Tag: Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan’s ‘Interstellar’ hits the mark: We ignore the stars to ‘worry about our place in the dirt’

November 9, 2014April 19, 2016by Douglas Ernst8 Comments

Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar is out, and it is ambitious. It aims to be a blockbuster movie, but it is also about big ideas — really big ideas — and it succeeds on almost every level. It is entertaining, but it forces anyone with the least bit of intellectual curiosity to leave the theater with a lot to think about.

On a cursory level, Interstellar is about a group of astronauts who go on an expedition to find habitable planets for humans to colonize. The earth is dying, and Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), must leave his family behind, knowing that he may never see them again.

On a deeper level, Interstellar is about what we seem to have lost as a species. Cooper says early on in the film, “We used to look up in the sky and wonder at our place in the stars. Now we just look down and worry about our place in the dirt.”

There are two types of people: There are those like Cooper and Brand (Anne Hathaway), and then there are those like the Orwellian teachers early on in the film who try to brainwash Cooper’s child Murph, played wonderfully by Mackenzie Foy.

Teacher: Murph is a great kid. She’s really bright, but she’s been having a little trouble lately. She brought this in to show the other students. The section on the lunar landings.

Cooper: Yeah, it’s one of my old textbooks. She always loved the pictures.

Teacher: It’s an old federal textbook. We’ve replaced them with the corrected versions.

Cooper: Corrected?

Teacher: Explaining how the Apollo missions were faked to bankrupt the Soviet Union.

Cooper: You don’t believe we went to the moon?

Teacher: I believe that it was a brilliant piece of propaganda. That the Soviets bankrupted themselves pouring resources into rockets and other useless machines.

Cooper: Useless machines?

Teacher: And if we don’t want a repeat of the excess and wastefulness of the 20th Century, then we need to teach our kids about this planet — not tales of leaving it.

Cooper: You know, one of those useless machines they used to make was called an MRI. And if we had any of those left, the doctors would have been able to cut the cyst in my wife’s brain before she died, instead of afterwards. And then she would have been the one sitting her listening to this instead of me, which would’ve been good because she was always the calmer one.

Are we merely meant to run around in the dirt like ants, or are we meant to explore — to constantly seek out new horizons — physically, mentally, and spiritually?

What are the limits of science? What does it mean for science that the human body might not have the hardware necessary to perceive realities that exist outside of its five senses?

Cooper: You’re a scientist, Brand.

Brand: So listen to me when I say love isn’t something that we invented. It’s observable. Powerful. It has to mean something.

Cooper: Love has meaning, yes. Social utility, social bonding, child rearing.

Brand: You love people who died. Where’s the social utility in that?

Cooper: None.

Brand: Maybe it means something more — something we can’t yet understand. Maybe it’s some evidence, some artifact of a higher dimension that we can’t consciously perceive. I’m drawn across the universe to someone I haven’t seen in a decade who I know is probably dead. Love is the one thing that we’re capable of perceiving that transcends dimensions of time and space. Maybe we should trust that, even if we can’t understand it. All right Cooper. Yes, the tiniest possibility of seeing Wolf again excites me. That doesn’t mean I’m wrong.

Cooper: Honestly, Amelia, it might.

It’s hard to comment much more on Mr. Nolan’s film without giving away key details. In short, it’s a touching, momentarily terrifying, beautiful labor of love by a man who is clearly a master of his craft. Han’s Zimmer’s score is fantastic and all of the primary actors involved did a superb job.

If you get a chance to see Interstellar before it leaves theaters, then I highly suggest making time on a Friday or Saturday night. Then, let me know what you thought. I would love to hear what you have to say.

Christopher Nolan’s ‘Interstellar’ teaser: Escape the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God

December 14, 2013November 9, 2014by Douglas Ernst19 Comments

Update: My review of Interstellar is up: ‘Christopher Nolan’s ‘Interstellar’ hits the mark: We ignore the stars to ‘worry about our place in the dirt’

If there is such a thing as a flawless teaser trailer, the finished product for Christopher Nolan’s ‘Interstellar’ can count itself a member of the exclusive club. The narration, the gravel in Matthew McConaughey’s voice, the historical images that flash before the screen, and the score all combine to form what can only be described as something “stirring.” It says to the audience: “This is going to be a movie that seeks to tap into something deep inside you — if you’re willing to see just how much humanity is capable and just how often you sell yourself short.”

