So this isn't really a message about Astronomy, but most of you know that I have some strong opinions about how science and engineering is portrayed in popular media. I just got home from seeing Interstellar. Last night we saw Big Hero 6. Yes, its been an expensive weekend of movie watching, but well worth it for me.
Interstellar is a truly massive and deep plotted movie with an excellent overall theme - Man can conquer nature and survive even in the most dire of circumstances, and technology is the key to that survival. However, the movie is extremely complicated both in its plot and in its emotional aspects. I do not think it is a good movie for young children - the 6 year old was bored, the 11 year old was confused. The 15 year old realized the complexity and enjoyed the movie. I enjoyed it like I enjoy Bach - beautiful in its intricacy, but very hard to figure out. There are some very tough emotions involved that are not resolved in a happy ending. The movie also seemed incomplete at the end, possibly because the full story wouldn't fit into its 165 minutes.
On the other hand, Big Hero 6 is a much shallower, but truly fun superhero movie. I give it huge positive scores for not once invoking any negativity with respect to technology, nor even with respect to business, which is a bit of a surprise part of the story. The other excellent aspect is that the heroes are completely self made using technology (ok, impossibly ridiculous technology in some cases, but that's part of the movie's charm.
So if you are planning a movie night for the kids, go see Big Hero 6. If you're out without children, or with the high schoolers, give Interstellar a try. I personally enjoyed both of these, though Interstellar requires some more reflection.