A Whole New World

Since The Dark Knight trilogy, Nolanism has become a word to describe realism in the fantastical. It defines worlds in which Batman's adventures would not be out of place on the news and where travelling into dreams can be a conceivable form of extracting or planting ideas. But now the word stretches its definition to the realms of space and the extended universe. This is Interstellar.

Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), an ex-NASA pilot turned farmer, lives in a future where that career transition is a necessity as the world's food supplies are running dry. The governments need farmers, not explorers. His daughter, Murph (Younger: Mackenzie Foy, Older: Jessica Chastain), is convinced a ghost is trying to communicate with her and upon analysing the messages, Cooper begins to believe gravity is forming co-ordinates in the dust that has engulfed the world and his house. They follow the co-ordinates and stumble on the biggest secret on Earth: a mission to save all of humanity. Cooper gets invited to pilot on the mission to explore the discoveries of the Lazarus Project, a previous expedition to find planets capable of supporting Earth's population. Three planets, on the other side of a wormhole, show promise and Cooper, with his team of fellow scientists Brand (Anne Hathaway), Doyle (Wes Bentley), and Romilly (David Gyasi), as well as robots, TARS and CASE (both operated by Bill Irwin, though CASE is voiced by Josh Stewart), are going to have to battle time and gravity in order to preserve their resources and get home to their families and Professor Brand (Michael Caine) to send the human race to the stars.

A pretty cool planet.

A star studded plot needs a star studded cast, and Interstellar provides just that. After winning an Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club in February, McConaughey has wasted no time in picking up further ambitious acting projects, and he does not disappoint here. Flicking effortlessly between fun-loving dad, deadly serious pilot, and emotionally driven missionary, Cooper is a hugely diverse and opinionated protagonist that the audience cannot help but root for. Hathaway's Brand creates a powerful contrast to Cooper who also, paradoxically, perfectly compliments his aims, ambitions, and ideas. The relationship between the two builds tension and disjuncture, but ultimately creates an important and entertaining bond. Most memorably, though perhaps this is is arguable, is Bill Irwin's TARS. Not only voiced, but physically controlled by Irwin, TARS steals almost every scene he is in, not only as a looming presence, but as a hilariously funny and accessible character. Irwin's comic timing is impeccable, delivering TARS' humour settings in a gloriously deadpan voice. Minor spoiler warning. Move on to the next paragraph to avoid: Matt Damon's Dr Mann is a wonderful addition to both the cast and plot, His initial joy to see another human face is both heartbreaking and overwhelmingly happy. His brief development, from Earth's best hope to biggest coward, is some of the strongest and most powerful in the film.

'That must have been one really small step for man...'

Interstellar boasts a scientifically fantastic script - no doubt helped by executive producer Dr. Kip Thorne's scientific knowledge. Not only is it fully engaging from the get go, it is intelligent and based very firmly in scientific theory. The creativity and originality of the Nolan brother's screenplay creates a moving, dramatic, powerful, and, most of all, visually stunning piece of cinema. Importantly, the film is from the perspective of a father and a daughter rather than of astronauts and scientists; it creates an emotional core for the film that is grounded in the family rather than the intellectually or masculinely superior heroes. Accompanied by a stunning and original score by Hans Zimmer, the film is a gift to the senses. Aesthetically, the new worlds and the deep realms of space are portrayed beautifully, capturing an almost childlike sense of wonder in the frame of the camera. Waves as tall as skyscrapers, frozen clouds, three dimensional worm holes are just a few of the breathtaking designs in the film. Prepare to be completely absorbed into the Nolans' worlds.

Ambitious, astonishing, and outstanding. A visual masterpiece full of intellect,laughs, sorrow, pain, and love. With constant references and homages to other great science-fiction (namely 2001: A Space Odyssey), Interstellar is a must see for all. Nolan continues his stream of great films with, arguably, his most fully formed creation.

Best Bit? A multitude of options in this film, but for me it has to be the first planet in which huge waves come hurtling towards the ship and its inhabitants as they look for data from the Lazarus Project. A thrillingly suspenseful series of events.

The Miserable

With a couple of Golden Globes and Oscar nominations under its belt, today’s film already seems to be one that the higher powers in film seem to be enjoying. Why? Why not? It is a film about miserable people singing. What more could one want? It has been a while since a musical was so successful in the awards season so what makes this one so different? This is Les Misérables.

Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) has been imprisoned, a slave to the law, for nineteen years; five years because he stole a loaf of bread, the rest because he tried to run. He has been under the watchful eye of Inspector Javert (Russell Crowe) but finally, he gets his parole. Javert insists he is a dangerous man but Valjean soon finds a bishop who makes him an honest man. Jump forward 8 years. Valjean is now Monsieur Madeleine and is the mayor of a small town. One of his workers, Fantine (Anne Hathaway), gets fired and becomes a prostitute after selling her hair and some teeth. After attacking a man, Javert demands for his arrest but Valjean insists she goes to a hospital. He swears to take care of her child, Cosette (Isabelle Allen), who is being cared for by the Thénardiers (Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter), a couple who run an inn with their daughter Éponine (Natalya Wallace). Valjean takes Cosette away. Jump forward nine years. Students, Marius (Eddie Redmayne) and Enjolras (Aaron Tveit), along with street urchin Gavroche (Daniel Huddlestone), plan for revolution. Cosette (Amanda Seyfried) and Éponine (Samantha Barks) are now young ladies and have eyes for Marius, Javert is still completely law driven, Valjean – with Cosette – still lives in hiding, and France is on the verge of civil war. All the characters’ lives start intertwining as they get closer and closer to the day when battle starts, but how will things turn out.

And people wondered why Valjean had a damp personality. 

There is really only one negative casting choice so we will start by looking at that. Amanda Seyfried’s voice is terribly irritating. When she sings, for some reason, she cannot hold a note without trilling and wavering. It might not be such an issue if she was not a high soprano, which, with the wavering, makes her sound like an alarm bell. As irritating as Cosette is as a character, it does not mean she has to sound annoying. Apart from this, the cast was nigh to perfect. Hugh Jackman, nominated for Best Leading Actor at the Oscars, is a powerful protagonist and gives a really touching performance that shows his care and love for the people around him. A truly reformed man after nineteen years in prison. Crowe, as Javert, has possibly been had the most divided reviews. Why? It is unclear. He was fantastic as Javert. He nails the internal conflict that Javert struggles from; there is only good and bad in his mind, anything in between causes serious issues. He makes an ideal opposite to Jackman’s Valjean – see the Confrontation song for proof of this. Hathaway, nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars, is on screen for only a short period of time but she dominates every scene she is in. ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ will send shivers town your spine and tingle your soul. A hauntingly beautiful song. *Breathes for a moment. Lot of cast to get through here.*

When English students rioted, there was a lot of damage.
When French Students rioted, there was singing. 

Eddie Redmayne has a beautiful voice. Whilst his love may never seem genuine, his heartbreak certainly is. ‘Empty Chairs and Empty Tables’ will rip at your heart; get the tissues ready. Despite his slightly odd singing face, the voice that accompanies it is stunning and most of Marius’ emotions are echoed in song rather than his physical actions. Aaron Tveit as Enjolras is the strongest of the students. He’s driven by revolution and his tough persona, arguably, is the main thing that keeps the men’s spirits up. Again, his voice is spot on for the character; it is strong and powerful. He just emits swag. Samantha Barks, the beautiful Éponine, having played the part on stage, is simply incredible. Her voice is so captivating, ‘On My Own,’ becomes so engaging even though it is just a girl standing in the rain. Hopefully, she will push further for a career in film so we will see more of her.Bonham Carter and Baron Cohen are the comedy relief in the film and thank God for them. The film is so soul destroying, some comedy is completely needed. ‘Master of the House’ sums them up completely as you watch them smoothly steal from people’s pockets, heads, and even eye sockets. They are a treat in the sad times. Finally, the child actors are wonderful, particularly Daniel Huddlestone. Gavroche is possibly the strongest willed character in the French revolution and is so cool you just wish you could hang around with him. Maybe give him a couple of years to grow up first though. Phew.

Look out for Éponine's book:Friendzoning - A First Hand Experience. 

So now to the man who brought it all together. A man who already holds an Oscar for his direction of The Kings Speech two years ago, Tom Hooper. Despite having a face that never fails to seem smug (Google image his name), he has done wonders here. His decision to sing live on set is not much short of genius. You can see how it affects the performance of every single actor and actress. One cannot help but think that perhaps the film would be completely different if it had been done like a conventional musical, with the soundtrack filmed before the shooting starts. Obviously, the music is incredible. What else would one expect from a world renown musical? The set, too, is so visually astounding. From giant elephant sculptures to giant barricades, the whole film captures your eye and your interest. It makes it hard to look away. And there's something very interesting in the way certain bits are shot. They are particularly noticable in Javert's moments. For example, when singing 'Stars', we see him on a roof singing out to France with possible the most open shot of the film, but rarely does the film feel more intimate. There are often moments like this which are hard to explain how they work, but they just do.

A simply brilliant piece of cinema. The only really negative, as already stated, is Amanda Seyfried's singing. The rest of the songs will be stuck in your head for days, maybe weeks. There is something about it that just makes you want to watch it again and again. This humble blogger has seen it four times already (three times to indulge other people who wanted to see it, admittedly). A great watch, but do not forget the tissues. It is a weepy one.

Best Bit? The choreography in 'Confrontation' between Javert and Valjean is simply incredibly captivating and, along with what is one of the best songs in the musical, it just is an unforgettable moment.

