Interstellar (Christopher Nolan) *SPOILERS FROM POST 458 ONWARDS*

Mickeroo

MJ23 wrote: »

Saw this tonight. Spectacular movie.
Still processing everything. MMC is brilliant, some turnaround he has made in last few year with DBC, True Detective and now this. Thankfully all those stupid rom-coms he was in are now in the past.

I dunno, the rom coms serve their purpose. My brother has managed to trick his wife into going to see some great movies in the last few years thanks to his rom com work :pac:

Hrududu

PhiloCypher wrote: »

They won't be siblings as her womb will merely be an incubator for an already fertilised egg/embryo.

Doh. You're right, forgot about that

S.M.B.

FlyingIrishMan wrote: »

Saw it again tonight. Sitting through the starting scenes when they're on earth was slightly boring the second time around, but as soon as the countdown began I wasn't even a little bored.

The whole explosion, and docking sequence was even better the second time around.

The sound was a lot better this time too, we were in a different screen and they even stopped the showing in the screen I was in last time due to technical difficulties, guessing the speakers blew.

My only gripe with the film now is the way in which Murph came to realise that the ghost was her father. The first time around I just assumed I missed something, but I looked out for that specifically when it came up and there was no connection really.
I would have accepted her just realising it was somebody trying to communicate with her and give her the codes, but the jump to it being her father wasn't there.
I'll let it slide though, it doesn't ruin a fantastic movie. Definitely my favorite of the year, probably of the last few years. Probably going to see it once or twice more before it goes, don't think it'll be as good on the small screen. Anybody on the fence about it, I highly recommend watching it in the cinema.

The jump can be explained by the 'powerful connection that exists in a loving father/daughter relationship'. It may not be well executed, but it was certainly there.

One could say the same about a lot of the character beats within the movie which is inexcusable in a movie that's approaching 3 hours long in my opinion.

After a few days of mulling over it I feel I cannot up the 3 and a half star score I've given it on letterboxd. That's a shame as the movie provides plenty of moments that warrant more. I just can't over look some of the fundamental storytelling flaws littered throughout the movie though.

Bacchus

Hrududu wrote: »

Saw this today. Some of it was terrific, it looked amazing and I was engaged throughout. I had no idea Matt Damon was in it and thought it was a really interesting way to go.

But some stuff made no sense and I'm struggling to get to grips with a few things:

1. So Cooper sends the Morse code to Murph and she uses this to solve the equation allowing them to move masses of humans. But was the whole point not to send all the humans to a habitable planet? Because there was no mention of them sending anyone to Planet Hathaway. They all seemed to be living on stations. If they did inhabit a planet its odd that this wouldn't be mentioned in the film.

2. They're all living on stations playing baseball etc. But what are they eating? The Earth was dying so did they also come up with a way to grow food on these stations?

3. Murph tells Cooper that nobody believes her about him contacting her from within the black hole. But he surmises that humans eventually evolve to be able to set up the wormhole and the tesseract specifically so that he can communicate with his daughter and save mankind. But if nobody believes Murph then why would humans in the future set this up?

4. I don't understand the thing with Hathaway at the end at all. So while they slingshot around the blackhole 60 or so years pass in real time. She heads off to the last planet and somehow Cooper is transported back to Saturn. The humans never went to the planet so Cooper heads off to stop her being alone. Couldn't he just tell them that she's there and they can launch a mission to rescue her? And again why did they never go to check out those planets themselves since they clearly have the technology now. And is the wormhole still there or did that disappear along with the tesseract? If its not there then how is he going to get there?

5. How was Plan B going to work? Caine knew Plan A was never going to work, that Plan B was the only option. Were they going to grow the embryos to term without any wombs? Was Hathaway supposed to give birth to them? If so there's only so many babies she can have. And at that they'll all be siblings. And that's also banking on Hathaway surviving long enough to do that.

It sounds like I hated it but for the most part I really liked it. Its just the last 15 minutes or so had me sitting there thinking "That makes no sense." Its one of those films that I'd recommend and also say "Just don't think about it. It falls apart if you do."

You missed something that explains points 1 & 4. The station was on the way to the black hole. Humans were on the way to the new planet, they just hadn't reached it yet, the station was a temporary home for the journey. It was weird though how sparsely populated the station was, you'd think they'd be packing in the humans... then again, the "surface" of the station was probably just a green area with more accommodation beneath.

2. They couldn't grow crops on Earth cos of the nitrogen in the atmosphere. The atmosphere on the station was controlled, so they could control the spread of the blight.

