Movie Review For Interstellar & Big Hero 6

December 17, 2014

Interstellar

I always give spoilers so consider yourself warned. =)

Colleen’s Movie Review

Romance: There wasn’t much going on in the way of romance. Something was teased briefly between Matthew’s character and Anne’s but nothing really developed in the timeframe of the film and it was a looonnnng timeframe.

Special Effects: There were definite and obvious nods to Christopher Nolan’s previous projects. I liked the ice planet and the spaceship. The wormhole was interesting. The way people slept on the ship and the planet where they were walking on water was cool. The circular farms going up overhead was too much like Inception for me to think of it as unique or interesting. For a space movie the special effects were a little underwhelming. I’m sure this was partially due to the fact that they wanted this film to be as realistic of a space journey as possible. I read somewhere that it got a nod from scientists who approved it. The sad thing is, that made it somewhat boring, like a science film you’d watch in high school or in an I-Max theater.

What I Liked: The dry, dusty planet felt real. It was choking the life from me as I sat there. The acting was good. The cameos and the dangers of being in space and far from home felt as nerve wracking as if I was on board. TARS, the robot.

What I’d Change: The story got weird. By the time we got to the end (and it took a very, very long time to get there) I no longer cared. The answers to the mystery of where the secret messages came from were disappointing and when a movie is focused so much on keeping everything real, I found the departure into the miraculous inside the black hole too much to swallow. I didn’t believe it and because of that, it colored my entire perception of the film.

The Tagline:

Mankind was born on Earth. It was never meant to die here.
The end of Earth will not be the end of us.
Go further.
Mankind’s next step will be our greatest.

I guess I like the first one best but none of the steps that took place to save mankind felt particularly thought through or heroic. Mostly, it felt accidental and mankind got lucky which is not something I’d normally associate with a movie of this type.

Hunky Hero: I haven’t really liked Matthew McConaughey for a while now. I have a hard time separating the actor from the man. As a result, there wasn’t much of a hunk factor in this film.

The Villain: There was no villain in this film unless you count crazy-guy-desperate-to-live or a giant wave which I don’t.

Best Line: TARS: I have a cue light I can use to show you when I’m joking, if you like.

TARS was the robot on the ship and it served as the only humor in the film so pretty much anything TARS said was my favorite.

Dr. Brand: Do not go gentle into that good night; Old age should burn and rave at close of day. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

This line was used over and over to the point where I expected Matthew to start rubbing his fingers together. Normally, I really like this quote but it was used too much and it ended up annoying me instead.

Best Scene: I guess it was when TARS turned into a whirlygig lifeguard and spun on the water to fetch the idiot doctors who jumped out the ship when a giant wave was coming.

Recommended for YA Fans: If you like.

Compared to the Book: No book to compare to.

Trailer:

A Guy’s Perspective

Bio: I’m Colleen’s husband, Brad. I’m the youngest of four kids. I’ve been Deaf since I was five so I watch every movie with caption glasses. I love sports and reading (I’ll admit I’ve read Twilight but prefer thrillers like Jack Reacher). My favorite ice cream is mint chocolate chip. I’ll never turn down a taco. I write poetry. My man credentials include: a high school career in wrestling, watching sports every time my wife is too busy to notice, a receding hairline, two repaired ACL’s, and a stockpile of Axe body wash.

Review:

Interstellar? Not So Stellar

In the not so distant future, planet Earth—specifically the Dust Bowl of Midwest America–is deteriorating to the point where farmers are more crucial than engineers. Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) is a former pilot who is selected to man a rocket into space in search of alternative planets for Earthlings to populate.

Not exactly an original premise but one that has promise, especially under the deft hand of director Christopher Nolan. It certainly delivers on special effects, top-notch acting, cinematography, but it suffers from inadequate pacing and incomplete storytelling. I really wanted to like this movie, but at the 169th minute, I was a bit exhausted, uninspired, and somewhat confused. Don’t get me wrong, I was entertained and I don’t regret seeing it. I just wouldn’t discourage nor encourage anyone away from or toward the film.

