Interstellar (2014) - 10 stars out of 10

Interstellar (2014) - 10 stars out of 10

“Interstellar” left me speechless.  Just a year after “Gravity” blew audiences away and took home seven Oscars, Christopher Nolan’s space epic has captivated audiences and become the must-see film of 2014.  Nolan is known for his thought-provoking stories (“Memento,” “The Prestige,” “Inception”), but all of the mind-blowing concepts in this film are entirely supported by physics.  It feels very sci-fi but the entire film is theoretically possible!  Wormholes, relativity, and fifth-dimensional portals become a part of our vocabulary through Jonathan Nolan’s script, which works as a subconscious textbook that explains and creates understanding of these challenging concepts.  While you expect to see a story about space travel, this is actually a story about the love of a father for his daughter.  Your mind will be processing a new perception of time and space as you walk out of the theater, but you will find yourself talking about Cooper and Murphy.  I believe that this is what makes this movie so appealing - regardless of your interest in space exploration and physics, every heart aches for this father to return to his daughter.  This incredible display of acting makes the story resonate with each of us, as if we are the ones saying goodbye.  When did Matthew McConaughey become such an amazing actor?  He has separated himself from his romantic comedy reputation through roles in “The Lincoln Lawyer,” “Dallas Buyers Club,” and now this emotional performance.  His chemistry with Mackenzie Foy drives the entire film, even though they only appear together for a small percentage of the story.  The goodbye scene will surely leave you in tears.  Once you add in the rest of this acting all-star team, which includes Jessica Chastain (wow.), John Lithgow, Michael Caine, Anne Hathaway, and Matt Damon, it is no surprise that we are emotionally engaged from start to finish.  The film has been criticized for its three-hour runtime, but so much happens that it never feels like three hours.  The story, which stretches from a small family on Earth to an isolated man in another dimension, is tied together through Hans Zimmer’s inspired musical score.  I have never heard a Zimmer score like this and you can tell that he tapped into his love for his own children to get to the heart of this story.  His use of organ is stunning.  He exploits the instrument’s ability to play without any dissipation of sound to create tension in the most important moments of the film.  The music becomes unrelenting in the goodbye scene as it continually builds without ever backing off.  Unlike the epic themes that we expect from Zimmer, this score creates an ambient background for space.  His unique instrumentation includes 4 pianos and a 60-voice choir facing away from the microphones.  Perhaps the only thing more breathtaking than the musical score is the contrasting silence of outer space when the music disappears.  This film takes us to places in the universe that have never been seen by human eyes.  The visual effects artists really hit a homerun with the spherical wormhole, giant tidal waves, ice clouds, and planet-like black hole.  The effects are so impressive and there is so much to see that it is easy to forget that TARS (the robot) isn't real.  This film is so much more than it seems, introducing us to new perspectives of time but also serving as a commentary on our misled societal priorities (overemphasis of wasteful spending and sports, under-appreciation of farmers and natural resources).  “Interstellar” may seem intimidating with its long running length and advanced physics principles, but the heart of this story leaves a lasting impression that you will want to take with you forever.

[Pictured: This is what Interstellar is actually about]

The Sword in the Stone - 4 stars out of 10

The Sword in the Stone - 4 stars out of 10

“The Sword in the Stone” is an interesting chapter in the Disney Canon.  It has Disney’s entertaining characters and classic animation style, but the story did not transition well from the novel to the animated adaptation.  It is more like an episode of Tom and Jerry than a Disney Animated Classic.  Merlin’s transformation of Arthur into different animals to educate him seems perfect for Disney, but instead it compartmentalizes the story into different segments, each of which eventually includes a chase sequence between different animals.  This interrupts any flow of Arthur’s childhood journey.  The antagonists are barely even in the movie because the story is so often interrupted by extended educational lessons with Merlin.  These school-like sequences make the film seem overly kiddish, almost like Disney’s version of School House Rock.  The lack of consistency from beginning to end is also echoed in the characters who only appear for a brief amount of time or disappear from the story without much explanation.  A prime example is The Wolf, who chases Arthur in several early scenes and is never heard from again.  Another example is Madam Mim, who is one of the more interesting characters in the story but is only present for one sequence.  That being said, the Wizard’s Duel is probably the most creative part of the movie.  This is the moment where our Disney expectation is met as the animators take two character personalities and transform them into many different animals.  It is pretty random in the grand scheme of the story, but the writers set it up so that it fits perfectly.  This sequence, along with the main characters, are the reason to watch this film.  The comedic interpretation of Merlin is awesome.  His references to modern culture are too much at times (particularly the whole Bermuda thing), but his character gives us something to cling on to amidst the bland story.  I find Junius Matthews’ voicing of Archimedes to be the highlight of the film.  We have all known a curmudgeon in our life and that’s why we can relate to this owl’s negativity with so much whimsy.  One of the most bothersome parts of this film is that three different actors voiced Arthur.  You can literally hear his voice change from a kid to a teenager in puberty and back again, all in one scene!  I cannot understand why Disney thought that this would be okay because it is incredibly distracting.  However, my biggest issue with “The Sword in the Stone” is that the titular Sword in the Stone is introduced at the beginning of the film and then ignored until a quick resolution in the last five minutes.  They should have named this film “Sing-a-Long Lessons with Merlin” so that we wouldn’t expect the story to actually be about Arthur’s quest.  The film isn’t bad when viewed amidst the history of animated films (as evidenced by a positive critical response), but it does not live up to the Disney standard and it is not a surprise that most kids have never heard of “The Sword in the Stone.”

