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David, Devindra, and Jeff review Dan Gilroy’s latest, discuss which format you should see Interstellar in, wonder at what kind of world Christopher Nolan is trying to create, and address listener emails about the /Filmcast’s format.

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SHOWNOTES

What We’ve Been Watching (1:00)

Featured Review (06:55)

• Nightcrawler
• (31:15) SPOILERS

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The post /Filmcast Ep. 293 – Nightcrawler appeared first on /Film.

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Christopher Nolan controls every single aspect of his movies from preproduction through publicity. He wants every single thing about his film to be handled just right, from something as important as the IMAX film capture all the way through to who writes about the movie before release. Recently, multiple reports said he personally went to numerous theaters that would be screening his latest film, Interstellar, to double- and triple-check the sound and picture quality. That’s a comforting fact, to know that he’s out there making sure things look and sound great.

Much less comforting is the buzz coming out of those screenings. From the first press screenings through opening night, fans have been complaining about issues with the film’s sound mix. Reports say multiple scenes have the music and sound effects so loud that dialogue is drowned out. This doesn’t seem to be an isolated incident. It’s a complaint that’s been registered all over the US, Europe, and Canada.

Below, we’ll present some of those reactions, some of the stories, and some of the explanations hoping to get to the bottom of these possible Interstellar sound issues. 

We’ll start with my personal experience. I saw Interstellar at the TCL Chinese Theater IMAX on opening night, 8 p.m. November 4. It was a sold out show; an employee greeted the crowd by explaining how Nolan himself had been watching every early screening in this very theater to make sure this was the best place to show his full vision for Interstellar. According to the man introducing the screening, IMAX had spent $600,000 to upgrade the theater for the film, including bringing in a brand new film projector just for this movie.

A few days before, my colleagues Peter Sciretta and Russ Fischer saw the movie in the same venue and had complaints about the sound in the theater. So that was one of my points of emphasis when watching the film. From almost the very first scene – a plane sequence – the dialogue is almost completely inaudible under the music and sound effects. In that scene, maybe it was intentional. We’ll let it go. Later, in a scene where Coop (Matthew McConaughey) closes the window to his daughter’s room, his command for her to leave is only recognizable because she does so visually. Once the film gets into space, multiple bits of comic relief with the robot TARS are missed because of the sound. Those are just a few points.

After the movie I spoke to fellow patrons their thoughts. One man, Jeff, a filmmaker, said the sound was a “major issue” and it hurt his enjoyment of the film. Every single other person I spoke with agreed dialogue was hard to hear, but most didn’t find it as distracting. A few who’d even seen the film in this theater weeks prior said the sound was better than it was at their first viewing, but it was still an issue.

To be fair, almost all of these people sat in and around the same middle section of the theater. No one was in the back, in the very front, or very side. Maybe this was just an issue of location. Still, if this was a theater Nolan himself personally checked, that even one person found the mix an issue is a problem.

Here are a few other tweets from people who saw the film at the TCL:

Curse of Thrompy, Super-Cranked Theatre Sound: The sound at the TCL Chinese during last night’s Interstellar s… http://t.co/OYzXDkwMXQ

— Hollywood Elsewhere (@wellshwood) October 24, 2014

have heard INTERSTELLAR 35mm and digital don’t have any issues. But I can report my IMAX screening had issues w/dialogue in select scenes

— Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty) November 3, 2014

Can someone get Christopher Nolan to an ear doctor?

— Russ Fischer (@russfischer) November 4, 2014

But maybe this was a one theater problem, right? Nope. Not even close.

Continue Reading Does ‘Interstellar’ Have Huge IMAX Sound Mix Issues?

The post Does Christopher Nolan’s ‘Interstellar’ Have Major Sound Mix Issues? appeared first on /Film.

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“I think audiences get too comfortable and familiar in today’s movies,” said writer/director Christopher Nolan in 2002. “They believe everything they’re hearing and seeing. I like to shake that up.”

