I deliberately avoided finding out much about Interstellar because a while ago I suggested to Chad that we get a babysitter and go see it, as a much-needed break. Here's my verdict.

It's science fiction that's worth seeing if (a) you want to be up on the state of the genre; (b) you like Nolan's visuals and/or space; (c) you really really like sarcastic robots or Jessica Chastain's face, which are small but notable parts of the movie; or (d) you have a high tolerance for at least one plot hole you could drive a truck through and what I am too tired to find a tactful way to call something other than mystical twaddle. (Chad's term, not mine, though he liked it better than I did.) Also a lot of time, because holy fuck, it's long.

SPOILERS.

It lost me about, oh, maybe a third of the way in? On the first planet. Because it makes literally zero sense that when they said, "oh, the time dilation is enormous and therefore it would cost us so much time" (impossibly so, Chad says that amount would have you ripped to shreds by tidal forces, but whatever) that they would not then take the next step and say "so what did the original lander experience?" Dr. Brand says after it's all gone to pieces and they've lost the guy who played Seneca Crane that the original explorer probably was only dead for an hour. There is no way they shouldn't have known that immediately and therefore know the data was garbage. I mean, at least they fridged the white guy for no reason, but still.

And then we had the first appearance of the "love is a quantum force" or whatever the fuck, which first pissed me off because it was coming from the woman who was hoping to be reunited with her lover and thus was letting her emotions cloud her judgment, and then pissed me off because she turned out to be right. Love doesn't need to be a quantum force or transcend space-time to be meaningful, okay. Again: mystical twaddle.

Also the sequence with Matt Damon was tedious because I saw it coming from the instant he mentioned the decommissioned robot, though if I'd been in more charity with the movie I would have gotten pleasurable tension out of it.

I did like that there were no benevolent alien overlords, though again, I wish it'd gotten there another way. And the robots were great: needed more distinct voices, but their design was fabulous, I don't know if it's something that's being worked on now but it was interesting and original and really cool to look at. And Jessica Chastain has a really great face.

Trailers:

Selma (IMDB). I have literally no idea if this is a good trailer because almost the moment it started I was digging my nails into my hands to keep from bursting into tears out of all the present-day resonances. At least it's being made by Oprah Winfrey's company, i.e., not by white people.

The Gambler (IMDB). I have insufficient space to describe the ways in which this is repellent to me.

Chappie (IMDB). The robot's body language is too obviously a human in a suit, and it just doesn't look fresh, which is a disappointment from the District 9 director.

Furious 7 (IMDB). You should watch this trailer, because it has an objectively ridiculous but really fun heist in the first half and a shot that is a literal row of pretty brown people.

Avengers: Age of Ultron (IMDB). If you care about this, you've already seen it and my feelings about it.

Exodus: Gods and Kings (IMDB). WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG. (Also, please tell me that subtitle doesn't mean it's the start of a series.)

Mockingjay - Part 1 (IMDB). I love you, Katniss! Which makes me very afraid for this movie, but I'll see it anyway.

(I think that's all. I didn't take notes but I went forward through the IMDB's forthcoming pages looking for things I recognized. It was also a lot of trailers.)

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