WHERE HEARTS AND MINDS COLLIDE IN A WOMRHOLE... "INTERSTELLAR"

Well this was a big one – in so many senses of the word! Not least because it was yours truely’s first ever IMAX experience! I did smirk slightly when the usher warned the audience to look away if they felt disoriented or sick – but I did actually feel quite sick during one portion of the film (although, ironically, telling you which bit would constitute a spoiler) and I felt as if my head was full of cotton wool for quite a while after the film… I still loved IMAX though… Especially with a highly visual film like Interstellar, it’s almost obligatory to have it either in 3D or in IMAX… I mean, there are some films (*cough* Gravity *cough*) whose entire USP is based on its visuals and being viewed with “advanced” technology. Interstellar’s aim is to be a bit more than a pretty face though. And Christopher Nolan being Christopher Nolan – the film has plenty to say for itself. Is it all coherent – I hear you ask – or does the film actually deserve the hashtag Interstellarplotholes Well…

In a dystopian world where “the system” has been destroyed and everyone have become farmers in a desperate attempt to  keep the world (and by that I mean the entire planet) from starving to death, Cooper, once an astronaut, is restless… His children have known nothing different but he remembers a world where mankind was adventurous and exploration of the final frontier was still on the cards… That is why he is delighted to happen upon a top secret space mission run by what remains of NASA and headed by Dr Brand Sr (Michael Caine) and his daughter (Ann Hathaway) Cooper gets the chance to return to his vocation, and possibly save the world while he is at it… However this is a mission like no other, Cooper is headed for truly uncharted waters and picking the new planet humanity is going to live on is a tricky business at best…

Now, this film has, you may have noticed, a huge number of fans. This is because the film is ambitious, incredibly ambitious, on so many fronts… First of all, visually… Well what can I tell you the film is a stunner… There are so many so called set pieces of space, the planets and (mild spoiler alert) the wonderful visuals of the galaxy beyond the wormhole and (major spoiler alert for like one sentence) the universe actually inside the worm hole (this is the point at which I started feeling nauseated by the way) are wonderful feats of technology and imagination. Best viewed with some form of HD, you will definitely be visually satisfied by Interstellar…

You will also be emotionally satisfied by it. Nolan produces quite a few very successful full-blown tugs at your heart strings. Even the toughest in my group welled up a couple of times during this one. I cannot state examples without giving spoilers as a lot of the most emotional moments come at crucial parts of the story – sort of jump cries as opposed to jump scares if you will…

But on the third hand (I appear to be an octopus for the purpose of this review) the film is also very, very cerebral. Nolan puts in a lot of science and a traditionally complicated storyline, successfully blending quantum physics, theory in a dystopian space context… Or I mean, does he really? This is where the hashtag Interstellarplotholes comes into play… Because Interstellar is a thing to be felt and enjoyed, sure… But if you start actually thinking about it seriously, holes begin to appear… I mean it starts from the smallest things – how, for example, in a world where purportedly nothing grows except corn, does mankind still have beer? How come Cooper never loses his tan for the duration of his “decades” in space? And – this is a big spoiler so look away now if you’re sensitive but I need to get this off my chest it’s a big pet peeve of mine  - why oh why oh why does this wormhole somehow magically end up behind a bookshelf? I mean I get the whole circular storyline thing, much like the Alchemist of Paulo Coelho we find the answer to the mystery we were searching for back where we began as it were but… I mean why of all things behind a book case?? I mean I get the importance of circularity. I really do. It’s the whole Humanist mindset of human beings “not needing any mysterious beings to take care of them”, that we and all the resources within ourselves are the only guides we’ll ever need if only we realize our own full potential. And I have to say, this is one of the more beautiful and intelligent ways I have seen of putting this message across. But I do wish Nolan had paid a bit more attention to the science as he went along. I mean I’m not even getting started on the fact that the only explanation we have of a wormhole is the same old folding a piece of paper thing every other sci-fi movie seems to do. Nolan either wants to mystify the viewer or, and I feel this may be the actual answer, this is not necessarily about “accurate science”. It’s a parable of love, humanity and life in a science fiction context and we should follow what our heart is picking up and not get “entangled” in the whole scientific context making sense to the “t”. Then again, it is the 21^st century and there are people out there who have made a bona fide hobby out of hunting for plot holes so I’m not entirely convinced this was the best way forward for this film if this was indeed what Nolan was after…

Whatever it was, true to form, we will very obviously be chatting about Interstellar for a good while yet… 

FUN AND SONGS IN THE SUN AS AUTUMN COMES - GO TO : "RIO"

Now to be fair to my boyfriend though, he doesn’t always provide me film advice complete with spoilers. In fact, more than once and open mouthed at my ignorance on the matter, he has sat me down in front of a film and insists I watch it. Rio was one of these films. And credit where it’s due, this film more than hit the spot on many different levels. It’s an animation for starters and I ALWAYS have room in my heart for those fellas, as you will have noticed. Secondly, this is definitely one of the better examples of the afore-mentioned genre, complete with songs, dance numbers (well, sort of) and LOADS of fun. Plus quite a worthy message hidden in there too.

Now, as you can guess Rio and Brazil feature a lot in this story. Not surprising as our story begins in the rainforests of Brazil. Blue (as he will later be known) is a baby blue macaw whose peaceful existence is interrupted by poachers who seize him and take him away to far off lands, far from his family. It’s terribly sad of course but it sort of works out. Chance means that Blue finds a very loving owner who takes care of him well and with whom he grows up. And he has a very peaceful life, that involves hot chocolate, marshmallows a peaceful life in a book shop and no flying. At all. Not that Blue really needs to fly, but anyway. But then, quite suddenly, into this peaceful existence erupts a scientist who explains to his owner that Blue’s breed has been hunted and exported almost to extinction and he is the last remaining male blue macaw of his kind. And the thing is, the last remaining female, Jewel, lives in Brazil. As you can imagine, the scientist is pretty eager they should meet. Now Blue’s owner is quite attached to her routine (as is Blue) but in the face of this great duty, off they go to Brazil. Here Blue will come back together with his roots. Find love. And spread his wings a bit – literally and metaphorically.

