Movie Review: "The Prestige" (2006)

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Movie: "The Prestige"

Director: Christopher Nolan
Year: 2006
Rating: R
Running Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes

A pair of rival magicians with a tragic past engage in a dangerous game of one-upmanship doing what they can to destroy the other's career. 

Are you watching closely??

"The Prestige" is directed by Christopher Nolan, who also wrote the screenplay along with his brother Jonathan. It is based on the novel of the same name by Christopher Priest. It stars Christian Bale as Alfred Borden and Hugh Jackman as Robert Angier, two magicians who have a past with one another. The years have turned them into bitter rivals, and they are willing to go to whatever lengths possible to outdo one another. They are willing to sacrifice anything, including their relationships, their money, and their lives, in order to get the upper hand. Joining the two male leads are Rebecca Hall as Alfred's wife Sarah, Scarlett Johansson as Alfred's assistant Olivia Wenscombe, and Michael Caine as Cutter, the mastermind behind Angier's magic tricks.

This film offers a unique take on the murder mystery genre by combining a period drama about a professional rivalry with a crime mystery. There's also a little bit of sci-fi thrown in for good measure. The story here is extremely compelling, every twist and turn remarkably shot, written, and acted. We remain completely engaged by it as we try to figure out exactly what happened, who was responsible for certain events, and who truly had the upper hand at each and every moment. It's one of those films where you find yourself hoping you forget the ending and how it all unfolds so you can experience it, again and again, each time you watch it as if it were the first time.

The narrative is delivered in a non-linear fashion, a trick Christopher Nolan has used in several of his films, to aid in the mystery. The art direction is fantastic and the costumes are utterly gorgeous as they capture early 20th century England and help the feel of the picture as a whole. Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman are fabulous in this film. The characters they play are, in many ways, polar opposites, yet they both share an obsession with each other. Bale's Borden is the skilled and more talented magician with an unwavering dedication that has arisen from humble beginnings. Jackman's Angier, on the other hand, isn't the best magician technically speaking, but he is a brilliant showman who was raised wealthy with the English title of Lord, a fact he tends to hide. Angier is only interested in the fame that comes with being a performer, and his sole purpose is ruining Borden. We see their obsession and just how deep their destructive madness goes, expertly penned by the Nolan brothers.

When we watched "The Prestige" for the first time, we were floored by the ending. Now, with each additional watch, we see the clues and how the surprise ending was foreshadowed all along. The answer hangs in the face of the audience the entire time and we just didn't see it, which is certainly part of the magic of this film. From excellent set pieces and costumes to tremendous acting from Jackman, Bale, Johansson, Caine, and Hall, and expert cinematography and direction, don't miss this wonderful movie.

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My Rating: 9/10
BigJ's Rating: 9/10
IMDB's Rating: 8.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 76%
Do we recommend this movie: ABSOLUTELY YES!!!

Movie Review: "Dunkirk" (2017)

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Movie: "Dunkirk"

Director: Christopher Nolan
Year: 2017
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 1 hour, 46 minutes

A chronicling of the evacuation at Dunkirk that followed the defeat of the allied forces.

"Dunkirk" is written and directed by Christopher Nolan, who is known for directing "The Dark Knight" trilogy as well as "The Prestige" and "Memento." His latest film is a war drama about the evacuation at Dunkirk during the Second World War. There is a large cast, who play soldiers trying to escape and the civilian sailors coming to rescue them. Some of the more recognizable cast members are Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, and Harry Styles, yes, the Harry Styles of One Direction fame. The story is told across three timelines from three different perspectives of the battle from the land, the sea, and the air. It looks at the perspective of the soldiers on the beach over the period of a week, the perspective of the civilian sailors over a day, and the perspective of the air force pilot over an hour.

This movie is visual storytelling at its finest. It serves to immerse the audience in the hell-fire and tension of battle more than anything else. From the moment "Dunkirk" begins until the second it ends, the audience is put in the thick of World War II on a sandy beach with guns blazing, planes soaring, bombs flying, soldiers running and ducking, and scores of nameless troopers lined up awaiting safe passage home. There isn't a whole heck of a lot of dialogue. There aren't many identifiable characters, at least not in the traditional sense. The people in this movie are not overly developed beyond their posts, such as fleeing soldier, shivering soldier, heroic fighter pilot, or commanding officer. The most developed character in the film is Mark Rylance's Mr. Dawson, his son Peter, played by Tom Glynn-Carney, and Peter's friend George, played by Barry Keoghan, as well as Tommy, played by Fionn Whitehead, though their principle archetype is to represent patriotic English citizens doing different duties in the name of their country. These characters all have the same look, hairstyle, hair colors, and body type, and this is clearly done on purpose. This is probably Nolan's most minimalist film yet.

