Review: Interstellar

by Trevor Kirkendall

★★½

If Christopher Nolan didn’t direct it, would there still be all this mass praise for “Interstellar?” Or would we just be discrediting it and not paying any attention to it like almost every other original sci-fi film released by Hollywood? Don’t get me wrong, I do love it when an original film from the Hollywood studios gets release and people actually go see it. People always seem to be interested in a movie when Nolan is involved.

And that’s a good thing, by and large. It’s always a good thing when an auteur such as Nolan is allowed to thrive without too much studio interference. If this were anyone else, the studio would have demanded cuts to drop its 170-minute runtime down to a more acceptable two-hours. They would have also demanded the scientific/technical jargon be completely cut out since you – as an audience in the opinion of a studio – are too dumb to figure complex language and plot devices out for yourself. Studios think so little of their audiences today.

We’ve been on the lookout for “the next Spielberg” for a long time now. A filmmaker who is just as much of a draw to moviegoers as the A-list actors at the top of the poster. Let’s face it; people aren’t going to see this film because two Oscar winning actors have their names at the top of the poster. They’re going because it’s a film by Christopher Nolan. So if anyone is still looking for “the next Spielberg,” I say look no further. But even the great Spielberg can’t always crank out winners every time. While “Interstellar” is by no means a dud, it’s one of the weaker films Nolan has put together.

“Interstellar” begins at some undisclosed time in the future. The world is falling apart thanks to all the food supplies dying out. We meet Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), a former NASAS pilot turned farmer and widowered father of two. Corn is about the only crop that can still be grown on the dusty planet earth. But some mysterious circumstances around the house lead Cooper to Professor Brand (Michael Caine) and his daughter Amelia (Anne Hatahway). They help make up what’s left of NASA and are attempting to come up with a plan to save the people of earth.

Over 10 years ago, NASA sent a team of explorers out to travel through a newly found wormhole and see if they can find other planets capable of supporting life in different galaxies. They think they have three promising possibilities. They are asking Cooper to pilot a mission out there with Amelia and a crew of two others. The duration of their flight: unknown. Much to the dismay of Coopers daughter Murph (Mackenzie Foy), Cooper reluctantly goes.

Much like any other Nolan film, you’re expected to pay attention because the script is packed with many different twists wrapped inside a complex story structure. There’s no denying Nolan and his writing partner/brother Jonathan are gifted screenwriters. After all, they’ve been able to make films with complex plots that leave their audiences with a desire to see it again and again to catch the things they’ve missed.

That being said, their screenplay for “Interstellar” is a bit overinflated. It takes almost an hour for us to get into space, yet the setup of the characters and the initial plot points are rushed through. Cooper is determined to take on the mission, but there’s not a whole lot given in his development that would lead us to believe he’s the kind of person to give up everything that a bunch of strangers tell him. Sure, the script provides all sorts of explanations as to why, but they’re not satisfactory answers.

“Interstellar” is a visually stunning film, there’s no denying that. It looks great on the large format IMAX screens. Nolan has always been one to use more practical effects in his films rather than relying on CGI like some of his contemporaries. But for the first time in his career, Nolan has relied on the effects – both practical and CGI – to be the focal point of his film. With “Inception,” the effects were eye-popping, but they were secondary. The story was the star. Here, it’s the other way around.

And with a lack of attention on the humans, I find my willingness to care about them greatly diminished. Cooper wants nothing more than to get back home and see his kids again. He continues to see them in video messages from earth even as time moves a bit faster there than it does in the deep reaches of space. Soon, his kids become grown adults (Jessica Chastain and Casey Affleck). Cooper, of course, hates that he’s missing their lives and McConaughey portrays this misery well, but it just doesn’t have the emotional impact it probably could have. The further along the movie got, the less I started to care whether or not he gets to see his kids again.

Much like last year’s “Gravity,” “Interstellar” is all about the experience and I think most people who will watch this movie will enjoy it immensely. It’s just a flawed film from a storytelling standpoint. Like every other Nolan film, a repeat viewing might be necessary. However, I’m inclined to think that there might not be much more to get out of it, especially on my home TV where the magnificent effects might not look nearly as amazing. At least it’ll be quieter. For crying out loud, this movie’s sound is mixed way too damn high! And Hans Zimmer’s score is so overpowering that it’s almost unbearable. I swear I had to strain to hear what these characters were saying to one another during the action sequences.

