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Jonathan Nolan had a darker, bleaker ending for ‘Interstellar’

If you left Interstellar confused and without understanding of what happened near the end, you may of wanted director Christopher Nolan’s brother (who co-wrote the script) to handle the ending rather than The Dark Knight director (which ended up being the ending used). Warning: Spoilers Ahead At the end of the film, we see Matthew …

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’21 Years: Richard Linklater’ is more entertaining than must-see

Most filmgoers don’t know Richard Linklater’s name but his effect has been felt through the American independent film scene since the debut of Slacker in 1991. For the star-studded cast of commenters sitting down for some insights into Linklater, it’s hard to imagine a world without him. He is the unicorn who managed to build an entire career of passion projects that most filmmakers never get to, or let toil in production hell.

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‘Interstellar’ is a bumpy, exhilarating ride

Interstellar begins at an indeterminate point in Earth’s future, when blight and drought are pushing humanity to the breaking point. “This world is a treasure, but it’s been telling us to leave for a long time now,” laments engineer-turned-farmer, Cooper (Matthew McConaughey). He’s a practical man who set aside dreams of space travel in order to provide for his family, and yet his powerful intellect keeps him sneaking glances skyward. When he and his precocious daughter, Murph (Mackenzie Foy), decipher mysterious signals directing them to random GPS coordinates, Cooper is only too eager to indulge his curiosity.

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‘Interstellar’ is only haphazardly successful

I really jibe with what Interstellar is trying to accomplish. I want big budget films to aim intellectually and emotionally high. I agree with most of its messages and themes. I am the choir it is preaching to. Which makes it all the more disappointing that the movie is, in the most charitable view, only haphazardly successful. There are aspects to love about the movie — it’s the best-looking blockbuster in years, and there are some truly enrapturing moments. but that’s scattered among strings of misaimed beats across a punishing, nearly three-hour runtime.

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Week in Review: Liam Neeson is working on a movie with Bono (maybe)

Shortly after the PR fallout of the Internet hating on U2’s Songs of Innocence album release, frontman Bono is in the news yet again with a story that’s arguably more WTF than the release of a smart watch. In an interview with The Independent regarding the release of his new film A Walk Among the …

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True Detective, Ep. 1.04: “Who Goes There” technically stunning but narratively inert

True Detective, Season 1, Episode 4: “Who Goes There” Written by Nic Pizzolatto Directed by Cary Fukunaga Airs Sundays at 9pm ET on HBO – Given that I am not your standard True Detective recapper (Ricky D is on The Walking Dead duty this week), it seems worthwhile, now that the first series is half …

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‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ a grand, triumphant rebuke of financial excess, and the best Scorsese-DiCaprio collaboration to date

The Wolf of Wall Street Written by Terence Winter Directed by Martin Scorsese USA, 2013 Leonardo DiCaprio is a year away from 40, though he still retains the same boyish air and enthusiasm that marked him from Titanic onward. But over the intervening 16 years, he’s thinned down enough that he has a leaner, tighter, …

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2001: A Directorial Oddity – Soderbergh, Shyamalan, and Richard Kelly 12 Years Later

Hollywood history always makes for fascinating reading. Hindsight and whatnot. During a month in which Sound on Sight takes an opportunity to tip a collective hat in the direction of recently ‘retired’ workhorse auteur Steven Soderbergh, there is a further chance to reel back the years and examine a period of time when one of …

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What Have The Movies Taught Us About AIDS?

The answer ranges from “not a lot” to “not the right things,” depending on how closely you observe. In the generation (30 years) since HIV/AIDS became a maligned social epidemic, only two American studio films, Philadelphia and now Dallas Buyers Club, have addressed the disease forthrightly. Other films have touched on it, of course. Larry Clark’s Kids and …

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‘Dallas Buyers Club’ Movie Review – an inspiring combat story against H.I.V. and AIDS

Dallas Buyers Club is an important film. Not because it tackles AIDS or bigotry or pharmaceutical companies or preservatives, although it does all that and more. It’s important because it shows one man who manages to overcome a 30-days left to live prognosis and makes a positive difference, all the while still being a real jerk, to put it politely. Based off of a true story, the material could have easily fallen into a Lifetime movie or docu-drama or a redemption story, but instead Jean-Marc Vallée’s Dallas Buyers Club is a compelling film about a real antihero, an alcohol and drug-abusing, flaming heterosexual Texan who contracts H.I.V. and lives to help himself and those around him, in that order.

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‘Mud’ feels like a modern day Mark Twain tale

Mud Written by Jeff Nichols Directed by Jeff Nichols USA, 2012 Mud feels like a modern day Mark Twain tale. The story is predominantly about two teenaged boys in search of adventure on the banks of the great Mississippi river, and the incredible journey that they embark on that summer. One day while on an …

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‘Mud’ is a smart, earnest and intense reflection on the trials of love

Mud Directed by Jeff Nichols Written by Jeff Nichols 2013, USA  With beguiling Southern charm and an exacting sense of dread, the riveting Mud is a surprisingly sweet third film from writer/director Jeff Nichols. Like his previous works Take Shelter and Shotgun Stories it showcases uniquely troubled characters from rural America who stubbornly stick by …

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‘Sleepwalk with Me’ Movie Review – is sleeper gem of the festival

Some of this year’s Sundance comedy-dramas have had their narratives plucked from the wellspring of their director’s personal experience, though that should never excuse any shortcomings. Yesterday, I wrote a negative review of Francesca Gregorini’s treatment of motherhood in Emanuel and the Truth about Fishes. My primary beef was less with the inherent trauma at …

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‘Mud’ an engrossing shaggy-dog story about the end of innocence

All coming-of-age stories are, really, about the death of innocence, the moment at which each of us realizes that our innate ability to be impressionable has allowed us to blind ourselves to adults’ imperfections. As such, the new film Mud is a welcome entry into the genre, documenting a particularly memorable time for a young boy as he comes to grips with the idea that he cannot bend his world to his will, to make it as perfect as he’d like

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‘Reign of Fire’ and the Bipolar Express

Reign of Fire Written by Gregg Chabot & Kevin Peterka Directed by Rob Bowman UK, Ireland, USA; 2002 Batman, The Man With No Shirt, and a bunch of dragons walk into a post-apocalyptic bar. If not a decent joke, that should at least make for a solid movie, right? In the not-so-distant future, a British …

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Fantasia 2012: Justine’s Most Anticipated Films

For even the most seasoned festival goer, the Fantasia Film Festival presents a daunting challenge. With over 160 films playing, it is impossible to see everything and compromise is not an option but a necessity. For the cinematic adventurer, however, Fantasia is a gold-mine: bringing to the forefront some of the strangest, smallest and craziest …

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