This post is part of my movie-a-day challenge in which I will watch a film every day for 365 days. Today is Day 303! You can see all the posts for this challenge HERE. To see the original Movie-a-Day Challenge post, click HERE.
Hey friends,
So, I just watched “Interstellar” for the very first time, and honestly, I’m still trying to wrap my head around what the heck just happened. I mean, holy crap, where do I even start with this one? Let’s just say my mind feels like it just got sucked through a black hole, and then popped out somewhere on the other side—just in time for dinner at a 5-dimensional restaurant. But seriously, Christopher Nolan, man—he’s always up to something wild, and I think he might’ve just outdone himself with this one. Space travel, wormholes, love transcending time and space—what’s not to love?
Okay, time out for a second here. Before I completely plummet into the cosmic madness that is “Interstellar,” I’ve gotta say—like, it’s insane that I’ve clocked over 300 movies in my little movie-a-day challenge. Seriously, who even am I? I’m at that point where I’m amazed (and mildly concerned) by my own stamina. When I kicked off this challenge, I didn’t think I’d stick with it. But bam—I’m cruising toward the finish line like I’m on a mission from NASA or something. Maybe I’m channeling my inner space traveler too much, but damn, I’m getting close to victory, and it’s harder to believe than a fifth dimension.
But back to the film. So, first of all, Matthew McConaughey stars in it. And dude, this guy—seriously, props to him for not just sticking to romantic comedies his whole life, because McConaughey as Cooper, the coolest astronaut-slash-farmer dad, is just too much. I know his whole “Alright, alright, alright” vibe is usually reserved for smoother settings (like a Lincoln car commercial), but he nails the role of a distraught yet determined dad who decides to leave his kids behind on a dying Earth to save the human race. I mean, that’s intense stuff in the parent department!
The plot is the kind of sci-fi that you’ll definitely want to pay attention to. At first, everything seems super bleak—we’re talking about dusty, barren lands where corn is king, and the world is running out of food pretty quickly. Everyone’s farming ’cause that’s the only way to survive. The Earth’s like, “Sorry guys, time for me to be a wasteland.” But then—TWIST—there’s a secret NASA mission to find habitable planets through a freaking wormhole near Saturn. Like, what the what?? Of course, Cooper gets roped in because one minute you’re growing corn and the next you’re piloting a spaceship through a dimension-shifting vortex. You know, just astronaut things.
Then we’ve got the supporting cast, and they’re all bringing their A-game. Anne Hathaway plays Brand, a scientist who’s all about that “love is a quantifiable force” kinda thinking. And I gotta say—even though at first, I was like, “Wait, is this character for real?” by the end, I was almost—almost—ready to start calculating gravitational pulls with the power of love myself.
Then there’s Jessica Chastain, who plays McConaughey’s grown-up daughter, Murph (yeah, I didn’t forget the name; that’s one you carry with you). She’s deeply hurt that her dad bounced on them but brilliant enough to figure out the whole gravity equation thing that’s going to save mankind.
Okay, time to talk about that scene. The one so gripping that my jaw actually dropped: The Endurance mission crew lands on that water planet that’s too close to a black hole, and they mess up the timing—by a lot. So, when they get back to the spaceship, almost 23 years have passed while they were dilly-dallying down there for only a few hours. That scene where Cooper is watching years’ worth of video messages from his kids who have grown up without him—like, grab some tissues, my friends. McConaughey’s face just says it all. It’s one of those rare moments in cinema where you feel everything the character feels, absolutely gut-wrenching.
Visually, “Interstellar” is like a work of freaking art. Nolan worked with real theoretical physicist Kip Thorne to make sure the science didn’t go too far off the rails, which apparently resulted in some of the most accurate depictions of a black hole, like ever. That means, yes—when you see that trippy light-bending, swirly vortex thing—they seriously put some effort into making sure it’s not total sci-fi nonsense.
By the end, when everything kinda folds into itself and Cooper finds himself in that crazy, trippy tesseract thing where he can communicate with young Murph through… gravity, and books? Yeah, that’s when I think my brain officially imploded. Okay, Interstellar—now you’re just showing off. But let’s be real. Even though the whole “love is the answer to saving humanity” thing nudges the line between sweet and cheesy, the rest of the movie is so darn mind-blowing that I’m willing to let it slide.
So, in the grand scheme of things, would I recommend this flick? Heck yeah. “Interstellar” is the kind of movie you don’t just watch—you survive it. One minute I’m munching on popcorn, the next I’m questioning the fabric of reality and my place in the cosmos. No big deal. If you’re into movies that leave your brain spinning while you stare at the credits wondering if you believe in gravity, then this is absolutely the film for you.
Alright, I’m gonna call it—a spatial anomaly of a movie that everyone should experience at least once in their journey across the time-space continuum.
Catch you on the flipside!
Roger
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