Alfonso Cuarón's Gravity

[A24 4,327]

What do you say about that, Cremers?

Of course, Prometheus is a genius but he might be wrong about this one. Anyway, the movie should be out on Blu-ray in a week or two. I might stream it first though (in glorious HD with compression artifacts).

I'll have to check whether the theater plays Gravity in 2D.

[Quintus 5,399]

No chance. MoS was much better than I was expecting and I enjoyed it a lot, but it ain't in the same universe as Watchmen.

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

Well, I thought WATCHMEN was an admirable mess (didn't think the Director's Cut improved much). Luckily Snyder got most of that out of his system with SUCKER PUNCH.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

[Quintus 5,399]

I'll have to check whether the theater plays Gravity in 2D.

It's still taking a chance though - there are bound to be Facebook chavs and normally perfectly considerate middle class people lighting up the auditorium with their smart phones. I'm considering a 10AM showing. With a cinematic film like this I want to minimise the chances of selfish heathens being present and I have a theory that twats aren't early risers, unless its signing on day.

A trip to the movies has become a challenge in recent years.

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

I have a theory that twats aren't early risers

Your theory's well founded. I'm a real night owl.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I'll have to check whether the theater plays Gravity in 2D.

It's still taking a chance though - there are bound to be Facebook chavs and normally perfectly considerate middle class people lighting up the auditorium with their smart phones. I'm considering a 10AM showing. With a cinematic film like this I want to minimise the chances of selfish heathens being present and I have a theory that twats aren't early risers, unless its signing on day.

A trip to the movies has become a challenge in recent years.

Douchebags exist in all times and places. What sucks about being a cinephile is that everyone goes to the movies. Every type of person. There's no escaping it, you just get lucky sometimes.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

That's not something to joke about, Cockman.

it is in regards to your comments.

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

That's not something to joke about, Cockman.

it is in regards to your comments.

No.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

and by no you mean yes.

[Matt C 452]

I'll have to check whether the theater plays Gravity in 2D.

It's still taking a chance though - there are bound to be Facebook chavs and normally perfectly considerate middle class people lighting up the auditorium with their smart phones. I'm considering a 10AM showing. With a cinematic film like this I want to minimise the chances of selfish heathens being present and I have a theory that twats aren't early risers, unless its signing on day.

A trip to the movies has become a challenge in recent years.

I recommend you both go to the first showing during a weekday. Unless a major holiday or film premieres during the week, I think you guys should be fine.

BTW, Alex, WB isn't as generous with providing 2D shows with Gravity as they have with their past films. Here in the U.S., a lot of theaters are showing the film in 3D only (over 75%) -- and only a few chains are providing the 2D. I don't know if that's going to be the case for you folks overseas, whether you'll have the option or not.

[A24 4,327]

Well, the film not yet playing here in Tintin country. I believe the first showing is not earlier than 14:15.

[Quintus 5,399]

I have a theory that twats aren't early risers

Your theory's well founded. I'm a real night owl.

Just so you know, confessing to twatery doesn't automatically grant you status here. You're gonna have to put the hours in first.

[SF1_freeze 131]

The film was good, the cinematography amazing but the score gringeworthy. Typical exchangeable RCP stuff...

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

I have a theory that twats aren't early risers

Your theory's well founded. I'm a real night owl.

Just so you know, confessing to twatery doesn't automatically grant you status here. You're gonna have to put the hours in first.

How many more posts?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

It's about the quality of your posts, not the quantity!

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

58050 posts of quality? Yeah right.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

The very highest level of quality!

[mrbellamy 6,272]

I'll have to check whether the theater plays Gravity in 2D.

It's still taking a chance though - there are bound to be Facebook chavs and normally perfectly considerate middle class people lighting up the auditorium with their smart phones. I'm considering a 10AM showing. With a cinematic film like this I want to minimise the chances of selfish heathens being present and I have a theory that twats aren't early risers, unless its signing on day.

A trip to the movies has become a challenge in recent years.

I recommend you both go to the first showing during a weekday. Unless a major holiday or film premieres during the week, I think you guys should be fine.

