Gravity

[Mr March]

Some nice early buzz that actually has some substance to it. I hope the potential of this film plays out like it should.

[areaseven]

Gravity is not yet out, but critics are already calling it one of the best films of 2013.

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 95% - "Alfonso Cuarón's Gravity is an eerie, tense sci-fi thriller that's masterfully directed and visually stunning."

Metacritic Score: 96 out of 100

[Ivan]

Can't help being reminded of the film Cast Away, which I love. Gravity is probably a very different film, but I will give it a chance

[ErikElvis]

What are two fifty year olds doing out in space!

[Mr March]

October can't come fast enough

[Vile]

Worried the remainder of the movie will just consist of Sandra Bullock talking to herself

About her dead daughter.

[Duke Togo]

WOW... I'm floored. I need a drink.

[VF-19]

Just watched it. Wow. Just wow. Intense and a hell of a ride. The Blu-ray can't come fast enough!

[Mr March]

Saw the film late last night but was too tired by the time I was home to write about it. Gravity is phenomenal entertainment. It's so good, I'm unable to decide if it's better or worse that Children of Men. The biggest revelation with this film is that the characters, story or setting offer nothing all that original, but HOW the characters, story and setting are shown and used is unlike anything you've ever seen before. I've watched countless films about science fiction and space yet Gravity explored those subjects in ways unlike anything I've known. The acting is superb, the dialog is smart and emotional, the music is astounding (I MUST have this soundtrack) and the effects...my gawd, the effects in this film. So many sequences are marvels of visual effects. There's so much going on here and all of it is interesting. Several of the disaster sequences are packed with detail to such an extent I have to watch this film over again to try and catch all that detail. The feeling of weightlessness is accomplished so effortlessly, I could swear the whole film was shot in space.

And then of course...

...the tension.

The tension almost never lets up. The entire film has you on the edge of your seat. I found myself gasping for air and cringing several times throughout the film. A film hasn't place me on this kind of thrill ride since The Raid. One last thing; if you hate 3D, go see this movie in 3D. Gravity should be the poster child for everything that is right about 3D. This is the 3D film to see.

I give Gravity a 5 out of 5. Easily one of the best films about space ever made and an exciting, emotional thrill ride made by a master filmmaker.

[Ivan]

WOW... I'm floored. I need a drink.

I take that as a "Yes"? Just saw it myself, and absolutely love it, even though I doubt the Chinese space station will only display the Chinese language in their system, hehe

Anyways, yes, there is nothing original about the story, but the intensity, the special effects, the camera angles and the soundtrack were all excellent and together gave us a very powerful space exercise.

[areaseven]

Review in Haiku Rating: Great

[Hiriyu]

One last thing; if you hate 3D, go see this movie in 3D. Gravity should be the poster child for everything that is right about 3D. This is the 3D film to see.

This makes me sad to hear. I can't watch 3-D movies without getting completely sick to my stomach

I'm still very much looking forward to this, but it will have to be in 2D.

[areaseven]

Saw it in digital 2D tonight. Much better than what the trailers have shown us. Hopefully, I'll be able to see it in IMAX this weekend.

[Duke Togo]

I take that as a "Yes"?

Indeed, LOL. You know me, usually I go on and on about this stuff, but I think "WOW" sums it up pretty nicely.

[derex3592]

that's good enough for me. If Duke says "WOW", I'm there.

[Mr March]

This makes me sad to hear. I can't watch 3-D movies without getting completely sick to my stomach

I'm still very much looking forward to this, but it will have to be in 2D.

Yeah, I have a friend that is the same way. He becomes nauseous from 3D movies and First Person Shooters. Not to worry, the film will still be amazing in 2D, it's just that the 3D is done very well and adds more to the film.

[Major Focker]

speechless

[Faisaijin]

Disappointed. I over expected too much thinking it would be like Abyss. Nice acting from Sandra, beautiful effects & cinematography though.

[Duke Togo]

Disappointed. I over expected too much thinking it would be like Abyss.

Because what the world really needs is another preachy, pretentious, James Cameron movie. Am I right?

[renegadeleader1]

Because what the world really needs is another preachy, pretentious, James Cameron movie. Am I right?

Or another predictable disaster movie with boring characters you really don't feel for that's only saving grace is "pretty visuals".

[technoblue]

So...for someone who watched Planetes and thought it was fantastic, is this a live-action film that's worth seeing? Is it even comparable? For example, is there a good balance of believable physics to Hollywood physics? I'm trying to guage the tension in the above reviews: 2001 tension or Armageddon tension?

[Mr March]

technoblue I'd say ignore the usual internet nerd rage and give it a shot. I mean realistically if a movie like "Gravity" isn't worth taking a chance on, what is?

I can say this; comparing "Gravity" to "Armageddon" in any way (apart from both loosely being "space disaster" films) is a tragic diservice to Cuaron's film.

[technoblue]

Thanks, Mr. March. That's good advice.

I rank both Children of Men and Pan's Labyrinth (Del Tor and Cuaron) very high on my list of favorite films, and was trying to balance my expectations for Gravity. I am planning to see it sometime this week.

[skullmilitia]

I'm at the theater getting ready to watch.

Even after hearing NDT's review saying its a little

Loose on actual physics but overall a spectacular movie.

[Beltane70]

Gravity was probably one of the most intense and suspenseful movies that I've ever seen! I'm so glad that I managed to avoid spoilers, so I didn't know what to expect other than what was shown in the previews.

[skullmilitia]

^ agreed, easily the most intense and suspenseful film I have ever seen.