Here is what IMDB says of ‘Interstellar’:

A group of explorers make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.

And here is Matthew McConaughey’s dialogue from the teaser:

“We’ve always defined ourselves by the ability to overcome the impossible. And we count these moments — these moments when we dare to aim hirer — to break barriers. To reach for the stars. To make the unknown, known. We count these moments as our proudest achievements, but we’ve lost all that. And perhaps we’ve just forgotten that we are still pioneers, that we’ve barely begun, and that our greatest accomplishments can not be behind us because our destiny lies above us.

Amazing stuff. I couldn’t agree more.

Anyone who has left loved ones behind in search of “bigger and better” things has a pioneer in them. Anyone who has walked away from a stable job for a chance to do what they really love has an explorer in them. Anyone who has taken great financial risk to back a cause they really believe in has an astronaut in them. These days, the pioneering spirit is squashed in its infancy. Public policy is often pushed on the population that locks people in place and prevents them from exercising their entrepreneurial spirit, and as a result it atrophies — we forget that we were meant to reach for the stars.

The teaser for ‘Interstellar’ first seeks to remind us what we’re capable of if we put our minds to it.

We can make infertile land bear fruit.

We can fly.

We can, to quote Ronald Reagan, slip the “surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God.”

We can make the impossible possible because there are always men and women who swallow hard, leave loved ones behind, and find the grit in their spit needed to navigate uncharted waters.

The pioneers leave the comfort of family and friends behind, despite the pain and anguish it causes, because there is something deep within that compels them forward.

We shed tears in the pursuit of our dreams because a love of the safety and security of “home” pits us against our desire to explore new horizons, blaze our own path and create something unique and special that we can call our own. And when we succeed, we give thanks to the family and friends who encouraged us to take that leap of faith and who promised to catch us if we fell.

Predication: Christopher Nolan’s ‘Interstellar’ is going to be epic. The man makes smart movies that work on multiple levels. Those who just want to watch characters navigate worm holes for a few hours will be entertained, and those who like movies with more layers than an onion will go home happy. That is the nature of Christopher Nolan’s films, and for that I am thankful.

Christopher Nolan “gets it.” It’s a joy to watch his work and hopefully he’ll be at it for many years to come.

The Dark Knight Rises: A conservative review

July 24, 2012July 24, 2012by Douglas Ernst27 Comments

Where was Christopher Nolan supposed to go after the success of The Dark Knight? How could he have possibly topped the second installment of his Batman trilogy? There really weren’t many options, except to make a superhero movie that was more than a superhero movie — and for that Nolan apparently turned to Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. The director went for something truly epic — he shot for the moon — and while we can debate whether or not he actually hit his target, it seems pretty obvious that he made it to the stars.

After the second trailer for The Dark Knight Rises came out on May Day, I hoped that years from now political junkies would hear Bane say, “When Gotham burns, you have my permission to die,” and immediately associate him with Keynesian economics and the totalitarian tendencies that spring forth from it. The movie didn’t disappoint, as Bane displays classical training in the rhetoric of leftist dictator-goons throughout history. And if Bane comes across as a Marxist revolutionary, then Selena Kyle is the useless idiot who buys into his snake oil.

Take note of Catwoman, as she displays jealousy, greed, envy and a sense of entitlement all in one minute conversation with Bruce.

Selena Kyle: You don’t get to judge me just because you were born in the master bedroom of Wayne Manor. … I started out doing what I had to. When you’ve done what you’ve had to they’ll never let you do what you want to.

Bruce Wayne: Start fresh.

Selena Kyle: There is no fresh start in today’s world. Any 12 year old with a cell phone can find out what you did. … Everything sticks.

Bruce: Is that how you justify stealing?

