RetroRam

Fantastic premise, script, acting, production, effects, soundtrack... this film had me hooked for its entire (long) duration. A slow burner for most of its length, Interstellar gave me a feeling I don't think I've had from a film before. Simultaneously hopeless and hopeful. Sad and uplifted. The entire time I was tense, and yet couldn't tear myself from the screen.

For fairness, the first time I watched this film, when it was new, I was disinterested. The difficulty I had hearing a lot of the dialogue annoyed me, and I found the whole thing to be quite pretentious. However, watching the film again later and with a fresh mind it clicked in a new way and moved me in ways I wasn't expecting.

For a film that is ostensibly about an intelligent alien life form, this story is mostly made possible by unintelligent humans. I had some hopes for the film, given its interesting (if unoriginal) premise and not-so-bad cast, but sadly I was to be disappointed.

The script isn't strong, and mostly serves to drive the plot between one terrible decision and the next. The cast do a good job regardless and there are some good performances here, but ultimately they can't carry this story.

The one interesting factor is the alien creature itself. Its design is successful at creating an increasingly hopeless situation for the astronauts as they try everything they can think of to eradicate it. Intelligent and strong like our favourite scary aliens, it just needed a film that could do it justice.

I had so much fun with this game. It genuinely excited me in a way that recent Mario games have not, and it did it with an infectious soundtrack, inventive gameplay, and gorgeous graphics. The animation is something new to the series and having gone back to NSMBU that game now feels lacking in feel. Levels and are short and sweet, and a little light on challenge at times. Some levels feel like they could have been rooms down a pipe in another level, but each one showcases a new idea or power up in a fun way. There is a special world that can be found through your travels, and the challenge there increases and will test your skills, particularly the last couple of levels which throw you into every power up and modifier in the rest of the game. The game successfully lives up to the series' past glory, and we can only hope they keep this magic alive in an inevitable sequel.