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.

Argo F***k Yourself

Argo is the first great film of the year. Yes The Dark Knight rises and the Master are close but none shined brighter than the latest from Director Ben Affleck. Who knew the man who was once Daredevil would become the best up and coming director of his day? With great films Gone Baby Gone and The Town under his belt Mr. Affleck is stacking up quiet a résumé; and he can ad his latest film to that list.

While Argo may not be perfect it comes as close as any movie this year. Affleck gets the tone of the 80’s without felling forced. What probably is his best strength in the movie Affleck gets all the humor from the Hollywood scenes and then pumps up the adrenaline for the last hour or so. While the action is not very fast paced you still get a sense of real urgency from these characters and that in the end what makes this film stand out compared to most. 

In the spirit of all Trailers

In the spirit of all this trailer creating process! (and because I'm happy this project is over) I decided to dedicate my last post to some of my favorite trailers!

My first favorite trailer is for David Fincher's Social Network:

I have to be honest, when I first heard that a movie about Facebook was coming out, I wasn't that excited. What made me go see this movie was the trailer. First of all, it uses a cover of Creep by Radiohead, as their score. Not Radiohead's best song, but it fits the concept and creates the perfect mood to catch the audience's attention (given that most of us have heard this song before). I also loved that they used a choral version of the song instead of the original one. Second, this trailer does a pretty good job introducing the conflict of the movie without giving away the whole plot. Finally, the shots and lighting are both interesting and as dramatic as they need to be.

Yes, I know this trailer is in french..... But I still love it. I first saw this because I had to watch a list of trailers in french for one of my classes. Believe me, I don't understand most of the stuff these people are saying, but it is awesome that a trailer you can't understand the words of can be so captivating. The music for this trailer is excellent. The switch in tempo and melody really gives you a taste of the different moods of this movie. It also does a great job connecting you with the characters. Every time I watch this trailer I feel compelled to watch the movie again! I also decided to upload this version, because I think the american version of the trailer is not as exciting as this one.

I remember when I first saw this, I thought "This movie is going to be epic!" I have no idea how many times I've watched this trailer, but I still get excited every time I watch this. The editing for this is excellent. I love how at the beginning they fade in and out different shots. This technique gave a certain rhythm that totally changes as you move on, especially at the end where all the cuts are fast. The editing, along with the music and voice overs work really well together. The only word to describe this trailer is epic!

Finally, the Inception movie trailer. I like this because it's pretty similar to the Batman trailer in technique (of course both movies are from the one and only Christopher Nolan). This trailer not only gives you whole picture of the movie, but also focuses in the main conflicts of the characters (especially Leonardo Dicaprio's character). I think the Batman trailer also does this. The Inception trailer also does a great job introducing the audience to the world of the movie, in order to hook them and make them go see it.

These are only a few of my favorite trailers! I also want to take this opportunity to express that it was a great semester. And that I enjoyed working with such a talented class! Hopefully I'll see you guys next semester, and if I don't I wish you the best luck!!!!

Captain America: The First Avenger

While this summer was filled with many blockbusters, Pirates of the Caribbean, Thor, Super 8, The Hangover, Green Lantern (which turned out to be awful), Harry Potter, and one that I fully waited for was Captain America.

I tend to watch a lot of trailers and was very impressed with the trailer; however, I was very worried that it would turn out to be like Green Lantern where there was no story at all in the movie. While watching this, I found this superhero movie to be one of my favorites since Spider-Man in 2002. While Visual Effects has taken a huge tole in movie-making this century, the story is the heart of the movie and visual effects create the illusion of this fantasy into a reality.

In this movie, I found it very easily to relate to Steve Rodgers' (Captain America) character because he continues to strive and keep with everyone by wanting to fight for his country in World War II. Due to his size and lack of muscle tone, he is always turned down. He is then chosen for the Captain America project because he has a strong heart, the one qualification that every soldier should posses.

I truly enjoyed this movie not only because of the character development but that there wasn't a lot of time spent in the fight scenes or taking down Hydra's (the enemy) bases, the movie was very well dedicated to having the viewer appreciate the story of this legendary superhero and what he wants next.

Next summer should be epic with The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises . . . can't wait.