If I’ve said this once I’ve said it a thousand times.
“I am the second best movie reviewer in the world.”
That’s right, you read that correctly, “IN THE WORLD.”
And once again I’ll tell you who THE BEST movie reviewer in the world is……
It’s YOU. It has always been you, and barring us from interstellar travel, it will always be you.
I’m a movie reviewer. I love movies… always have, always will. I love ALL movies, even the ones that suck. (E.g. “New Year’s Eve,” John Carter,” “Spanglish.”) Any movie that doesn’t make me get up and walk out of the theatre I feel has some sort of entertainment value to it.
So when I read reviews and comments on the internet that said “Interstellar” was not as critically acclaimed as it should be, well, I was a tad bit miffed. I was perplexed. I was ticked-off.
But then I realized that these movie reviewers don’t know anymore than you or me. They are just critiquing the film the same way we would. Sometimes critics get way to involved in it. (like myself). I mean, how many different ways can a reviewer say that the visual effects were spectacular but the science behind the black hole wasn’t correct. How do they know it wasn’t correct? It’s a black hole for crying out loud! Have you ever been in a black hole?
Then I took a step back and realized that maybe I just get mad at people when they don’t like movies that I love.
Which brings me to my “mattified” movie review of “Interstellar.”
Yes, I loved “Interstellar.”
And for all you fine folks that follow my reviews on a regular basis, I am going to say this for the third time this year.
“Interstellar” is the best film of the year.
For any new readers to my column, I have said the same thing about “Birdman” and “Boyhood” this year also.
Hey, I reserve the right to change my mind once I see a new film. This will probably happen four or five more times before the year is up. We are coming into the awards season, so there will be plenty of films for me to cry out that “(enter movie title here) IS THE BEST FILM OF THE YEAR!”
But don’t worry, we will all find out which is truly my favorite film when the Golden Nostrils are given out at “The Matty Awards” early next year.
Whoa, I shot off into outer space there for a minute. Let’s get back to the ship and review this film.
Christopher Nolan’s two hour and 49 minute space epic about interstellar travel is a beautiful display of creative writing, breathtaking production, and a curious imagination that expands far beyond the limits of our galaxy.
Christopher Nolan is a filmmaker that pushes the limits of his actors, his cameramen, his FX teams, his brother, and anyone else involved in his films. This is why his movies are glorious.
Look at his directorial pedigree:
“Following”: I never saw it. (But I will.)
“Memento”: Excellent film. The way he edited the story together with both black and white, and color… genius.
“Insomnia”: A great film with an all star cast. You should see it. It will not put you to sleep.
“Batman Begins”: The beginning of one of the best trilogies in comic book history.
“The Prestige”: I think this is one of his underrated films. It was magical.
“The Dark Knight”: I think we all know about this film. Clearly one of the best comic book films in history. (It also had the best comic book villian in history with Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker.)
“Inception”: This is the mind trip of all mind trips. A beautifully crafted film that will make you think about your dreams over and over again. It was also the recipient of the ‘Golden Nostrils’ for Best Picture at the 2011 Matty Awards.
“The Dark Knight Rises”: This was the book end to a brilliant trilogy. It didn’t get the props it deserved. Some people didn’t like Bane’s voice, but I surely did. I thought everything about it was excellent.
Which brings us to Mr. Nolan’s current masterpiece, “Interstellar.”
This film tells the story of a not to far off future where the Earth has depleted all of its resourses, including food. A plant plague called the blight has destroyed almost all the crops in the world. It’s time for humans to figure out how to survive and keep the species alive.
Enter Cooper, (Matthew McConaughey) the man who is tasked with saving the world. But in doing so he must say goodbye to his children. For his mission is interstellar travel, and when you travel interstellarly you never know when you’re going to come back.
The story is not only about Cooper’s journey to find a habitable planet for humans. It is a story about perserverance, determination, and love.
What you think you may know about this story, you don’t. I went in thinking one thing and walking out totally blown away. The imagination of The Nolan brothers (Chris AND Jonathon) is something out of this world. They took a story and wrapped it around three or four sub-stories, all of which were as interesting as the one next to it. (or before it, or after it.)
This movie was incredible.
I’ll quickly talk about the actors because they are all intense. McConaughey, Jessica Chastain, Anne Hathaway, Casey Affleck, Michael Caine, John Lithgow, Wes Bentley, Bill Irwin, David Gyasi, Ellen Burstyn, Timothee Chalamet, and Mackenzie Foy were all bright stars.
But none were brighter than the story, the filmaking, and the beautiful imagination of Christopher Nolan.
Which brings me back through the wormhole.
If you happen to stumble across a negative review of this film, don’t believe it. You will be doing yourself a disservice. You will be missing out on some fascinating filmmaking, some divine story-telling, and you will be missing out on the incredibly mesmorizing imagination of one Christopher Nolan.
Matty W. Kelley, reporting.
mattywkelley.com
I’m sorry. This was more of a review of Christopher Nolan than it was of “Interstellar.” But I didn’t want to ruin the film for you so I kept it vague.
(Plus, I’m a huge fan of Chris Nolan. I think he deserses some props, so I’ll give ‘em to him.)
Fun Fact: Rotten Tomatoes critics scored this film a 74%. The audience vote scored it 88%. That right there should tell you something.
Fun Matty Fact: My favorite genre of film is Science-fiction… That’s why I’m known as the Sci-fi Guy!