Reviews

Interstellar is Christopher Nolan's new film and it talks about a lot of things. It offers you emotional feels-trip, a journey through space, time and the limits of what we call reality and It is probably the biggest adventure film I have seen in the last ten years, it has almost no negative points to it. Why? Because it's a near perfect movie, there's no other way to put it.

The film, as many have said, is composed into 3 acts who all feel just in the right place for me. The first part of the movie taking place on earth is important even if I was worried that they we're taking too much time to show it. When the journey begins and where it leads you, you realize just how important the first part of the film was. So as for the story, it has its flaws, just like any space movie it can't be scientifically correct all the time, but who cares? That's the real magic of cinema, you accept to look pass these mistakes and get transported (literally) to another world. Apart from some scientific errors the storyline is complex, well-written and thought-over and allows an emotional message along with a scientific one. This might upset some people but this film was way better than Gravity on almost every point : a real story line, not just a objective of survival; interesting and developed characters, not just a couple of scenes where they talk about their dark past on earth… Don't get me wrong, Gravity was a very good film and I enjoy it for what it was, but the problem is that I felt like it was only trying to be a sensational trip in orbit, more like an attraction with a "what it feels like to be in danger in space" sign on it. The only emotion I felt in Gravity was suspense, whereas Interstellar waked up the childish desires of exploring outer space in me, along with a kaleidoscope of emotions that varies during the course of the film. And that's what makes Interstellar, in my opinion, a better film, and definitely one of the best films of this year (standing close to others of course).

Now let's talk more technical : the cinematography was made by someone Nolan hadn't worked with before but he sure did a wonderful job, an excellent one. The space sequences are amazing, some of the best I've ever seen, and the other planets although they kind of resemble earth on some points, felt very real and far-away, I don't now how to put it. Then, Hans Zimmer. Just by the name of the guy you know the entire score is epicness in epic proportions, and as always it works perfectly in Nolan's film because he also does a lot of epic movies, but this one reaches way beyond anything he or anyone has ever done in terms of exploring vast subjects and Interstellar travel in a realistic way. Take Star Trek or Stargate for example : they have Interstellar travel and they use it all the time, it's become common for them, so the epicness of discovery goes away, and it's only with their adventures on other planets and by meeting enemies that the "fun" really begins for them. Here, even if it set in a near future, the characters are discovering Interstellar travel just like us, which doesn't make them so different than us as a spectator. They know more than us but they have to improvise a lot too. And for it to feel real, you need good actors/actresses. On that point, Mathew McConahey really makes a perfect job, he leads almost all the emotion from the film from earth to the neither regions of space, and there wasn't even one scene where I thought he over or under acted it. This guy is seriously talented. Anne Hathaway, apart from being ridiculously pretty, offers a very good performance herself, even though it is kind of a shame that her character felt a little secondary in the story. This film is filled with great actors and it needed to be since it aimed so high in its story. I was delighted to see Wes Bentley in it, just like I was to see Michael Caine and of course that other actor who shouldn't be named because his presence in the movie is a surprise, but he did an amazing job too, and I though his character was one of the most interesting in the story. I would rank him as second best performance in this film.

Now this review isn't going to be extremely long because I feel like it doesn't need to be, when a film has almost no negative points, the only thing I can really do is compliment it over and over and advise all of you the go and watch it. But I would add this : of you really want to feel an "experience" kind of like Gravity, watch it in a movie theater, not on TV. The sound is extremely important in this film and unless you have an amazing audio stereo set at home with a looooot of bass you won't get the same sensations! Again, this is for now the most impressive film I have seen in a long while, and it should definitely become a classic, and Nolan has now deserved the appellation of genius. Just like another guy said here on IMDb, geniuses don't just live in the past, some are making masterpieces right here and now. Kubrick wasn't a genius director because he made his films in the sixties and seventies, he just made great and original films. Nolan is no different.

I don't even know where to begin...

Harmony Korine is a true artist. That might be where to start, because everyone seems to diss this film and its director, and I'm here to disagree. He kept his style, and that's why I loved it! Most people who went to see this probably didn't know anything about him and also probably didn't care about who he was or what he had done before... The guy wrote the 1995 drama "Kids" directed by Larry Clark, which was the most controversial film of that year, dealing with hard and difficult themes to portrait on film (such as teenage, sex, drugs, street life etc...) and treating of problems people didn't want to face. But Larry Clark's documentary and realistic style made the movie look like an open critic of this generation to the world, and was therefore more accepted by critics. In 1997 Korine then directed the very strange independent film "Gummo", which didn't really have any scenario, just a presentation of a little town in Ohio and its very bizarre set of characters... But the movie was still pretty good because of its weird and sentimental atmosphere mixed with documentary-style filming. He also made other independent films, but all of them always stayed in the "weird" and "unknown" section of DVD libraries.

