There was a bit of the music score that reminded me of Solaris, although I thought the film took more from the Gravity movie. And felt more in tune with Larry Niven than Arthur C. Clarke.Cail wrote:
It's a rather flagrant melding of Solaris and 2001, but it lacks the intelligence or cohesiveness of either. This is typical of Nolan's films, as he thinks he's a lot smarter (or more clever if you prefer) than he actually is.
Interstellar
Moderators: sgt.null, dANdeLION
Last edited by Rod on Mon Dec 01, 2014 2:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I have fewer positive comments about Gravity than I do about Interstellar.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." - PJ O'Rourke
_____________
"Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas." - Charles Stewart
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"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison
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_____________
"Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas." - Charles Stewart
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"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison
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peter
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Saw the film last night on DVD [and this I think would mave a difference]. Sound wise - the music score was loud in places, but did have the effect of heightening the drama of those scenes which were pretty undersated in other respects and thus needed the 'umph' that the score imparted to them. I can never hear shit in films these days at the best of times [is this my ageing ears, a general trend to more mumbling on the part of actors/directors, both, neither, the sound on my flat-screen tv which I've always had suspicions about; all of the above?] so I too look forward to a time when all dvd's come with a sub-title feature [damn eyes aren't too good either!].
Yeah - the end. Mmmm.... not sure about that. The film was about forty minutes too long to my mind, but had it been 'tightened up' in this respect I think it could have been made much better. The acting was passable and the cast, while none of them stood out as a major high-spot, all [except Matt Damon] filled their roles competantly. Damon just seemed mis-cast and out of place. I'm not sure I was convinced by his abandonment of scientific detachment for naked self-interest - no 'Captain Oats' moment for him. Also Caine's 'trick' {plan A, Plan B] - no I don't buy it.
The planets they visited were a bit of a letdown as well I thought. probably pretty realistic in their own way - bot fairly one dimensional [but hell, so is Mars from the pictures I've seen so scratch that]. But the most frightening thing of all to me was the representation of Earths final sad decline. F*** - I think this might be the most 'true to life' bit of the entire film! Of this film and Inception I'd personally go for the second every time, but that's just me.
Yeah - the end. Mmmm.... not sure about that. The film was about forty minutes too long to my mind, but had it been 'tightened up' in this respect I think it could have been made much better. The acting was passable and the cast, while none of them stood out as a major high-spot, all [except Matt Damon] filled their roles competantly. Damon just seemed mis-cast and out of place. I'm not sure I was convinced by his abandonment of scientific detachment for naked self-interest - no 'Captain Oats' moment for him. Also Caine's 'trick' {plan A, Plan B] - no I don't buy it.
The planets they visited were a bit of a letdown as well I thought. probably pretty realistic in their own way - bot fairly one dimensional [but hell, so is Mars from the pictures I've seen so scratch that]. But the most frightening thing of all to me was the representation of Earths final sad decline. F*** - I think this might be the most 'true to life' bit of the entire film! Of this film and Inception I'd personally go for the second every time, but that's just me.
President of Peace? You fucking idiots!
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
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Zarathustra
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A big bunch of boring. I agree with Cail's posts on this movie.
I saw it on Blu-ray. Looked nice, I suppose, though I've seen better zero-g effects. Sound didn't bother me, since I can turn it up or down myself.
I'm not going to nit-pick the entire film--it's just not worth it--but I've got to comment on the final 'twist.' *Spoilers follow below.*
So they made a big deal about "dad is going to save us," and he supposedly does. I guess. I thought he was going to save the earth, but at the end they're all on a space station. So was the earth saved? If so, why leave it? And if saving humanity meant "building a big space station," why didn't they do that from the beginning? Why did they need the data "magically" sent through time and space and daddy's watch to build it? Did his data reveal the secrets of building big space stations?? Surely not. We could do that now, given enough time and resources. So what data did he send, and how did it save everyone?
[Edit: okay, I looked around online and saw an answer to my questions above. Apparently, the data Cooper transmitted via his watch told people on earth something new about gravity, which facilitated putting the big space station into orbit. I suppose they built it on earth, and then used advanced gravity knowledge to put it into space.