Many people will love this film, but I wonder if they would still love it if it were directed by a lesser know – yet still relatively proficient – filmmaker.  Will all the love be because Nolan’s name is on the screen, or will people love it just because it’s something grand and extravagant? I may seem to be bashing this movie a little bit, but I did like it. I just expected more out of Nolan given his sensational history. But this film is by no means a new “2001” for this generation, as I’ve heard a few people call it. “Interstellar” is good in its own right, but it is nowhere near the level of mastery of “2001.” And it’s certainly one of the weaker films Christopher Nolan has put out.

Review: The Wolf of Wall Street

by. Joe Moss
★★★★

Much to the chagrin of my great friend Trevor, I must admit to everyone that I am most assuredly NOT a huge Marty Scorsese fan, nor am I a Leonardo DiCarprio fan. With that clarification out of the way I must say "The Wolf of Wall Street" IS THE BEST FILM OF 2013 hands down!! The 180 minute run time flies by as though on a cocaine high with a quaalude kicker. After I watched the film, I contemplated returning to the theater to watch it again just to be sure that I hadn't missed anything--it was THAT kind of SPECTACULAR!

The film encompasses the debauchery and pyramid scheming from the yuppie era of the late 80's that has made many of the Wall Street-based millionaires legends. Jordan Belfort (DiCaprio) gets a job at a renowned Wall Street stock brokering firm working for the legendary Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey) from who he learns the "three rules" on how to make it in the stock brokering world that is New York of the 80's. Unfortunately, his timing for his career happens to coincide with the crash of 1987--an auspicious beginning to say the least. But this doesn't slow young Belfort down, he rebounds working at a penny-brokerage firm on Long Island--and the rest is history in the making.

Belfort is hugely successful at the pyramid scheme that is penny stock options and builds his new firm--Stratton Oakmont, Inc.--with his newly found business partner, Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill). They take their 50% commissions off the backs of the "garbage men and postal workers" and live large. Belfort lives so large, in fact, that his wife Terese (Cristin Milioti) leaves him and his philandering ways behind once she catches him in the throws of foreplay with the nicknamed 'Duchess of Bay Ridge' (Margot Robbie)--wife number 2. They soon become the toast of the Hamptons as well as the highlight of most of the New York social scene.

As all success stories oft do, there must be a down side to all of this wealth. Both the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and the FBI take notice of these loud and obnoxious brokers and ride them for 10 years, lead by Agent Patrick Denham (Kyle Chandler). Finally, as the hammer falls, Belfort is looking at 20 years plus fines for fraud, embezzlement, insider trading, money laundering....and the list goes on and on. Do you think that is enough to stop the money machine that is Jordan Belfort? Well, for this point you will need to go watch the movie for yourself to see because I do not want to give too much more away...

I cannot begin to say how incredible Leonardo DiCaprio is in this film, perhaps the performance of his long career. DiCaprio truly immerses himself into this role and BECOMES Jordan Belfort. I found myself liking, despising, rooting for, and disgusted by his behavior throughout the film. Talk about a roller coaster ride of emotions. I am not sure if Leo has done any (or all) of the drugs that are mentioned in this film, but my hats go off to the portrayal of a man on the edge of a binge and in the throws of the neurological meltdown. I was so emotionally involved at one point during the film, I had to shake my head to remind myself it was 'just a film--' but like a great book, the screenplay drew the audience into the fricassee.

To that end, Terance Winter (mostly know for HBO dramas like the Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire), did an absolutely bang-up job on the adaptation of this book (by Jordan Belfort himself) into the screenplay. Coupled with the very capable cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto (Argo, Brokeback Mountain, Babel), the film transcends generations to truly give the audience a small glimpse of the 80's and 90's for the fabulously wealthy socialites in, and around, Manhattan.

I would be completely remise to not mention the incredible job of multi-Oscar winning editor, Thelma Schoonmaker (Aviator, Shutter Island, The Departed) a long-time Scorsese collaborator. I am not sure how she and Marty were able to do it, but they are rumored to have trimmed approximately 45 minutes from this film. I am not sure HOW or WHERE they trimmed from, but you cannot tell. This movie is SEAMLESS in its transitory flow.

