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Interstellar (Off-Topic)

by Chewbaccawakka @, The Great Green Pacific Northwest!, Monday, November 24, 2014, 11:56 (3440 days ago)
edited by Chewbaccawakka, Monday, November 24, 2014, 12:12

I saw Interstellar over the weekend and I absolutely loved it; felt like it was made specifically for me. I really want to go watch it again. Does anybody want to come out to Spokane and go see the movie with me?

*EDIT* Or simply want to talk about it some? Most of my local friends haven't seen it yet.

Interstellar

by Monochron, Monday, November 24, 2014, 12:46 (3440 days ago) @ Chewbaccawakka

I saw it last weekend and absolutely loved it too. It was all the best parts of science fiction grounded in a very real humanitarian story. And towards the end it reminded me a lot of 2001: A Space Odyssey, which I thought was a pretty fitting way to wrap up the direction the story was taking.

I have heard people say that a couple elements of it were pretty cheesy. . . but I'm fine with that. I think the rest really makes up for it.

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Loved it!

by Miguel Chavez, Monday, November 24, 2014, 12:47 (3440 days ago) @ Chewbaccawakka

- No text -

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2 Numbers

by Cody Miller @, Music of the Spheres - Never Forgot, Monday, November 24, 2014, 12:59 (3440 days ago) @ Chewbaccawakka

"So you need two numbers to measure your own ass, but only one to determine my son's future?"

Best part :-p

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2 Numbers

by Quirel, Monday, November 24, 2014, 13:31 (3440 days ago) @ Cody Miller

"So you need two numbers to measure your own ass, but only one to determine my son's future?"

Best part :-p

"What's your trust setting, TARS?"
"Apparently lower than yours!"

Those robots just stole the show. I'm amazed that they were mostly practical effects.

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+1

by breitzen @, Kansas, Monday, November 24, 2014, 13:35 (3440 days ago) @ Quirel

- No text -

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2 Numbers

by ZackDark @, Not behind you. NO! Don't look., Monday, November 24, 2014, 13:39 (3440 days ago) @ Quirel

"Set humor to 75%"

">Humor set. Self-destruct sequence in 10... 9.."

"Make it 70%"

">Humor set. [beat] Knock, knock"

"Wanna make it 65%?"

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2 Numbers

by Quirel, Monday, November 24, 2014, 13:45 (3440 days ago) @ ZackDark

*Cooper orders TARS to go retrieve Dr. Brand before the wave arrives.*
Audience: "Oh, come on! It'll take it ages to reach-"
*TARS transforms and rolls out.*
Audience: O.O

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2 Numbers

by Postmortem ⌂, AZ, Monday, November 24, 2014, 19:45 (3439 days ago) @ Quirel

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"Docking."

^ My favorite part right there. The music. The intensity. Oh man. My heart was pounding.

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2 Numbers

by Leviathan ⌂, Hotel Zanzibar, Monday, November 24, 2014, 14:06 (3440 days ago) @ Quirel

"So you need two numbers to measure your own ass, but only one to determine my son's future?"

Best part :-p


"What's your trust setting, TARS?"
"Apparently lower than yours!"

Those robots just stole the show. I'm amazed that they were mostly practical effects.

Yeah, when they first showed up, I thought it was a stupid, impractical design and then I spent the rest of the movie understanding how stupid I was.

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2 Numbers

by Chewbaccawakka @, The Great Green Pacific Northwest!, Monday, November 24, 2014, 14:09 (3440 days ago) @ Leviathan

I loved their design though I admit I was taken aback when we first saw them. My favourite aspect about it was how much they seemed like a logical evolution of current-tech robotics and the path multi-use robots seem to be taking.

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I thought it was pretty fantastic in every aspect.

by Leviathan ⌂, Hotel Zanzibar, Monday, November 24, 2014, 13:16 (3440 days ago) @ Chewbaccawakka

Story. Acting. Cinematography. Special effects. Sound. Editing. Music. Ideas. Emotions. Excitement...

But especially the effects. You just don't see realistic space visuals presented with care, subtlety, and creativity very often and I treasure them (the other comparables that come to my mind are my favorite movie of all time, 2001: A Space Odyssey and the 20-minute creation-of-the-universe segment in Terrence Malick's Tree of Life).

Although there were a lot of great sequences, the little five-second shot of Saturn to the sound of thunder and rain might have smacked my imagination the most and it made me truly happy that art exists.