But this is dumb. If they can build a sustainable environment in space--one of the harshest environments possible--why can't they just do that on earth? Growing crops in a vacuum must surely be harder than growing them in a big "space station" which is still on the earth. Putting it in space in no way makes it more fertile or sustainable. In fact, it introduces an astronomical number of risks and complications. Surely it's harder to control an environment in space than on earth, even given the unnamed "environmental disaster."]
I saw it on Blu-ray. Looked nice, I suppose, though I've seen better zero-g effects. Sound didn't bother me, since I can turn it up or down myself.
I'm not going to nit-pick the entire film--it's just not worth it--but I've got to comment on the final 'twist.' *Spoilers follow below.*
So they made a big deal about "dad is going to save us," and he supposedly does. I guess. I thought he was going to save the earth, but at the end they're all on a space station. So was the earth saved? If so, why leave it? And if saving humanity meant "building a big space station," why didn't they do that from the beginning? Why did they need the data "magically" sent through time and space and daddy's watch to build it? Did his data reveal the secrets of building big space stations?? Surely not. We could do that now, given enough time and resources. So what data did he send, and how did it save everyone?
[Edit: okay, I looked around online and saw an answer to my questions above. Apparently, the data Cooper transmitted via his watch told people on earth something new about gravity, which facilitated putting the big space station into orbit. I suppose they built it on earth, and then used advanced gravity knowledge to put it into space.
But this is dumb. If they can build a sustainable environment in space--one of the harshest environments possible--why can't they just do that on earth? Growing crops in a vacuum must surely be harder than growing them in a big "space station" which is still on the earth. Putting it in space in no way makes it more fertile or sustainable. In fact, it introduces an astronomical number of risks and complications. Surely it's harder to control an environment in space than on earth, even given the unnamed "environmental disaster."]
Success will be my revenge -- DJT
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peter
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I think thats what the Eden Project is; a trial run at creating a hermetically sealed self sustaining environment in case the shit goes down [ 
not really but it's a fun idea].
not really but it's a fun idea].President of Peace? You fucking idiots!
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
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SoulBiter
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Saw this over the weekend. It wasn't as bad as all that.
I don't think we know if they 'saved' the earth or built some kind of living area(s) on the earth. What we can take from the movie is that they found the capability to move off the Earth due to 'gravity' learning. But no idea how they solved the food problem unless they abandoned most of the human race in order to save 'some' of the human race.
I would have ended it differently and I would have made that contact that he had with his daughter differently as well. But they didnt ask me.. LOL
I don't think we know if they 'saved' the earth or built some kind of living area(s) on the earth. What we can take from the movie is that they found the capability to move off the Earth due to 'gravity' learning. But no idea how they solved the food problem unless they abandoned most of the human race in order to save 'some' of the human race.
I would have ended it differently and I would have made that contact that he had with his daughter differently as well. But they didnt ask me.. LOL
We miss you Tracie but your Spirit will always shine brightly on the Watch 
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wayfriend
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Yeah, I saw it this weekend, as well. (It was finally in my local Redbox!)
I liked who the friendly aliens turned out to be. (It jives with a personal philosophy of mine.)
I liked that the depiction of the running-down Earth was compelling and even moving.
I liked Michael Cane's plot twist.
I liked Mann's plot twist, and enjoyed his reveal.
I liked Cooper's inter-dimensional bedroom journey, at least visually. I think it's as close as you can get to what it must be like to experience multiple dimensions at the same time.
I liked the ghost reveal. I liked why it couldn't be anything else.
I -didn't- like the two alien planets. They didn't seem possible to me, and so I couldn't suspend my disbelief. But I did appreciate how they felt so bleak.
I -didn't- like the off-the-cuff theorizing on the nature of space/time. Again, I couldn't suspend my disbelief that a pilot could out-think Einstein and Hawking etc.
I -didn't- like that advanced data about the nature of the universe could be reduced to Morse code.
I did like the ending. I know why a giant cylinder orbiting Saturn is better than building domes and what-not on the dying earth. Because it's right there in the name of the movie. And that implies mobility.
McConaughey doesn't move me either way. But I like the way he delivered his lines about why he didn't tell his daughter what he didn't tell her.
I liked who the friendly aliens turned out to be. (It jives with a personal philosophy of mine.)
I liked that the depiction of the running-down Earth was compelling and even moving.