Now, please remember this this movie is RATED R, please do not take your three 12-year-old sons to see this film (as did the guy sitting next to me). There is plenty of nudity and drug abuse to scar a person for life--but then again, that was the 80's and early 90's.

Review: Dallas Buyers Club

by Trevor Kirkendall

★★★

“Dallas Buyers Club” is a true story that discusses how bureaucracy interferes with expediting the FDA’s drug approval process. It’s not a film built on political motivations. It doesn’t take one side or another. What it does do is personify exactly who this approval process hurts. But that’s not the only story behind “Dallas Buyers Club”. This film features two of the finest acting performances you will see in any movie this year.

Matthew McConaughey stars as Rob Woodroof, a rodeo bull rider and electrician in Dallas, TX in 1985. The AIDS epidemic is a very hot topic in the news. At that time, the vast majority of cases are coming from homosexual men. Woodruff is a womanizer so contracting AIDS is not something that’s high on his mind. He engages in unprotected sexual relations with many different women. He’s homophobic to a fault, not wanting to be anywhere near a gay man. On top of that, he’s also an alcoholic and a regular cocaine user.

An accident at work one day lands him in the hospital. A blood test reveals he has HIV. Woodroof doesn’t believe it since he’s not gay. The doctors, Dr. Sevard (Denis O’Hare) and Dr. Eve Saks (Jennifer Garner), tell him he only has 30 days left to live. Woodroof hears about a clinical trial being done in the hospital for a drug called AZT and wants in on the tests. Dr. Saks tells him he can’t be a part of the study, but Woodroof is able to get some drugs anyway thanks to an orderly. He takes the drugs in high doses thinking that will kill the virus, but it’s very toxic at that level which almost kills him.

At the suggestion of the orderly, Woodroof travels to Mexico where a doctor gets him off the AZT and starts him on some more non-toxic drugs and proteins to help treat his illness. Woodroof can’t believe that these drugs aren’t available in the United States, but the FDA won’t allow them. Woodroof wants to buy up a lot of the medication and bring it back to the US in order to sell. With the help of a transvestite with AIDS he met in the hospital named Rayon (Jared Leto), Woodroof opens up what’s called a “buyers club” where they give the drugs away for free as long as they pay a $400 a month membership.

“Dallas Buyers Club” is a film built on a story foundation that can be seen in just about every movie you watch. That doesn’t make it unoriginal, it just means it’s following a formula that’s proven and works. Screenwriters Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack haven’t broken any new ground here, but their script is very solid. There’s nothing in here that shouldn’t be, the dialogue is well written and it’s well paced. There’s just no new ground being broken here.

Director Jean-Marc Vallée has a good grasp on the subject matter here and seems to understand what the focal point of this film needs to be. The movie is a critique on the FDA’s approval methods and how a pharmaceutical company can influence what drugs get to the market first. “Dallas Buyers Club” has outstanding performances, but those don’t need any additional attention. Vallée allows his actors to shine all on their own while keeping his attention turned on getting the subject matter to the forefront. He is successful in this regard.

While the subject matter is very important, the movie is also a showcase of great performances. Both McConaughey and Leto are entrancing on screen together. Both are virtually unrecognizable in their roles. The each lost an enormous amount of weight in order to play these parts. McConaughey sports a hairstyle that rivals that of Javier Bardem’s mop in “No Country For Old Men” while Leto does the entire role in heavy makeup and women’s clothes.

Their roles are written to be completely different from one another. McConaughey’s Woodroof is homophobic who continually throws out slurs to slander people like Leto’s Rayon. There’s no reason for these two would ever have been friends under any normal circumstance. They need each other in order to prolong their lives and to make money off of other people’s issues too.

Leto is a revelation in this role. He doesn’t do a whole lot of movies recently as he prefers to spend more time with his band. As an actor, he’s never been someone I ever thought was a stunningly good. He was great in “Requiem for a Dream” but he hasn’t done much since then. And then he reappears out of nowhere after taking a break from acting for four year with a role like this. His role in “Dallas Buyers Club” is humorous, heartbreaking and everything in between. He works great alongside McConaughey.

