Topic: What's your verdict on GRAVITY? (*SPOILERS* are likely)

Obviously, this picture is amazing on many fronts.

Is it a perfect movie, though?



My Gravity report card reads something like:


VFX & Overall 'Wow' Factor = A

Acting = B+

Keeping as-you-know dialogue out of the characters' mouths in the first 15 minutes of screentime = F

Getting Space Right = (Paging Brian...)

Figuring out a way to get Sandra in tight (and eventually wet) underwear even though it's a space movie = A

Use of Ed Harris = A+

Definitely one of the best IMAX experiences I've ever had.

What say you?

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Re: What's your verdict on GRAVITY? (*SPOILERS* are likely)

Spoilers.

I envy your IMAX experience. I wish I had seen it in 3D.

I think most of my problems with it - and they're minor, easy-to-put-aside problems - all stem from the script being a little hamfisted in terms of dialogue. It occurs to me that may well be a language thing, otherwise Alfonso and his bro don't have a golden ear for dialogue. It's a little crazily on the nose in a few parts, and yeah, contains one of the most glaring "as you knows" in recent memory. (Which was unnecessary, really, too. If I recall, it was "as you know, your mission is blank," and her mission doesn't matter in the movie beyond the fact that she's a novice in space.) In any case, I can set that aside.

I do not understand The Ballistics of Clooney. When he's at the end of the rope, and has to disconnect from Sandra... what the fuck is happening there? They're not in atmo, and they're moving at the same speed. No bouncing, even, if I recall, they're at a totally matched velocity. (With each other, and the space station.) What in God's name is pulling him away from her so strongly that he needs to disconnect to keep from breaking something? (And for that matter, why does he float away?)

Nitpick, I guess, but it took me out of it for a moment.

My god this movie is gorgeous. I hope the Blu-Ray has a four-or-five hour documentary on it, and I look forward to this VFX team getting the Oscar win.

Also, been a long time since I walked out of a movie theater going "thank god," and that's nice, too. And bless this movie for bothering to have a theme.

clap

Teague Chrystie

I have a tendency to fix your typos.

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Re: What's your verdict on GRAVITY? (*SPOILERS* are likely)

Too bad Gravity’s fanboy audience is conveniently ignorant of richer space dramas like Walter Hill’s sexy-scary  Supernova and Brian DePalma’s Mission to Mars (remember that astoundingly witty Ennio Morricone score?) which entertainingly combined psychological and visionary pondering with sci-fi agape. Hill advanced the genre with tense, erotic, metaphysical characterizations. Nothing in Gravity compares to Mission to Mars’ extraordinary orchestration of passion and dread among a team of astronauts attempting to forge a lifeline in outer space. DePalma created an unforgettable, breathtaking sequence of love and loss. His great tragic humanism was more powerful than Cuaron’s tepid “hope.”

Cuaron plays with philosophy in a shallow, juvenile way, the same as he misuses technology—he even throws in a 3D teardrop. His teasing, tormenting style is just green-screen busyness; though set in space, Cuaron’s Earth-bound “Esperanza” in Gravity could be anywhere, nowhere.

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http://www.joblo.com/newsimages1/UMAD.jpg

Re: What's your verdict on GRAVITY? (*SPOILERS* are likely)

Um, Supernova? This Supernova?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0a/Supernova_ver1.jpg

I am not sure I share your assessment, though some concepts were more hard scifi that is normally employed, but I was not as impressed with it as other films.

God loves you!

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Re: What's your verdict on GRAVITY? (*SPOILERS* are likely)

[REDACTED]

EDIT: Ewing you sonuvabitch. You didn't count on my pathological inability to avoid spoilers, did you?

Last edited by Doctor Submarine (2013-10-04 18:27:55)

"The Doctor is Submarining through our brains." --Teague

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Re: What's your verdict on GRAVITY? (*SPOILERS* are likely)

http://www.nyfcc.com/2013/10/space-junk … ond-white/

Here's his full review. Fucking hilarious that he said the movie where the director tried to have his name removed from it was better.

Re: What's your verdict on GRAVITY? (*SPOILERS* are likely)

Ewing wrote:

http://www.nyfcc.com/2013/10/space-junk … ond-white/

Here's his full review. Fucking hilarious that he said the movie where the director tried to have his name removed from it was better.

He's fully embraced his status as a movie critic supervillain and it's kind of amazing.

"The Doctor is Submarining through our brains." --Teague

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Re: What's your verdict on GRAVITY? (*SPOILERS* are likely)

I'll never forget the Supernova trailer. By far the worst music choices I've ever seen.

Re: What's your verdict on GRAVITY? (*SPOILERS* are likely)

Doctor Submarine wrote:
Ewing wrote:

http://www.nyfcc.com/2013/10/space-junk … ond-white/

Here's his full review. Fucking hilarious that he said the movie where the director tried to have his name removed from it was better.