Yeah, I go almost exclusively to matinees and rarely have a problem with audiences, although even when I go to an evening show on a weekend, there are usually no issues. The worst offenses I can think of were some chattering teenage girls during Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (they eventually shut up within the first half hour) and a crying child during a minute or two of Moneyball. Every now and then I'll hear a particularly distracting rustling of concessions or a mild coughing fit, but those instances are few and far between.

[A24 4,327]

Don't Americans suddenly burst out into cheering or boohooing as if they are watching live sports? They also applaud when the movie is over. Very strange habits, if you ask me.

How about speaking to the actors? "Go Sandra, you can reach it! You are almost there!"

[Quintus 5,399]

American audience behaviour is weird. However I do quite like the idea of applause after a really great movie has just finished.

Can't stand the cheering and whooping during JW concerts, though.

[mrbellamy 6,272]

I don't really do it myself, but I've heard smatterings of applause during or at the end of a movie a few times. Certainly not a regular occurence, in my experience, but that's not the sort of thing that bothers me, anyway. Actually I love hearing it, I consider it a perk of seeing a movie with a live audience when it happens. I didn't particularly love Les Miserables, but I thoroughly appreciated the rounds of applause that half the audience gave after the bigger numbers. I saw Inception at midnight and there was a big, collective "OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" from most of the audience when it immediately cut to black, which I thought was hilarious and a really fun thing to hear, never had anything like that before or since. I'll also never forget the woman behind me who audibly (and from my memory, sincerely) gasped when Shelob appeared behind Frodo in Return of the King. I don't know how anyone could begrudge other people engaging with a movie like that, especially one that is primarily meant to be a big show. But during a serious drama, for example, of course that kind of thing never happens, other than occasionally polite applause at the end.

I've never heard anybody actually talking to the characters, though lol, or screaming "cut the blue wire!" That seems ridiculous, but I guess it does happen?

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Applause is a regular occurrence. I welcome it, it shows that films still have the power to ellicit emotions in people.

[Quintus 5,399]

A chat in the car on the way home works for me.

[Wojo 2,453]

It seems you rather dislike the spontaneous nature of unpredictable human beings. Maybe you should wait with Cremers for the movie to hit the video store.

[mrbellamy 6,272]

A chat in the car on the way home works for me.

Well, we do that too

[Brónach 1,301]

I don't really do it myself, but I've heard smatterings of applause during or at the end of a movie a few times. Certainly not a regular occurence, in my experience, but that's not the sort of thing that bothers me, anyway. Actually I love hearing it, I consider it a perk of seeing a movie with a live audience when it happens. I didn't particularly love Les Miserables, but I thoroughly appreciated the rounds of applause that half the audience gave after the bigger numbers. I saw Inception at midnight and there was a big, collective "OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" from most of the audience when it immediately cut to black, which I thought was hilarious and a really fun thing to hear, never had anything like that before or since. I'll also never forget the woman behind me who audibly (and from my memory, sincerely) gasped when Shelob appeared behind Frodo in Return of the King. I don't know how anyone could begrudge other people engaging with a movie like that, especially one that is primarily meant to be a big show. But during a serious drama, for example, of course that kind of thing never happens, other than occasionally polite applause at the end.

I remember collective ooohs and applause at the end when I saw WALL·E

And people laughing a lot when I saw The Avengers

[Jay 37,323]

there's a companion short film that Jonas Cuaron shot in Greenland.

Aningaaq shows the other side of the conversation Bullock has before the climax.

What does this mean? The conversation with the guy with the dogs?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Apparently.

I'm not sure this will have any value.

[Quintus 5,399]

It seems you rather dislike the spontaneous nature of unpredictable human beings.

Yes, I do wish selfish dicks who behave like they rule the theatre would go away and die a slow painful death somewhere.

[Jay 37,323]

I suppose I haven't really typed out all my thoughts on Gravity yet. So here they are.

If I had to summarize the film in one word, it'd be: Fantastic. It was a fantastic cinematic experience. It was tense and gripping, unique and original, and had heart to it. I can't think of a better way to spend 90 minutes in the theater this yea, especially if you see it in IMAX. Every pixel of the extra resolution was used to give the ultimate visual experience. But still, it isn't a perfect film. Here's what I liked and didn't like.