4. Because they are humans from the future. At some point they must figure out that she was telling the truth. There's a bigger "chicken and the egg" question there but my head hurts when I think about it :pac:

5. I thought they explained this with the whole incubator setup. They were going to be lab grown.

the_monkey

Hrududu wrote: »

Saw this today. Some of it was terrific, it looked amazing and I was engaged throughout. I had no idea Matt Damon was in it and thought it was a really interesting way to go.

But some stuff made no sense and I'm struggling to get to grips with a few things:

1. So Cooper sends the Morse code to Murph and she uses this to solve the equation allowing them to move masses of humans. But was the whole point not to send all the humans to a habitable planet? Because there was no mention of them sending anyone to Planet Hathaway. They all seemed to be living on stations. If they did inhabit a planet its odd that this wouldn't be mentioned in the film.

2. They're all living on stations playing baseball etc. But what are they eating? The Earth was dying so did they also come up with a way to grow food on these stations?

3. Murph tells Cooper that nobody believes her about him contacting her from within the black hole. But he surmises that humans eventually evolve to be able to set up the wormhole and the tesseract specifically so that he can communicate with his daughter and save mankind. But if nobody believes Murph then why would humans in the future set this up?

4. I don't understand the thing with Hathaway at the end at all. So while they slingshot around the blackhole 60 or so years pass in real time. She heads off to the last planet and somehow Cooper is transported back to Saturn. The humans never went to the planet so Cooper heads off to stop her being alone. Couldn't he just tell them that she's there and they can launch a mission to rescue her? And again why did they never go to check out those planets themselves since they clearly have the technology now. And is the wormhole still there or did that disappear along with the tesseract? If its not there then how is he going to get there?

5. How was Plan B going to work? Caine knew Plan A was never going to work, that Plan B was the only option. Were they going to grow the embryos to term without any wombs? Was Hathaway supposed to give birth to them? If so there's only so many babies she can have. And at that they'll all be siblings. And that's also banking on Hathaway surviving long enough to do that.

It sounds like I hated it but for the most part I really liked it. Its just the last 15 minutes or so had me sitting there thinking "That makes no sense." Its one of those films that I'd recommend and also say "Just don't think about it. It falls apart if you do."

Know how you feel, allthough I only had one gripe - the Tesseract far fetchness ..


I don't mind plot holes so much (i can think they are explained off screen)
but when something is too far fetched it bothers the enjoyment for me.

I'm amazed so many people don't seem bothered by the Tesseract but will question the scientific accuracy of the blight ?? :P

Mickeroo

the_monkey wrote: »

Know how you feel, allthough I only had one gripe - the Tesseract far fetchness ..


I don't mind plot holes so much (i can think they are explained off screen)
but when something is too far fetched it bothers the enjoyment for me.

I'm amazed so many people don't seem bothered by the Tesseract but will question the scientific accuracy of the blight ?? :P

Well I had to accept there was an unseen force/higher power guiding us to our survival and sticking wormholes in our solar system for us to use from the get go, once that was apparent the tesseract wasn't that much of a leap for me. From when Coop enters the black hole is definitely the weakest part of the film imo.

e_e

The /Filmcast has the best discussion/review of the film I've heard to date, including a pretty funny letter from a Nolan fanboy.

http://www.slashfilm.com/interstellar-podcast-review-matt-singer/
Start talking about Interstellar at 24:04.

S.M.B.

Agreed.

I think their criticism of the 'prelude' and 'epilogue' are spot on.

DoYouEvenLift

Just got home from Manchester and seeing it in 70mm IMAX. I booked the ticket for the 5:45 showing and after it finished I queued up and luckily got one of the last 2 tickets available in a premier seat for the 9:30 showing. Worth it.

The IMAX scenes where it expands to fill the entire screen combined with how loud, but crystal clear, the sound and soundtrack were was absolutely incredible. Two of the speakers are like 3 stories above you but they look like they're the size of a small car. Hans zimmer delivered once again.

The scene where Coop and Brand are trying to link back up to the main ship after Matt Daaaamon blasted it into sh!t was one of the best moments in cinema in years.

MJ23 wrote: »

Saw this tonight. Spectacular movie.
Still processing everything. MMC is brilliant, some turnaround he has made in last few year with DBC, True Detective and now this. Thankfully all those stupid rom-coms he was in are now in the past.

His hair transplant probably played a big part in the comeback srs

paulmurphyvec

Looks Like a good film, ill go the weekend

Hrududu

The other thing (and I know this is stupid) is for the majority of the film I thought his first name was Cooper. I could have sworn the teachers called him Mr Somethingelse. So did his son call his child Cooper Cooper?

Sephiral

I liked it. It is more than the sum of the parts. Nolan is a director who attempts to inject real themes and ideas into his films and it is almost accidental that he has a massive budget to do so.