He's fully embraced his status as a movie critic supervillain and it's kind of amazing.

I now want a WAYDM of Supernova because the behind the scenes of that movie alone make me amazed it was ever made. I watched it twice as a teenager, purely for the T&A (ashamed to admit it but I'll be honest), and left it wondering why that film told me that story.

Also, not sure what White is going for either... hmm

God loves you!

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Re: What's your verdict on GRAVITY? (*SPOILERS* are likely)

I believe Cuaron wrote the movie with his son, Jonas. (Alfonso's brother is Carlos.)

The dialogue was quite hamfisted indeed. And the on-the-nose moments seemed to come at exactly the places where some subtlety was in order. The skeleton of the story was fine. It's the crammed-in backstory and as-you-knows that didn't work.

Then there's the sentimentality. I readily admit that I have an abnormally low tolerance for it. But the moments in which Cuaron was tugging on those heart strings felt a bit too emphatic. Dial it back some, is all. A lot of this is that I was probably hoping for a bleaker movie — something more Fincher/Aronovsky in tone. And that's my fault, not Cuaron's.

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But is it really plausible that two Space Shuttle crew members would know so little about each other? They are literally docked with Hubble on a spacewalk and Clooney doesn't know what town Bullock's character is from? Whether she's married or has kids? And what kind of name is "Ryan" for a girl, anyway? I realize it was a short mission, but don't crew members spend a fair bit of time together on Earth before NASA shoots them skyward? Everything we come to know about Matthew Kowalski indicates he's the kind of person who would ask "What kind of a name is 'Ryan' for a girl?" immediately upon being introduced to Dr. Stone. Like, as they're shaking hands. On Earth. Am I crazy, or is this basic story logic stuff?

But don't get it twisted: I'm big on this movie. I was positively awed by it. Everyone should see it.

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Re: What's your verdict on GRAVITY? (*SPOILERS* are likely)

Rob wrote:

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But is it really plausible that two Space Shuttle crew members would know so little about each other? They are literally docked with Hubble on a spacewalk and Clooney doesn't know what town Bullock's character is from? Whether she's married or has kids? And what kind of name is "Ryan" for a girl, anyway? I realize it was a short mission, but don't crew members spend a fair bit of time together on Earth before NASA shoots them skyward? Everything we come to know about Matthew Kowalski indicates he's the kind of person who would ask "What kind of a name is 'Ryan' for a girl?" immediately upon being introduced to Dr. Stone. Like, as they're shaking hands. On Earth. Am I crazy, or is this basic story logic stuff?

But don't get it twisted: I'm big on this movie. I was positively awed by it. Everyone should see it.

I really think that most of the complaints about dialogue in this movie can be explained away with, "They're talking to distract themselves from the endless terror of their situation." And maybe Kowalski DID ask her that and he was just asking her again. It's set up that he likes to do that.

I'm of two minds about this movie. It REALLY needed another half-hour or so. It felt like it had barely begun before the credits started to roll (although that final sequence was beautiful and awe-inspiring.) I can't tell if the movie was bold and awesome for telling the story that it does, or whether it was a major misstep that ruined the whole thing. I can't decide if I really like the fact that they just throw you right into the story and don't spend time on character backstories OR if I think that it leaves the movie without a point. As to Teague's point that they "bothered to have a theme," I'd really like to know what you think the theme is, because I can't tell. There was a cursory nod to Stone "needing to let go," but that had no impact on the story or her actions, and her final monologue felt really, really un-earned.

Then again, it's a fantastic movie to look at. I really wish I could see this movie with the dialogue muted, and just the music and visuals. It's unlike anything I've ever seen before, and unlike anything that's likely to be made again. I just wish that the Gravity we got had some more depth. It's not a movie, it's an experience. And there's nothing wrong with that, per se, because it's a GREAT experience. But it's wide as a lake and deep as a puddle. I like movies that stick with you, intellectually, after you leave the theater. Gravity doesn't do that for me. But hey, if it does that for you, more power to you. I'd love to see the breakdown on all the metaphor and symbolism that escaped me.

"The Doctor is Submarining through our brains." --Teague

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Re: What's your verdict on GRAVITY? (*SPOILERS* are likely)

As someone who has a chronic fear of vast open spaces, particularly space and the open ocean, this movie terrified me. I'm not sure I trust myself to talk about it objectively, just because that terror made it such a visceral experience for me. I think we can all agree it's got the VFX Oscar in the bag, and I was deeply surprised to find myself thinking that, despite my usual disdain for Sandra Bullock, she has a completely deserved shot at another Best Actress Oscar. My one big complaint apart from the as-you-know dialogue at the beginning is the casting of Clooney—RDJ was involved earlier on in the production, I know, and he seems like a perfect fit for Kowalski.