Batman, Bane, And Not Quite Catwoman.

For my 100th blog post it seems only fitting that I not only do what I love doing, but I also do it about something that has reared its head over and over again. The conclusion to a trilogy that had such a solid first movies that the third instalment become the most anticipated movie of the year, even the decade. If you haven't already figured it out, it is the final piece of Nolan's Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises.

It's eight years after the death of Harvey Dent, eight years since The Batman stopped The Joker and agreed to take the blame for Dent's death and eight years of a nearly crime free Gotham. Or crime free until psychotic masked man Bane (Tom Hardy) arrives and begins causing trouble around the city that Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) loves so dearly. However, The Batman is in retirement, Wayne Enterprises is losing money faster than Usain Bolt runs, and the police are no match for Bane's men. Perhaps it is time for Wayne to don his mask and cape once more, despite Alfred's (Michael Caine) advice, and hop into one of Fox's (Morgan Freeman) new machines to take on Bane himself. He'll have the help of of Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman), Officer Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), and Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard) as they try to take down Bane, his army, and cat burglar, Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway). But nothing, and no one, could prepare Batman, Gordon, or even the government, for what Bane has planned for Gotham. As the trailer shows, he is Gotham's reckoning.

Tom Hardy was the Bane of Batman's existence.

Bale, Caine, Oldman, and Freeman all return again with fantastic turns. Bale and Caine in particular show new levels of development in their characters. Caine shows the true side of Alfred's affection for the final Wayne in some very touching speeches and Bale captures not only Batman's aggression, loneliness, and anger, but also Wayne's charisma, something that lacked a little in the previous film. And then there's the  new cast members. Firstly, there's Joseph Gordon-Levitt who takes the role of young, hot headed, police officer Blake and shows that he is intelligent, brave, and caring. Then there's a brilliant performance from Anne Hathaway as the cat burglar Selina Kyle. The dark horse of the new cast, people were unsure how her performance was going to turn out, but those people's issues should still be calmed. Hathaway showed Kyle's isolation, ferociousness and desperation like none of the previous Catwomen; a definite advantage of avoiding the change from anti-hero to full on villain. And finally, the marvellous Tom Hardy as the masked madman Bane. After Heath Ledger's incredible performance as The Joker, little could imagine Nolan finding anyway to top it. Admittedly, comparing the two is like comparing an apple and a pear on their ability to be a banana, they're very different characters. Hardy's Bane is intimidating on a whole different level and scale to The Joker. His huge imposing form, distorted speech, and plain calmness over killing and destruction would make anyone fear him. Hardy is outstanding and Bane is a fantastic character.

Batman and Bane decided to simply
 fist bump and settle their differences.

Every element of this film was so perfectly arranged and created. Nolan has learned from his previous two outings with Batman and has managed to combine those aspects to make this the most technically brilliant movie in the series. Hans Zimmer provides his best accompanying music to date. Not only is it fantastically composed, but it is integrated so well into the film that there it creates an undeniably unique atmosphere perfect for Batman's world. As expected, Wally Pfister's cinematography again raises the bar for action and superhero movies alike. It's simply breathtaking. And on top of all of this, the Nolan brothers screenplay is so engaging that, even in times when the movie dips, the dialogue keeps you hooked for every second. Not to mention the ingenious representations of some of Batman's most well known villains. Selina Kyle sticks to her origins of being a cat burglar and an anti-hero rather than Catwoman which saves having to create a back story to what caused her evil life choices. And Bane, famous for being the character who breaks Batman, is shown with great intelligence, great strength, and a great thirst for destruction. The adaptation from a man with a wrestling mask and toxin pumping in his blood to a man with a mask that helps him live will not only satisfy comic book fanboys, but also please the fans of Nolan's realistic and gritty Gotham. The action scenes are once again some of the most visually stunning and epic set pieces in recent cinema without the need for giant robots or aliens. Just good ol' heart-stopping action.

For some reason, no one took them seriously
 when they claimed to fight crime...

Overall, this is not only a perfectly fitting ending to an incredible trilogy, it is also an absolute masterpiece in cinema. Much like its predecessor, it will shoot to the top of people's lists of favourite movies as well as favourite superhero movies. Arguments will rage on internet forums over which of the series was the best and which villain was the greatest - or evillest - and opinions will fly. The simple truth of the matter, is that The Dark Knight Rises is a glorious film and an epic conclusion to, what has already been widely described as, the best superhero series ever. Expect to see Hathaway more badass then ever before, Caine more touching, and Hardy at his most psychotic. You're in for a treat.

Best Bit? There was a cameo that made me jump out of my chair in geekish excitement, but I think my personal favourite section was Bane and Batman's first intense encounter. Not only was the action outstanding, the dialogue exchanged was so wonderfully written and delivered by Hardy.