In nine films, Nolan has crafted a mathematician’s approach to luring audiences into realities only to question their very makeup. The films invariably follow similar characters: white guys of middle-age who have been deprived of family by violent means. These men deny truths about themselves and/or struggle to connect with the people closest to them. The term “auteur” is debased and often justly dismissed, but Nolan is one of the few who might earn the term — and even then there are big influences to factor in, such as his brother Jonathan Nolan, working partners David Goyer and Wally Pfister, and most importantly his wife and producing partner Emma Thomas.

On the eve of the release of Nolan’s latest film Interstellar, we’ve taken a look at it along with the other eight feature films that make up the bulk of his work. Read on for one examination of the films and find out how Christopher Nolan films ranked amongst his filmography.

9. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan; based on a story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer

Nolan’s third Batman film hangs on a few big hooks: the spectre of Bane, the weariness of an emotionally wounded and physically battered Bruce Wayne, and the fragile social stability earned by obscuring truths in Gotham. But while the masked Bane might work as a metaphor he’s exactly the opposite of the Joker when it comes to drawing us in — muffled and obscured, the role all but negates the powerful magnetism of actor Tom Hardy. Where The Dark Knight strides confidently, this sequel often feels thin and labored.

The machinations of Bane, Talia Al Ghul and the League of Shadows are dull, and Selina Kyle is a mismatch between script and actor. Most significantly, the director who had somewhat slyly embedded politics into the Batman films (through a concept of the relationship of fear to social order) stumbles with the tone-deaf segments featuring occupied Gotham. The film doesn’t actually mock the Occupy movement and position Batman explicitly as a tool of the 1%; it just seems to, which is actually worse.

And yet for simple entertainment, there’s good material here. The Dark Knight Rises has effective humor and moments that genuinely connect. The technical craft is on point, and even a different ADR technique might have rescued Bane. Yet as a follow-up to The Dark Knight this is a muddled and messy step down.

8. The Prestige (2006)
Screenplay by Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan, based on the novel by Christopher Priest

Nolan’s most cynical film seeks to dazzle us with magic and illusion and the allure of a look behind the curtain. In truth, it coddles the lies that the director’s other films question. On my first viewing of the film I found it grating for its portrayal of Nikola Tesla (the guy was a badass; does he have to be a science wizard?) and for the ways in which Hugh Jackman and Scarlett Johansson struggle with their role of a selfish and vengeful charlatan and his eager assistant. 

Upon revisitation I had a much more difficult time mustering interest in the two (three?) selfish, obsessive cads who dominate the film. Sure, the writing prompt is good — would you literally die for success, and to win? But Jackman and Nolan never find a way in to the head of Angier, simply replying on the “dead wife” trope to energize his story. The revelations about Christian Bale’s Borden go a step further than I can accept. (Furthermore, via Borden we’re asked to accept that two women could both be having sex with the same two different men over a long period of time and never realize that fact.) 

I wonder how The Prestige might have fared if Nolan had broken not only from the Batman films, but also from some of his regular crew. Would a new or distinct visual vocabulary give it more of its own personality, and push Nolan out of a comfort zone to find a better vision of his characters? (It is a minor but perhaps not irrelevant point that Nolan’s two least effective films are both connected by cast threads to the film that precede them: The Prestige to Batman Begins, and The Dark Knight Rises to Inception.) Regardless, The Prestige rarely rises above the basic lure of its concept, and its biggest revelation feels like a cheap trick rather than an emotional punch.

7. Following (1998)
Screenplay by Christopher Nolan

The director’s first narrative film announces the debut of a filmmaker who clearly has a storytelling instinct, and who has devoted time to the logistical complexities of shooting an ambitious project on a shoestring budget. Furthermore, his instincts are recognizably his own. So many of Nolan’s tendencies are tipped off here in the story of a casual stalker who links up with a thief with a plan. There’s the reliance on exposition, the use of close-ups and inserts as prime building blocks (here a budgetary tactic, later a stylistic one), cross-cutting narratives, and the mechanisms of plans taking precedence over emotion.