Maybe I didn’t quite comprehend or appreciate the gravity of Nolan’s message (pun intended) and/or perhaps I was just not sold on some story points that seemed to swing wildly and missed. For example- in one scene, when Cooper winds up in a black hole and somehow time travels to the point where he has to Morse code a message with falling books to his daughter many years into the past, I found it unconvincing; The meeting between Cooper and his daughter on her death-bed was sweet, even bringing tears to my eyes, with the potential to leave a strong impression on me, but the people surrounding her bed barely even glanced at him, making the scene more odd than the director probably intended.

I give this film 6.5 Hulk Smash Fists.

Brad

Big Hero 6

Romance: None

Special Effects: It was cute. I liked the artistic style of the film.

What I Liked: Hiro. Baymax and I loved Tadashi, voiced by Daniel Henney one of my favorite actors. The cool inventions Hiro made.

What I’d Change: I’d make the other characters a bit more likable and interesting. They are supposed to be part of the Big Hero 6 so they should stand out a little more.

The Tagline:

Can’t find a tagline

Hunky Hero:

Doesn’t really apply though I really did like Hiro and loved Tadashi. Wished we had more of him.

The Villain: There were not one but two villains in this movie and I liked the twist of it and how it all played out.

Best Line:

Baymax: [to Hiro, who’s stuck and buried under a pile of action figures] On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?

Hiro: [irritated] Zero.

Baymax: It is alright to cry.

Hiro: No! No, no, no, no, no!

Baymax: [picks up Hiro and holds him like a baby] Crying is a natural response to pain.

Hiro: [jumps out of Baymax’s arms] I’m not crying.

Baymax: I will scan you for injuries.

Hiro: [firmly] DON’T scan me.

Baymax: Scan complete.

Hiro: Unbelievable.

Baymax: You have sustained no injuries. However, your hormone and neurotransmitter levels indicate that you are experiencing mood swings, common in adolescence. Diagnosis: puberty.

Hiro: [surprised] Whoa, what?

Baymax is awesome.

Best Scene: When Baymax sacrifices himself.

Recommended for YA Fans: Yes.

Compared to the Book: I have not read the comic books but I think the story is well crafted and will be very much enjoyed by it’s intended audience. Not sure I would watch another but I liked the origin story.

Trailer:

A Guy’s Perspective

Review:

Interesting Collaboration But Big Dud

Pixar and Marvel usually deliver high quality films and stories in their own productions, but they never collaborated together until now. Appropriately, and strangely, though this hybrid had numerous American and Japanese references (the locale is “San Fransokyo”), the movie was surprisingly flat and clichéd.

The first 20 minutes was the movie’s best—I enjoyed the obvious sibling comradery between Hiro and the older Tadashi and learning about Tadashi’s work projects, particularly a cute health care robot named Baymax. After that, the rest, I’m sorry to say, went downhill. (Warning: Spoilers ahead!!) There is bad blood between Tadashi’s company and another who both compete to acquire Hiro’s services, but Tadashi is killed, and Hiro and Baymax, his new sidekick, become embroiled in a fight between good and evil.

Four characters we know practically nothing about join forces with Hiro and Baymax to formulate a laughable cartoon-heroes team of Avengers against a villain hell-bent on revenge for his daughter’s death. Naturally, the four manage to get into trouble and are rescued by Hiro and Baymax, with a sacrifice you can see coming a mile away. Ultimately, the villain is defeated and the Big Hero 6, as they are named, live to fight another day. It was all mind-numbingly clichéd and reminiscent of many films you and I have seen a million times before.

If there is a sequel with the same characters, I’m likely not going to see it. Having said that, I’m sure Pixar and Marvel will create something awesomely original in the future and that intrigues me. This, however, was not it. And it gets 4.5 Semi-Hulk Smash fists.
Brad

This entry was posted in A Guy's Perspective, Movie Review.

Colleen Houck

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Movie Review For Interstellar & Big Hero 6

December 17, 2014

Interstellar

Colleen’s Movie Review

A Guy’s Perspective

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Colleen Houck