Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Interstellar' And Other Space Movies

NPR

Interstellar, directed by Christopher Nolan, is the live-action behemoth arriving in theaters this weekend, and we brought in our pal Chris Klimek to chat about its highs and lows, its big sound (literally) and gorgeous visuals. You'll find that we had mixed reactions once you count the emotional beats, technical accomplishments, structure, editing, and — as Chris points out — high saline budget.

We figured we'd stay in the same celestial neighborhood for the whole show, so we next widened out to a larger conversation about space movies — not superhero/fantasy stuff, but the movies that really are trying to get at something at least reality-adjacent about where we might be headed and what we might find there. We talk about the aesthetic influences of 2001: A Space Odyssey (and I mention a fine documentary you might enjoy if your interests run to interplanetary production design), we consider analogies between space and water, we discuss the tension between claustrophobic space capsules and vast nothingness, and we remember that this isn't Matthew McConaughey's first time pondering the meaning of infinite space.

As always, we close the show with what's making us happy this week. Stephen is happy about the goings-on at his actual job, particularly a very successful video project. (He's also happy about a movie he caught with his kids, but what else is new with that guy?) Glen is happy about an opportunity to play (and play and play) right from your desk. Chris is happy about this trailer, for reasons I'm still trying to understand. And I'm happy about a public radio classic that has new legs, but also perfectly good old legs.

Find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter: me, Stephen, Glen, Chris, producer Jessica, producer Lauren, and our pal Mike.