Well, topic wise, as you can see, it is pretty much a typical Hollywood animation film. Obstacles overcome, love discovered, family unit restored, and personal growth achieved. But we have said it often enough here. It is not, what you say in cases like these. It’s the way you say them. And this film says all of that with a lot of gusto. And a LOT of talent.  I mean, seriously, films don’t just randomly get nominated for Oscars for best song you know.  Besides, we have Ann Hathaway lending her voice to Jewel – and she does such a spectacular job. There’s a reason she’s one of my favourite actresses, seriously. And Blue has the voice of the equally talented Jesse Eisenberg of whom I have written on these pages more than once. In short, this is one of those really, really fun animations that you can watch with the smaller members of the family with the greatest of ease, and yet really enjoy yourself as well… And as the little ones (and some of the big ones) watch, hopefully messages on animal smuggling and illegal trafficking will be picked up too. Oh don’t worry, it’s all very subtly done. Not in your face or anything. You can’t really avoid it either though, and it is, you have to admit, a rather worthy lesson to be learnt by us all.  And what more you could want from a film, I honestly cannot imagine. 

ALICE IN WONDERLAND

Ok, on with our weekly dose of escapism! And surely when it comes to the fantastical and magical there is no master who could truly compete with Mr. Tim Burton… And anyone who is a fan (and anyone who has a liking for fantastic films, is I find) had their eyes out on stalks when news that he was filming Alice in Wonderland surfaced… I (and indeed a goodly portion of my office) was counting the days to release, although by some twist of fate, I missed the 3-D or IMAX version and had to watch it on DVD. I am not a massive technophile (as you may have noticed) but I really would have liked to have given this a spin in 3-D. Oh well… So, I purchased the DVD, waited for an opportune moment gathered the family round the TV set when said moment arrived and then “went for it”. And yes, it was naturally phenomenal even in 2-D.

So what’s the plot? Surely, I hear you cry; surely we all know the story of Alice! Cut to the chase – get to the gossip! Well actually no, it’s not exactly the Alice story you’re thinking of. (This is Tim Burton boys and girls, have some respect, WOULD he do a dry old re-make?!) It’s Alice a good many years later. Alice is 19(and is acted by Mia Wasikowska - of whom I am pretty sure we'll be hearing more) and on the verge of getting married to Hamish, her father’s old business partners (old because her father has passed on and the partner has now taken over the business leaving Alice and her family in a very “difficult” position.). She has strange dreams about falling and rabbits in waistcoats but on the whole, dismisses them as dreams. She is rather unlike young ladies her own age – but that people think is largely the fault of her rather eccentric upbringing. She has, on the whole, a normal life until she is tracked down by her old acquaintance the White Rabbit and is swept back to Wonderland – for a mission awaits her there. The Red Queen (Helena Bonham-Carter – who is fast becoming an obligatory fixture in Mr. Burton’s works. But they do love each other and she is the mother of his children so I can sort of understand I guess… Besides she does make a rather scary Red Queen), anyway the Red Queen rules Wonderland with an iron fist and the “rebels” such as the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp – another obligatory fixture in Mr. Burton’s works. Not that anybody’s complaining, I mean, Champagne and strawberries, coffee and cigarettes, Depp and Burton – some things were meant to be together… Who, me biased?!!), the March Hare, the Door mouse and the Cheshire Cat (who is voiced over – or voice overed - by Stephen Fry and is my favourite animated character in the film) need Alice’s help to defeat the Jabberwocky (‘Twas brillig and the slithy toes jired and gimbled in the wabe… Oh come on now, I know you haven’t forgotten really!) and help get the good White Queen (Ann Hathaway) back on the throne… But can Alice adapt to Wonderland again and save the day?

Now, on reading this, you can actually be forgiven for crying “Blasphemy!”. In all honesty it can’t be more different from the original Alice story – the children’s classic beloved by anyone worth knowing (my own humble opinion). In fact, it actually sounds like a rather bad sequel, or something hurriedly adapted off another classic Hook. Try and look beyond it though. Think of this particular version of Alice in wonderland as the combining of two great imaginations – Lewis Carroll and Tim Burton. Mr. Burton takes the characters invented so very many years ago by Lewis Carroll, and uses extraordinary actors and modern technology to take them one step further, to make them bigger and better and more colorful… I mean, you may say that technology has its limits while the imagination does not; however, when Tim Burton’s imagination is the hand using the technology, let me tell you the limits are pretty damn blurry. In this context, even the fact that the film blends the characters from two separate books (Alice in Wonderland and Alice through the Looking Glass) doesn’t really bother one. It’s a magical, wonderful, colorful world full to the brim with delightful details. Speaking of details – not that these really count as details but they are not things you notice at once either – the cast doing the voiceovers for the animated characters are BRILLIANT. I’m on IMDB as I write this, checking the list and dear God, Michael Sheen, Alan Rickman (Snape from the Harry Potter movies), Barbara Windsor (Peggy from Eastenders), Paul Whitehouse (a comedian I’m particularly fond of but probably will mean very little to anyone outside the U.K) and Timothy Spall (whose name you won’t recognize but face you immediately will, especially if you watch British T.V).
In short, you will simply get carried away by it. I mean, I watched the film with my 87 year-old grandmother for God’s sake, and even SHE adored it!