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I thought it was pretty fantastic in every aspect.

by Chewbaccawakka @, The Great Green Pacific Northwest!, Monday, November 24, 2014, 14:10 (3440 days ago) @ Leviathan

When the Endurance was just a mote of light in the distance? One of the (several) times I might have teared up a little...

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Spoiler-ish

by ZackDark @, Not behind you. NO! Don't look., Monday, November 24, 2014, 13:34 (3440 days ago) @ Chewbaccawakka

It's like every time he addressed Murphy or Murphy addressed him after finding out NASA, a swarm of invisible ninjas would scramble into the theater and leave tiny droplets of water on my face.

*MAJOR SPOILER*
And, my God, "STAY"

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Beautiful film *Possible SP

by breitzen @, Kansas, Monday, November 24, 2014, 13:34 (3440 days ago) @ Chewbaccawakka

Loved it!

The scene in the ocean got me on a high. But then when Cooper is watching the videos of his dad and son immediately afterwards my mind couldn't reconcile such a huge emotional swing and I just broke down sobbing. Man McConaughey sold his performance in such a huge way.

Also, alot of my friends didn't like Damon's character, but I really liked that part. Am I alone on that?

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Beautiful film *Possible SP

by ZackDark @, Not behind you. NO! Don't look., Monday, November 24, 2014, 13:37 (3440 days ago) @ breitzen

Loved it!

The scene in the ocean got me on a high. But then when Cooper is watching the videos of his dad and son immediately afterwards my mind couldn't reconcile such a huge emotional swing and I just broke down sobbing. Man McConaughey sold his performance in such a huge way.

Yep. "Lois said I should let go" and his reaction was almost as hard-hitting as him driving off to the launch.

Also, alot of my friends didn't like Damon's character, but I really liked that part. Am I alone on that?

Well, I didn't like him, but I liked the fact that he was in the story for us to dislike him. :p

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Beautiful film *Possible SP

by Postmortem ⌂, AZ, Monday, November 24, 2014, 19:48 (3439 days ago) @ ZackDark

"Lois said I should let go" and his reaction was almost as hard-hitting as him driving off to the launch.

This. The camera work was so brilliant here, because while he's watching his son grow up, you see him crying as he's overwhelmed by everything, then when Murph finally gets on screen it stops showing us his face while she talks. Then it does this hard cut back to him at that point and he's just losing it... and I lost it... and the whole audience lost it.

Man what a great movie. I haven't had such an emotional experience in a film in years.

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It was... (Spoilers)

by Quirel, Monday, November 24, 2014, 13:58 (3440 days ago) @ Chewbaccawakka

... a great film, and it remains a great film the longer I spend not thinking about it.

First and foremost, it's a beautiful film to watch. There's just so many great shots, so many beautifully conceived scenes. I personally love how almost all the exterior shots of space were from the POV of external cameras. It made the shots of Dr. Mann's docking attempt that much more effective.

And shortly after, when Cooper had to dock with the spaceship when it was spinning out of control... *Inhales deeply* that was impossibly amazing.

And you know how much I rant about movies ignoring physics or treating advanced technology as just another flavor of magic? Didn't happen as much with Interstellar. Any other movie, I'd be harping about how they should have been visibly dizzy and nauseous on a carousel that small. Here, I just chalked it up to a sedative that would selectively dull the inner ear. Yusuf's work, obviously.

And the Tessarect at the end was very well done. I have no complaints, only endless applause for the visuals.

But... well, don't highlight the following if this science stuff will ruin your enjoyment of the movie.

There was no reason for the team to visit Miller's planet. None. Even if a beam in NASA's eye prevented them from realizing "Hey! Miller's only been down there for an hour." his planet should have been the very last in viability. Simple orbital mechanics: If the black hole's gravity bends space enough for an hour on Miller's planet to last seven years outside, that planet would have to be travelling at ludicrous speed to stay in orbit. Seriously, look up in the sky and you'll see plaid.

And if anybody wanted to land on the planet, they'd have to match its velocity first. The fuel that the team would have to burn would make the other planets seem downright welcoming in comparison.

Overall, excellent. You just can't examine the film's treatment of orbital mechanics too closely.

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About those spoilers (Still spoilery)

by ZackDark @, Not behind you. NO! Don't look., Monday, November 24, 2014, 14:03 (3440 days ago) @ Quirel

There was no reason for the team to visit Miller's planet. None. Even if a beam in NASA's eye prevented them from realizing "Hey! Miller's only been down there for an hour." his planet should have been the very last in viability. Simple orbital mechanics: If the black hole's gravity bends space enough for an hour on Miller's planet to last seven years outside, that planet would have to be travelling at ludicrous speed to stay in orbit. Seriously, look up in the sky and you'll see plaid.

