Interstellar: Mini Review...

What's it about?
The earth is dying and it's up to test-pilot-turned-single-father/farmer Cooper to pilot one last mission through a black hole to search for a new home for mankind.
Who would I recognise in it?
Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, Casey Affleck, Topher Grace, and others.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
Christopher Nolan is big on ideas and even bigger on presentation, and his science-packed sci-fi is no different. The most common criticism levelled at Nolan has often been the apparent 'coldness' of his films, the extent of which is debatable, but Interstellar undoubtedly ups the heart factor - prepare to have your heartstrings plucked a few times (and wail "Murph!" like it was karaoke). Indeed, its this wrestling between the scientific head and the lovesick heart that provides much of the films dramatic backbone - at times a rocky relationship, but one which pays off when all is said and done. Set in a semi-dystopian future, the world still looks beautiful - aside from the 1930s-alike dust storms, and the inevitable selfishness of mankind that seeks to sleepwalk everyone into oblivion...

Click "READ MORE" below to continue the review...

The Dark Knight Rises (Spoiler-Free) Review...

What's it about?

The closing chapter in Christopher Nolan's critically acclaimed blockbusting trilogy of Batman films, which began with 2005's Batman Begins, and continued with 2008 phenomenon The Dark Knight. It's now eight years since the events of the previous film, and we find Gotham to be on an even keel at last. Bruce Wayne is now a shut-in, and Batman is no more ... that is until Bane, a muscle-bound brute of superior intelligence, seeks to turn the city over to its people in his own inimitable way.

Who would I recognise in it?

Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anne Hathaway, Marion Cottilard, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and more.

Great/Good/Alright/Shite?

Following the success and iconography of The Dark Knight was always going to be a tall order, but in the hands of Christopher Nolan & Co, it was always going to be a safe bet that this closing chapter in his Batman trilogy was going to rock a fair amount of socks - and make no mistake, socks are indeed rocked.

On a personal note I have to say that while I was always going to see this movie, the trailers leading up to its release - for some reason - didn't inspire all that much anticipation in me. Perhaps I was spoiled by those fantastic trailers for Prometheus, however in a way this helped with my viewing experience. I knew I'd enjoy the flick, and I knew it was going to be good, but I didn't walk in with my anticipation set so high, that no movie imaginable could ever conquer such a height. Instead, having sought to avoid spoilers and temper my excitement, I had a better viewing experience as a result.

Bruce Wayne, having hung up his Batman gear after the events of The Dark Knight, has become the stuff of Gotham rumour and gossip - imagined as a deranged Howard Hughes-like hermit, he hides away on his vast estate as the rest of the city enjoys the tranquillity of Gotham's now-safe streets after a law enacted in the name of Harvey Dent has locked thugs and crime lords alike behind bars. Enjoying this new-found freedom more-so than anyone, are the city's rich, whose only real worry is Anne Hathaway's cat burglar (aka Selina Kyle), who seeks a golden ticket out of her life of crime. Long gone are the sly puns and purring of Michelle Pfeifer, and whatever the hell Halle Berry was thinking ... no, here, much like with Heath Ledger's Joker, comes a more realistic adversary based more in reality and less in theatricality. Rest easy, the early fears of discovering that Nolan's trilogy closer was to feature Cat Woman, are to be found nowhere within the confines of this film - Hathaway absolutely knocks the role out of the park.

Click "READ MORE" below for the rest of this spoiler-free review...