Fall blockbusters hit theaters

PHOTOS SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE

“Big Hero 6”

This weekend, Disney brought us a new type of hero, one who appears to be more of a marshmallow. The film is set in the fictional mash-up metropolis, San Fransokyo, where Hiro Hamada, a 14-year-old robotics genius,  lives with his large and lovable balloon-ish robot, Baymax. Along with their team of nerdy friends, Hamada and Baymax go on the adventure of a lifetime to save the city.

“Big Hero 6” focuses on the idea of working toward your potential and doing what you love. Not only does the film give audiences some memorable characters, but it also shows some of the amazing animation Disney is known for. “Big Hero 6” is a beautiful movie fit for everyone. There are laughs and good times, as well as a few tear-jerking moments that really bring the lesson home.

— Commentary by Polly Snover

“Interstellar”

Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” is arguably his most ambitious film, one that will challenge audiences’ bold ideas about the future, space exploration and the extinction the American spirit. At almost three hours, the film seeks to expand on the previously mentioned ideas that once defined us, but now appear to be merely a facet of our history and not our continued evolution toward the unknown that hovers above the clouds.

In a moving and subtle performance, Matthew McConaughey plays Cooper, a retired NASA pilot who devotes his time to farming and raising his two children in a dusty western terrain evocative of the Dust Bowl.  Like “Gravity,” “Interstellar” is not about giant meteors heading straight toward Earth or making friends with extraterrestrials, but about the fleeting moments that make up our lives and the fragile connections we have with each other.  

— Commentary by Rene Thomas Rodriguez

“Nightcrawler”

Nothing gets good ratings quite like violence — the bloodier the better. Enter the stringers: apathetic and greedy cameramen who film the victims of car accidents and shootings to sell to the highest bidding news network.

Dan Gilroy’s latest film “Nightcrawler” spotlights this shady world through the lens of the perfect stringer: a sociopath. Jake Gyllenhaal is nearly unrecognizable as the intelligent and manipulative Louis Bloom, a self-taught stringer who will do whatever he believes will help him make the money to buy a lottery ticket. Gyllenhaal’s performance is shocking and arguably one of the best of his career.

“Nightcrawler” is brutally honest and forces audiences to face the gory truth of society’s fascination with violence and the indifference toward suffering in mass media. The victims are humanized enough that the audience can clearly see the insanity in the behavior of all of the film’s characters, with Bloom at the bloody forefront. It is a gripping and heart-pounding story about the effect of greed and the American dream, with a pretty incredible car chase for good measure.

— Commentary by Courtney Combs

 

Coming Soon

"Foxcatcher" — Friday

"Dumb and Dumber To" — Friday

"Rosewater" — Friday

"Mockingjay— Part1" — Nov 21