5 Reasons Why "Interstellar" Could be the Best Movie of 2014

With Gravity cleaning up at the Oscars last year,  Guardians of the Galaxy dominating the box office this Summer, and a new Star Wars film right around the corner, sci-fi is suddenly... kind of cool. Leave it to Christopher Nolan, however, to make it even cooler.

Interstellar, Nolan's follow-up to 2012's The Dark Knight Rises, is set to be one of the biggest films of the year - in terms of subject matter and, presumably, revenue - bar none. With a joint script - co-authored by Christopher's brother Jonathan - that's been in development since 2007 and a cast that just won't quit, here's my personal top five reasons why Interstellar just might be the best movie of the year.

1. It's a Continuation of the McConaissance

Just in case you've literally been living under a rock for the past year, sci-fi isn't the only thing that's cool again: so is Matthew McConaughey. With an almost perfect triad of movies under his belt from 2013 - Mud, The Wolf of Wall Street, and his Oscar-winning performance in Dallas Buyer's Club - not to mention 2014's near perfect HBO series True Detective, McConaughey has the chance to blow us all out of the water once again. From the extremely limited amount that we know about the film, McConaughey will be playing Cooper, an astronaut/father who is forced to leave Earth in search of a new home for his kids/the rest of humanity. As Detective Rust Cohle would say: alright alright alright. Wait. No. Wrong character.

2. This is some of the promotional art for the film:

It's beautiful and subtle and everything you would expect to see from a film about the endless possibilities of space. And it basically taps into that unrefined subconscious area of anybody who dreamed of being an astronaut when they were a kid (which was pretty much everyone, right?) I couldn't find who designed the posters, but it's better than about 95% of what studios think are smart ideas for posters these days, including this little gem. 

3. The Script is Super Secretive (and Hans Zimmer is composing) 

Alright so that's technically two reasons. Nolan, already notorious for keeping his scripts under wraps, has been more tight-lipped than ever before about the Interstellar script. So tight-lipped, in fact, that he wouldn't even give the script to his long time collaborator,  Hans Zimmer. According to Variety, Nolan gave Zimmer a one page sheet of text - that gave no hints about the film whatsoever - and told him to base the score off of that. Zimmer said that "the page had more to do with my story than the plot of the film. He knows how to get under my skin." The score will also be a step in a new direction for the duo, who have reportedly decided to scrap their loud, stringy, booming bass noises for something a little more different. 

4. The Film will Actually be Shown on Film

For it's limited release in North America (in approximately 240 theaters) Interstellar will be projected in 70mm and 35mm formats, alongside the 70mm imax projections in at least 40 locations. The film is an exception to Paramount Studios initiative to stop releasing movies on traditional film stock as opposed to digitally. Filmmakers like Nolan, J.J. Abrams, and Quentin Tarantino have all stepped forward in defense of classic film stock, even though it's becoming less and less common - and practical - for theaters. 

5. This is the full cast list:

Right here. Enjoy. Not to mention the actual plot, which has something to do with black holes and Matty McCons saving the world/ looking great in a

space suit. I've heard rumors - TOTAL RUMOR RIGHT HERE, TAKE IT WITH THE BIGGEST GRAIN OF SALT YOU CAN FIND - that the trailers don't even show footage from the second half of the movie, which, by the way has an incredibly long and exciting running time of 169 minutes. Yes, your butt will be sore, but so will your brain. In a good way. Hopefully. Here's a trailer if you're so inclined.

Practical Effects: The Real Magic Tricks of Filmmaking

Special effects in filmmaking could be summed up into two different styles: visual effects, and practical effects. Visual effects usually involve editing the footage in post-production, while practical effects are done live in front of the camera. Visual effects can have a really cool effect when used effectively, like in this summer's blockbuster film, "Maleficent". Of course everything you see is fake and created on a computer, but the movement of the camera makes the scene very compelling.

So. Visual effects can be pretty cool. But I'm here to talk about why practical effects are way cooler.

Why are they way cooler?

Well, many reasons. For one the shot is going to have a timeless effect and will look real 100 years from now because, well, it is real. Visual effects however are very time sensitive. These magical, awe-inspiring scenes we see now will look laughable in a few years. But that's how technology works.

Check out these two scenes below...

The first one is from Terminator 3, where they flipped a massive construction vehicle using computer-generated visual effects. The second one is from the Dark Knight, where they do almost the same stunt except they actually flip the truck.

Now to be fair some might jump up and say the Terminator version is better because the truck is seen crunched in to the ground, tires flying through the air, and of course a nice big explosion to finish.

But sorry, you're wrong.

Consider this analogy....

The Dark Knight's effect is like a gourmet selection from that restaurant down the street...

...and The Terminator's visual effect is like a #2 from Panda Express with extra meat.

But consider this analogy for a second. Even though Panda Express is of less quality, overall it's a better deal. You're getting a lot more food for a lot less money. There's plenty like about it... but little to appreciate. You will not eat Panda Express in small bites and appreciate the amount of work it took to create such a masterpiece. It's just something that will make you happy in that moment. And minus the painful poo afterwords, that's exactly what the Terminator 3 effect is. It's just a cheap audience pleaser. 

I hope a few of these behind-the-scenes videos below will help convince you:

First off, The Dark Knight flip:

 Come on... that's just FRIGGIN COOL.

For any of you that have seen Inception, you may remember the scene when Joseph Gordon-Levitt is in a fist fight whilst flying all across a room because of changing gravity. How do you create the effect of a room rapidly changing gravity? How about RAPIDLY CHANGING THE GRAVITY?

This next video is from "Edge of Tomorrow", a film I expected to be a horrible flop. Tom Cruise stuck reliving to same war scene day after day? Sounded to me like an excuse for big explosions and no story at all. But the reviews came out and they were actually really positive. I couldn't believe it. I had to see what all the huff was about, and I was indeed pleasantly surprised by the engaging story. The story does of course include several explosions and battle scenes, but I remember thinking that they were acted out very well. That is, the actors seemed to be reacting to their environment quite realistically. After watching this video, I realized why. This video features several small clips, but the most impressive clip is at 2:58. It's truly incredible and I don't think many actors could pull it off besides Tom Cruise. 

Of course there are many other notable films that are famous for their use of practical effects, but I hope this gives you an introduction to the fine art and precise skill of these types of effects. They are dangerous, expensive, and difficult, but that's why they deserve so much appreciation.

Crave that gourmet shit.

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            In the new James Bond film we see a movie that has surpassed my expectations. I have now seen Skyfall two times and after each viewing felt very excited for what’s in store for the future. Without spoiling anything this movie is very great at everything it wants to accomplish. You can tell from the scale of this film that it took a lot from 2008’s The Dark Knight. If you haven’t seen the last few Bond films then that is okay, cause it does not reference ether one. It makes great nods to the past 50 years of Bond films throughout the entire film. If you do one thing this fall it got to be to see Skyfall.