Christopher Nolan, the man behind the last trilogy of Batman movies and Inception is back with a science fiction epic about wormholes and distant alien planets. How awesome does that sound? As it turns out, it's very awesome. Much like Gravity last year, this is a sci-fi epic that sought to root itself in real physics and the real science of what may be residing out in the vastness of space. And much like Gravity, I was in awe at how they managed to capture the vastness of it all. I almost regret not paying the extra to see it in IMAX, because if I got that overwhelming sense in just a regular theatre, I'm sure IMAX would have melted my brain.
In the not-too-distant future, humanity is dying out. Planet-wide plagues have left food scarce. Cooper was once one of NASA's best and brightest pilots, but when NASA was dismantled so its resources could be used feeding the world, Cooper became a farmer. But a mysterious presence in his daughter's bedroom leads him to the secret bunker where the remnants of NASA continues working. Out near Saturn, a wormhole has been discovered, leading to life-supporting planets in another galaxy. Cooper is soon implored to lead the expedition through the wormhole, find the astronauts who've been sent ahead to survey the planets, and begin laying the groundwork for a colony. Perhaps humanity can be saved by moving it to another planet. Will Cooper survive the mission and return home to his family? Or will his daughter be forced to continue his work?
In a way, Interstellar tries really hard to be this generation's 2001, only with a more linear plot. The vastness of space...the big science ideas...and for the most part, it works. It's incredibly tense and exciting when you see what can really happen out there.
The only thing that I really didn't buy was the ending. After all the real science, the ending got a little too "wibbley wobbley timey wimey" for my tastes. But, you'd come this far, you may as well see it to the end.
I enjoyed it quite a bit. 3.5 out of 4 nibs. The full review is over on my ol' website.
Well, with all the trailer goodness we've had over the past few weeks, what with Star Wars and Jurassic World and all, it only made sense that eventually one would come along that I'd great with a resounding "meh." And that trailer is for Terminator Genisys, the big reboot to the Terminator franchise.
I've never been too crazy on the idea of all these Terminator sequels. The first one and T2 form this wonderful 2-part story, full of awesome action and just enough weighty sci-fi concepts to push it over the top. I went to the theatre to see Terminator 3 back in the day, and while it was enjoyable, it really didn't bring anything new to the table. I was excited about Terminator Salvation because a prequel about the future war is something I'd craved for ages, but again, I walked away thinking that it really didn't offer up anything new.
And sadly, in this first trailer for the reboot, I'm not seeing anything new. Kyle Reese is once again sent back in time to protect young Sarah Connor from a Terminator, sent back in time by Skynet in a last-ditch effort to win the war against humanity. But when Reese arrives in the past, it's not the past he was told about. Rather than a meek waitress, Sarah Connor is already a hardened soldier, and her adopted father...is a Terminator. Reese must get to the bottom as to how and why the past has already changed, while staying true to his mission of protecting Sarah Connor.
Alan Taylor, the director of Thor: The Dark World is directing it. Emilia Clarke is the new Sarah Connor, Jai Courtney is the new Kyle Reese, and Arnold Schwarznegger is back as the Terminator. I was pleasantly surprised to see Lee Byung-Hun as the new T-1000, as I thought he was pretty cool as Storm Shadow in the live-action G.I. Joe movies. Oh, and the Doctor himself, Matt Smith, is in it as well.
Terminator Genisys, in what's hoped to be the start of a new trilogy, hits theatres July 1.
And of course, there was the big James Bond announcement. We have the title of the next James Bond film! In November 2015, James Bond will return in...
Spectre.
This makes me very happy. At the end of Skyfall, I said I felt like that the James Bond reboot that began with Casino Royale was finally complete. We had a new M, Q was back, Moneypenny was back....everything was back. If only they could bring back James Bond's arch-enemy Blofeld and his terrorist organization known as SPECTRE.
Long story short: due to some legal wrangling over ownership, the James Bond producers actually lost the rights to Blofeld and SPECTRE. But, last year, after years of negotiations (and with all the involved parties who took it personally having finally died off), they were able to reacquire the rights. So, for the first time since 1971, it looks as though James Bond will finally be doing battle against his arch-nemesis.
Along with the poster and the title, this official plot synopsis was revealed:
A cryptic message from an unlikely source sets James Bond navigating the layers of a sinister organisation known as SPECTRE. As M continues fighting political pressures that threaten the future of MI6, Bond draws closer to uncovering a hidden truth that threatens to destroy everything he has fought to protect.
The cast was revealed, too. Alongside Daniel Craig back as Bond, our villain is known as Franz Oberhauser, played by Christoph Waltz. His henchman is Mr. Hinx, played by Dave Bautista. For our new Bond girls, we've got Monica Bellucci as Lucia Sciarra and Lea Seydoux as Madeleine Swann.
Filming begins on Monday for a November 6, 2015 release.
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