We have to imagine the majority of the script for "Dunkirk" simply included screen direction and sound effects like "vroooooom," "ratatatatata," several "boom!s" and lots of "ahhhhhhh!s." These sound effects are coupled with the occasional line of impactful dialogue like, "you can practically see it from here," "I'm not going back," and "we have to do what's right." We mean it when we say there's a lot of action in this flick. In fact, Nolan hardly gives the crowd a second to catch their breath. After all, this is a war picture, so we expect no less. The sounds of battle, the crunching of sand, the looming bombs, the flying planes, the precision-point score, all of the auditory elements are extraordinary, and they are relentless, never letting up for one second throughout its run time. Despite all of this, this is one of the least bloody modern war films we have seen, not that we necessarily need blood and carnage to understand the brutality of war. Some viewers may find this project lacking because of the absence of gore. We can also understand some moviegoers not getting emotionally invested due to the lack of character development as this is where we landed ourselves. However, this is clearly a "big picture" spectacle movie, but Nolan has been accused in the past of being emotionally cold as a filmmaker, and while we disagree, the lack of character development here doesn't really help his case.

"Dunkirk" is visually stunning and gorgeously shot. What Christopher Nolan is able to do with a camera is nothing short of fantastic. He puts the audience right in the thick of the battle of Dunkirk and makes us feel every twist and turn from the planes in the sky, every splash and sway from the boats in the ocean, and every sound and explosion from bombs being dropped on the British soldiers. The editing is fantastic as the three timelines are cut together to make sure the tension and excitement remain high throughout its run time. Nolan's use of practical effects over digital ones serves to enhance the look, feel, and authenticity of this movie. The cinematography is stunning, and Hans Zimmer does it again with a haunting, ticking score that elevates the final product. Our one big critique of the movie is Nolan's choice to keep the bulk of the characters nameless and (relatively) faceless. Some people will love this choice, but it was a bit of a rub for us. We wanted to be able to root for these individuals and wish for their ultimate survival but we didn't feel a connection to them since they aren't really developed. Despite this minor critique, "Dunkirk" is yet another solid offering from Nolan and gives a unique perspective on how to approach a war film when they are a dime a dozen in Hollywood.

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My Rating: 8/10
BigJ's Rating: 7.5/10
IMDB's Rating: ~8.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: ~92%
Do we recommend this movie: Yes!

Movie Review: "Insomnia" (2002)

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Movie: "Insomnia"
Director: Christopher Nolan
Year: 2002
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 58 minutes

L.A. Homicide detectives Will Dormer and Hap Eckhart head to Alaska to help the local police department investigate the murder of a 17-year-old girl. A looming Internal Affairs investigation and the fact that the sun never goes down has made it hard for Will to sleep, hurting his ability to think clearly and do his job properly.

Long before Christopher Nolan resurrected Batman and way before his legion of fans (known as Nolanites) declared him a cinema god that can do no wrong, he made "Insomnia," a crime thriller remake of a Norwegian film of the same name. Al Pacino stars as Will Dormer, a Los Angeles homicide investigator who has been reluctantly sent to Alaska in order to help with a murder investigation of a 17-year-old girl, who was been beaten to death by an unknown assailant. This is not the only reason he and his partner, Hap Eckhart, played by Martin Donovan, have been sent to Alaska. The two of them are also the subjects of an Internal Affairs investigation, and their commanding officer wanted them out of the city for a while.

Despite taking place in Alaska, where the sun stays up long hours for months on end, "Insomnia" is a very dark film, not dark in picture quality, but dark in tone. It blurs the lines of morality and humanity as is asks the age old question, "do the ends justify the means?" It's bloody, but not in a gore-fest, shootout kind of way. It's stylistically thrilling as Nolan's cinematography aids in bringing about loads of taut tension, quiet intensity, and twists and turns. Nolan really is a masterful director and magnificent storyteller.