[Pictured: One of Disney's most iconic moments]

The Real Story: Indiana Jones - 5 stars out of 10

The Real Story: Indiana Jones - 5 stars out of 10

Indiana Jones is one of the coolest movie characters ever.  At times, he seems invincible.  Other times, he is completely human and his situation seems helpless.  How did George Lucas and Steven Spielberg come up with such a fascinating character?  The Smithsonian Channel investigates the real-life adventurers that inspired the 1930’s and 1940’s characters from whom Lucas and Spielberg’s vision developed.  The parallels to the character that we know are pretty convincing, to the events that caused one explorer to fear snakes to the Grail-hunter who had a run-in with the Nazis.  “The Real Story: Indiana Jones” cannot pinpoint precisely who inspired the Indiana Jones character, but it helps to explain why this fictional character seems so rooted in history.

[Pictured: Regardless of the inspiration behind the character, Harrison Ford was the perfect choice.]

Million Dollar Arm - 7 stars out of 10

Million Dollar Arm - 7 stars out of 10

Sports movies often follow a predictable roadmap in which an underdog team must overcome an impossible opponent, come together to show remarkable progress, face an unexpected problem, and then persevere in the end.  “Million Dollar Arm” is not one of those movies.  This film tells the tale of two individuals trying to prove themselves in a sport that they have never played.  While this is a “baseball movie,” you do not have to be a sports fan to enjoy it.  The story is told through the medium of baseball but the heart of this film lies in the cultural and language barriers faced by the protagonists.  As if this wasn’t a big enough “human element,” their materialistic manager must undergo a humbling transformation.  Pitobash Tripathy, Lake Bell, and Alan Arkin steal the spotlight with their character roles, but all of the acting is above average.  I really enjoyed the score by A. R. Rahman and the script is good, but I was most impressed with the director’s ability to bring this true story to life through the atmospheric shots of India.  The story hits close to home because the main characters were drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but the Indian atmosphere emphasizes the culture shock faced by any foreign athletes when they first arrive in America.  I love all of the American sports movies, but “Million Dollar Arm” is a breath of fresh air.

[Pictured: Good performances all around, especially Pitobash Tripathy (on the right)]

Earth to Echo - 5 stars out of 10

Earth to Echo - 5 stars out of 10

"Earth to Echo" is an average family sci-fi film whose special effects and likeable alien friend make it an enjoyable watch for any age.  It is obvious that the films target audience is kids and young teens, but the producers created something unique by straying away from the equation that we so often see in stereotypical family films.  I can understand those who criticize the film for cheesy dialogue and way too many parallels to “E.T.” (particularly the film poster and the entire storyline), but its artistic approach to the story puts it a step above other family films.  It uses modern internet technology to support its found footage format and I hope that this creative approach will help to mold a more sophisticated generation of moviegoers and moviemakers.  The acting isn’t on par with movies like “Super 8” that are driven by child actors, but the film reminded me of “Chronicle” in its ability to make the supernatural believable through the melding of shaky camera and CGI.  “Earth to Echo” isn’t going to win any Oscars, but it successfully servers its purpose and I will definitely share it with my own children someday.

[Pictured: The owl-like Echo is so cute that you can't help but enjoy this film]

Edge of Tomorrow - 8 stars out of 10

Edge of Tomorrow - 8 stars out of 10

“Edge of Tomorrow” is surprisingly as good as its trailer.  It looked so fascinating that I was sure the concept would be a letdown, but it was very cool and had more depth than your average action flick.  Something that I DIDN’T expect was for this to be an alien movie, but this story is about the time loop and not about the enemy (even though the concept technically couldn’t exist without the aliens).  The acting of Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt is very good and the special effects are cool, but the script is what makes this film so special.  Each event is conceived with precision to develop the characters, explain the time loop, further the story (one small step at a time), and keep us on edge… even though we know that our main character technically can’t die.  The editors did a great job of manipulating the shots so that we get a different perspective of the exact same start to each day, and the consistency is actually necessary to complete the story later.  This doesn’t really make sense if you haven’t seen it, but the whole film has an impressive intelligent design.  This film combines all of the things that we love about action films and mindbenders.  “Edge of Tomorrow” is an impressive jigsaw puzzle that must be solved by its characters, even though there is only one character that remembers where the pieces must be placed in the future.

[Pictured: Blunt and Cruise have great chemistry... over and over again]

Snowpiercer - 9 stars out of 10

Snowpiercer - 9 stars out of 10

In a market that has been saturated with dystopian stories, “Snowpiercer” has one of the most unique concepts that I have seen in a while.  It is unlike any post-apocalyptic film ever made.  The set design, sociological statements, and vision for this film are amazing.  In fact, the only letdown was the ending (albeit one of the most important parts of the story).  Every great dystopian story has a warped organization of class systems.  We have seen characters classified by Districts, virtues, and the amount of time remaining in their lives, but something as simple as the characters’ seating on a train has proven to be incredibly effective.  Contained within a perpetually running train, this society is complete with propaganda, rule by intimidation, uprisings, and even a god (Wilford).  The journey of these characters into the unknown progressively reveals the events that have led them to this place.  The clever script is complimented by excellent acting by Chris Evans, Octavia Spencer, and John Hurt.  The highlight, however, is Tilda Swinton.  I was never a fan of her, but now I’m on her bandwagon for a Best Supporting nomination for this role.  It was just something about the contrast between her emotional detachment in the first scene and her humanity later on.  She perfectly captures the approach of a power-hungry henchman with her first monologue and it’s all uphill from there.  If for no other reason, “Snowpiercer” is a must-see for Swinton’s performance.  The plot constantly builds momentum, angst, and frustration as the future of humanity is revealed.  Not to mention the amazing action sequences, inspired sets, and an amazing monologue that reveals everything that we need to know about Curtis and the beginnings of tail dwellers.  I’m not at piece with its ending, but I still look forward to revisiting “Snowpiercer” in the near future.

[Pictured: Tilda Swinton's performance is utterly stunning]