Before yesterday, Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar had been cloaked in an introspective veil of plotted ambiguity and fantastical anticipation. Sure, there was this deeply moving yet enigmatic and largely indecipherable teaser about the pioneering destiny of humankind. Although certainly more than just alright (alright, alright), we only gained some awareness of the stakes (expectedly monumental) without learning a mere Hans Zimmer epic musical moan and groan about the terms of engagement.
This has now all changed. The newly released first Interstellar trailer paints a broad brush of its picture (I am sure Nolan has intentionally left out many of the finest details) and of Matthew McConaughey’s (the year of!) protagonist journey. Watch here:
As a true believer in the “In Nolan We Trust” school of cinematic consumption, I may refrain from future preview iterations in order to best preserve my mythologized first watch on opening night in November. For now, these slightly more than two minutes of content leave me delightfully content and give me the following beautiful nuggets to consider:
– I may need to sure up my Murphy’s Law understanding.
– Matthew McConaughey’s Cooper character may be a well-educated man and an engineer, but he is no trained pilot.
– In the world of Interstellar, the Earth has enough planes and televisions to match its desired inventory levels. Food is another story.
– Professor Michael Caine will ask us to confront realities about the limitations of our solar system. Cooper believes Nolan picture favorite Caine has a plan to “save the world.”
– “We are not meant to save the world. We are meant to leave it.”
– McConaughey’s Cooper will be back for his kids, but must go on this mission first to save them.
– “We must reach far-beyond our own lifespans. We must think not as individuals, but as a species. We must confront the reality of Interstellar travel.” Yessir.
From time to time, I need to get a few of things off of my chest…this is the first installment…
• In a span of just a few days last week, Britney Spears announced that she will not be returning to the X Factor (not a surprise, she was a disaster),that her engagement to Jason Trawick was off, and that she may be signing on to headline her own Las Vegas show. All of this is troubling news for a person who seemed to be mounting a promising career comeback. I wish her the best.
• For all you Celtics doubters out there, Avery Bradley’s return has finally allowed the Danny Ainge offseason roster blueprint for success to take flight. Rotations are crisp, players seem to understand their roles from night to night, the bench has been reinvigorated (especially Jeff Green, Sully, and Courtney Lee and Jason Terry at least in the M.L. Carr role off the court, his on court play has left something to be desired), and the defense seems to finally be coming around (even without KG on the court). Speaking of defense, please watch Avery Bradley play on ball defense. I was at the Rockets game the other night and his work on James Harden was simply incredible (James Harden by the way is even more of an offensive stud in person).
• I hope Rajon Rondo “adapts” because he is just too special of a player to be missing games every few months because of his uncontrolled emotional tomfoolery (although his arm grab of Kris Humphries in KG’s defense remains a season highlight – Humphries has been pretty much MIA in Brooklyn ever since).
• Brian Billick may be the worst football color analyst I have ever heard. His comments this weekend in Atlanta was either comically inaccurate or painfully obvious. Why is it that the NBA seems to find incredible on-air talent (Barkley, Jeff Van Gundy), but the NFL coach or player transition yields so few breakout stars? Thank goodness Ray Lewis will be joining the media ranks next year (and hopefully immediately after Sunday’s game).
• This year’s Golden Globes ceremony were quite enjoyable. Tina and Amy could not have been more wonderful as hosts (although why they couldn’t have been more active in the latter half of the show is an awards show conundrum – no offense, but is anyone pining for a Jeremy Irons intro?) and the program had its share of memorable moments. I was struck by the elegance of Daniel Day-Lewis, the grace of both Ben Affleck and his beautiful wife Jennifer Garner, how Bill Clinton was the biggest star in the room, and how uncomfortable Quentin Tarantino makes me feel. Jodie Foster’s speech was something special, but to say I fully understood it would be a house of lies (congrats Don Cheadle on your unexpected win!). Also, what was going on with that Mel Gibson stuffed animal hamster moment besides creepiness? Here is my highlight of the night:
• The Oscar nominations had their share of omissions (Ben Affleck and Kathryn Bigelow for Best Director) and pleasant surprises (Beast of the Southern Wild had a nice go of it), but one point of true disappoint are the zero nominations for The Dark Knight Rises. It may be an imperfect motion picture that to many (of which I am not one) did not live up to The Dark Knight, but Christopher Nolan’s epic trilogy conclusion deserves some sort of recognition.
• Speaking of Christopher Nolan, excitement for Interstellarhas officially begun.
• Wednesday nights (and my week for that matter) are just not the same without The Challenge. I would love the suits at MTV to finally create a seasonal structure for this unofficial fifth professional sport (a fall and spring season perhaps). Why hasn’t this happened yet?
The Challenge…you are missed
• Girls is back (season 2 premiered on Sunday night while simultaneously winning some Golden Globes) and if you haven’t joined the party yet, it is time.
• The NBA Countdown pre-game show on ESPN featuring Michael Wilbon, Jalen Rose, Magic Johnson, and Bill Simmons has wrestled the “best pre-game show” crown from Inside the NBA (still struggling when Shaq expresses himself verbally).
• FInally, here is an assignment if you have cable: do a search for Fuse network or Funny or Die’s Billy on the Street and sign up for a season pass. You will not laugh harder over a thirty minute period than watching Billy’s incredible on the street games and conversations. For now, here is a “Quizzed in the Face” from a recent episode:
David J. Bloom can be reached on twitter @davidbloom7 and writes about pop culture and the NBA for Bishop and Company. He writes weekly TV columns on Afterbuzztv.com (next up, Fox’s “The Following”) and his weekly THE CHALLENGE: BATTLE OF THE SEASONS Power Rankings can be read on Derek Kosinski’s ultimatechallengeradio.com.
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