The scene were they get thirty years worth of messages is brilliant.

Agricola

Overall enjoyable film. It kind of reminded me of Prometheus in that there were too many obvious contrivances, plot holes, inappropriate dialogue etc. Another group of scientists who a) have to have things they really should know explained to them for the purposes of the audience, and b) scientists who don't really behave like scientists... Anne Hathaway blabbering about love and tossing objectivity so she can see go see her boyfriend, Matt Damon turning into a homicidal nutcase.....

Great spectacle, clever central idea that gives you a similar grin to the one you had when you got to the end of Inception. There are far worse things to see in the cinema. But its no classic.

Mickeroo

The difference between the scientists in Prometheus and the ones here for me was their actions in Prometheus were stupid and unrealistic regardless of them being scientists where as in this brand and man just seemed like flawed human beings. Scientists are human after all

Brand's love spiel was corny but it was immediately vetoed by the others due to her emotions clouding her judgement, so it kind of worked for me(plus the guy turned out to be dead anyway). Man's betrayal was a bit harder to buy but still made sense as an act of desperation from a broken man imo.

Agricola

Mickeroo wrote: »

The difference between the scientists in Prometheus and the ones here for me was their actions in Prometheus were stupid and unrealistic regardless of them being scientists where as in this brand and man just seemed like flawed human beings. Scientists are human after all

Brand's love spiel was corny but it was immediately vetoed by the others due to her emotions clouding her judgement, so it kind of worked for me(plus the guy turned out to be dead anyway). Man's betrayal was a bit harder to buy but still made sense as an act of desperation from a broken man imo.

Fair points, I just sometimes wish they would just flat out omit the syrupy, dopey, idiotic stuff sometimes and go for it properly. The film was lauded for being largely scientifically accurate. So why not cast people who you could really buy into (not McConnaghey imo) and give them realistic dialogue. I know these blockbusters can't be overblown documentaries, there has to be tension and drama, but try to create real tension and drama instead of crowbaring it in.

Oregano_State

Agricola wrote: »

Fair points, I just sometimes wish they would just flat out omit the syrupy, dopey, idiotic stuff sometimes and go for it properly. The film was lauded for being largely scientifically accurate. So why not cast people who you could really buy into (not McConnaghey imo) and give them realistic dialogue. I know these blockbusters can't be overblown documentaries, there has to be tension and drama, but try to create real tension and drama instead of crowbaring it in.

OK, let's go with this for a minute. What about McConaughey stops you from 'buying into' him? And what actors would you suggest fit the role better?

First off, I'll admit I'm a big fan of The McConaissance since he stopped doing the rom-coms, but I also think he was brilliant in Interstellar and was believable as the main character. I can't think of anyone better for the role of an American farmer/pilot/engineer.

tunguska

Oregano_State wrote: »

OK, let's go with this for a minute. What about McConaughey stops you from 'buying into' him? And what actors would you suggest fit the role better?

First off, I'll admit I'm a big fan of The McConaissance since he stopped doing the rom-coms, but I also think he was brilliant in Interstellar and was believable as the main character. I can't think of anyone better for the role of an American farmer/pilot/engineer.

I thought he was brilliant. He is a big name star but after a while I forgot I was watching Matthew Mc conaughy. And that is a great actor. Jack Nicholson in his prime could do the same thing

Agricola

Oregano_State wrote: »

OK, let's go with this for a minute. What about McConaughey stops you from 'buying into' him? And what actors would you suggest fit the role better?

First off, I'll admit I'm a big fan of The McConaissance since he stopped doing the rom-coms, but I also think he was brilliant in Interstellar and was believable as the main character. I can't think of anyone better for the role of an American farmer/pilot/engineer.

I might have switched him with Matt Damon and had McConaughey as the looney down on the ice planet!

McConaughey just seems one note to me. He might have been great in Killer Joe and Magic Mike but he just didnt fit this bill IMO. If everyone is supposed to be a farmer on this future earth, you don't need a fella with a lazy Texas drawl to play the part.

DoYouEvenLift

I was thinking how Bale and DiCaprio would've been in the part instead of McConnaughy. I love all three actors but DiCaprio is my favourite and I kind of thought that I don't think he's at the stage or maturity where he could've played the part of being the loving single father yet. Bale though, I think he could've possibly been better than McConnaughy, at least with the more emotional parts but even then it'd be negligible since McConnaughy did such a good job. Would've liked to have seen two bigger, more known actors for the two other roles also, Idris Elba would've been good as Rommilly.


Tars for an Oscar btw

Agricola wrote: »

I might have switched him with Matt Damon and had McConaughey as the looney down on the ice planet!