And if anybody wanted to land on the planet, they'd have to match its velocity first. The fuel that the team would have to burn would make the other planets seem downright welcoming in comparison.

Also, exactly because an hour on the planet is seven years, wouldn't the signal be distorted as hell? Thumbs up on the insanely overpowered tidal waves due to the black hole, though.

Btw, I think Dr. Miller was a "she".

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About those spoilers (Still spoilery)

by stabbim @, Des Moines, IA, USA, Monday, November 24, 2014, 15:07 (3440 days ago) @ ZackDark

Also, exactly because an hour on the planet is seven years, wouldn't the signal be distorted as hell? Thumbs up on the insanely overpowered tidal waves due to the black hole, though.

Yeah, there'd be a shift in frequency. A shift that any first-year signal analyst at NASA would surely have realized was due to the time differential. Or the signal wouldn't have been received at all, depending on the capabilities of the radio equipment. Either way, it certainly wouldn't have appeared to be working normally.

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About those spoilers (Still spoilery)

by Quirel, Tuesday, November 25, 2014, 10:22 (3439 days ago) @ ZackDark

Also, exactly because an hour on the planet is seven years, wouldn't the signal be distorted as hell? Thumbs up on the insanely overpowered tidal waves due to the black hole, though.

It would be red-shifted to Hell, yes.

In addition, the frequency of visible light (400-789 Terahertz) reaching Miller's planet from outer space would be blue shifted into hard X-rays (~30 Exahertz). Not only did life not have enough time to arise, the environment would be too hostile to support any kind of life we know.

I'm also wondering what the planet was made out of to be outside its Roche limit.

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Guess I'm a weirdo, but...

by Kermit @, Raleigh, NC, Monday, November 24, 2014, 14:03 (3440 days ago) @ Chewbaccawakka

I was disappointed by it. I wanted to love it, and was very excited to see it, but sometimes movies try to do too much, and in my opinion this one did. MOON was superior, as was GRAVITY. The original SOLARIS mined the same territory and packed a bigger emotional punch for me, but what do I know? Modern audiences find that movie even more boring than its contemporary rival, 2001.

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Guess I'm a weirdo, but...

by dogcow @, Hiding from Bob, in the vent core., Monday, November 24, 2014, 14:18 (3440 days ago) @ Kermit

I loved 2001, loved loved loved it. I have found only one other person in real life that's felt anywhere near what I did about that movie/book.

Solaris was good, but didn't grab me like 2001 did. Hearing Interstellar being compared to 2001 makes me want to see it all the more.

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Guess I'm a weirdo, but...

by Chewbaccawakka @, The Great Green Pacific Northwest!, Monday, November 24, 2014, 14:21 (3440 days ago) @ dogcow

There are several call-backs to 2001 (another favourite of mine) in Interstellar. If you love it, then I can only suggest you see Interstellar at your earliest convenience. :)

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Guess I'm a weirdo, but...

by Kermit @, Raleigh, NC, Monday, November 24, 2014, 14:32 (3440 days ago) @ dogcow
edited by Kermit, Monday, November 24, 2014, 15:12

I loved 2001, loved loved loved it. I have found only one other person in real life that's felt anywhere near what I did about that movie/book.

Solaris was good, but didn't grab me like 2001 did. Hearing Interstellar being compared to 2001 makes me want to see it all the more.

You definitely should see it just for the visuals. There are some amazing scenes. I like the actors, for the most part. It's attempting to update 2001, but where 2001 leaves you to ponder the meaning of the wordless final act, INTERSTELLAR beats you over the head with Hallmark card sentiments, accompanied by Hans Zimmer's bombastic music. For me, it didn't so much tug at my heartstrings as attempt to rip them out. In the end, I just think it needed a good script doctor who could spot the darlings that needed to be killed.

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^-----THIS

by roland ⌂ @, Tuesday, November 25, 2014, 11:14 (3439 days ago) @ Kermit

- No text -

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^-----THIS

by Kermit @, Raleigh, NC, Tuesday, November 25, 2014, 14:47 (3439 days ago) @ roland

This is gratuitous, but I'm interpreting your post as "APPROVED BY NASA."

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Guess I'm a weirdo, but...

by stabbim @, Des Moines, IA, USA, Monday, November 24, 2014, 15:01 (3440 days ago) @ Kermit

I'm actually with you on this. I liked the film for the most part, and I'd absolutely see it again if I have 3 hours to kill, but there was too much exposition in places. They tried too hard to make sure I got it. It would have been a better film if they'd spent less time and dialogue trying to explain everyone's motivations, and explain the physics.

