Hey Chrisisall - Gravity.

POSTED BY: FREMDFIRMA
UPDATED: Tuesday, April 22, 2014 06:56
VIEWED: 8718
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Before I read your review I'll state my case for this movie. This movie is one of the best of the year, for shear suspense and exhilarating special FX.
And I dare say there was a story and character development but not in the conventional sense.

Yes, there were moments that it felt like a training film for astronauts, and that's what made the film seem almost documentary-like. But for shear scope, it was fascinating because it felt somewhat like we were a fly on the wall. The cinematography was nothing short of amazing, it reminded me of the film Open Water in story and pacing. What I liked was that Cuaron told the story from start to finish with almost unrelenting tension, but he inserted rare comic relief and at no point did it feel contrived or predictable.

To get back to the story, yes there was one, Clooney's character was the experienced astronaut on a routine mission to repair/maintain a space station (among many) that was now a part of the landscape. The film is shot entirely in the black with earth as a backdrop. It does start out as routine as any NASA training run, but things do get interesting as the trailer suggests. What transpires is nothing short of brilliant on the part of Sandra Bullock, who should receive a Oscar nomination for her performance. It is a vehicle for her as much as anything I've seen her do and makes her role in The Blind Side look like a warm-up, similar to that of a pitcher before he throws a no-hitter.

We find out that she's on that mission for a specific reason (no spoilers here) much like Mal is on board Serenity because of his past and uncertainty in the future. Yes, it is simplistic in it's approach and execution, but it is in that simplicity that the story allows the focus to be on Bullocks character Ryan Stone. I don't want to say more because it would spoil it for those who may want to take the journey.

That's what I felt like as I experienced, yes experienced, this film. The way in which Cuaron shot this film, like cinema virte, I felt as though I was floating through the black along with her and Clooney, and at any moment we could slip away and join Jubal Early in a romp across the coldness of the black.


SGG

Quote:

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Originally posted by ecgordon:
Gravity can really get you down, sometimes in more ways than one.

http://templetongate.net/gravity.htm

I'm prepared to be blasted for my opinion. Hopefully it won't be as severe as the damage I saw in the movie.

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There's more.............Gravity told the tale of Ryan Stone, who, as it turns out, was the main character and what she discovers while on a mission in orbit around Mother Earth.

To me it was a subtle message about how man is polluting space and how powerful nature is, even out in the black. It may not be the kind of movie you want to see over and over again, but it is nonetheless powerful in delivering it's message. It is a story of survival and strength of character but also manages to be subtly emotional without being weepy or sentimental. It is Apollo 13 meets Major Tom. I applaud Cuaron, because there wasn't a single wasted frame. It was meticulously, painstakingly exact from the opening sequence until heart pounding final shot. The beauty of our planet is evident throughout, and no matter how far out in space you are, the old adage is undeniably applicable - wherever you go, there you are.


SGG

Quote:

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Originally posted by ecgordon:

Quote:

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Originally posted by MAL4PREZ:
If anyone sees this and has an opinion...

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Scroll up to my post just above yours. I already gave you my opinion.

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Frem,

I truly believe you'll like this film.


SGG

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Well, obviously because of your deep-seeded love for the space program, you're more in tune than most re: the technical aspects of space exploration. But I did not get the negative message that you got from it, actually just the opposite.

Now, I have not interviewed Cuaron, although I would love to. But my take is that what Cuaron did not send a "negative" message with the script of this film. I got the feeling at the end that what he was saying is that being in space is beautiful and wonderful, but don't take it for granted or turn your back on it because Mother Nature will swallow you whole. It is a metaphor on life. Ryan Stone became distant and cold, much like space, and she needed to stabilize her life and return a new person. Just think for a moment the scene at the end - it is a rebalance. Like I said not a wasted frame.

So cheer up, it is a positive message but one that comes with a warning not to misuse, mistreat or misread Mother Nature in space like we have on earth.


SGG

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It is worth the price of 3D admission. Oh, by the way, Bullock's performance is the best ever for her, or anyone, for that matter. Please don't think that she's doing her Ms. Congeniality schtick.


SGG

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I can't fault the technical aspects of the film or Bullock's performance. My disappointment was purely from a scientific viewpoint of how they distorted facts and exaggerated for dramatic effect when it was not necessary.

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I saw Gravity yesterday. As stated above, I had my doubts. And I'll say right off that yes, there are non-realistic short cuts the writers took to keep the action moving. I could list them in detail, but I don't see the need to nitpick. Of course short cuts need to be made in order to bring any story to the screen, and nothing here offended me over in an overwhelming way.

