Interstellar:

Trying to understand this sci-fi movie is like trying to walk a tightrope between two skyscrapers…while blindfolded.

Directed by Christopher Nolan, the film toys with your understanding of relativity and physics.

Set in the near future, “Interstellar” takes place during the second dust bowl and the downfall of mankind.  Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) is a retired pilot living in an age where space travel is believed to be fictional.

After stumbling onto the now unknown NASA program, he is suddenly thrown back into a pilot’s life in effort to find a new planet to house the struggling human race.  As Cooper and Brand (Anne Hathaway) fly through the universe, they must learn to understand and accept the difference between time and relativity, knowing that when they return to Earth, Cooper’s children may be the same age or older than he.

Crazy, I know.  It sounds like complete gibberish, but, trust me, it makes sense.  Nolan keeps the science aspect of the movie true to the books, making it both entertaining and intriguing.  As the end credits roll, your brain will feel like mush, but your understanding of our galaxy will be changed forever.

The Imitation Game:

Set during World War II, “The Imitation Game” brings a long lost British war hero back to life.

Mathematician Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) is hired to crack the Nazi’s communication code that changes daily.  He and four others, including Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley), must work together to solve this immense problem.

As the plot thickens, we begin to see what exactly Turing is attempting to make: A computer.  This will allow his team to crack every line of Nazi communication passed through the machine.

The film spans Turing’s life, using flashbacks to portray his years in boarding school, and shows the hardships he faced as being a homosexual during an age when this was illegal.

Director Morten Tyldum sways the mood between sorrowful and gleeful, giving the audience a more in depth understanding of Turing’s life.

Synopsis:

“Wild”

• 12/5
• Genre: biography/drama
• Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée
• Follows Cheryl Strayed on a 1,100 mile hike.

“The Pyramid”

• 12/5
• Genre: horror
• Directed by Grégory Levasseur
• Archaeologists dig into a tomb, and it just does not go well.

“Exodus: Gods and Kings”

• 12/12
• Genre: action/adventure/drama
• Directed by Ridley Scott
• Moses tries to get 600,000 slaves out of Egypt.

“The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies”

• 12/17
• Genre: adventure/fantasy
• Directed by Peter Jackson
• Bilbo and others fight for treasure and the well-being of Middle Earth in the final film of the Lord of the Rings series.

“Annie”

• 12/19
• Genre: comedy/drama/family/musical
• Directed by Will Gluck
• Our favorite orphan is coming back to the big screen for the billionth time.

“Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb”

• 12/19
• Genre: adventure/comedy/family/fantasy
• Directed by Shawn Levy
• The best museum security man travels to London in effort to let the magic live for one last final go.

“Mr. Turner”

• 12/19
• Genre: biography/drama/history
• Directed by Mike Leigh
• Follows the last quarter of painter Joseph Mallord William Turner’s life.

“The Interview”

• 12/25
• Genre: action/comedy
• Directed by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen
• Two dudes go to North Korea to assassinate Kim Jong-un.

“Unbroken”

• 12/25
• Genre: action/drama/sport/war
• Directed by Angelina Jolie
• Follows Louis Zamperini, an American Olympic runner who was taken prisoner by the Japanese in WWII.

“Into the Woods”

• 12/25
• Genre: comedy/family/fantasy/musical
• Directed by Rob Marshall
• A witch unites with different fairy tale characters to teach them various lessons.