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.

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.

Insertion.

Some of you may ponder my title choice today. I shall explain. The opposite of extraction is insertion. So why Christoper Nolan called his movie Inception is a mystery.

If you didn't guess I'm finally getting round to reviewing Inception; an all round excellent movie. It stars some of my favourite actors, (Cillian Murphy, Leanardo DiCaprio, Michael Caine, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page) and is directed by the incredible Christopher Nolan. Now, if for some reason you didn't recognise that name, you have issues. Christopher Nolan directed the reboot of the Batman series and has placed The Dark Knight in many people's 'Top Ten' lists. And if you haven't heard of that.. Then I truly feel sorry for you.

With gun and spinning top in hand, Leo can take the dream world.

The plot of the film is complex but please don't let that put you off. Professional 'thief' Dom Cobb (DiCaprio) and his partner, Arthur (Gordon-Levitt,) are offered a job. But instead of the usual job of stealing they must place something. An idea. Yes they work within the subject's dreams instead of their reality; extracting ideas or, in this case, inserting one... Inception. Japanese business man, Saito (Ken Watanabe,) wishes for rival company, Cobol Engineering, to be gone and asks Cobb to place an idea in Robert Fischer's subconscious. The idea? To destroy his fathers company. Cobb gathers a team to place the idea, despite Arthur stating it's impossible.

A film full with awesome action sequences but also a clever plot which contains philosophical underlining. (Don't worry. Those underlinings are just for intelligent people. If you feel you just want to watch an action film this is still for you.) It's nice to see a completely original film in this world of remakes, reboots and sequels. It's not just a unique plot either; the fight sequences and car chases are truly new and fresh, (mainly cause in the world of subconscious you can plow a train down the middle of a street..) The special effects are spellbinding and some of the acting is outstanding (Check Joseph Gordon-Levitt playing the serious character.)

The hype for this film had the actors bouncing of the walls.

There's funny moments and sad moments. There's thrilling moments and calm moments. There's WTF moments and 'Oh I get it' moments. There's basically something for everyone.

Also, here's a fun fact for your amusement: This is the third Christopher Nolan movie in five years in which Cillian Murphy has spent a significant amount of screen time with a cloth bag on his head.

So worth a watch.. In fact a must-see. Don't miss it. You'll regret it.




Best bit? Joseph Gordon-Levitt's fight scene in a spinning hotel corridor. (He did his own stunts that scene don't you know.) Oh and BRITISH DIRECTOR!