Mike Goes To Movies

TIFF: Lucy in the Sky (2019) As some of you may have seen, Lucy in the Sky was one of my most anticipated films at TIFF. This was because of the helm of the film, director, Noah Hawley, the visionary creator behind the phenomenal tv series, Fargo and Legion. For those of you who have seen these shows (and I implore that if you have not, then to do so), you know that Hawley has an aptitude for quirkiness, bending narrative and atmosphere. His style is like if David Lynch and the Coen brothers melded together in the Fly's telepod and then was given a large budget to craft a story. Fargo was a strong example for Hawley's sharp writing and then Legion built upon this, simultaneously encouraging him to break all of the steadfast rules of writing. And so, it was no surprise (at least to me) that I was very, very excited for his feature directorial debut with Lucy in the Sky. The film is loosely based upon the tabloid story that circulated just over a decade ago of the drama tha...

Interstellar (2014) To me, Christopher Nolan's ambitious space-epic, Interstellar , is a bit like The Goog - a signature dish from a great ice cream place in my hometown. What the hell is The Goog? Well, it is  a deluge of dessert delicacy - it is a gargantuan upside down blueberry shake, with a hot fudge sundae, and bananas, all topped with whipped cream. Yes... that obviously sounds incredible. And it does taste good for the most part... But in reality, every time I've ordered The Goog I've ended up receiving a horrible stomach ache about halfway through and ultimately unable to finish it. Sadly, the Goog just tries too hard; it's just too much 'good' for one thing. Like The Goog, Interstellar tries its hand at being a little of bit something for everyone. It is a lengthy three hours and yet it still feels like its overflowing with plot points, tones and themes. The film should be commended for its high ambitions, and, most of the time, Nolan has been ab...

Apollo 11 (2019) That's it - I'm officially on board with the ol' theory that Stanley Kubrick masterminded the Apollo 11 landing footage 'witnessed' by the world in 1969. The new footage seen in this documentary, the cinematic majesty of it (quite reminiscent of 2001...), the suspense of it, the pacing of it, it all seems to perfectly align with Kubrick's style. It's just too fitting... Anyways!... back to the real business - the new Apollo 11 documentary is quite simply incredible, and one that should be seen by any space lover, film lover or, really, anyone who wants to witness one of humankind's greatest achievements in fantastic cinematic fashion. The documentary breaks the mold of most documentaries and lacks the usual narrative structure. In Apollo there are no interviews, nor is there a narrator, other than the real life NASA workers speaking and announcing critical information to other NASA individuals about the status of the spacecraft and...