Interstellar (2014)

So, as you probably saw from my Ask Me Anything post back in June, I have been raving over this movie, Interstellar, for a while now, and I figured that I should probably do a review of it. Here it is! First things first, I linked to the IMDb page, and here are a couple of the trailers. (There are like 4 out there, but these are pretty good, I think. And plus the others should show up on your recommended YouTube if you watch it on YouTube...)

Now, on to the actual review. 

Content:

There was quite a bit of language in this movie, but when I watched it, we watched with my cousins and my uncle had it bleeped for us. So that was nice. There is some strong language, so I would recommend watching it on Clearplay or something like that if you want to filter that out. I wasn't counting or anything, but definitely enough language to warn about, especially if you've got younger people.  Other than that, though, there wasn't really too much content that I would warn against.  There is some violence:  a few explosions, a sort of fist-fight between two astronauts on a planet where the air contains ammonia, and so a crack in a helmet is very dangerous, as well as a man punching someone else in the face.  However, it doesn't get super graphic.  I think most of the warning is that the movie is very suspenseful and keeps you on the edge of your seat, like you think something just terrible is going to happen, but nothing graphic happens. It's a very suspenseful and dramatic movie--I would almost describe it as tense; definitely too tense for younger folks. 

Plot:

I was absolutely mindblown.  I usually don't like sci-fi movies, or at least I am very "eh" about them, but this movie's plot was just...so great.  There was, of course, the whole "world is at peril" thing, but it didn't feel cliched or overused.  It kept me guessing until the very end, and everything just tied together perfectly.  It was actually very sad, but not a hopeless kind of sad--a very real, lifelike sadness.  I think the whole reason that I liked this movie better than most sci-fi movies is that it was about saving humanity, etc, but was also, at its core, a movie about a family.  A father and his children (focus on his daughter), where he sets out to save them, knowing that even if he never returns, at least he will have done his best to secure them a future and a life.  It was touching, covered a grand scale and a small scale, and, the first time I saw it, I just couldn't really say anything, I was so mindblown.  There is one plot point that I would have liked to be different, but I understand exactly why that couldn't happen. It is more realistic the way it is, even though what I wish would have made for a happier, more Disney-like ending. Superbly (is that a word?) well written, and extremely intriguing. 

Characters:

GAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!! They were all so great! Of course, Matthew McConaughey was just amazing as Cooper, the main character.  While being a hero, he was also a dad, and I just really liked his character. His acting was amazing, and Cooper was a very strong, compelling character; a main character that you can really root for. His daughter, Murphy (or Murph) was great, too, portrayed by different actresses as she grows older. The crew of the spaceship (space station? I think it was a ship) Endurance were great, too. Honestly, there were no ill-portrayed characters, and nobody that was non-likeable except for (*cough cough* no more because spoilers, but a bad person). There were also these two adorable robots named TARS and CASE who were great.  They look a little scary, but are what robots are supposed to be: they follow orders and do what they are programmed to do, without minds of their own. Plus, TARS had a "humor setting," which made him a sarcastic, fun robot. I just like the robots. They were fun.

Film Quality/Aesthetic:

ABSO-STINKIN-LUTELY FABULOUS, here are a couple pictures just to show it. Nothing was done badly. 

The music was really great, too. Hans Zimmer did it, and it's surprisingly minimalistic, I thought. But it totally fit the movie's feel, and gave it a huge, atmospheric, universe-sized feeling.  I loved the use of the organ at some points--it gave me chills, especially the first time, watching the movie and hearing that music just at the right time. 

Overall Impressions:

If it isn't evident by now, I really loved this film. I haven't covered the most mind-blowing part of the movie, which involves a bookshelf and the fifth dimension, because that would give the plot away, sorry. I know, it's, well, hard to wrap your head around. It made me cry, and not every movie can do that (though it seems that the older I get, the more movies make me cry...). It was just a really well-done movie. Yes, it was sci-fi, hard to understand, and left me with an almost desperate feeling after I watched it--a feeling of "what happens next?"  But I still loved it. I think that the best word to describe it would be Haunting. Not in a frightening or bad way.  It just left me amazed. Mindblown. And Haunted.