Lightning Review: Crimson Peak

Synopsis
Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) is the daughter of an American business man (Jim Beaver) who falls for the mysterious Englishman Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston). When Edith marries Thomas, she moves to England with Thomas and his sister, Lucille (Jessica Chastain). Once in her new home, Edith realizes there is more to the house than she is being told.

Review
So far, the fall movie season has been filled with movies that have been different than I have expected. Going into Crimson Peak, I was expecting a supernatural horror along the lines of Mama, which is coincidentally another Guillermo del Toro film. However, it was much more of a suspense thriller with a supernatural element. The beginning made it look the former but it quickly became apparent that’s not what this movie was going for. Horror elements were present, only they were used to build the suspense, not to make you jump out of your seat (mostly). On that note, it did great to build the suspense, especially as it reached the final scenes. A lot of this can be attributed to the acting skills of the three main actors.

The majority of the movie was spent with Wasikowska, Hiddleston, and Chastain. My favorite was Chastain as Lucille. From the beginning, you could tell something wasn’t quite right about her. She maintains a noble poise that is unnerving but natural at the same time. I constantly found myself on the edge of my seat, not from fear but from how uncomfortable she could make me feel. Chastain really hit it out of the park. Like many of del Toro’s movies, the special effects look wonderful. I really liked how the ghosts looked. Sometimes they were just the skeletons and other times they were filled in to varying degrees but they always had these wisps coming off them. There were three different colors of ghosts: black, red, and white. I’m sure the colors mean something but I’m not sure exactly right now. Or maybe I’m looking too much into it. In any case, Crimson Peak looks beautiful and thanks to Chastain, it really keeps you looking towards what happens next.

Rating
3.5/5

Trailer

Cast & Crew
Guillermo del Toro – Writer / Director
Mathew Robbins – Writer
Fernando Velazquez – Composer

Mia Wasikowska – Edith Cushing
Tom Hiddleston – Thomas Sharpe
Jessica Chastain – Lucille Sharpe
Charlie Hunnam – Dr. Alan McMichael
Jim Beaver – Carter Cushing
Burn Gorman – Holly
Doug Jones – Edith’s Mother / Lady Sharp
Emily Coutts – Eunice

Interstellar Review

Synopsis
When mankind is on the brink of extinction, Docter Brand (Michael Caine), sends Cooper (Mathew McConaughey) and a small crew consisting of Brand’s daughter (Anne Hathaway), Doyle (Wes Bentley), Romilly (David Gyasi), and the robot TARS (Bill Irwin (voice)), on a mission to find a new planet for the human race to inhabit.

Review
Christopher Nolan is up there as one of my favorite directors. Every one of his films is dazzling and feels unique. Interstellar is no different. It may even possibly be his best looking movie to date. Nolan once again teams up with his brother, Jonathan Nolan, to create a wondrous piece of cinematic art.

When I first saw the run time was almost three hours I grumbled. I thought this movie would take forever to get through. Much to my surprise, the time was not a factor at all. Despite being ten minutes shy of The Godfather‘s run time, it flew by. The only time I was shocked there was more to go was at the end of the second act. The second act is the most action packed of the film and felt like it was going to be the movie’s climax. Even after it continued on, I still stayed engrossed in the story. Unlike Transformers: Age of Extinction, every minute was put to good use.

As I said, Nolan’s films have always looked amazing, but Interstellar is by far his best looking film yet. The special effects, the black hole in particular, are visually stunning and a real treat on the eyes. Nolan likes to use computer generated images (CGI) to enhance an experience rather than create an experience and it shows. And it wasn’t always the CGI that stood out. Most of the physical effects looked great, too.

Sound work is always an important part of a movie, whether you realize it or not. Interstellar‘s sound work is top-notch. As with most space movies, there are points where it becomes totally silent. This effect can greatly increase the dramatic effect of the scene and Nolan uses to great effect. Hans Zimmer, a frequently composer for Nolan’s films, once again does the score. And, not surprisingly, does an amazing job. His score superbly enhances the emotion seen on screen. Combine Zimmer’s score with the first-rate sound work and you have the perfect sound mixture.

The robots in the film, TARS and CASE, voiced by Bill Irwin and Josh Stewart respectively, are more whimsical than I had anticipated. They offered much of the movie’s comic relief. The cynical movie goer in me expected them to go crazy, a la HAL 9000, but thankfully that never happened because they are two of my favorite characters. Their look is interesting, too. Definitely a unique and versatile design.

I would have to say, though, that my favorite part about Interstellar is its range of emotions. There was humor, from the previously mentioned robots, TARS and CASE. At one point I was worried for the characters, I became scared for them. I was happy, their successes made me feel overjoyed with them. There was heartbreat, I was sad to see some of the characters who were killed. But the most important, and the emotion that drove Cooper and Murph, was love. Everything that Cooper did was for the love of his daughter Murph and it was well executed.

Interstellar is once again a great entry into Nolan’s unique film catalogue. It looks great, it sounds great, and it goes through a wide range of emotions. Even with a daunting run time, it flies by and is worth every second.

Rating
4/5

Trailer

Cast & Crew
Christopher Nolan – Director / Writer
Jonathan Nolan – Writer
Hans Zimmer – Composer

Mathew McConaughey – Cooper
Mackenzie Foy – Murph (10 years old)
Timothee Chalamet – Tom (15 years old)
John Lithgow – Donald
Anne Hathaway – Brand
Wes Bentley – Doyle
David Gyasi – Romilly
Bill Irwin – TARS (voice)
Josh Stewart – CASE (voice)
Michael Caine – Professor Brand
Jessica Chastain – Murph
Casey Affleck – Tom
Leah Cairns – Lois
Liam Dickinson – Coop
Topher Grace – Getty
Matt Damon – Dr. Mann
Ellen Burstyn – Murph (older)