Can the acting be just as effective in telling this story so it doesn't feel like a drama mystery rehash? The answer is a resounding yes. Al Pacino puts on a stellar performance as Dormer, a man who finds himself struggling with the change of environment as the constant daylight keeps him awake. Pacino is able to convey the stresses of a once-celebrated police officer who is now the subject of intense scrutiny and investigation by Internal Affairs. Awake for days on end, the audience begins to signs of mental fatigue, physical exhaust, and emotional strain, and you couldn't ask for a better actor to display these traits than Al Pacino. Hilary Swank also stars as local Alaska police Detective  Ellie Burr, who is a wide-eyed admirer of Dormer's. She performs her part well, offering both admiration and determination in her role, even though she feels like a third, unnecessary wheel until all is ultimately revealed. Finally, Robin Williams gives a brilliant performance, but we won't go into much detail because you should experience it for yourself. Gone are his jokey, over the top performances in favor of a much more grim, gritty, sinister role. It is one of his best, most convincing performances.

"Insomnia" is not as spectacular as the Nolan film that came before it, "Memento," but it's definitely still a very good, very engrossing, very anxiety-ridden film with stark, beautiful imagery and a hell of a cast.

My Rating: 8/10
BigJ's Rating: 7/10
IMDB's Rating: 7.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 92%
Do we recommend this movie: Yes!

Movie Review: "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012)

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Movie: "The Dark Knight Rises"
Director: Christopher Nolan
Year: 2012
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 2 hours, 44 minutes

After the death of Harvey Dent, the new Dent Act has empowered the police to clean up Gotham. However, after being blamed for Dent's death, Batman (Christian Bale) has retired and his alter ego Bruce Wayne has become a recluse. Now, a new scourge has come to Gotham in the form of a mercenary named Bane (Tom Hardy), who throws the city into chaos and draws the Dark Knight out of retirement.

"The Dark Knight Rises" is the final installment of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, the one we wish would have never ended. This film had a very lofty and high benchmark set by its predecessor "The Dark Knight" to try and live up to, and though this does fall a bit short of that kind of greatness, that doesn't make it unsuccessful. This is actually a very excellent movie in its own right, and even though many people would fight us on this issue, we love the film. Christian Bale returns as Batman, who is now retired with a broken down body due to years of fighting crime. Bruce Wayne has become reclusive and hasn't made a public appearance in years. Wayne straddles the line between retirement and wanting to get back into action very well, and we watch him strengthen himself in many creative ways to get back to fighting crime in Gotham. Bale, as always, is great. New to the cast is Anne Hathaway, who plays Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman, a master thief trying to find a way to scrub her record. Catwoman operates within a gray area. She is a criminal, but often wishes to do right in the world. Even though she can and does float between good and evil, the new primary villain is Bane, played miraculously by Tom Hardy. Bane is one of Batman's toughest adversaries. He is a stronger, more agile version of Batman with the same training through the League of Shadows. This is the second time Bane has been seen in a Batman film. The first time was in Joel Schumacher's "Batman & Robin," who made Bane a mindless thug who only grunted and smashed things. Nolan, however, treats the character with far more respect, making him just as clever as he is strong, and though not a 100% faithful adaptation to his comic book roots, he is light years better than the atrocity given to us by Schumacher. Batman might need to find an ally in his new thief friend to defeat this strikingly powerful enemy.

There is some great action in "The Dark Knight Rises," along with some compelling storytelling. The movie is also very well paced and keeps us engaged despite being one the longest if not the longest comic book movie ever made. There are some who will find flaws in its story, but when it comes down to it, we never felt bored, and we never disliked its grim storytelling. Instead, we thrive on Nolan's expert vision of the series and its conclusion. The acting is pretty strong for the most part. We love Tom Hardy, and his performance as Bane is dominating. As good as Hardy is, no one could ever eclipse Heath Ledger as The Joker from "The Dark Knight." Filling the villain slot after such a memorable cinematic performance was a tremendous undertaking, but we think he is excellent as Bane. Marion Cotillard is also in this film and does a good enough job with what she's given, even though we do get a chuckle out of one scene in particular involving the Oscar winning actress for being a little too artificial. Some of the voices, including Bale's Batman grumble, does come off as extremely annoying by now. Though many have exclaimed they don't like Bane's compacted, gravelly voice, it never really bothered us, though the sound mixing on it could have been better as his voice and speech seems much louder than that of everyone else.