OK, except you know how the Bad Guys are really bad shots and somehow miss the Good Guys even when there's no way they could have missed? Turns out that space debris is the same. :/

Also, the writers really don't get conservation of momentum.

Anyway, but da-amn! I can't imagine a more visually interesting and fully engaging movie about being in space. It was gorgeous and if I didn't believe all aspects of the plot, my eyes believed what they saw. So beautiful to watch the view from space for an hour and a half. I will definitely go to this one again, and again I'll pay extra for the 3D and the good sound effects. Just absolutely beautiful.

I am an unwilling fan of this one, but I am now a fan. My goodness, the length of the shots. I was wondering for a good 10-15 minutes (or more?) if they meant to make the entire film without a single break. They didn't, but it went beyond Children of Men as far as that's concerned. I love how the camera and the actors and the ships danced together for minutes and minutes on end.

Also, Bullock and Clooney managed to not be annoying. Yay!

Select to view spoiler:

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The misdirection with Clooney showing up was brilliant. The audience cheered when he came back, and when it was revealed to be a hallucination there was total silence.

Another kudos: the throwback to Wall-E and his use of an fire extinguisher as means of moving through space. They got the momentum right with that one!

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The French Revolution would have never happened if Marie Antoinette had just given every peasant an iPhone.

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I went in with eyes wide open, as well as, my mind. I wondered how they would resolve revealing that there's an accident in space and what would transpire as a result.

As the film began and the opening sequence unfurled, I soon forgot about the overriding question and was awed by the beauty of the opening shot. It reminded me of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The delicate dance of man and machine in the vastness of the black, made all the more intriguing with Mother Earth as a backdrop. It was breathtaking and inspiring in the same brushstroke - it was Beethoven, Monet and Kubrick rolled into one. A work of art, maybe not quite reaching the heights of the aforementioned 2001: A Space Odyssey, but beautiful in scope.

The story was simple, but in it's simplicity it embraced the mundane and seemingly routine (the tightening and untightening of a simple bolt) and heightened the performance of a simple task to that of performing brain surgery out in space. One move - failure or survival. We take for granted the simple gestures of our daily lives and behave carelessly. That's what I got from it.

Bullock's character backstory was slowly revealed to us, and what I found particularly refreshing and satisfying, Cuaron left it to our imagination to fill in the blanks. He allowed us, no, he encouraged us to use our own reasoning and experiences to participate in the story's development. I applaud him for that (no spoon feeding required). It was inspired.
No flashbacks or flash-forwards, no exposition - just pure raw energy, reaction, and eventually, emotion.

It was, as I have said, Apollo 13 meets 2001, sprinkled with a smidge of Contact.

Select to view spoiler:

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Clooney's appearance toward the end was brilliant. I was not sure that she didn't die and had gone to heaven - landing on Earth

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We will never know the true meaning of that ending.
Brilliant movie, this year's best so far.


SGG

Quote:

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Originally posted by MAL4PREZ:
I saw Gravity yesterday. As stated above, I had my doubts. And I'll say right off that yes, there are non-realistic short cuts the writers took to keep the action moving. I could list them in detail, but I don't see the need to nitpick. Of course short cuts need to be made in order to bring any story to the screen, and nothing here offended me over in an overwhelming way.

OK, except you know how the Bad Guys are really bad shots and somehow miss the Good Guys even when there's no way they could have missed? Turns out that space debris is the same. :/

Also, the writers really don't get conservation of momentum.

Anyway, but da-amn! I can't imagine a more visually interesting and fully engaging movie about being in space. It was gorgeous and if I didn't believe all aspects of the plot, my eyes believed what they saw. So beautiful to watch the view from space for an hour and a half. I will definitely go to this one again, and again I'll pay extra for the 3D and the good sound effects. Just absolutely beautiful.

I am an unwilling fan of this one, but I am now a fan. My goodness, the length of the shots. I was wondering for a good 10-15 minutes (or more?) if they meant to make the entire film without a single break. They didn't, but it went beyond Children of Men as far as that's concerned. I love how the camera and the actors and the ships danced together for minutes and minutes on end.

Also, Bullock and Clooney managed to not be annoying. Yay!

Select to view spoiler:

---

The misdirection with Clooney showing up was brilliant. The audience cheered when he came back, and when it was revealed to be a hallucination there was total silence.

Another kudos: the throwback to Wall-E and his use of an fire extinguisher as means of moving through space. They got the momentum right with that one!

---

*---------------------------------------*
The French Revolution would have never happened if Marie Antoinette had just given every peasant an iPhone.[/quote

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