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Re: What's your verdict on GRAVITY? (*SPOILERS* are likely)

Oh my yes — the visual effects Oscar is in the bag. You don't have to be Nate Silver to handicap that category.

It may be a contender for Best Cinematography, too. Last time around that Oscar went to Life of Pi, which was, like Gravity, a super effects-y film that just happened to be made by a well respected director. And Cuaron's DP is Emmanuel Lubezki, who is like a mini Roger Deakins in that he's been nominated something like 3 or 4 times (The Tree of Life, Children of Men, etc.) but never won.

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Re: What's your verdict on GRAVITY? (*SPOILERS* are likely)

If anyone isn't following Neil Degrasse Tyson on twitter, you should. He has a running thing going on at the moment where he's just throwing out issues and questions he has about Gravity.

ZangrethorDigital.ca

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Re: What's your verdict on GRAVITY? (*SPOILERS* are likely)

Phil Plait has commented. He commends the movie for several things, but he does criticize the same problem Teague pointed out about the tether:

The thing is, they very clearly show that when Bullock’s leg got tangled up in the shroud line, both her and Clooney’s velocity relative to the space station was zero. They had stopped.

On Earth, if one person is hanging by a rope and holding on to a second person, yeah, gravity is pulling them both down, the upper person bearing the weight of the lower one. If the upper person lets go, the other falls away. But in orbit, they’re in free-fall. Gravity wasn’t pulling Clooney away from Bullock; there were essentially no forces on him at all, so he had no weight for Bullock to bear! All she had to do was give the tether a gentle tug and Clooney would’ve been safely pulled toward her. Literally an ounce of force applied for a few seconds would’ve been enough. They could’ve both then used the shroud lines to pull themselves to the station.

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Re: What's your verdict on GRAVITY? (*SPOILERS* are likely)

Rob wrote:

Phil Plait has commented. He commends the movie for several things, but he does criticize the same problem Teague pointed out about the tether:

The thing is, they very clearly show that when Bullock’s leg got tangled up in the shroud line, both her and Clooney’s velocity relative to the space station was zero. They had stopped.

On Earth, if one person is hanging by a rope and holding on to a second person, yeah, gravity is pulling them both down, the upper person bearing the weight of the lower one. If the upper person lets go, the other falls away. But in orbit, they’re in free-fall. Gravity wasn’t pulling Clooney away from Bullock; there were essentially no forces on him at all, so he had no weight for Bullock to bear! All she had to do was give the tether a gentle tug and Clooney would’ve been safely pulled toward her. Literally an ounce of force applied for a few seconds would’ve been enough. They could’ve both then used the shroud lines to pull themselves to the station.

I think Cuaron wanted us to feel like if Sandra's foot slipped that they'd fall down to Earth. He shoots it like they're hanging off a cliff. It certainly looks that way, and in the moment it's hard to distance your terror from what you know the physics actually would be.

"The Doctor is Submarining through our brains." --Teague

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Re: What's your verdict on GRAVITY? (*SPOILERS* are likely)

Idk, fridge logic physics seems like the kind of thing that would kinda piss me off to no end.

(And no, I haven't seen it, and yes I'm in the spoilers thread. No, I have never particularly cared about this movie.)

Last edited by BigDamnArtist (2013-10-07 04:31:01)

ZangrethorDigital.ca

Re: What's your verdict on GRAVITY? (*SPOILERS* are likely)

Teague wrote:

I do not understand The Ballistics of Clooney. When he's at the end of the rope, and has to disconnect from Sandra... what the fuck is happening there? They're not in atmo, and they're moving at the same speed. No bouncing, even, if I recall, they're at a totally matched velocity. (With each other, and the space station.) What in God's name is pulling him away from her so strongly that he needs to disconnect to keep from breaking something? (And for that matter, why does he float away?)

I chalked it up to centripetal force, though I don't remember if they were twirling and wrapping around the station at that point. It did feel a little off.

And yes, the 3D was amazing. I normally hate that crap. But this was a spectacle.

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Re: What's your verdict on GRAVITY? (*SPOILERS* are likely)

If you're nitpicking physics about this movie, which is more accurate in its physics than any space movie in the history of cinema, I don't know what to tell you.

I think people complaining just had a different movie in their minds and are upset it wasn't the one Cuaron set out to make. It sounds like you may have wanted a more art-house, existential, bleak, slowly dying in space movie. I'd like that too, but that's not this movie, and it doesn't have to be. This is a roller-coaster action film about not giving up, and fighting tooth and nail to survive, it's an up-beat, intense-as hell, survival story. And I'm SUPER happy about that.

