Re: Interstellar (Nolan, 2014)

21
Interstellar is a tough one for me. I tend to not nitpick details and go along for the ride, especially with Nolan, but I think you'll find upon further reflection there are a ton of issues with the flick, starting with his version of this dystopia.
The world is a dust bowl, but everyone leaves the doors and windows open. Quite contrary to any lesson history has taught us, dwindling resources has led to a disbanding of armies instead of the near constant wars you know would be raging. I get the symbolism of trying to call the lunar landing a fake--the dumb people have taken over! Only science can save us!--but it rings hollow as something that would become textbook. I hope the NASA folks enjoyed their boardroom with double doors leading to the butt end of a spaceship, as that fucker would clearly incinerate it upon launch. Etc...etc...
I like some of the ideas and sequences too, and thanks to a sound mishap at the IMAX screen I saw it at I have a pass to go see it again and may do tho this week, but there are enough nagging logistical issues about the details throughout that it ultimately took me out of the experience. And again, I'm not really THAT guy when it comes to a good yarn.
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

Re: Interstellar (Nolan, 2014)

22
yeah some of it was pretty rough, but again, i get the idea we're missing hours of story on how things got there, etc. but yeah, i was quite literally laughing out loud
at the boardroom that backs up to launchpad. also the idea that the whole building is a centrifuge is insane. but it's sci-fi.

Re: Interstellar (Nolan, 2014)

24
Okay, so he almost lost me with the rightwing rant against the teachers at the beginning. The central twist is both silly and predictable (tell me, why's he stuck behind that bookcase again?!), the pontificating on the 'power of love' is borderline excruciating and there is some substance to the critique that this is simply a populist reworking of Kubrick's 2001. Still, I ended up liking Interstellar quite a lot... a first when it comes to Nolan. Bottom line, it's just very well made and performed, even if the script is thin in places. Hans Zimmer's score is of particular note, even if it does seem to owe quite a bit to Philip Glass. Primarily though I like the underlying idea of turning another end-of-days movie into a picture that ultimately carries an optimistic message about the future of humanity. And I like even more that it does this without bringing religion into the equation. This said, it is slightly disturbing that only Americans seem to qualify for salvation... When Donald Rumsfeld falls asleep at night, this is the future that he dreams of… But hey, it's a gripping ride.

Re: Interstellar (Nolan, 2014)

26
I'll need to watch it again, wish there was a director's cut coming with about 20 minutes cut from it though. A few months after viewing my main recollection is a fair amount of flab around the middle on this one.
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

Re: Interstellar (Nolan, 2014)

27
i wish there was a director's cut with about 45 minutes added to it coming so that all the perceived "flab" and loose ends that go nowhere actually made sense in context. barring that, yeah - 20-30 minutes lopped off would help.

Re: Interstellar (Nolan, 2014)

29
I finally watched this over the weekend. I haven't decided if I hate it or love it. Some moments are excruciatingly bad and the minute they said wormhole I knew
the ghost would end up being McConaughey
. It did seem like kind of a poor man's 2001 in places, especially the end where
he goes down the stargate...er I mean black hole, only to see himself at various ages. And the complete happy ending where he returns and all is well really stretched it.
The film could also stand to lose about an hour of fat. But in some moments I really liked where they were going, and it's nice to see Hollywood putting money into something soft of original instead of another remake. I don't think I'd ever watch this again, but I guess for a viewing it was worth it.
Just cut them up like regular chickens

Re: Interstellar (Nolan, 2014)

30
Watched this again last night. Don’t think I’d seen it since the theater but had an urge to rewatch after seeing Eric Weinstein on JRE. I still feel the same as my initial impression in this thread - I pretty much loved it, but feel like there were big sections cut/missing. Parts of the plot seem to drag on while other parts skip what would seem to be key elements, jumping an unknown amount of time ahead. Don’t think we ever got any kind of “extended cut” so it is what it is. But what’s there is great. Was amusing re-reading the “right wing rant against teachers” comment above, as that scene rang even more true now. It was like “libs of tiktok” inserted into a film. Nolan is prescient.

Anyway, really great film. I haven’t rewatched that mumblefest Tenet since the first time and don’t really have any desire to, and I didn’t see Dunkirk but heard it was similar, so this may be the last film we got from Nolan where you could hear and understand everyone. Hopefully Oppenheimer is a return to form.