They don’t let you have bees in here.
I just figured the debris impacts had set the station spinning.
Did Candlejack just get invol
I think you guys forgot to add the little row of zzzzzzzzzz
Representing all the bees?
-Tom
In other words, it’s no Apollo 13, which is just plain true. I can’t hold that against any movie, and I liked Gravity quite a bit. But with a little more attention to detail and care, this could have been an astounding movie. I bet it will kill at the Academy Awards, which is great. But… oh, Apollo 13. One of the best things ever.
It has zero chance to win anything other than effects and technical awards at the Academy Awards. Sandra Bullock has an off chance of a nomination, but unlikely.
Really? I am far from an expert, so I could be totally wrong. Here are a couplepredictions that put it as a major contender, if not winner. Never know about actual winners, I guess, but I think it looks likely to be nominated in all the major categories except best actor and probably screenplay. It doesn’t seem to have a whole lot of competition this year, either. I think Cuaron is respected as a serious director, even if this is science fiction. I’m going to stand by my statement. In fact, in the interest of making bold, ignorant statements, I’ll say that if it gets a screenplay nomination then it’s even more loved than I thought and it will be the big winner.
It’s already decided for 12 Years a Slave. Gravity has a decent chance of being in the 10 nominees, but it won’t win anything.
I thought Bullock could still win. Is there another actress out there making a run so far?
My thoughts on this film were pretty mixed. Gravity and children of men both struck me as more style than substance with children closer to finding a balance. While the effects were impressive here, I actually feel a general “so what?” overall. Effects are impressive and they will continue to be so if that’s the focus. I admire the hard work involved, but I don’t think that alone is worth massive acclaim.
By the end of gravity, I became numb to both the effects and the tension. When she was in the water, I half jokingly expected a shark attack just to stay in pattern. Bullock and clooney were really good, but there is nothing to this film creatively beyond “if we can just get over there over and over and showcase our CGI, we’ll be good.”
I actually liked clooney showing up. I could see that as how the subconscious might pass you a note as you’re starting to asphyxiate.
I finally got around to seeing this, and on top of being thrilled with the 3D version (how often do I get to say that?!), I’m so glad I went to see it by myself. The sense of isolation really got to me when I had no one to turn to either.
Careful now! George Clooney has been known to show up at times like these.
I feel so alone. I feel so alone. I feel so alone!
Damn. Didn’t work.
You have to autoasphyxiate first.
I went to see it last night with my other half and we enjoyed it. I didn’t know a thing about it going in, just: ‘you must see it in 3D’, but because I’ve heard that said so many times now, and hated the 3D in pretty much every movie I can think of, we saw it in 2D. As the film started I sat there thinking ‘We should have watched this in 3D’, and even now, I’m angry at myself for being stubborn, and angry at the boy-who-cried-wolf effect of having lots of crappy 3D recommended to me to the point where even when a film comes along that suits it and utilitises it perfectly, I’m not interested. Bah.
Nevertheless there were still plenty of heart-in-mouth moments, especially every time Bullock opened an airlock door. Seriously, fuck those things. I wasn’t wholly convinced by Bullock’s character and her backstory (tag? Really?), and the music was a bit overwrought, particularly towards the end (the music in Sunshine is still a high point for me). Some of the events were a bit too convenient for my taste too, like the capsule swinging around on the parachute avoiding all the debris (that scene was incredible though, even in 2D), Bullock just escaping asphxiation after lots of hanging around outside (I loved all the first person views in the film), or pressing the right buttons even though they were labelled in Chinese or Russian, or just catching her ticket out of there just as the satellite was about to reenter the earth’s atmosphere. Even the Wall-E esque fire extinguisher spacewalk towards the end beggared belief (even if it was pretty cool), not to mention she only thought to bring the fire extinguisher just before she opened the door to throw herself out! How’s that for optimism?