Despite these minor flaws, we still find this film to be massively enjoyable and a worthwhile end to Nolan's Batman trilogy. His more grim tone, his attention to detail, and his use of practical effects over heavy CGI have made this one of our favorite film series. Bale was a fantastic choice for the Dark Knight, and we were almost always impressed with what was put on screen.

My Rating: 9/10
BigJ's Rating: 9/10
IMDB's Rating: 8.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 87%
Do we recommend this movie: ABSOLUTELY YES!!!
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One year ago, we were watching: "Glengarry Glen Ross"

Movie Review: "The Dark Knight" (2008)

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Movie: "The Dark Knight"
Director: Christopher Nolan
Year: 2008
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 2 hours, 32 minutes

As Batman (Christian Bale) and the new district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) start cracking down on organized crime in Gotham, a new scourge rises. A psychotic criminal known as The Joker (Heath Ledger) makes a deal with all of the organized crime families in Gotham to kill Batman and create chaos and fear across the city in the process. 

Christopher Nolan returns to the director's chair to continue his gritty take on Batman with "The Dark Knight." Since Batman, once again played by Christian Bale, showed up in Gotham, it has given more and more people the courage to stand up against the criminal elements of the city. Newly elected district attorney Harvey Dent, played by Aaron Eckhart in a criminally underrated performance, has railed hard against crime by trying to bring down any straggling elements left in Gotham. Those left in the organized crime business are trying to figure a way to stop them. Their solution is presented from the new guy in town, a psychotic mastermind named The Joker, played brilliantly by Heath Ledger in his Oscar winning performance. The Joker's idea is to "Kill The Batman," which is of course easier said than done, but he plans to create so much fear and chaos in Gotham that Batman will have to give himself up because the public will demand Batman's head on a spike. These crime elements intermingle insanely well with superhero action and the real-world drama that plagues us all: what do we do when crime run rampant and people become unstoppable?

We'd be remiss if we didn't mention the acting first and foremost. Everyone involved in this film got a lot of flack when it was revealed that Heath Ledger was the casting choice for The Joker. How could the same guy from "10 Things I Hate About You" and many other romantic comedies become one of Gotham's most intense, feared villains? This is perhaps the most prime example of "don't judge a book by its cover" and the source we cite whenever people question odd casting choices today. Ledger's Joker is one of the greatest portrayals ever to be put on film. Yes, we know that's dramatic, but deservedly so. Ledger raises the bar to an incomparable level, crushing even Jack Nicholson's high bar set back in 1989 as the laughing, menacing villain extraordinaire. In this one performance, he silenced the haters, making it all the more heart-wrenching when his life was tragically cut short by an accidental overdose before "The Dark Knight" even came out in 2008. It still makes us sad to talk about Ledger being gone because we are certain he was not done gracing us with his presence on the silver screen. Moving on. Aaron Eckhart, as we mentioned, gives a very underrated performance here, and it's not hard to understand why. Ledger was so, so good, so dominating in his role that Eckhart is often overshadowed in favor of the Aussie. Eckhart does a great, palate-cleansing job as Harvey Dent/Two -Face, making us forget the laughable portrayal given by Tommy Lee Jones in "Batman Forever" over a decade earlier. Eckhart does the character justice as we watch him slowly descend into madness after tragedy strikes. Menacing and creepy in his own right, Eckhart dominates, too, but in a different way than Ledger. Christian Bale is also excellent as the returning Bruce Wayne/Batman and does just as good if not better than he did in "Batman Begins." This time around, Katie Holmes is replaced by Maggie Gyllenhaal. In one of the worst career choices we've ever seen, Holmes opted for "Mad Money" instead of a second Batman film. We can only assume this was forced upon her by her church at the time (see? No names mentioned).

