a really good movie is a little less data and little more humanity. Of course if you’re obsessed with tales of space exploration this one is definitely up your alley, otherwise it has little else to offer.

-Ryan Maples

Rating: 6.75

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2051879/