Saturday, November 29, 2014

J-Bang Reviews present: Interstellar

                                                     J-Bang Reviews present: Interstellar
Interstellar is like a bottle of fine wine...it gets better with age. That being said, I very much enjoyed this movie as it progressed. One thing that viewers should take note of before watching this movie is this, "Don't go looking for realistic characteristics in this film!" It will better for you to watch this movie accepting that fact that it dives deep into the realm of sci-fi and spirituality rather than realism. Ok? Ok! Let's move on!
Interstellar tells the story of a dying Earth that is slowing being destroyed by dust storms. The only hope for mankind's survival is inter-dimensional space travel through different galaxies in search of a new planet to live on. This expedition is led by our protagonist Cooper, played by Matthew Mcconaughey, who reluctantly leaves his family to pursue this mission. The beginning of Interstellar is fairly slow, and quite frankly, boring. It takes probably 40 to 45 minutes until it become interesting. Once the lift off has taken place and our journey in space begins, we are greeted with wonderful CGI and trippy space travel. In order to appreciate the full value of this film, I encourage you all to watch in 3-D IMAX presentation. Believe me, it's like being there. Anyway, as the sci-fi adventure continues, conflict ensues, and suddenly it changes the whole dynamic of this film. From then on, it feels as if anything could happen in this film, and that sense of adversity made it easy for me to truly grasp how dangerous and frightening this mission really was for these characters.
Interstellar is a fantastic sci-fi film that feels somewhat akin to 2001: A Space Odyssey, but also takes other characteristics from past sci-fi films and pays tribute to them. For example, "the Ranger," the spacecraft above used in this film, gave me flashbacks to the time traveling delorean used from Back to the Future in terms of it's flight and speed. Personally, I thought that was pretty cool.
 
I know I'm giving a lot of praise to this film but that just personally means the pros outweigh the cons. The cons however are that sometimes, you can't fully understand the dialogue. By that, I don't just mean the accents of both Michael Caine and Matthew Mcconaughey. I mean the dialogue of this film is full of scientific "mumbo-jumbo" that can easily be interpreted only by REALLY SMART PEOPLE, and in a movie where you have to pay attention to every little detail, including the dialogue, it can be exhausting and too much to handle! Other than that, IT'S A PRETTY SOLID FILM.
Great...
Interstellar gets a score of 4 out of 5



Saturday, November 22, 2014

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

J-Bang Reviews present: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1. Well, well, well...here we are, the beginning of the final chapter in the Hunger Games saga and I will say this, "Don't expect to find any happiness in this sequel, because THERE IS NONE! My God, this movie is SO DEPRESSING, it almost made me lose all sense of hope in this world. The tone of this movie is dark and grim, and every scene in this movie, gives you every reason not to smile. I didn't think it would get any darker than Catching Fire, but it did in this one. That being said, it's a pretty good film, it's just that is does feel a little incomplete, as it should. I mean it is only just Part 1. The special effects are better than before and the main characters you love do return...but in small doses. There's alot of Katniss and Gale, but characters like Peeta, Primrose, Finnick, Haymich and Effie are only seen rarely throughout the film. The film also seems to appears as a war movie rather than a sci fi adventure. It's very traumatic through the eyes of the characters but one specific dynamic I'd enjoyed throughout the movie was Katniss's evolution from scared girl reluctant to lead a revolution to ruthless leader that inspires hope. Every time she delivered a memorable speech or had a memorable moment, I enjoyed watching the result it had on the districts and people she inspired. There's not a lot of action in this movie, but it is fittingly replaced with suspense and unsettling mystery. I can hope by the next film, there might actually be a happy ending for our heroes but the only thing we can do now, is wait for Part 2. Mockingjay Part 1 gets a 3.5 out of 5