"The Dark Knight" is, simply put, the best Batman film ever made, and it is one of our all-time favorite movies. It's one of if not the best superhero/comic book film we've ever seen. It is a tremendous, excellent, amazing film even outside of its comic book elements. Each piece of the puzzle fits to make a genuine classic film, one that should be taught in classes and books regardless of the fact that it is a superhero comic book movie. The human drama adds with a crime thriller background that pits villains against heroes as heroes become villains in an exhilarating, fast-paced way that never feels dragging or unnecessary. The acting is sublime, the dialogue is memorable and perfect, and the darker, grittier tone is one we won't soon forget. Each time we watch this film, even almost a decade later, we still get chills at its intensity. The effects used on Eckhart's character are some of the best facial integration effects we have ever seen, but then again, we never doubted Nolan's genius direction here for a second. Favoring practical effects over CGI in most instances and trusting his writing and abilities, Nolan is worthy of the praise he rightfully deserves for bringing us this cinematic masterpiece (which is a word that doesn't get thrown around lightly). The story is engaging and keeps us completely, totally enthralled the entire time. It is loaded with many great action sequences that are fun and exciting, but also fit within the context of the plot and never feel overused or randomly placed. We might love 95% of Marvel's movies better, but "The Dark Knight" is still our favorite comic book film. We have no allegiance to one institution or the other, but we think that's saying something. This movie will not be easily topped.

My Rating: 10/10
BigJ's Rating: 10/10
IMDB's Rating: 9.0/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 94%
Do we recommend this movie: ABSOLUTELY YES!!!
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One year ago, we were watching: "What We Do in the Shadows"

Movie Review: "Batman Begins" (2005)

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Movie: "Batman Begins"
Director: Christopher Nolan
Year: 2005
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 2 hours, 20 minutes

After the death of his parents, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) becomes obsessed with revenge. However, when his parents' killer is gunned down by a local organized crime family, Bruce switches his focuses to showing criminals that not everyone in Gotham is afraid of them. Bruce then goes into to hiding, traveling the world to understand the minds of criminals and trains with the League of Shadows and Ra's al Ghul. Bruce then returns to Gotham to instill fear in the criminals of the city by creating a alter ego that will be symbol of justice: Batman. 

Nearly a decade after the horrendous spectacle that was "Batman & Robin," Christopher Nolan was given the unthinkably difficult task of cleansing America's pallets of the disgusting taste left behind by Joel Schumacher. What Nolan offered up was a return to the darker tone best suited for a character like Batman, as well as the first full origin story of the character. Sure, Tim Burton touched on Batman's origin by showing his parents murder and subsequent motivation for becoming the Dark Knight, but Burton never went into what training Batman had and how he obtained all of his equipment. Nolan took the expert care needed to get the writing, directing, and storytelling down pat, and we couldn't be more thrilled about his final product.

This time around, Christian Bale dawns the cape and cowl as Batman and his alter ego Bruce Wayne. Bale does an excellent job capturing the rich guy swagger and arrogance of Bruce Wayne, and the brooding, dark, moody vigilante stylings of Batman. Bale underwent a massive physical transition from his previous role in the "The Machinist," stacking on tons of muscle mass in a effort to deliver a believable superhero, and boy, does he make the role his own. From the beginning, we learn how Bruce Wayne got involved with many criminal elements, mostly stealing from himself and his own companies in order to keep himself in a moral gray area while helping himself understand their mentality. Bale is believable every step of the way in the most intense way possible. We also find out that he trained ninjutsu with the League of Shadows under Ra's al Ghul, played by ***10 year old spoiler alert*** Liam Neeson. Nesson is simply brilliant here. Bale's physical shape helped him a lot during these scenes as we watch him become a master of fighting.

There are a couple of villains in this film, including the organized crime boss named Carmine Falcone, played by the impressive Tom Wilkinson, The Scarecrow/Dr. Jonathan Crane, played by the cynical and frightening Cillian Murphy, as well as the League of Shadows and Ra's Al Ghul himself, who actually has the same end goal as Batman, but with a vastly different approach to reaching that goal. As Batman prefers to root out the bad elements and retain the good, the League of Shadows prefers the 'destroy it all and start from scratch' method. This is where "Batman Begins" shines. In this dichotomy, we are allowed to see how both sides of the spectrum get things done and accomplish their goals, for better and for worse, and how crime sometimes pays in the city of Gotham. Also starring here are the incredible Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, and Katie Holmes, who all add a wonderful presence to a tightly written, well directed film. In the end, this film serves as the engaging, gritty, and exciting first approach to the Christopher Nolan's Batman universe and the characters we love so much. Without him, this franchise might still not be resurrected today, so we really have to thank him for not only washing the stink off of Batman and his nipple-clad Batsuit a la Joel Schumacher, but for his excellent attention to detail. We enjoy "Batman Begins" a little more each time we watch it. 