Selena Kyle: I take what I need from those who have more than enough. I don’t stand on the shoulders of people with less. … I think I do more to help someone than most of the people in this room — than you.

Bruce Wayne: Do you think maybe you’re assuming a little too much? …

Selena Kyle: You think all of this can last? There’s a storm coming, Mr. Wayne. You and your friends better batten down the hatches, because when it does you and your friends are going to wonder how you ever thought you could live so large and leave so little for the rest of us.

Ms. Kyle wants to live in a world where she doesn’t have to suffer the consequences of her actions. She made mistakes, and instead of owning up to them she doubles down on a path of deceit. It is only when Ms. Kyle moves in the ideological direction of Mr. Wayne that her fortunes begin to change. Revolutionaries like Bane only bring misery and terror, while men like Wayne offer order, true hope, redemption and selflessness.

Perhaps no better part sums up the difference between Bruce Wayne and his leftist adversaries than the rising climax. The cynical, class-warfare spewing Catwoman intellectually aligned with Bane throughout most of the movie, a man who sought to destroy an entire city to realize his goals. Bruce, on the other hand, proves that he is willing to sacrifice himself for an entire city.

Selena Kyle: Sorry to keep letting you down. Come with me. Save yourself. You don’t owe these people any more. You’ve given them everything.

Bruce: Not everything. Not yet.

Within minutes, Kyle knows that Bruce is the better man, and she falls for him. By the end of The Dark Knight Rises, the man she accused of “living so large” and leaving “so little for the rest of us” has proven himself her superior mentally, physically and spiritually, and she shows her epiphany in dramatic fashion.

As I said before, The Dark Knight trilogy will be, on many levels, the Bane of liberal moviegoers’ existence. No matter what Christopher Nolan does—no matter what he says from this day forward—he can never take back these films (thank God). It’s a gold mine of conservative values waiting to be explored. And, while Nolan’s personal politics might not be conservative, he at least gave the worldview a fair shake. In Hollywood, that’s all conservatism needs to starts winning hearts and minds. Besides, when The Village Voice hates a movie, I know I have something to work with.

If you haven’t seen The Dark Knight Rises yet, check it out while it’s in theaters. Love it or hate it, it’s a movie that’s going to be talked about for a long time.

Dark Knight Rises trailer drops for May Day. Occupy Gotham?

May 1, 2012May 1, 2012by Douglas Ernst4 Comments

Bane Dark Knight Rises — Christopher Nolan has given us a better look at Bane just as May Day hits. Just when leftist movements everywhere plan to hit the streets, The Dark Knight Rises trailer is released. Coincidence, or is Christopher Nolan a genius? Who cares. Just buy your tickets for opening night.

The new trailer for The Dark Knight Rises is out. The response in certain quarters to the first trailer and initial reactions to this one seems to be a squeamishness about how good the movie might be. For some reason people are a bit put off by the dour mood, and I’m not sure if it’s because The Avengers has everyone on an escapist high or if it’s because the talk of conservatism in Nolan’s films has affected his liberal fans.

As I wrote before, it would be a huge victory for conservatives if years from now political junkies who hear Bane say, “When Gotham burns, you have my permission to die,” immediately link it with a Nolan dig at Keynesian economics and the totalitarian tendencies that spring forth from it.

Regardless, the new trailer offers more pure evil, but not quite the kind of terror we had in the second installment. If the Joker was a metaphor for Islamic terrorism, then Bane seems to be a throwback to a Communist-revolutionary standard bearer. Perhaps Che or Marx on steroids?

It’s also interesting that the new trailer would drop right as “International Workers’ Day (May Day) hits. Why would Christopher Nolan want us getting a fresh taste of Bane right when socialist nuts and “Occupy” types plan to hit the streets? Coincidence, or is the man just a genius?

Besides getting to see more evidence that Bane is what happens when terrorist-revolutionaries get hold of the kind of military hardware and explosives they desire, perhaps the most interesting takeaway is this:

Catwoman: You don’t owe these people any more. You’ve given them everything.

Batman: Not everything. Not yet.

