Interstellar

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Thu Apr 02, 2015 10:41 pm

Once in a very long while, there's a science fiction movie that comes along that comes so very close to feeling like a great work of science fiction literature. A movie with a plot that takes your breath away, that feels real and believable, that has a truly novel and inspiring ending. A movie with totally believable characters, and thought provoking ideas.

2001 A Space Odyssey was like that for me (when I first saw it in 1968). The original Alien was another. So was Bladerunner. More recently District 9.

I am happy to say I just watched another.

I am immensely grateful that no one gave away any spoilers before I saw the movie. Make sure no one tells you anything about it before you see it. Go out and rent it. It just became available on Netflix.

"Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

That is all.

Executioner · Post by **Executioner** » Thu Apr 02, 2015 11:37 pm

Like you, this was a damn good flick - one of the best science fiction movies in a long time.

http://www.pcabusers.org/forums/showthread.php?t=56768

I'm glad I saw it on the big screen. Bummer it was not nominated for an Oscar.

Losbot · Post by **Losbot** » Fri Apr 03, 2015 5:45 pm

I got to enjoy it on the real IMAX in Fort Lauderdale. Good flick.

EvilHorace · Post by **EvilHorace** » Sun Apr 05, 2015 10:49 am

Just watched it on PPV and sorry but it reminded me of District 9 and I strongly disliked both. I could rant about all the many reasons why but I won't.

Some reviews here and I have to agree with the negative ones:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/interstellar_2014

Post by **Genom** » Sun Apr 05, 2015 11:04 am

I watched it a few weeks ago, and thought it was ok. Didnt like it as much as District 9, didnt think it was horrible. Had a few cool moments, but also felt a bit too slow for my taste.

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Sun Apr 05, 2015 11:24 am

It's not everyone's cup of tea I admit - like 2001 A Space Odyssey, some people thought that was slow and the ending bizarre, but it's arguably a classic. Andromeda Strain (the original 1969 film) was also slow paced, but with a marvelous under current of suspense, and dead-on accurate science.

What I liked was the relative lack of needless dialog. Hollywood tends to over-explain things for what they perceive as a dumb audience. Anyone watching this film is probably already a science nerd, so thankfully they spared us the role of the guy who usually tags along who is NOT a scientist, so that everything can be explained to the audience through him. Cooper filled that role when necessary when some high-end physics needed to be explained.

I also like the total silence in space (ala 2001). The robots having a normal human voice confused and creeped me out at first, but I actually appreciated that as the film went on.

The film definitely caters to hard-core sci-fi aficionados. The concepts involved are deeply rooted in hard physics, although they did take some liberties for the sake of making it work in a 3 hour film.

I thought there were some very creative ideas in there. The robots at first came off stupid looking until that one on the water planet started hauling ass like a pin wheel, and then reconfigured itself to carry someone. Neat idea. I'd love to see some artist conceptions of how the internal mechanics are supposed to work. Someone in a blog post pointed out that the design was probably influenced by the fact that according to the film dialog, the robots were re-purposed former Marines combat robots, and thus probably intended as scouts and mobile cover for infantry.

I thought the visual presentation of the tesseract was well done. Often something like that doesn't translate to the big screen very well - it's much easier to imagine while reading a book. That was one of the biggest gripes I have with 2001 - the trip through the worm hole near the end of the film just didn't come off looking right, and dragged on way too long, although it was probably the best they could do with the visual effects technology of the time.

EvilHorace · Post by **EvilHorace** » Sun Apr 05, 2015 2:25 pm

To me, I think that the creator of that probably took enough LSD to make Timothy Leary proud. Way too many over the top, convoluted twisted bits that don't add up.

darcy · Post by **darcy** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 2:36 pm

hubby said he read reviews that it wasn't so good.
I haven't read any reviews about this film, so it's in my Netflix queue,, : )

EvilHorace · Post by **EvilHorace** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 6:39 pm

There's a link I posted above with reviews and Netflix will have them too.

darcy · Post by **darcy** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 8:40 pm

thank you, EH : ).

normalicy · Post by **normalicy** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 9:11 pm

I really wanted to like it, and I did appreciate parts of it. However, there were just too many implausible things happening for me to let my mind just go with it. Most of it happened on earth, but even in space there were logic issues. I kept getting the whole "Prometheus" feeling while I was watching people make stupid decisions despite obvious outcomes. I suspect that these issues were encouraged for drama, but they just ruined it for me. I did like the ending though. Kinda stepped it up a couple notches at the last minute.