As for McConaughey, he’s never been better. He’s already shown his true acting potential with “Mud” earlier this year, but carries it even further with his role as Woodroof. Not only does he completely embody this character in every aspect of his performance, he’s also physically transformed to look more like the real Ron Woodroof. McConaughey shed his usual rugged good looks in favor of a skinny, gaunt and sickly apperance. There are many times when watching him that I forgot it was McConaughey in that role. This is the best performance of his career and one of the year’s best performances all around.

“Dallas Buyers Club” sheds some light on the backwards inner-workings of the FDA and how much government bureaucracy interferes with treating sick people. It doesn’t make any kind of political stances even though it does vilify the government agency to an extent. It’s really well made and quite entertainment even though it really brings nothing new to the cinematic table. McConaughey and Leto’s performances are the best reasons to check this one out. I can’t say it enough: they are absolutely sensational.

Review: Mud

by Trevor Kirkendall
★★★★

There’s a moment early in “Mud” where two boys are riding down a river in a boat. They stop where one river meets another, wondering whether or not to proceed. Ahead of them sits a small island. After a brief moment of question, they continue on their way. It’s a good thing they do; otherwise there would be no story to tell. Its that imaginative speculation that drives them onward. Later, they’ll find something unexpected, and hear stories from unknown people who may or may not be exactly what they seem. For the 130 minutes that make up “Mud,” you see the world through a young person’s eyes. Its probably been awhile for a lot of us since we’ve looked at the world like this. What we have here is a coming of age film, the quality of which we haven’t seen in a very long time.  

Tye Sheridan (“The Tree of Life”) stars as Ellis, a young teen who enjoys hanging out with his best friend Neckbone (Jacob Lofland), both of whom are always open to adventure. Also there’s that active interest in girls that’s beginning to form. One day, the two boys take Neckbone’s small fishing boat across the river to an island where they’ve heard a boat has been found stuck in a tree. They find the boat, but they also discover the boat’s already be claimed by a loner named Mud (Matthew McConaughey).

Mud doesn’t think of himself as a hobo or a burnout. No, he’s here because he wants to be here. He’s here because he’s waiting to meet up with the love of his life, Juniper (Reese Witherspoon). Ellis takes a liking to Mud and wants to help him get back with Juniper. Call it childhood innocence, but Ellis believes that if you have someone in your life that you can identify as your “one true love,” then you need to be with that person.

The problem for Mud is that there are plenty of people out there looking for him. Mud is wanted for murder. Not only are the police looking for him, but the next of kin to the man he murdered also want a crack at him. This includes the man’s brother (Paul Sparks) and father (Joe Don Baker). They believe Ellis and Neckbone might know the whereabouts of Mud.

Despite the fact that Mud is murder and a fugitive on the run from justice, I found myself rooting for him for most of the movie. Writer/director Jeff Nichols provides only a little of Mud’s back story at a time so that you never really know exactly who he is until well into the final act. He has this innocence to him, almost like Ellis. Mud seems to believe the all his problems will disappear and everything will be right in the world once his beloved Juniper is beside him.

McConaughey really sells this role. He has never been better. Those little nuances he has that have become laughable caricatures easily punned by the likes of “Saturday Night Live” or “Family Guy” are virtually nonexistent in this performance. You almost forget you’re watching Matthew McConaughey in this role.

But its Tye Sheridan who steals the film right out from under McConaughey. He plays the part of Ellis with the type of maturity usually seen by seasoned veterans, not kids acting in their second feature. The film is told through his point of view. Nichols’ screenplay is full of subplots and they all involve Sheridan’s character. Not too many films feature one character on screen for the entire time; that’s a bit challenging to successfully pull off. Sheridan does it great ease here. If he plays his cards right, he should have a long and successful career if he wants it.

It’s been awhile since we’ve seen a real solid coming of age tale, but Jeff Nichols has made that wait worthwhile. This is my favorite movie so far this year. The imaginative wonder of Ellis and his whole outlook on life and love, combined with some amazing cinematic imagery from Nichols’ usual director of photography Adam Stone, give this film a unique feel. Something almost distinctly American. 

My childhood never remotely resembled that of Ellis and Neckbone’s, yet I found myself reminiscing about it after watching this. But the longer I watched Ellis and Mud interact with each other, the more I wanted to get in there and tell them their intentions are good, but sometimes the world just doesn’t work that way. You can see yourself in this part, growing up with the characters as the film unfolds. That’s what a great coming of age film should do for you.