Gravity (2013)

A special effects tour de force, this movie about two astronauts drifting in space after a collision would be better, in my opinion, with more story, but that's not stopping most people from loving it. George Clooney (last blogged in The Descendants) apparently helped with script and plays one of the astronauts but it's Sandra Bullock's (most recently in The Heat) show all around. Some of the time she's outfitted in spacesuits and some of the time she's in fetching underwear showing off hard work with a trainer on her glutes. The views of earth, even better than in Elysium, are quite spectacular.

Director/co-writer Alfonso Cuarón (his adaptation of A Little Princess (1995) was good, of Great Expectations (1998) less so, of Children of Men (2006) brilliant, and Y Tu Mamá También (2001), co-written with his brother Carlos, equally wonderful--Alfonso was Oscar-nominated for co-writing the latter two) directed the actors with their faces in lit boxes, had them move around to their marks, and then filled in the rest with special effects. The complexity of the project (of which the last tidbit is just a small part) made this a many-years-long production, with some of those years in zero financing, kinda like zero gravity. Carlos Cuarón (Rudo y Cursi) co-wrote this one with his brother as well.

We knew it would be scary, having seen the trailer many times. Jack agreed it was scary, but not as scary as Toddlers & Tiaras.

This is one picture where you might want to spring for the premium screen--we saw it last week in 3D IMAX. Those prone to motion picture motion sickness (I've made a the running list of MPMS movies) should sit at the back, though. And be prepared to put your fingers in your ears at the beginning and end. As I write, I'm listening to the soundtrack on youtube. Start with number 1, about which one poster commented it's "SO LOUD...then it just goes silent." That person thought it was a good thing. Jack and I felt assaulted by the volume. So be prepared. I'm glad that now I have my computer's volume control available because I'm quite enjoying the sounds by Steven Price, in his third feature film composing gig. The few additional songs are listed on imdb.

There's been a lot of Oscar buzz floating around Gravity so you should probably see it on as big a screen as you can while it's still playing at a theatre near you. That said, with rottentomatoes critics weighing in at 97% and audiences at 89, this is #1 at the box office in its second week, so see your indie films first and get to this before the end of the month.