Positives:

1. The big action set pieces. They are all great! Though they are all overtly similar - Sandra Bullock has to avoid debrise flying at her and get to a place with shelter and oxygen - each one is different enough that the film never really fees like it's repeating itself. Any of these scenes in isolation is a great little mini movie.

2. Sandra Bullock's performance. She carries the film, appearing in literally every scene from beginning to end, and I enjoyed her performance quite a bit. It rang true, and she handles the various emotions her character goes through in this 4 hours or so of her live very well. You root for her the entire time and sympathize with the way she handles past trauma.

3. The long shots. The movie opens and ends with long shots that last for several minutes (the opening one must have been 15 minutes or so), and there are several other long ones in the middle. This is a technique that is rarely ineffective, I think because the only directors willing to really use them is willing to go all the extra steps to make sure they come out great. I liked all of them here, especially the opening one.

4. Other various shots. There is a great shot where the camera is pointed at Ryan in her suit in space, then the camera slowly zooms in until you are inside her helmet, then it turns around to show you her viewpoint, complete with her voice now coming from behind you. It was AWESOME! There are many cool shots throughout the film.

5. The sound design. There is no question this film will be nominated for Sound Design and Sound Editing, and will likely win both. Just terrific all around, I am SO GLAD I saw this in IMAX. It's worth the extra money if you have a real IMAX theater near you for the sound alone!

6. The voice acting. Every one of these roles is very good (there are 5 I think), from Ed Harris as Houston to the Russian (?) guy Ryan talks to towards the end.

7. The ending. I am not going to give it away, I just want to say I am very satisfied with the way the film ends.

OK, now here's what I didn't like. Except for my final one, these are really minor quibbles

1. George Clooney's performance. I am not really faulting George Clooney here, as his character was written to be a douche. But I just didn't like him. And I suppose you're not really supposed to. But I left kind of wishing I had seen another actor's take on this role. I'm not sure who's, but that's what I thought. I have a feeling my opinion could change on second viewing.

2. Some of the visual effects. 90% of them were flawless. But there were a few times when the on-set footage was clearly just the actors and the set, and they decided to CGI in a waving hose or something, and it never looked realistic. And why do special effects companies continue to have huge issues making CGI flames look right. Anyways, these are minor quibble, as most of the special effects were flawless, which honestly is what makes the few times something looked bad really stand out.

3. I saved my biggest one for last because this is truly the only thing I really didn't like about the film, so much so that it actively intruded on my otherwise nearly flawless enjoyment of the film throughout:

it's the score by Stephen Price. I thought it was ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE IN EVERY WAY. Not just the music itself, but also the spotting of the music in the film - there was WAY TOO MUCH of it. As Stefan pointed out, there is a moment in the first 5 minutes of the film where Clooney asks Ryan what her favorite thing about being in space is, and she says it's the silence. As they are having this conversation, this ANNOYING SCORE CUE begins playing!!! It makes no sense! And it gets worse from there. There are many times throughout the movie where I wished there was no score at all, and sat there trying to ignore the blaring, bland score blasting out of the speakers.

Even if John Williams or Jerry Goldsmith had scored this movie, and gave their best score ever, I would have wanted less of it to be in the film, because it simply didn't need it! And what's worse is that the score we got is so truly terrible. The main and end titles especially are cringe-inducing!

I would love to see a cut of the film with all music removed (both score and Clooney's country music). In fact, I would not be surprised if a fan makes one once the blu ray comes out. I'd love to see that.

Overall, still a great movie, with almost nothing to complain about, but the one thing I didn't like was pretty bad. However, the rest of the film is so good, it more than makes up for it.

I'd happily see this again in the theater - IMAX or regular, and will definitely own it on blu ray.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Regarding the fire. I'll let them pass because I honestly have no idea how fire looks in a weightless environment.

Other then that I did not see a single shot that felt wrong effects wise.

Clooney plays someone who is an annoying character, but the moment you need him, he is there, and he does the right things. It's a very ambivalent character, and Clooney captured that very well. It avoids turning him into a cliché hero.