My Rating: 8.5/10
BigJ's Rating: 8.5/10
IMDB's Rating: 8.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 85%
Do we recommend this movie: Yes!
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One year ago, we were watching: "Darby O'Gill and the Little People"

Movie Review: "Inception" (2010)

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Movie: "Inception"
Year Nominated: 2011
Director: Christopher Nolan
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 2 hours, 28 minutes
Did It Win?: No.

A thief named Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), who specializes in obtaining information through dream sharing, is hired to do the impossible: implant an idea in the mind of a young CEO named Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy) and convince him it was his own, a process known as Inception.

Director Christopher Nolan creates a fabulous dream world in his film "Inception." Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Cobb, a thief who specializes in stealing information. He uses people's dreams to commit corporate espionage. Joining DiCaprio are Joseph Gorden-Levitt as Arthur, Cobb's partner and friend, Ellen Page as Ariadne, the architect who builds the dream worlds, Tom Hardy as Eames, the forger who can impersonate other people in dreams, Dileep Rao as Yusuf, who is the chemist that creates sedatives to keep subjects asleep, Ken Watanabe as Sato, their client, and Cilian Murphy as Robert Fischer, their subject, who must have an idea implanted inside his dreams. Add Tom Berenger, Marion Cotillard, Pete Postlethwaite, Lukas Haas, and Michael Caine into the mix, and this is an extraordinarily brilliant cast of characters. Separately, all of these actors are excellent, but together, man, they flesh out a true all star, wonderful cast.

"Inception" messes with the viewer's perception of reality as it creates dreams within dreams, leaving what's real and what isn't somewhat open for interpretation. The rules created for the dream world change throughout the film to fit the story rather than the story changing to fit the rules. How do we know this? Because it's explained to us through a lot of exposition and hand holding. Nolan loves his exposition, explaining how everything is supposed to work at any given time and pretty much constantly throughout this movie. Despite the overall flawed nature in the way it's presented, "Inception" still manages to be an amazingly entertaining piece of cinema. The visuals are outstanding as practical effects and CGI are blended seamlessly to create a convincing dream world. We love how Nolan favors practical effects over everything else, and the way he is able to create this integration is simply amazing. The story is inventive and engaging despite its convoluted nature. We never feel ourselves getting bored or tired of the story, but we do get a bit tired of how the rules of the games are changed mid-movie. The acting, like we mentioned, is great from everyone involved. The pacing is very good and even though it has a long run time, it doesn't feel like it's nearly two and a half hours. Overall, "Inception" is a fun and entertaining ride that offers a visual spectacle to delight the senses.

My Rating: 9/10
BigJ's Rating: 9/10
IMDB's Rating: 8.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 86%
Do we recommend this movie: Yes!
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One year ago, we were watching: "A Few Good Men"

Movie Review: "Interstellar" (2014)

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Movie: "Interstellar"
Director: Christopher Nolan
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 2 hours, 49 minutes

Over the last few decades, Earth has gone through many environmental changes. Most crops have died out and can no longer be re-grown. Constant sand storms leave everything covered in a perpetual layer of dust. Most of the human race has been wiped out by disease or famine, and the small number of people who are still alive won't survive much longer. Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) is a former engineer and NASA pilot, and now like everyone else, has been relegated to being a farmer. Cooper's daughter Murph (Mackenzie Foy) discovers what she describes as a poltergeist in her room. In reality, it is a gravitational anomaly that gives Cooper the location of a secret government base. At this base, NASA has been operating in secret on a mission called Lazarus to save the human race. They have sent many astronauts through a wormhole in space to discover a new inhabitable planet to occupy. The leader of the project, Professor Brand (Michael Caine), asks Cooper to pilot the Endurance, which will follow what the Lazarus missions started. After enticing Cooper with the possibility of a future for his children, he agrees to take the mission even though it could take years or even decades to return to Earth, if at all. Meanwhile, those back on Earth is left to solve the problem of finding a way to transport the remaining population to the new planet if Endurance succeeds.