I very much agree with what Ray’s been saying about the seemingly trivial things that we take for granted being so much more important and terrifying in the vacuum of space when they go wrong. The scale (and frequency) of the catastrophes and misfortune in Gravity almost devalued the very real and omniscient threat of space surrounding the characters throughout the film. I mean, one of the reviews posted earlier in this thread (What Does A Real Astronaut Think Of 'Gravity'?) written by an astronaut said:
"And the danger of space debris is very real. During my first spacewalk, my partner, Rick, had to bring in a handle that was stowed on the outside of the station. When he got it inside he noticed a hole, about a millimeter in diameter, that was shot through the half-inch solid aluminum material by a piece of orbital debris. It looked like someone had taken a cocktail straw and shoved it right through the metal. He looked at me and said, “If that hit one of us…”
That was a tiny piece of debris potentially being fatal and I think to some extent that kind of intimate and I suppose alien danger is lost amidst all the hail of shrapnel, high speed collisions, ricocheting and spinning around etc. It wasn’t a particularly big issue for me but it was definitely something I considered when wondering why Apollo 13 terrified me more. That, and Apollo 13 was obviously based on a true story.
awdougherty hit the nail on the head as well with “I half jokingly expected a shark attack just to stay in pattern” because it was pretty much ‘uh oh’ after ‘uh oh’, which is great, to a point. Nevertheless, I thought the pacing was excellent. I think I’ll be going to the pictures again to see it in 3D at some point soon. My girlfriend has a bunch of free tickets that need to be used by Christmas so… why not eh? I want to see Marvin the Martian IN MY FACE.
Can’t remember if I already mentioned it, but an earlier cut had her swim twice as far up to the surface, and then come up under the parachute, where she thrashed around a bit more.
Actually I thought she’d get tangled in the kelp. That would have been my, “Oh COME ON!!” moment.
— Alan
Me, too. I thought if the kelp wouldn’t get her, the piranhas would. And if not that, then the endless depths and icy temperatures of the middle of the Pacific – or wherever she landed. Woulda been cool to see her land in the arctic ice cap too, but alas.
I saw it for a second time last week when my dad was in town; I insisted he see it in a theater, and in 3D, and since those probably wouldn’t have been possible where he lives I made sure it happened during his visit. He loved it, as I suspected he would. Surprising to me was my reaction.
I loved the movie both times, but this time my reaction was much more emotional, and much more immediately emotional. I don’t think this was a function of seeing the movie with my dad (as well as with one of my best friends); I’ve been criticized before for letting those I see a movie with–specifically my son–color my critical sensibilities, and I cop to that readily, but I don’t think this was the case this time. I think it’s much more a function of where I am in life right now. Is this an important distinction? I don’t know. I just know that the moment Dr. Ryan Stone unclasped her tether from the swinging arm, the tears started to flow.
This reaction surprised me in the moment, even though I kind of understood where it was coming from inside. The tears continued off and on for the whole second viewing, which made the intensity sharper and the experience so exhausting.
From a technical standpoint, though, I was again amazed by the movie. Knowing the gripes by some in the scientific community did not really bother me. Even in my non-overly-emotional moments the movie had me on edge. Again, this was my second viewing and the intensity of the action this time may have been even sharper than the first time. I loved both experiences, and love that they are so different. While this viewing was again in 3D, however, it was not in the Dolby Atmos as Thor:TDW had commandeered the theater housing that sound system. I definitely noticed a difference in the directionality of the sound, particularly in those moments when you are waiting to find where they are in the frame from a distance. I hope I get to experience Atmos again soon, because I’d like to evaluate how much of a difference it actually makes.
Finally…Desslock, you are out of your mind with your post stating categorically that Sandra Bullock won’t be nominated for Best Actress. With all due respect and affection, I just don’t know where you get that delusion, laser brain. :)
-xtien
“Every time. I crashed it every time.”
What a gorgeous post! Almost like getting a letter.