I liked Michael Cane's plot twist.
I liked Mann's plot twist, and enjoyed his reveal.
I liked Cooper's inter-dimensional bedroom journey, at least visually. I think it's as close as you can get to what it must be like to experience multiple dimensions at the same time.
I liked the ghost reveal. I liked why it couldn't be anything else.
I -didn't- like the two alien planets. They didn't seem possible to me, and so I couldn't suspend my disbelief. But I did appreciate how they felt so bleak.
I -didn't- like the off-the-cuff theorizing on the nature of space/time. Again, I couldn't suspend my disbelief that a pilot could out-think Einstein and Hawking etc.
I -didn't- like that advanced data about the nature of the universe could be reduced to Morse code.
I did like the ending. I know why a giant cylinder orbiting Saturn is better than building domes and what-not on the dying earth. Because it's right there in the name of the movie. And that implies mobility.
McConaughey doesn't move me either way. But I like the way he delivered his lines about why he didn't tell his daughter what he didn't tell her.
.
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Zarathustra
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Advanced data transmitted through Morse Code isn't far-fetched. How many dots and dashes would it take to spell out "E=mc2"? Not many. That's pretty advanced knowledge about the universe. The same could be said of most advanced knowledge in physics. If it can't be reduced to a relatively simple formula, you still don't understand it.
Building a space station to be mobile makes sense in the long term, not putting our eggs in the same basket. But if we're only going mobile because of a problem on the earth is forcing us to leave (or die), then that problem on earth better be pretty dire and unfixable through other means. Dusty fields doesn't qualify. If it's a problem you could solve in a space station, it's a problem you could solve on earth.
The fact that the aliens were humans from the future is dumb. Not only does it set up plot holes and timeline paradox, but if the future humans cared so much for our survival, why not be a little more explicit in the advice and help? Like, solve the gravity equations for us? Or use their own technology to get everyone off the planet? Once you have this Deus Ex Machina of all-powerful future humans, you have to ask why it was such a narrow victory? [The answer, of course, is: drama. Ignorance as Plot Device, necessary only because there would be no story without arbitrarily keeping the characters in the dark.]
This is dumb story-telling. Very little redeeming about the movie. One of Nolan's worst.
Building a space station to be mobile makes sense in the long term, not putting our eggs in the same basket. But if we're only going mobile because of a problem on the earth is forcing us to leave (or die), then that problem on earth better be pretty dire and unfixable through other means. Dusty fields doesn't qualify. If it's a problem you could solve in a space station, it's a problem you could solve on earth.
The fact that the aliens were humans from the future is dumb. Not only does it set up plot holes and timeline paradox, but if the future humans cared so much for our survival, why not be a little more explicit in the advice and help? Like, solve the gravity equations for us? Or use their own technology to get everyone off the planet? Once you have this Deus Ex Machina of all-powerful future humans, you have to ask why it was such a narrow victory? [The answer, of course, is: drama. Ignorance as Plot Device, necessary only because there would be no story without arbitrarily keeping the characters in the dark.]
This is dumb story-telling. Very little redeeming about the movie. One of Nolan's worst.
Success will be my revenge -- DJT
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peter
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Was it in Kaku's book [or perhaps Deutsch's] that I read that in future it is concievable that the conquest of the stars might be achieved by transporting the [post] human mind via laser across the vast chasms of interstellar space, to be incorporated [if desired I guess] once again at the point of destination [or should that be encorporated]. I'm thinking if this can be contemplated, then probably the 'morse thing' is not so off the wall as it at first might seem. The old watch might slow up the process somewhat however .
re The fixing of the Earth; I guess sealed domes on earth where some controlled enviroment could be maintained [and also act as a resevoir of 'stock' for future recolonisation], would be easier to pull off while we worked out how to do the fixing than building colony accomodating space stations. Maybe one problem with this film was that it just took itself too seriously. If you're going to do that, then your science and logic has really got to hang together much better than this. Once we're masters of time and can manipulate it safetly, hell - there's no end of wrongs that we might as well sort out while we're about it!
.re The fixing of the Earth; I guess sealed domes on earth where some controlled enviroment could be maintained [and also act as a resevoir of 'stock' for future recolonisation], would be easier to pull off while we worked out how to do the fixing than building colony accomodating space stations. Maybe one problem with this film was that it just took itself too seriously. If you're going to do that, then your science and logic has really got to hang together much better than this. Once we're masters of time and can manipulate it safetly, hell - there's no end of wrongs that we might as well sort out while we're about it!