Here Korine has grown up and gained more experience with the years. This is by far his most accomplished work, but unfortunately by distributing this movie to a bigger audience, he encountered a lot of criticism and hate, just because more people saw and discovered his style. I am afraid that most people today just watch films to have something to watch. Movies nowadays are being more consumed and less actually watched and thought-over. The poster and the trailer for this film were a parody of these easy-selling films that the Hollywood industry makes every year, who don't have anything particularly original (and that's on ALL levels : directing, script, acting, score are all very similar to any other film made by the studio), but instead of seeing the parody of these posters with those good-looking girls, people took it seriously and thought this was just going to be another teen movie about spring break with some fancy action scenes and a seen-before plot. But no, this was something NOBODY could've see coming... or at last not general, ordinary, image-dose seeking spectator.

Now lets actually talk about the film, I kind of got lost here! First things first : the cinematography and the look of this film are amazing. Even if you didn't like it, you can't say that this wasn't beautifully shot and crafted. The camera work is probably the best I've seen in a long time, and the neon colors add a really good look, which contributes to the atmosphere the film is trying to have. Then, the acting is great. James Franco totally takes his character to another level, even thought Korine has done an amazing job with this one, as he often never disappoints when it comes to characters. The girls are good too, and I was really surprised by Selena Gomez. Now comes the score and music : noting to say, absolutely brilliant! All songs fit perfectly to the scenery of spring break, blending Skrillex with hardcore hip-hop but also getting on the sensitive and emotional side sometimes with a Britney Spears cover (seems like she actually made some good songs) an awesome atmospheric score by Cliff Martinez, as always (he did the score for Drive and Only God Forgives) and of course putting Ellie Goulding's Lights in there, just brilliant!

Now, some parts of this films aren't perfect, this isn't the best movie ever made or anything, but it is true work of art and not just a mix of drugs, sex, profanity and violence made by a crazy director in order to sell it. No, this is a very well-thought film, made by a director who actually has the balls to keep his own style no matter the audience is, and who uses sarcasm and reversed psychology in its storytelling in order to transmit its message, which (lets be honest) isn't the most common way to do things in modern American cinematographic industry...

To sum it up, this was an extremely underrated movie, mostly watched by a lot of dumb teens and young adults who thought it was just going to be another Hollywood style flick starring old Disney actresses who want to break their image, but instead of that they got a weird art-house film that didn't follow the "rules" of the filmmaking industry and therefore disappointed them because it wasn't particularly funny in the way that most films are, and it showed sex, drugs and violence in a real, strange, and (too) explicit way for them to enjoy. Hopefully there are still some real cinema lovers out there who recognize the true value of this film. To them I say keep good and interesting movies alive but watching them, and to Harmony Korine, I just want to say thank you and bravo, for having the guts to put out on screen such a wonderful nightmare!

Critics have gone way too hard on this movie. Lots of violent, strange et slow films have been presented at the Cannes film festival since its creation but yet every time a film pushes the boundaries of violence while keeping its own style, most critics go mad and sometimes shout at the screening, even leaving the theater before the end and calling it "outrageous". This film, along with "Anti-Christ" is a perfect example of the type of scandals that go on at Cannes for quite stupid reasons.

First of all, forget about Drive. If you know Nicolas Winding Refn's style and like it then you'll enjoy this movie but if you've only seen Drive and believe this is going to be in the same style (because of the same actor, similar cinematography, same musical style...) believe me you'll be disappointed. The trailer might give this impression, but this film is very different. The director had already made other movies just like this, but they did not encounter a really large audience. His works were mostly known by cinephiles, artsy people and intellectuals interested in film analysis (in a general way of course). Drive was his first really big success and also his first film taking place in America, starring a worldwide known star (Gosling) and going deep into its message while keeping a more specific style than his other films.

Here Refn feels a lot more philosophical, and comes back to his original style in directing films such as Valhalla Rising : great visuals, slow-pasted action, scenes that seem a bit detached from one-another, deep character development, little dialogue, extreme violence mixed with soft and/or trance-electro music... all of which are here to deal with philosophical, deep, hard subjects like revenge, good and bad, mother/son relationship etc...

When it comes to the acting Gosling does not disappoints however this time Refn wanted to do the opposite that he did in Drive : showing the weakness of his character. Also, even though he does pull-off a very convincing performance, Kristin Scott Thomas is surprisingly captivating and gives her character a much more "real" dimension than it could have been (like it is most of the time, when a woman is supposed to play a drug-lord badass). But saving the best for the end, Vithaya Pansringarm, an actor totally unknown to me until know, plays wonderfully his role as the mystical bad guy, and really did surprise me by the quality of his acting. He completely understood the movie's atmosphere and makes his character feel mysterious and fascinating.

To sum-up this is a very atmospheric, deep movie with great actors/actresses and dealing with difficult and serious themes, with some philosophical analysis possible, but definitely not in the same style as Drive, even though it has some similarities with it.

I had heard about this movie years ago, while reading an article about "distrubing scenes in cinema history". This film was described as "shocking" and considered as "pornographic" by some professional reviews. Today I finally decided to watch it and make my own idea of the film, because I had also heard that some people called it a true work of art.