The music didnt really damage the film IMO, but like you said. It's overscored, and a few times when you notice it, you notice in in a bad way.

[Jay 37,323]

Another odd thing I noticed about the film, that I have never seen before in any film: There's a title card for the name of the film 3 times!

Most films say the title in the beginning, and then might again in the end credits. This film opened with the text about how hard it is to survive in space, then "G R A V I T Y" shows up on the screen to a loud stinger by Price.

Then after the final scene, it says "Directed by Alfonso Cuaron" on one card, then "G R A V I T Y" on the second card as the loud blaring Price score is playing. Then after a bunch more cards for all the major credits and the actors, it goes "An Alfonso Cuaron Film" on one card and then "G R A V I T Y" again on the next card. Never seen that before.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Yeah, a bit weird.

[Brónach 1,301]

Cuarón tends to put the titled at the beginning and at the end but the third one cracked me up.

I thought the film was extremely exciting yet somehow disappointing.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

he just wanted to be sure.

"It's GRAVITY...Tell your friends!"

[Brónach 1,301]

Neil Tyson says on Twitter it should be titled "Angular Momentum".

[Jay 37,323]

I love when a film provides scenes that stick with you days later. For me, <HUGE SPOILERS if you haven't seen it>

Ryan clutching and not being able to let go the beautiful sand by the beautiful ocean as the bright sun is shining in the bright blue sky as she has survived the whole ordeal is still running through my head now. Cuaron lets her lay there just long enough before getting up to take her first steps on land in days. I just wish this was accompanied by nice, orchestral music and not blaring synth crap.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Don't forget the ethnic vocals!

[Brónach 1,301]

The score felt terribly out of place there.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Interesting that no year is given for this film. It obviously isn't set in the future and CAN'T be set in the present time. Because there are no more active space shuttles.

I suppose it really doesn't matter.

[Jay 37,323]

The score felt terribly out of place there.

Yes, it was out of place in the whole film, but at the end especially.

[Brónach 1,301]

1. George Clooney's performance. I am not really faulting George Clooney here, as his character was written to be a douche. But I just didn't like him. And I suppose you're not really supposed to. But I left kind of wishing I had seen another actor's take on this role. I'm not sure who's, but that's what I thought. I have a feeling my opinion could change on second viewing.

I really enjoyed Clooney on the film.

Robert Downey Jr was originally set to play the role.

[Jay 37,323]

Interesting that no year is given for this film. It obviously isn't set in the future and CAN'T be set in the present time. Because there are no more active space shuttles.

I suppose it really doesn't matter.

Well, the whole film takes place in an alternate reality where russian satellites, chinese satellites, the Hubble telescope, and the International Space Station are all in the same orbit so the debris of one could destroy the next, etc. Of course in real life, they are all far enough apart that that could not happen.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

It depends. There are hundreds or even thousands of the damn things in orbit. But yeah.

Hubble, the ISS and the chinese station do seem to be relatively close in orbit. Just a few hundred km apart.

[Jay 37,323]

1. George Clooney's performance. I am not really faulting George Clooney here, as his character was written to be a douche. But I just didn't like him. And I suppose you're not really supposed to. But I left kind of wishing I had seen another actor's take on this role. I'm not sure who's, but that's what I thought. I have a feeling my opinion could change on second viewing.

I really enjoyed Clooney on the film.

Robert Downey Jr was originally set to play the role.

I know, we talked about it on the first page of this thread. Or maybe it was the Last Film You Watched thread. I forget.

[Brónach 1,301]

The film is set in an alternate 2014 where the shuttle is still active (the one in the film is fictional). Some designs like the ISS, the Soyuz and the Shenzou are actually different from reality, for example the Soyuz has a door on the side that doesn't exist on the real one. The current Tiangong is nothing like in the film.

The Hubble and the ISS are way too far away from each to do anything remotely like in the film. The inclination of their obit is different and they are at different altitudes. Of course, maybe in the film's alternate universe, they orbit Earth in the same plane or something.

The film is full of rather odd stuff, though.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Guess I'm the only one that loved the score.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

What does that tell you?