Genre: Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi

Year: 2014

Country: USA, UK

Rating:

Starring: Ellen Burstyn, Matthew McConaughey, Mackenzie Foy, John Lithgow, Timothée Chalamet

Director: Christopher Nolan

My Review: Screenplay by Christopher and Jonathan Nolan. Directed by Christopher Nolan (Following, Memento, The Prestige, Inception). Starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain and others. I'm a sucker for Time Travel movies, and this one not only scratches that itch but it also explores the deeper recesses of that topic. Alternate realities, other dimensions, multiple universes, black holes, paradoxes and more. If you're familiar with my 'No such thing as Time or Motion' theory: <https://www.robsworld.org/notime.html> you might guess that this movie is right up my alley. If you guessed that, you were right. In this movie, a near future Earth is suffering through a series of cataclysmic disasters - The survival of mankind is threatened by environmental uncertainty, overpopulation, and various socio-economic challenges. Where can mankind emigrate to? Nothing is nearby, and traversing the vast expanse of Interstellar space would take several generations. Unless… Unless we can find a way through by daring to blaze a trail where no man has gone before - Through a wormhole to a new star system where life can begin again. It's speculative science fiction unlike any others. We've been down this path before, but we've never gone this far before. While there are clearly questions regarding the validity and accuracy of the science involved, one must respect that fact that this is Fiction. Brave and bold, The Nolan brothers manage to keep humanity at the forefront of this fiction. Reminding us that ultimately, technology exists only to serve the human race, not the other way around. The CGI, visuals effects and editing were amazing. The acting was excellent, and the story astonishing. Breathtaking and expansive exploration of mankind on a journey unlike any other. I give this movie a 5 out of 5. Yes, of course I own a copy.

Summary: Earth's future has been riddled by disasters, famines, and droughts. There is only one way to ensure mankind's survival: Interstellar travel. A newly discovered wormhole in the far reaches of our solar system allows a team of astronauts to go where no man has gone before, a planet that may have the right environment to sustain human life.

Genre: Drama

Year: 2014

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Elijah Smith, Lorelei Linklater, Steven Chester Prince

Director: Richard Linklater

My Review: An extraordinary film that blends biography with documentary in an epic 'film mirrors life mirrors film' journey covering 12 years of Mason's life. Screenplay and direction by Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused, Before Sunrise, Waking Life, Before Sunset, A Scanner Darkly, Everybody Wants Some!!). Starring Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke and others. Another great drama by Richard Linklater. Dramas are underrated as a whole. There is a fair amount of fantastic work out there (much of Richard Linklater's work). Unfortunately, it doesn't excite the American audience in the same way that a summer blockbuster (crammed full of explosions, CGI, special effects, nudity and superheroes) does. A well made drama is just as good as any other film, but the key is screenplay, direction and acting. Which cannot be second to a movie containing the other elements I named earlier. In this film, we follow Mason (played by Ellar Coltrane) and his family through the 12 years of Boyhood. It's an amazing film, reflecting the fiction of 'The Truman Show' (Screenplay by Andrew Niccol, Direction by Peter Weir, Principal actor Jim Carey), this movie moves fiction film into a strange new category of documentary drama where the lines of fact and fiction are blurred. In 2002, Ellar Coltrane was cast as Mason. He was six years old. Over the next 12 years, this film features his life as snapshots of reality (film reality) throughout the course of his Boyhood. Where does Ellar's life end and Mason's begin? This movie captures innocence, truth, parenting, interpersonal conflicts, family and all the complexity therein. Is there a plot? Not really… Is it gripping? Absolutely! It is a new milestone in the genres of Cinema Verite and Realism. Blending the two in a way that leaves the viewer wondering, how much is real and how much is Hollywood? Who would have thought that the life of a typical white, middle class boy, growing up in an early 21st century American home could be so interesting? Add in the superb editing, soundtrack and a consistent cinematic environment and you've got a film that rates a 5 out of 5.

Summary: Filmed over 12 years with the same cast, Richard Linklater's BOYHOOD is a groundbreaking story of growing up as seen through the eyes of a child named Mason (a breakthrough performance by Ellar Coltrane), who literally grows up on screen before our eyes. Starring Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette as Mason's parents and newcomer Lorelei Linklater as his sister Samantha, BOYHOOD charts the rocky terrain of childhood like no other film has before. Snapshots of adolescence from road trips and family dinners to birthdays and graduations and all the moments in between become transcendent, set to a soundtrack spanning the years from Coldplay's Yellow to Arcade Fire's Deep Blue. BOYHOOD is both a nostalgic time capsule of the recent past and an ode to growing up and parenting.

Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Year: 2014

Country: New Zealand, USA

Rating:

Starring: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ken Stott, Graham McTavish

Director: Peter Jackson

My Review: Screenplay by too many, based upon the novel (the Hobbit) by J.R.R. Tolkien. Directed by Peter Jackson (Dead Alive, The Frighteners, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, King Kong (2005)) Starring Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage and many more. Peter Jackson has directed some outstanding fantasy movies. I've seen and loved all the 'Lord of the Rings' movies, and now the Hobbit has been made into three movies. I'm not sure that the book should have been made into three movies. It's a bit ambitious and the effort is strained as shown by this movie. The casting was great, but it's sometimes difficult to keep count on all the different characters in this fast moving tale. In this movie (The third of the Hobbit Trilogy), Bilbo Baggins (played by Martin Freeman) and company wage war against the forces of evil in order to keep the lonely mountain from falling into the hands of a growing evil empire led by Saruman the Necromancer (played by Christopher Lee). While the story is epic and grandiose, it's also a bit thin on plot. Despite the fact that it was peppered with numerous 'side-plots' the movie was basically the culmination of the trilogy in a giant battle of good vs evil. Too much CGI, and battle scenes that seem to last forever. The movie must be seen. It's the final part of the trilogy, but I was a bit relieved when it was all over. This trilogy wasn't nearly as good as the original LOTR series, and stretching a single book into three movies was likely the undoing of this trilogy. I give it a 3 out of 5.

Summary: After the Dragon leaves the Lonely Mountain, the people of Lake-town see a threat coming. Orcs, dwarves, elves and people prepare for war. Bilbo sees Thorin going mad and tries to help. Meanwhile, Gandalf is rescued from the Necromancer's prison and his rescuers realize who the Necromancer is.

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Year: 1936

Country: UK

Rating:

Starring: Sylvia Sidney, Oskar Homolka, John Loder, Desmond Tester, Joyce Barbour

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

My Review: Screenplay by too many to mention. Based upon a novel (same name) by Joseph Conrad. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho (1960), Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), The man who knew too much (1934)). Starring Sylvia Sidney, Oskar Homolka, Desmond Tester and others. Here's another Hitchcock film made on the eve / just before WWII. Readying the UK population for war was clearly on Hitchcock's mind as he directed many of the movies from the late 30s into the 40s. This pre-American espionage thriller features a story about terrorism. Called sabotage during the era of this film, this movie tells the tale of foreign agents committing acts of terrorism on British soil. A young American woman moves to England with her German? husband. While she tends to her son, and domestic activities, Mr. Verloc is involved in something nefarious. The movie opens with a London blackout (predating intentional blackouts during Luftwaffe raids). The power plant has been sabotaged with sand. When the foreign agents aren't satisfied with that, they escalate matters, instigating a train station bombing. As the agent prepares to carry out this plan, Scotland Yard is hard at work, trying to break this 'cell' of terrorists. It doesn't take long before they've got their man. There's only one problem. In a panic, this cowardly agent has sent his wife's innocent son out to the train station with an armed bomb under arm. The ending contained some shocking scenes, and an unexpected twist. Classic Hitchcock. Excellent writing (based on a novel), direction and acting (especially that of Silvia Sydney). Unfortunately there were no subtitles, the accents were thick at times, and the sound work was poor. This film hasn't aged well. I give it a 3 out of 5.

Summary: Mr. Verloc is part of a gang of foreign saboteurs operating out of London. He manages a small cinema with his wife and her teenage brother as a cover, but they know nothing of his secret. Scotland Yard assign an undercover detective to work at the shop next to the cinema in order to observe the gang.

Genre: Fantasy, Family, Adventure

Year: 2014

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Patrick Stewart, Isaac C. Singleton Jr., Jon Jon Briones, Sadie Alexandru, Lorna Raver

Director: Shahin Sean Solimon

My Review: Written by Shahin Sean Solimon and Evelyn Gabai. Directed by Shahin Sean Solimon (Djin - Has a 3.3 (out of 5) rating on IMDB, and this movie). Starring Shahin Sean Solimon, Isaac C. Singleton Jr., Jon Jon Briones and others - Most notably Partrick Stewart, narrating the story. Frankly, this was a really bad movie, but I do like the Sinbad/Arabian Nights stories and I'm a fan of stop motion animation. In this movie, the Sultan's first-born daughter is abducted by an evil sorcerer, and Sindbad embarks upon a quest to recover her. He must travel to far-away lands, do battle with fearsome monsters, and defeat the magic of the evil sorcerer to rescue the Sultan's daughter. The acting was sub-par, the production levels quite low and the story far too simple. The editing was very poor, and I often lost track of where we were in the movie. While it was evident that the cast was giving it their best (despite the amateurish acting of the cast), the post production editing (too many cuts), shaky camera work, sound and effects work were below average in quality. I think they might have spent all their money getting Patrick Stewart to narrate. Unfortunately, his distinctive English accent didn't quite fit the character focused narration. I give this movie a 2 out of 5.

Summary: When the Sultan's firstborn is taken by an evil sorcerer, Sinbad is tasked with travelling to a desert of magic and creatures to save her.