Gravity is a movie that I cannot tell you much about without giving too much away. Even telling you I can’t tell you is telling you too much.
Rated 3.9 out of 4.0 Houston-we-have-really-big-problems.
Just kidding, but not kidding about how much I can tell you. Gravity, directed brilliantly by Alfonso Cuaron, is only 90 minutes long including 10 minutes of end credits. The running time is perfect. Sorry if that gives anything away. The film only has two on-screen actors. A few others provide voices, but only Sandra Bullock and George Clooney are seen. They are enough.
The film opens with SB, an astronaut, working on the Hubble Telescope while GC, also an astronaut, is floating around; mainly using his space suit to have some fun while SB does the hard work of making necessary repairs. Then the fun ends and work stops when a bunch of space detritus from a destroyed satellite flies through the area at 20,000 MPH and makes a real mess.
SB and GC are the only survivors of the mission and are now floating around in space trying to figure out what to do next. Next is what I really can’t tell you without giving too much away.
Rated 3.9 out of 4.0 Houston-this-problem-is-even-bigger-than-before.
Okay. What I can tell you is not to miss this film. We saw it in IMAX 3D and it’s well worth seeking out a theater where you can see the film in this format. Both performances are Oscar caliber, especially SB. The only drawback that I can find is the discordant music score by Steven Price. SP has been in the movie music business for awhile, but mainly in editing and providing short additional cues. He has only done two other feature films. His music here is amateurish and provides scare effects by using unnecessary, loud, jarring notes to create an effect that is easily achieved without the cheap tricks. I hope he learns from the experience as he shows promise in other parts of the score.
The special effects are possibly the best ever provided for a space film. Like the movie Space Cowboys (2000), the effects support the picture by making everything seem real without over-powering the characters on screen.
There are a couple of references to other films you can look for, even without knowing too much about what to look for. There is a neat scene that is a reference to Always (1989), which was a remake of A Guy Named Joe (1943). Another film with a reference scene (although I doubt if Cuaron had even seen it) is In Like Flint (1967). Of course I can’t tell you what the scenes were in either film, as I have already said enough.
Rated 3.9 out of 4.0 Houston-we-have-a-great-movie-here.