I am absolutely floored, jaw-dropped floored. It was everything I could have hoped for and more. I didn't necessarily expect it going in, but this is one the best action films of all time. It reminds me of the back-half of Aliens in its relentlessness.

Just, wall-to-wall holy shit. I haven't been this viscerally and emotionally drained by a movie in years.

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Re: What's your verdict on GRAVITY? (*SPOILERS* are likely)

I feel like a true nitpick is pointing out some minor inconsistency that literally doesn't matter to the story and would not otherwise be noticed. With the tether thing, it's a major plot point (the whole reason Kowalski bites the dust) and something that even I noticed as not-quite-right. (Which is slightly different from, like, pointing out that Forrest Gump is drinking from Dr. Pepper bottles that would not be manufactured for another year — nothing in the story hinges on the shape of the soda bottles, and it's not likely to be noticed by many people anyway.) But yeah, I doubt such details ruined the movie for anyone.

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Re: What's your verdict on GRAVITY? (*SPOILERS* are likely)

http://thedissolve.com/features/the-con … e-on-eart/

This article from Noel Murray and Tasha Robinson has pretty much singlehandedly turned me around on the film. There's a LOT to be read into here. I love the idea that the movie is a metaphor for depression. When the movie says that "life in space is impossible," that's what it's getting at. It's no accident that the movie takes place in an empty, lifeless void. That's pretty much what depression feels like.

I also love how this plays into the movie's ideas about rebirth. Note that Stone spends most of Act 1 attached to Kowalski by an umbilical cord

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and the cutting of that cord is a big turning point. That's not even touching the final scene, where Stone emerges from the small sphere into a wet, warm environment and slowly takes her first steps on land. This scene also figures in the depression stuff. Stone goes to space to escape her demons, and the second she gets back she starts to sink. It's only when she sheds her protective barrier that she can escape, and live.

Holy crap, what was I thinking? This movie is brilliant.

"The Doctor is Submarining through our brains." --Teague

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Re: What's your verdict on GRAVITY? (*SPOILERS* are likely)

I LOVED IT! I saw it in IMAX 3D.  tongue

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After the landing, when Sandra was in the lake, I leaned over to my dad and said "And then Sharks."  big_smile 

"Life is about movies; anything else is a bonus!"- Me   cool

Re: What's your verdict on GRAVITY? (*SPOILERS* are likely)

bullet3 wrote:

If you're nitpicking physics about this movie, which is more accurate in its physics than any space movie in the history of cinema, I don't know what to tell you.

But it's because it's so accurate that people are nitpicking. You laugh at the mistakes in The Core, but this is so close you just groan over every mistake that could have been fixed with a bit more thought.

I think people complaining just had a different movie in their minds and are upset it wasn't the one Cuaron set out to make. It sounds like you may have wanted a more art-house, existential, bleak, slowly dying in space movie. I'd like that too, but that's not this movie, and it doesn't have to be. This is a roller-coaster action film about not giving up, and fighting tooth and nail to survive, it's an up-beat, intense-as hell, survival story. And I'm SUPER happy about that.

I wanted space surfing sad

I write stories! With words!
http://www.asstr.org/~Invid_Fan/

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Re: What's your verdict on GRAVITY? (*SPOILERS* are likely)

Invid wrote:
bullet3 wrote:

If you're nitpicking physics about this movie, which is more accurate in its physics than any space movie in the history of cinema, I don't know what to tell you.

But it's because it's so accurate that people are nitpicking. You laugh at the mistakes in The Core, but this is so close you just groan over every mistake that could have been fixed with a bit more thought.

I'm fine with inaccuracies if they service the story. The fact is, if you wanted to be 100% realistic, you couldn't tell this story, because they'd be stranded and dead after the first accident (the iss/hubble orbit at vastly different trajectories). That's a really boring movie.

By stretching the rules a tiny bit, Cuaron is able to construct a masterful piece of action-film-making, while everything still feels believable enough to be dangerous and terrifying.

Also, on the Clooney untethering scene, I'm pretty sure you see the star-field moving in the background, and while both of them are firmly attached to each-other, they're still spinning relative to the station. I agree it could've been made clearer, but you can pretty easily justify that scene as a rotational force as they're wrapping around the station. I'll pay closer attention to it on second watch, but I believe Cuaron has said as much himself.

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Re: What's your verdict on GRAVITY? (*SPOILERS* are likely)

bullet3 wrote:
Invid wrote:
bullet3 wrote:

If you're nitpicking physics about this movie, which is more accurate in its physics than any space movie in the history of cinema, I don't know what to tell you.

But it's because it's so accurate that people are nitpicking. You laugh at the mistakes in The Core, but this is so close you just groan over every mistake that could have been fixed with a bit more thought.

I'm fine with inaccuracies if they service the story.

A thousand times this.

"The Doctor is Submarining through our brains." --Teague

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