Anyways, today I finally decided to watch it and make my own opinion out of it. Let me be straight : this movie is NOT for everyone, and not just because of the sex scenes, but because it is very hard to watch those characters struggling with their families and with life. Some scenes are very disturbing on a psychological level, not just because of the images. When it comes to explicit content, the movie never shies away from showing male or female nudity, or even actual sex acts on-screen. One scene in particular is quite intense but I won't spoil it for you, I guess the point of that scene is to show you how free from censorship this movie wants to be.

That being said, this movie is great. I never thought I would give it 8 out of 10 but it really went beyond my expectations. I appreciate Larry Clark's work and liked both "Kids" and "Bully" (even though I preferred "Kids" but lets move on) but I was expecting him to lose his "filmmaking hand" as he got older, but he didn't. He kept the exact same style as always, but this time went much deeper into the character's feelings. "Kids" was all about showing what teenagers really did when they were together, in their own secret world filled with sex and drugs and "Bully" was more about the violence that can build up in some teens, and the fact that no one is really there for them from making big mistakes. But "Ken Park" on the other hand is actually more about the parents of these kids. They have no real adults to look up to, practically all the families depicted in this movies or either broke (financially and emotionally), frustrated or freaks. With no supervision, these kids seek for love and appreciable affection where they can find it : with their friends, drugs and sexual experiences.

As always this is a Larry Clark film, so realism is at it's top level, and as always he makes all these stories, scenes, characters completely believable. Some performances are amazing (James Ransone), some stories are strangely touching and emotional (Claude and his father), some scenes are electrifying (Shawn and his girlfriend's mother) and some moments weirdly peaceful (final sex scenes). It almost feels that sex gives those teens a reassuring feeling of comfortness and love, a way to get away from their horrible families and just free themselves and their bodies from all the boundaries they have. Some choose drugs, some choose violence, some choose death (Ken), but others choose consensual sex. Is it a really moral kind of message to pass to teenagers? No. It is supposed to be an example of what to do, does it give a solution to family problems? No. But is it strangely beautiful in its realism and depiction of reality? Yes.

A.C.

One of the things I hate the most about modern films is that they sometimes try to sell them as something they're not.

This film is a very good example of that because watching the trailer you tell yourself that this is a movie about a miraculous plane crash, and that the plot is going to be about how it was possible that Denzel Washington saved all these people. I was expecting anything, really, they even could've throw in some paranormal events into the story just for the sake of a plot like the one presented in the trailer.

Truth is, this film is miles away from it's advertisement. It has nothing to do with thriller and mystery, and the plane crash is only here to set up the real subject of the movie : the main character's alcoholism. I do have to give this film some credit for a very realistic and well- showed plane crash scene but this was still a big disappointment. Hope that trailers will change one day and actually sell a film as it is.

There are only a few times where I find that a movie is an incarnation of awesomeness. This is one of these times, because not only is "Zombieland" an excellent zombie film but it is also filled with humor and gives the viewer what he wants : laughs and gore.

Of course, the horror never goes beyond acceptable, and the director made sure that sensitive viewers would be able to forget about the gory things and focus on the jokes that comes with them. Practically all the violent moments are funny and Jessy Einsenberg is just perfect in his part. It feels like Mark Zuckerberg decided to randomly shout out zombies, with an excellent Woody cow-boy trying to find Twinkies. Emma stone and the other girl (I can't remember her name) were also convincing and overall the acting was quite good.

The hard rock soundtrack that comes along with the really good-looking special effects just fits perfectly to the film, and adds more of that "Fuck it" feeling. If you don't know what I mean, the entire movie should be taken as something completely crazy and bad-ass at the same time. Kind of like an action comedy in the style of "The Other Guys" but with zombies. It's never really serious like "Shaun of the Dead" was sometimes, which is why I preferred this movie. "Shaun of the Dead" had a different sense of humor and sometimes lost track of what it really wanted. It felt like if the director was hesitating between making a zombie film or a comedy. Here, it's never the case, the whole team knew what the wanted the ending result to be, and the made it.

Conclusion : awesome movie to watch with your friends and some beers to have a good laugh and spend a good evening. - A.C.

I watched this movie yesterday afternoon and it just blew me away! That was probably one of the most well-made movies I have seen in a while. And I'm not just talking about the action and the effects (which are amazing) but also the general feeling of the movie. I was afraid to see something pretty good when it comes to action but with little scenario and poor acting when it comes to comedy. Of course like many people I love Michael Cera in all his roles and this film was no exception.

He manages to play this geeky guy without making him sounding annoying because of his special personality, it's the type of character that I think a lot of actors would've ruined, but not Michael. The others are good too, I'm not arguing on that, and I was extremely pleased to see Edgar Wright's name in the opening credits (along with that awesome scene & music). He's one of the most promising directors because he really has his own style in filmaking, just like Tarantino you can recognize an Edgar Wright film now.

All things considered, this was one of the best movies I have seen in a while, and I really commend it to anyone enjoying action, comedy, geek stuff and love stories.