Your literally gripping the arm rests and floor up until the last 2 minutes if the film.

I liked seeing that the film was written, directed and produced by Cuaron.

I hope this movie makes him money so he can make more movies.

I mean, seriously, one if the best Action/Drama movies in the last twenty

Years of film. It's gonna take a true visionary to ever top this movies

Also.. Link to where someone compared this movie to Armageddon?

Sounds like someone who needs his balls to be place in his cranium.

I understand being nerd raged over some simple physics violations for

entertainments sake, but to compare it to a Michael Bay film?

Might be time for a sacrifice!

Edited October 13, 2013 by skullmilitia

[technoblue]

skullmilitia: LoL! I don't remember reading an Armageddon reference anywhere, although I had been reading NDT's comments and other commentaries from NASA employees discussing the physics in the film. My comparison of 2001 and Armageddon was to lay out two extremes and get a general idea without spoilers.

It was in no way a commentary on the film or Cuaron's ability. Again, I still have to see it, so I'm not in a position to critique anything.

[Vespaeda]

Watched it Saturday night, after failing at getting out to an IMAX 3D theater on opening weekend.

I didn't have any of the false pretenses about what it would be about(overly melodramatic with unnecessary plot twists/gimmicks): excrutiating visual detail to convey the surreal, 0-gee environ and its inhospitable hazard and a small crew of astronauts struggling to survive an over-the-top nightmare accident of some kind.

I wasn't disappointed.

I did see Neill DeGrasse Tyson's commentary--and notably, that he THOROUGHLY liked the movie for what it accomplishes[...met him a handful of times when he was a 20-something grad student, managing the Hayden Planetarium in the early '80's; he was my H.S. buddy's boss, when we both volunteered summers as research assistants; guess my age... ..].

Although some of his criticisms blew away some of the plot drivers, the major thing they serve is in uniting audiences around the world over Cuaron's movie: it gives EVERYONE a new, visceral respect and tangible understanding of just how dangerous and unforgiving actual astronaut work is.

I don't care how big a sci-fi nerd or legacy space opera/fiction aficionado you might be; compared to some of my deployment environments and ships underway in pitched seas, I give mad props to international astronauts and scientists who seek out this career. Space is pharking terrifying! Its gonna be a looooooong time before we're galivanting around in it, like Star Wars or Star Trek...

'Nerves of steel' undertakings! Akin to exploring kilometers of an active Kilauea or Icelandic lava flow field, while flying over them in nothing sturdier than a gossamer soap bubble...and a tool box of assorted wands & only a child's plastic jar of extra soap bubble fluid for replenishment during your trip!

If this country ever gets its head out of its A$$ long enough to encourage renewed NASA/orbital work, this movie can do the same for cultural motivation for space, like the 60's Mercury & Appollo program and Kubrick's '2001' did for that generation.

5 stars for cinematic experience and story-telling!

[electric indigo]

Awesomestest movie I've seen since Inception. 3D was invented for this kind of experience.

[Major Focker]

having savored the movie in my mind for a day, i think i can say few more words.

during the movie, i was reminded of the game Homeworld, mainly because of how Clooney delivered his lines, exuding composure under pressure. it's reminiscent of the deadpan radio chatter in Homeworld (Frigate reports contact... we are coming under fire.. repeat...coming under fire...). i've read some folks found Clooney's character and/or portrayal boring, but i found the character absolutely fascinating. someone who plays it easy because he can, being truly a veteran and an expert in his field. and his character plays off well against Bullock's who's also an expert in her field, but a fish out of water in space.

a number of reviews have picked up on the theme "triumph over adversity", which is completely true, but what may not be so obvious is that the adversity here is not just in space, but also in their personal lives. the ingenious thing is that this is all conveyed through the excellent dialogue. here are two ordinary people, who made themselves able to do extraordinary things through dedication and training, yet remain fallible to the basic human needs of air, gravity, a home, someone to belong to. i have to wonder if those who didn't connect to the characters were actually paying attention, or were too focused on the action, or perhaps just jaded.

while i was googling on how they filmed Gravity, i came across this article: http://io9.com/all-the-ways-hollywood-tried-to-ruin-gravity-1442130153

i'm just so glad they stuck to their guns and ignored the hollywood execs.

in particular, the ending would've been diminished greatly if Bullock's character was shown being assisted out of the module, rather then her slowly but steadily standing up on her own two feet.

and flashbacks would've broken the immersion and pacing

what made the movie work was its simplicity, in the same way some short stories can hit harder than full length novels. then again that just might be me, as i've always been more inclined to short fiction rather than generation-spanning stories.

Edited October 14, 2013 by Major Focker

[Phyrox]

Despite the stretch to credulity in some of the science, I found none of that really bothered me.

Despite the cheesy monologue at the end, I found I really liked the character.

The movie has a few flaws, but they amount to very little in comparison to what it does right, which is just about everything else.

It did pretty much everything that other movies this year have failed to do for me.

Who would have thought watching an astronaut remove a parachute harness would be more exciting than two hours of giant robots vs. giant monsters?

Edited October 14, 2013 by Phyrox

[skullmilitia]

And who thought Debris would be a bigger, badder and more terrifying monster than any Sci-Fi villain.

[peter]

After seeing this film, I never want to go into space.

[electric indigo]

After seeing this film, you don't need to go into space anymore.

[peter]

After seeing this film, you don't need to go into space anymore.

Yeah, no kidding. Talk about setting the new standard for space movies.