Movie Review - Interstellar

Interstellar $$$

 

PG-13

169 Minutes

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Mackenzie Foy, and John Lithgow.

Director: Christopher Nolan.  

 

            A good story, regardless of genre, is about people. While Interstellar falls comfortably into the science-fiction genre the real story is about a father and his daughter. That is what made this film so appealing to me.

            Earth has been stricken by a blight which has destroyed most of the food crops which we produce. And it’s getting worse.

            Without giving away too much of the story let me say that Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) had been an astronaut before the blight changed the world and turned him into a farmer. His daughter, Murph (Mackenzie Foy) has a ghost in her room and that leads to Cooper being recruited for a last desperate mission to save the human race.

            The down-side to all of this is that due to the principles of relativity he could lose decades of time with his family. Each decision he makes on the mission very well could impact his ability to see his daughter again. That is where the human element comes in and what in my mind made this a great movie. 

 

            This is how I ranked Interstellar: 

1. Fun – I found this as interesting a movie as I’ve seen this year. However, my wife did not. She compared it to Gravity and felt parts of it were too slow. The difference could be that I was totally focused on the anguish Cooper felt over each scenario that could delay his return to Earth.

            Interstellar gets Half a MB for fun, but for hard sci-fi fans should consider this a full MB rating.  

            2. Story – I found the treatment of this topic to be reasonably original. It definitely focuses on character and not special effects or action. Some parts of the ending were less spectacular from a story-telling point of view, but not enough to detract from my overall impression of the story.

            Interstellar gets a Full MB for story.  

            3. Technical – Wonderful special effects. The sound was great. I feel that the director did a good job with the material he was handed.

            Interstellar gets a Full MB for the technical aspects of the film.  

            4. Acting – Pretty good for the most part. Matthew McConaughey is great in the lead. The vulnerability that Mackenzie Foy displays really helps set the human aspects of the story. No real complaints about the supporting cast. It was nice to see John Lithgow again. The only real problem in this area was Anne Hathaway, who turned in a fairly dull and lifeless performance. If the audience was supposed to like this character, I feel that she failed to elicit that emotion. 

            Interstellar gets Half a MB for acting. I think a strong female lead would have made this story even stronger.  

            Added together, Interstellar gets a rating of 3 Movie Bucks, but if you are die-hard sci-fi fan consider this a 3 1/2 rating. I suggest seeing this on a big screen with a good sound system. A matinee showing of the movie would be ideal. It may be a little slow for younger children and at nearly 3 hours in length, that could be a drawback.

 

                        Randy’s Rating System 

$$$$   = Full Price    See this movie right away and pay full price, it’s worth it.

$$$     = Matinee      Catch this as a matinee or other discounted showing.

$$        = Discount     Wait until this movie reaches a discount theater near you.

$          = Rental         Wait until this movie reaches your local video rental outlet.

0          = No Sale       Don’t see this movie at any price.

 

Movie Review - The Boxtrolls

The Boxtrolls $$ 1/2

 

 

PG

96 Minutes

Starring: Ben Kingsley, Isaac Hempstead Wright, and Elle Fanning.  

Directors: Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi.

  

            Eggs (Isaac Hempstead Wright) is a human who thinks he is a boxtroll. Unfortunately, that means he is part of a group that is hunted by Archibald Snatcher (Ben Kingsley) an exterminator with his eyes set on sitting with the social elite and sharing cheese and conversation with them.

            Things change when Fish (Dee Bradley Baker) is snatched and eggs must leave the troll’s underground home and travel the streets of Cheesebridge in search of a way to rescue his friend. 

            Except for an elevated grossness factor The Boxtrolls is a good family movie. This is how I rated it.  

1. Fun – The first half of the film was a little slow for my liking, but over all I enjoyed it. It was the second-half that provided most of the laughs for me. I give it a half MB for fun. 

2. Story – While handled well the storyline is not very original. A boy grows up in a strange society, finds out he doesn’t really belong there, and ends up saving his friends from the evil members of his own society. I just saw the animated Tarzan movie this week and they handled the same theme in a much better fashion. I give The Boxtrolls a half a MB for a reasonably well-done story.  

3. Technical – The stop-animation of this film turned me off. The characters have various levels of grotesque added to them, which might be a bonus for some viewers. I did not like the weird extra coloring on some of the characters. Mostly blues added to their faces. I found it distracting. The Boxtrolls gets a half a MB for special effects and other technical aspects.  

4. Acting – I felt that this was the films high-point. Ben Kingsley does a wonderful job as the villainous exterminator with high aspirations, but it was Mr. Trout (Nick Frost) and Mr. Pickles (Richard Ayoade) who stole the show. All I will say is that these are not your ordinary henchmen. I give a full MB for the entertaining voice work done in this film.  

            Add it all up and The Boxtrolls gets 2½ Movie Bucks. I suggest seeing it as a matinee because the big screen is the way to go with this film. It may be a bit silly and gross for adults, but children will love it. 

 

                        Randy’s Rating System 

$$$$   = Full Price    See this movie right away and pay full price, it’s worth it.

$$$     = Matinee      Catch this as a matinee or other discounted showing.

$$        = Discount     Wait until this movie reaches a discount theater near you.

$          = Rental         Wait until this movie reaches your local video rental outlet.

0          = No Sale       Don’t see this movie at any price.