Interstellar.
Utterly fantastic film. It's literally hard scifi with a heart. I loved everything about it especially the little nods to Stanley Kubrick. Easily Chris Nolan's best film for me. He's earned his place in top ten favorite directors with this one.
The visuals and soundtrack alone are superb. The cast is above average with some brilliant performances, especially from Bill Irwin who played TARS. There's just the tiniest touch of cheese from Matthew McConaughey but it's Matthew McConaughey, you're gonna get a little touch of cheese. It dosen't take anything away from the film and even makes his character a little more believable as a former test pilot/engineer turned farmer turned savior.
There are some very cool twists and turns. One of them being very unexpected but SO welcomed once it unfolded. I won't even spoiler tag it. I'll just say, you'll know what/who I'm referring to if/when you see it.
I've just watched it a few days ago and I'm still basking in the afterglow but I'm honestly thinking it topped 2001 for me as my all time favorite scifi film. There are definitely elements of Kubrick's 2001. Some are obvious but some are very cleverly veiled in a way that really made me sit up and pay attention when I noticed them. I feel like I've only scratched the surface with this film and will need to go back a few times to catch things I may have missed. Not necessarily the hard science concepts, if you're at least familiar with those concepts it's very simple to grasp for such a complex film. I'm talking more the overall vision, setting, cinematography and of course the underlying themes.
If you're a massive scifi fan you'll love this film. Again, it's hard scifi, but there are a few action elements, and even a bit of a love story to keep both the adrenalin junkies and those of a lighter heart interested. I HIGHLY recommend Interstellar. It may just be my favorite film of 2014 right after Birdman.
Glorious. 5/5