Category Archives: Movie Review

The Martian (Movie)

Martian Matt DamonThis weekend we went to see the movie, The Martian. Matt Damon’s character, Mark Watney, becomes stranded on Mars alone. He was part of a crew, a manned mission, that was to stay on Mars for two months to study the planet.

After eighteen days, a storm hits the base and the crew has to leave the planet or risk their rocket being damaged and having no way to return to earth. They assume astronaut Mark Watney is dead after being hit with a large piece of equipment that the strong winds blew off. They can’t find his body and can’t wait any longer to leave.

When the storm is over, we see he’s wounded but not dead. The rest of the movie shows how he tries to survive. There are a few humorous events as well as some shocking times, but well-balanced overall.

Matt Damon is the astronaut who figures he’d have to wait four years to be rescued. It takes that long for a spaceship to get to Mars. The biggest problem is he would run out of food and water in that amount of time. The picture above is his way of marking the days.

The actors, especially Damon, are believable, varied, and entertaining. It’s worth it to see it at a theater.

From one to ten with ten being the highest, I’d give it an eight and a half. Have you seen it yet?

Mars devastationmartian-movie-poster

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Interstellar Review

Interstellar As we headed for the theater door after the movie, Interstellar,  I said to my husband, “I liked it, but the ending was weak.” Today, Paul Levinson wrote an Interstellar review and in his first paragraph, he stated, “Well, until the last 30 or so minutes I’d say it was – a masterpiece in many ways. But the ending – or, at least, the science of the ending – just didn’t do it for me.” Thanks, Paul, I couldn’t agree with you more.

I’ve enjoyed science fiction books and movies since I was in high school. I appreciated this movie’s visuals, concept, and characters for the two and a half hours until it neared that last half hour. I had hoped the ending would have a refreshing food for thought or maybe even an “aha”, but it felt rushed with no real substance. Regarding the ending, Levinson said, “…we got superb emotion, but situated in an unclear, metaphysical base.” However, he strongly recommends Interstellar and I do too. It’s fun to float in space with the special effects, to land on a couple planets that make me grateful we are on earth, and to admire the performance of Jessica Chastain as the intelligent daughter.

To read Paul Levinson’s Interstellar Review titled, “Interstellar: 2001 meets Time for the Stars, with a Touch of Frequency,” go to http://paullevinson.blogspot.com/2014/11/interstellar-2001-meets-time-for-stars.html

Interstellar fire scene

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