Probably 2015's Best So Far...

Rating: 10/10 (12 October 2015)

I got around to seeing the latest from director Ridley Scott over the weekend, which I may actually have to conclude is the best film I've seen so far this year. Based on the book by Andy Weir, Matt Damon stars as an astronaut stranded on Mars, after his crew believes he died in a storm and leaves him behind. I've noticed this is three years in a row Damon has starred in an amazing piece of sci-fi filmmaking, after 2013's "Elysium" and last year's "Interstellar".
Damon's character, by luck would have it, is a botanist, and his biggest problem is having enough food to survive on until the next manned space crew comes into town. So he gets to work planting crops using his own s**t! He also has to figure out a way to first of all, let the people back home know he's still alive, and then communicate with them. This movie reminded me of another film- "Apollo 13", a survival thriller using ingenuity and good ol' fashioned brainpower to get to each next level, only this movie is much much better I'd say..??
Also, if you're a fan of 1970's disco music, you will be dancing in your seat throughout this movie, since the captain of the crew that left him behind apparently was a big fan, and that was all the music they brought along with them-?? LOL ABBA, Donna Summer, Thelma Houston, the O'Jays, etc.. you name it; they're all there! Except the Bee Gees are noticeably absent-?? Hmmm.... No matter; absolutely LOVED LOVED this movie. I give it the highest rating possible. And I may even go as far as to say this is director Ridley Scott's best film to date, after a forty-year career in the movie business.. The film's all-star cast includes Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kristen Wiig, Kate Mara, Michael Pena, etc..