Interstellar

After exploring the tortured psyche of Batman in the Dark Knight trilogy and the subconscious mind in Inception, director Christopher Nolan here goes to infinity and beyond with a cosmic epic that adds breathtaking consequence to the idea of a "race against time". Set in a near future when humanity faces global starvation, Nolan's space odyssey stars Matthew McConaughey as a widowed former pilot-turned-farmer who's struggling to cope with an onerous agrarian existence while bringing up two kids. So, when he's given the opportunity "to save the world" by a bunch of boffins (led by Michael Caine), he jumps at the chance, much to the distress of his daughter (Mackenzie Foy). For this is no ordinary intergalactic mission. It requires McConaughey and his team to enter a mysterious wormhole to find a planet for the human race to colonise - a journey that could take years for the explorers while decades pass on Earth. Nolan's ambitious film is no mere disaster flick; it's thoughtful sci-fi like Silent Running (1971) and there are also echoes of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: a Space Odyssey (mind-blowing visuals, Hans Zimmer's subtle but evocative score). But unlike that 1968 masterclass, in which concept sometimes overwhelmed character, Nolan puts the bond between the cosmically estranged McConaughey and Foy at the core of his blockbuster, despite the presence of elaborate-looking spaceships, strange planets rife with elemental danger and an omnipresent (and ominous) black hole. A cast including Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain and John Lithgow isn't bad either, but holding it all together is McConaughey, who proves his best actor Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club was no fluke and guarantees this majestic film retains a human heart.