Monday, October 14, 2013

Gravity review

Even in a while plummeting through space in the face of almost certain death while wearing a clunky astronaut suit, George Clooney still manages to be incredibly suave and confident.
So about a year ago I stumbled across this sci-fi film called Gravity in the 'Upcoming Releases' part of a movie website. It sounded very cool, yet there was little information about it. No posters or pictures , or even a synopsis. The release date was November 2012. I was very excited to see it. Come November, Gravity doesn't actually come out. It seems to have vanished from existence. I was quite confused, but I just got on with my life. Flash forward to May 2013. I'm at a showing of The Great Gatsby and there's a trailer shown for some cool space movie called, you guessed it, Gravity. My heart soars. The audience applauds. Tears are shed. Fade to black. Okay, it wasn't that dramatic, but you get the point. Anyway, I became very, very excited for the film. Around late August, reviews for Gravity started coming in. They were very good reviews. My excitement was solidified. Well, Gravity finally came out last week. I didn't get a chance to see it then. I got back from seeing it in 3D, and damn those reviews were right. Gravity is about two astronauts; Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) and Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) who get "lost in space" when satellite debris take out their entire control center. They then have to maneuver to the nearest space station and stay alive. There's been a lot of hype around Gravity. It seems like everyone on the internet is talking about it.  It has a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes! The Godfather Part II and Raging Bull have a 98%! (Coincidentally, both those movies are starring Robert De Niro.) I was actually worried about it. I thought my expectations would be too high. Could it live up to the hype? Yes and no. Gravity is the most beautiful and visually striking movie I've seen all year. The movie starts out with one unbroken shot, a strange reminiscent  of Martin Scorsese and Stanley Kubrick. That one shot was what sucked me in. I was hooked. Alfonso Cuaron is the director here. If he doesn't get an Oscar for this I don't know what the world will have come to. The direction here is like fluid, flowing across the vast and wonderful vacuum that it is outer space. Shot after shot, my breath was being taken away. Everything looks so real here. I could have sworn I was right up with Sandra Bullock, flying through space with her. This movie is so great because of the visuals. Cuaron directed the third Harry Potter flick and the apocalyptic P.D. James adaptation, Children of Men. Those were all good. Gravity though, may be his masterpiece. It's not a perfect film though. The characters are a bit flimsy and it sometimes feels off. But I forgive all of its minor issues for the sheer astounding beauty and awesomeness of it all. The acting is alright here. George Clooney is his usual cool self, nothing wrong with that. Nothing really special either. Sandra Bullock is decent. In the majority of the movie she's going through space screaming and being scared. But towards the end, she gets her chance to shine. I don't consider Bullock to be a fantastic actress. She isn't mind blowing here, but she's not bad either. Yet, the best part of Gravity is the fantastic visuals and direction. And yes, I would watch it again. I was wrestling with myself on what rating to give this. Then I thought, it kept my attention the whole time and truly blew me away. It was the maybe the best experience I've ever had at the movies! So in conclusion, I give Gravity 4.5 out of 5 stars. Happy Viewing guys! Remember, you can follow me on Twitter @WhitsMovies and like me on Facebook at Facebook.com/WhitsMovies!

4 comments:

  1. Good review Whit. A beautiful movie in every which visual way possible. However, the script was a bit of a let-down.

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    1. Thanks man! Agreed. Yet, I could definitely forgive the shaky script for it's sheer beauty.

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  2. Nice review. I personally thought Sandra Bullock was really quite great in her role, and contributed quite a bit in truly sucking us into the experience. Still though, this movie was a technical masterpiece, and should certainly be recognized for it come awards season. :)

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    1. Stunning movie for sure, but the Academy tends to "forget" sci-fi when the Oscars come around.

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