You have only given everything after you have given your life. If Christopher Nolan wanted to really turn heads he would have Bruce go full-on Bushido, sacrificing himself in a blaze of glory to save the city he loves.

I think part of the reason an odd number of people are expressing doubt about The Dark Knight Rises is because Nolan’s realism hits too close to home. Terrorist bombs going off in football stadiums. Bridges blowing up as children look on. Methodical, calculating enemies saying things that make you think about your life outside the movie theater. Summer blockbusters are “supposed” to be pure popcorn to a lot of people, but Nolan aims for something more. His fare targets the ticket-buyer who just wants to see things go boom on the screen, but he also targets the person who has a few extra synapses firing in their brain. And that’s why his movies make big bucks.

If you have a chance to buy tickets early for The Dark Knight Rises, I highly suggest doing so. It’s going to be good.

Update: Check out Hotair’s coverage of The Dark Knight Rises trailer.

Inception and Liberalism: America Awakes.

July 24, 2010July 24, 2010by Douglas Ernst6 Comments

inceptionob — They Want You Sedated. Conservatism Won't Allow It.

Liberalism is Inception. And the American people are starting to wake up.

“Americans approval of how President Barack Obama is handling the nation’s economy has dropped to its lowest level of his presidency, according to a new national poll.”

Liberalism is predicated on the notion that we can suspend reality, create

leojgordon — The liberalism Leo espouses is being exposed. Soon, he'll be pointing fingers. Americans know the statist dream is a lie. They're waking up, and that's a good thing.

worlds in our own idealistic image, and live there for decades just like the main character Cobb thought he could do. Proponents of liberalism seek to convince you that entitlement spending and record deficits mean nothing; Iranian Holocaust-denying police state presidents can be reasoned with; prosperity can be had through excessive taxation, and a laundry list of other ideas that can only be implemented with a heavily sedated population.

At one point in Inception Mal says to Cobb, “You keep telling yourself what you know. But what do you believe? What do you feel?” Cobb’s response: “Guilt.” Likewise, liberalism requires adherents to partake in healthy doses of guilt, whether it be America’s founding or the discovery of inequalities of any kind (regardless of the reasons for their existence).

I propose liberals are lying to themselves when they try and convince us that America must be fundamentally changed because of the more sordid side of its past, that being slavery. The idea that somehow the Founding Fathers got it all wrong, or that we should cast off the system of government set up by the Constitution because its ideals weren’t fully realized at its “inception” is ludicrous.

Western Civilization was the first culture to cast off the chains of slavery, and for that we should be proud. It is the critics of Western Civilization whose guilt runs deep, and they delude themselves by denigrating the freest country in the history of the world. Deep down, they know the seeds they’re trying to plant in your head are pipe dreams. They’re visions that can only lead to disappointment and heartache, and yet they sell them anyway…

As you come into your idealogical own, realize that conservatism is the “totem” that can bring you home. Conservatism is rooted in reality: Great societies are created through the hard work, blood, sweat, toil, and tears of entrepreneurs; dictators and despots back down when confronted by a morally self-assured nation that is willing to use force (when necessary) to defend its people and the principles that allow freedom to flourish; millions of everyday people engaging in voluntary transactions, in the aggregate, are much better stewards of their life than small elite groups of central planners trying to micromanage trillion dollar economies.

At one point in Inception, Cobb tells his protege that she should never “create from memory,” which is fitting because liberalism, as much as it claims to be a student of history, is not. Liberal politicians always claim to be creating something new, but the reality is often something starkly different. They don’t want you to know it because the stale, stodgy, sad mess that is statism is always a political loser. And, just like the “subconscious” in Inception, the American people will attack it like white blood cells on a parasite when it becomes apparent.

I believe that is happening right now. And I believe that, just like the movie, liberals are going to go for broke to keep you sedated and confused.

As Cobb says: “Rely on your training.” The Constitution is your training. Our founding is the “map” to get you through the maze. If we as a nation use it, we’ll be fine. If we don’t, get ready to find yourself in limbo.

Now go out there and buy yourself a ticket to Christopher Nolan’s newest classic.