Just as an example, take Dr. Mann: I loved the idea of that character, and what being alone out there did to him. But he shouldn't have needed to say anything to explain what he was doing in his climactic scene with Cooper. It all could have been communicated later, when the data is dug up from his robot. In fact, as I remember it WAS all explained then. Even as that scene was happening, I was thinking there must be a better way to reveal his motivations than to just have him spell it out.

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Guess I'm a weirdo, but...

by Quirel, Tuesday, November 25, 2014, 10:33 (3439 days ago) @ stabbim

Just as an example, take Dr. Mann: I loved the idea of that character, and what being alone out there did to him. But he shouldn't have needed to say anything to explain what he was doing in his climactic scene with Cooper. It all could have been communicated later, when the data is dug up from his robot. In fact, as I remember it WAS all explained then. Even as that scene was happening, I was thinking there must be a better way to reveal his motivations than to just have him spell it out.

Having him spell it all out drove home how lonely he was. When you go that long without human contact, the gap between what you think and what you say out loud wears down to nothing.

This is what happens when you spend a measly six months alone in an arctic wasteland. By comparison, Dr. Mann was doing pretty well.

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Guess I'm a weirdo, but...

by Kermit @, Raleigh, NC, Tuesday, November 25, 2014, 11:09 (3439 days ago) @ Quirel

I would've cut out the entire Dr. Mann subplot.

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Guess I'm a weirdo, but...

by Miguel Chavez, Tuesday, November 25, 2014, 06:17 (3439 days ago) @ Kermit

I was disappointed by it. I wanted to love it, and was very excited to see it, but sometimes movies try to do too much, and in my opinion this one did. MOON was superior, as was GRAVITY. The original SOLARIS mined the same territory and packed a bigger emotional punch for me, but what do I know? Modern audiences find that movie even more boring than its contemporary rival, 2001.

Solaris is an excellent film, and I guess you can color me a weirdo that I thought the remake in 2012 was good too. But about the only similarity between Solaris and Insterstellar is the space part. The story and arc are completely different.

- M

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Guess I'm a weirdo, but...

by Kermit @, Raleigh, NC, Tuesday, November 25, 2014, 08:05 (3439 days ago) @ Miguel Chavez

I was disappointed by it. I wanted to love it, and was very excited to see it, but sometimes movies try to do too much, and in my opinion this one did. MOON was superior, as was GRAVITY. The original SOLARIS mined the same territory and packed a bigger emotional punch for me, but what do I know? Modern audiences find that movie even more boring than its contemporary rival, 2001.


Solaris is an excellent film, and I guess you can color me a weirdo that I thought the remake in 2012 was good too. But about the only similarity between Solaris and Insterstellar is the space part. The story and arc are completely different.

- M

Yeah, it's broad strokes at this point for me. It's been almost 20 years since I've seen it, and 12 since I've seen the remake. Is the remake with Clooney the one you mean--the one that came out in 2002?

In fairness I saw the original SOLARIS while deep in my Tarkovski phase, and was steeped in his "vocabulary" at the time. I might have a different reaction now.

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Guess I'm a weirdo, but...

by Miguel Chavez, Tuesday, November 25, 2014, 08:57 (3439 days ago) @ Kermit

Yeah, it's broad strokes at this point for me. It's been almost 20 years since I've seen it, and 12 since I've seen the remake. Is the remake with Clooney the one you mean--the one that came out in 2002?

Ah yes, Clooney and Soderbergh.

In fairness I saw the original SOLARIS while deep in my Tarkovski phase, and was steeped in his "vocabulary" at the time. I might have a different reaction now.

On a tangent, check out this list. I've seen almost all, piqued to see some of the others. Obviously subjective.

http://iansales.com/2014/11/24/best-sf-films-since-2000/

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Guess I'm a weirdo, but...

by Kermit @, Raleigh, NC, Tuesday, November 25, 2014, 11:16 (3439 days ago) @ Miguel Chavez

Interesting list. I'm shocked that he doesn't mention MOON. Not enough monsters for him?

Another favorite of mine from the last century--SILENT RUNNING.

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Guess I'm a weirdo, but...

by Quirel, Tuesday, November 25, 2014, 12:25 (3439 days ago) @ Miguel Chavez

On a tangent, check out this list. I've seen almost all, piqued to see some of the others. Obviously subjective.

http://iansales.com/2014/11/24/best-sf-films-since-2000/

There's a lot of turkeys in that list.

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