McConaughey just seems one note to me. He might have been great in Killer Joe and Magic Mike but he just didnt fit this bill IMO. If everyone is supposed to be a farmer on this future earth, you don't need a fella with a lazy Texas drawl to play the part.

Alright, alright, alrighttt

Bacchus

Agricola wrote: »

I might have switched him with Matt Damon and had McConaughey as the looney down on the ice planet!

McConaughey just seems one note to me. He might have been great in Killer Joe and Magic Mike but he just didnt fit this bill IMO. If everyone is supposed to be a farmer on this future earth, you don't need a fella with a lazy Texas drawl to play the part.

So, out of all the actors in Hollywood that could be better than MMC you just happen to land on the other "big" actor that happens to be in the same movie.... and you'd put MMC in Damon's role.... for some reason. Not exactly making a great case there. Bringing accents into it doesn't help either, is there a specific part of America you'd have preferred Cooper to originate from?

I thought MMC was excellent in the role. That scene leaving home... fcuk me MMC was awesome. Other actors could of course taken on the role but I thought McConaughey nailed it.

Frank Bullitt

Saw this last night and get to see it in iMax this weekend.

I was totally blown away by it, speechless walking out of the theatre.

DoYouEvenLift

Gintonious wrote: »

Saw this last night and get to see it in iMax this weekend.

I was totally blown away by it, speechless walking out of the theatre.

70mm IMAX I hope

Agricola

Bacchus wrote: »

So, out of all the actors in Hollywood that could be better than MMC you just happen to land on the other "big" actor that happens to be in the same movie.... and you'd put MMC in Damon's role.... for some reason. Not exactly making a great case there. Bringing accents into it doesn't help either, is there a specific part of America you'd have preferred Cooper to originate from?

I thought MMC was excellent in the role. That scene leaving home... fcuk me MMC was awesome. Other actors could of course taken on the role but I thought McConaughey nailed it.

Sorry, I didnt feel like trawling the net for a list of "Top 20 Hollywood leading men" in order to back up my opinion that McConnaughey may not have the best choice. Any yes, I think Matt Damon would be a fine choice. If they need someone to play a highly intelligent man of action, I think he has that covered. He'd be more credible in that part and I actually think McCon would be more credible as they guy who loses his shít on the ice planet!

FlyingIrishMan

Documentary here about the science in the movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoNejagaoVs

It's 40mins long, I'll watch it when I get home later.

Adamantium

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_QSZOINn3Y

Launch leaving music, unfortunately fortunately has the audio.
You can't hear the countdown though.

People give Zimmer **** for soundboarding his films these days, but he really came up something with amazing here, his best in a decade.

DoYouEvenLift

Adamantium wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_QSZOINn3Y

Launch leaving music, unfortunately fortunately has the audio.
You can't hear the countdown though.

People give Zimmer **** for soundboarding his films these days, but he really came up something with amazing here, his best in a decade.

Seems like he does his best work alongside Nolan. The music in TDK and Inception is unbelievable as well. But Man of Steel's score's one of my favourites, mostly because of how they did the drums. The effort Hans Summer puts into some of his bigger projects is unreal


2:50 onwards is ridiculous

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kzKJL6TfnM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTOMIyynBPE

This is weirdly satisfying to listen to

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSFMh0KKl9c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-L1RCtgtoE

jcsoulinger

MCC was great in the role he was really convincing as the father who was struggling to come to terms with the loss of his wife and trying to do a job that he was not meant for that said I could easily see other actors playing it equally if not better. But once he leaves earth and becomes the slightly unorthodox space pilot he is outstanding don't think anyone else would have done it any better.

ktulu123

Soundtrack is out next week. Can't wait to get my hands on it!

DoYouEvenLift

jcsoulinger wrote: »

MCC was great in the role he was really convincing as the father who was struggling to come to terms with the loss of his wife and trying to do a job that he was not meant for that said I could easily see other actors playing it equally if not better. But once he leaves earth and becomes the slightly unorthodox space pilot he is outstanding don't think anyone else would have done it any better.

The scene where he's watching the video messages from his son and breaks down when the son shows him his grandson for the first time and when he says his granddad had died...can't actually comprehend how someone acts with that emotion in front of big lights and cameras and all the film crew there, takes a seriously special talent to be able to completely let go of all inhibitions and put yourself in the shoes of the character to be able to do that. If you put anyone who criticises actors like that into their position for a day they'd sh!t themselves from the pressure

charlie_says

e_e wrote: »

The /Filmcast has the best discussion/review of the film I've heard to date, including a pretty funny letter from a Nolan fanboy.

http://www.slashfilm.com/interstellar-podcast-review-matt-singer/
Start talking about Interstellar at 24:04.

That was really funny, thanks! Good podcast.