The resolution of Following is too conventional to really stand up to the rest of the film; the final revelations are liable to be spotted by audiences long before they’re delivered. That weak end game is yet another frequent factor in his films, and something that will hamper many of Nolan’s efforts in the future. But there’s a raw nerve vibe in Following, and we have to give a nod to the value of seeing a template as distinctly drawn as this one.

Continue Reading Detectives, Deception, and Demons: Ranking the Films of Christopher Nolan >>

The post Ranking the Films of Christopher Nolan: Detectives, Deception and Demons appeared first on /Film.

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Want to watch Benedict Cumberbatch try to deny he’s playing Doctor Strange? Where can you eat a Superman fast food meal? Would Matthew McConaughey play a superhero? Did you miss anything in the Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man footage? Which Iron Man 2 cast member joined Agent Carter? Who does Holly Hunter share a scene with in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice? Read about all this and more in today’s Superhero Bits.

EW premiered the “first” photos of Harvey Dent on Gotham.

The Wall Street Journal talked to Holly Hunter about her role in Batman v Superman. All she’s confirm is she has scenes with Henry Cavill.

IGN posted a video from a few weeks ago featuring Benedict Cumberbatch being asked about Doctor Strange. It’s a pretty great reaction.

Several major superhero films and shows, such as Guardians of the Galaxy and X-Men: Days of Future Past, have been nominated for People’s Choice Awards.

McDonald’s Hong Kong has a Superman meal, via Comic Book Movie.

IGN Movies asked Matthew McConaughey if he’d be open to playing a superhero and he would, depending on the script and character.

pic.twitter.com/hRRVK0iEZl

— Scott Derrickson (@scottderrickson) November 3, 2014

Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickison posted this awesome image on Twitter.

HitFix found six things you may have missed in the new Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man footage.

Continue Reading Superhero Bits >>

Due to the amount of graphics and images included in Superhero Bits, we have to split this post over THREE pages. Click the link above to continue to the second page of Superhero Bits.

The post Superhero Bits: Doctor Strange, Superman, Agent Carter, Gotham, The Flash, Batman v Superman appeared first on /Film.

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Brian De Palma is responsible for two of Al Pacino‘s many iconic roles: the leads in Scarface and Carlito’s Way. Now, after a long break from one another, the two are reportedly shopping a new movie at the American Film Market called Retribution. It’s a remake of the 2003 Belgian film, The Memory Of A Killer, which is about a hitman with Alzheimer’s who is on the trail of a child prostitution ring. Read more about Brian De Palma and Al Pacino’s Retribution below.

The Al Pacino Retribution news was posted on ScreenDaily (via The Film Stage). Here’s the excerpt:

Buyers are also buzzing about Retribution, which marks the reunion of Al Pacino and Brian De Palma for the first time since Carlito’s Way in 1993. The pair had previously collaborated a decade earlier on Scarface.

Relativity International is understood to be in early talks with acquisitions executives on the story of a hitman and a cop who will go to any length to stop a Philadelphia child prostitution ring.

The project is based on the 2003 Belgian thriller The Memory Of A Killer. Neither FilmNation nor Relativity International could be reached to confirm the additions to their slates.

Here’s the trailer for that film:

This sounds great and all, but I find it hard to get too excited for a new De Palma film or Pacino film. Personal tastes aside, neither has made a legitimately great movie in a long time. There’s no way to quantify why that is; maybe you completely disagree. Maybe you’re a big fan of Pacino in Phil Spector or De Palma’s Passion. Mine is a broad, blanket statement, but the work they did together in the Eighties and Nineties was loads better than what either is doing now.

Everyone should get a chance for a reinvention, though, and maybe De Palma reteaming with Pacino on Retribution is just the ticket. We’ll see if someone buys the film this week and it gets made or not.

The post Brian De Palma and Al Pacino Reteam for ‘Retribution’ appeared first on /Film.

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