10 More Wormholes
Interstellar is another mind-bending movie straight from the mind of Christopher Nolan. It’s a cerebrally challenging movie that plays with the concept of time while delivering a mysterious and atmospheric space bound adventure. If you’ve finished streaming this one and are looking for alternatives – fret not! We’ve combed through the archives and saved you the hassle with our top picks for alternate viewing. So without further ado, we present 10 movies to check out when you’ve finished watching Interstellar.
The Martian
The Martian is a solid movie set on the bleak desert wasteland of Mars. With some compelling science and a well paced storyline, this movie extends beyond its survival plot to deliver an inspiriting story about never giving up hope. The story revolves around Astronaut Mark Watney who finds himself stranded on Mars. A fierce storm blows across the landscape and he’s declared dead by NASA. With little in the way of supplies and only his ingenuity and spirit to cling to, Mark does his best to survive while sending a signal to NASA, informing them that he’s still alive. As NASA scramble to try and save him from his plight, Watney is forced to try and survive long enough to be rescued. With surprising touches of comedy, The Martian balances that out with a great story armed with solid themes of comradeship and courage.
2001: A Space Odyssey
2001: A Space Odyssey is a classic sci-fi tale but also one that’s pretty polarizing. It’s a movie that certainly takes its sweet time to tell its story, with long, drawn-out shots used to really exemplify the technicality that’s gone into making this film. When it comes to a classic tale set in space armed with ideas about the unknown and AI, 2001: A Space Odyssey definitely fits the bill. The story itself revolves around a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface. Determined to find out what this means, humanity is joined by the intelligent supercomputer H.AL. 9000 to investigate further. Of course, things don’t go according to plan. Mysterious, moody and at times unintentionally mundane, 2001: A Space Odyssey is like none other.
Arrival
Arrival is a cleverly written, thought provoking sci-fi flick that takes a relatively subdued approach at what would happen if aliens landed on Earth. Instead of explosions and bombastic action like Independence Day or Armageddon, Arrival instead plays out as a character-driven examination, with language expert Louise Banks in the driving seat. The story begins when she’s recruited by the US government to investigate strange egg-shaped objects which have appeared across the globe. As the movie progresses, we catch glimpses of these alien entities, with Louise doing her utmost to try and communicate with them. What do they want? Why are they here? And are they actually hostile? This movie is a real modern classic, with a moody atmosphere and an engrossing story to boot.
Europa Report
One of the strengths in Europa Report comes from its accurate scientific reporting on what we know about Jupiter’s Moon, Europa. Agreed by many scientists to be a possible source for life under its icy shell, it’s unsurprising then to find a film showcasing a manned mission to its surface. In that respect, Europa Report plays out as a sort of docu-drama, showing exactly what would happen if this was to take place. It’s not a soap opera or full of explosive action but it is a compelling sci-fi treat. It’s pretty gripping too and although some may bemoan the pedestrian pace, Europa Report is undoubtedly a decent option.
Sunshine
Set in the near future, Sunshine bears a lot of similarities to Interstellar. Both movies have some excellent visual effects and deal with a life-threatening incident that looks set to destroy the Earth. Instead of wormholes and time jumping, Sunshine tackles the sun dying out and a band of astronauts tasked with trying to reignite it. 2057 is where our tale takes place, with a select group of astronauts tasked with dropping a nuclear fission bomb into the sun in a last-ditch effort to save humanity. With a talented cast at the helm and a suffocating tension clinging to large parts of this movie, Sunshine is definitely a great sci-fi option to check out.
Moon
Like Interstellar, Moon is a much more intimate story than one may expect from such an expansive premise. While small in scope, this film packs one heck of an emotional punch. It’s helped too by some excellent acting from Sam Rockwell. The story sees Sam nearing the end of his three year contract of harvesting Helium-3 on the far-side of the moon. With communication on Earth limited to pre-recorded messages, and his only assistant a computer called GERTY, isolation begins to take its toll. With only a few weeks left of his time on the moon, Sam’s journey takes a turn for the worse when he starts to uncover some startling home truths about his mission. Haunting and well written, Moon is a really gripping sci-fi tale.
Annihilation
Annihilation is a uniquely presented, interesting film that challenges and surprises in equal measure. The suffocating, tense atmosphere gripping most of the film does a great job building toward the ending, and although this is likely to be divisively received from audiences, it’s certainly a unique and beautiful way to end this sci-fi flick. The story begins with concerned wife Lena unwittingly becoming entangled in a government secret after her husband returns from duty a hollow shell of the man he once was. Recruited for a dangerous mission by sleepy Dr Ventress, Lena sets out with an all-female group into a strange, alien phenomena called The Shimmer. Bizarre, thought provoking and peppered with light bites of horror, Annihilation is a solid movie.
First Man
While more of a biographical drama than an outright time-bending sci-fi, First Man is undoubtedly a great movie and certainly worth checking out if you enjoyed Interstellar. At the heart of this tales lies Neil Armstrong, and the film specifically hones in on his legendary space mission that catapulted him into the history books as the first man to walk on the moon. This biographical drama won’t be for everyone, especially those looking for a bit more pizzazz from their sci-fi, but the character-driven focus certainly makes for a compelling movie. Ryan Gosling is great in this too, putting on a very believable performance as Neil Armstrong.
The Matrix
The Matrix is quite simply a ground breaking movie. From its bullet time camera work to the shocking reality our main characters find themselves in, The Matrix is sci-fi at its absolute best. For those unaware, the movie revolves around a hacker called Neo. When a beautiful stranger called Trinity invites him to a club by following a white rabbit, he stumbles upon a shocking truth about our reality. Well written, intriguing and incredibly though provoking, The Matrix was a landmark picture for its time and remains one of the quintessential sci-fi movies of our time.
Inception
Interstellar does borrow some elements from Inception, especially its thought provoking ideas on time and basic story structure. Out of all the Nolan films, this is the one that plays on the ideas of dreams and time being intermittently linked. The story is simple(ish) and revolves around a man named Cobb, launching a dream-heist to plant an idea inside a CEO’s mind. It sounds complicated but Inception does well to lay out its ideas as simply as possible, especially with a first half littered with exposition. Inception’s set pieces are awe inspiring and jaw dropping, making for quite the spectacle alongside this time-bending picture. So there we have it, our 10 Movie picks to keep you busy after watching Interstellar. What do you think of our picks? Do you agree? Are there any notable omissions? Let us know in the comments below!
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