President of Peace? You fucking idiots!
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
-
Zarathustra
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Excellent point. Nolan went to the trouble of contacting theoretical physicists to make sure his depiction of wormholes and black holes was accurate. But for the disaster on earth--i.e. the entire motivation for every character in the film--it seems he just borrowed from our popular fears, driven by political hyperbole over global warming (or some other environmental "crisis") that is expected to make the planet unlivable, or do irreparable harm. But the reason the crisis wasn't specified and explained in the film is probably because there isn't a real or plausible environmental crisis that could produce the effects depicted. Given all the extinction-level events this planet has gone through with life still continuing and thriving afterwards, it just didn't seem plausible that the threat depicted in the movie necessitated every human leaving earth. Rather than "compelling and moving," it was dopey, a transparent product of our contemporary culture of enviro-panic. I think you have to buy into those popular myths and the culture of pessimism to be moved by such nonsense.peter (USSM) wrote:Maybe one problem with this film was that it just took itself too seriously. If you're going to do that, then your science and logic has really got to hang together much better than this. Once we're masters of time and can manipulate it safetly, hell - there's no end of wrongs that we might as well sort out while we're about it!
Success will be my revenge -- DJT
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JIkj fjds j
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--. .-. .- ...- .. - -.--
... .- .-- | .. -. - . .-. ... - . .. .. . .-. | .. .- ... - | -. .. --. .... - | --- -. | -.. ...- -..
--. .-. . .- - | ..-. .. .-..
- .... . .-. . | .-- .- ... | .- | ... . -.-. --- -. -.. | .-- .... . -. | .. | .- .. -- --- ... - | -... . .. . .. ...- . -.. | - .... .- -
.-- . .. ..
.. | .-- --- ..- .. -.. | ... .- -.-- | -- --- .-. .
-... ..- - | - .... .. ... | -- --- .-. ... . | -.-. --- -.. | .. ...
-.- .. -. -.. .- | - .-. .. -.-. -.- -.-- |
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ussusimiel
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Re: --. .-. .- ...- .. - -.--
One of the most important computer literacy hints that you will ever learn, peter, is that your first (and likely best) resource is the Internet itself. When something related to computers, technology or the Internet causes you to feel stuck, or bewildered, check the Internet! There is almost always some form of help or assistance available.
Vizi's message translates something like this (through an online morse code transalator)
Vizi's message translates something like this (through an online morse code transalator)
u.saw intersteller last night on dvd
nreat (great?) fil (film?)
there was a second when i almost beleived that weiii (?)
Would say more but this morse cod(e) is (k)inda tricky
Tho' all the maps of blood and flesh
Are posted on the door,
There's no one who has told us yet
What Boogie Street is for.
Are posted on the door,
There's no one who has told us yet
What Boogie Street is for.
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peter
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Agreed U.
Viz - you have too much time on your hands!
[A case of cod moving in a mysterious way if ever I saw one
]
Viz - you have too much time on your hands!
[A case of cod moving in a mysterious way if ever I saw one
]President of Peace? You fucking idiots!
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
-
JIkj fjds j
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Cord Hurn
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Interstellar
I thought Interstellar had a great message about the power of our will to love, as shown in Cooper's energetic attempts to get his daughter's attention after he crosses the black hole's horizon. The relationship between Cooper and fellow astronaut Brand unfortunately lacks chemistry, which is surprising considering both Anne Hathaway and Matthew McConaughey have solid acting skills (I blame the writing). The acting all around is generally good, and the background in space and on planets are pretty. I know watching sci-fi requires a suspension of disbelief, but that belief suspension can really be challenged by the idea that tapping Morse code causes the second hand of a watch worn by the middle-aged Murph (Jessica Chastain) to twitch in a way that tells her how to defy gravity so space pods can make it through the wormhole and save the human race. The music is too loud during the slower moments of the film, and I felt about an hour could have been shaved off of the film's run-time without sacrificing the story. Rather than give this film a "thumbs-up" or a "thumbs-down", I give it a sideways thumb ("so-so").
