Review: Gravity

-
You're not afraid of heights? You are now...
 
I kept telling myself the entire time I was watching Gravity, "thank God I'm not an astronaut." Free floating in space and hanging off the side of a satellite looks fucking terrifying.
 
Astronaut Matt (George Clooney) and medical engineer Ryan (Sandra Bullock) are in space on a mission. They're fixing part of a telescope on Hubble when they get word that debris from nearby satellite, shot down by the Russians will be coming their way. When it does, they're hit. Ryan is knocked away from the others and finds herself spinning further and further away.
 
I daresay that Gravity might be the most visually stunning movie I've ever seen. I complain about 3D quite often, I don't need shit jumping out at me, but as much as I hate to admit it, it DID contribute to how marvelous everything looked during this film. I can hardly describe the way it was filmed, It almost felt a little too real. I suddenly got nervous about heights, or gasped when things would crash on screen. It really is a surreal experience. Even the reflections of certain things off of the character's helmets were breathtaking.
 
Honestly, Gravity is damn near perfect for what it's trying to accomplish. My biggest gripe was that it was Sandra Bullock we had to watch most of the time, and not George Clooney. I had hoped it would've been the other way around. That's seriously the only downfall. I don't care much for her as an actress, and she's definitely not bad in this film, I would've rather had hers and Clooney's roles switched around. But that's a personal opinion, and I won't stop me from experiencing this film again. (Because that was what this film really was. Not a viewing, but an experience.)
 
Recommended: Yes
 
Grade: A-
 
Memorable Quote: "I hate space." - Ryan (Sandra Bullock)

Comments

  1. Dan O.October 7, 2013 at 9:41 AM

    Nice review Brittani. I didn't much care for the script, but that's where the visuals came in and just overtook me. Still, something felt like it was missing in the end.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamOctober 8, 2013 at 8:05 AM

      Yeah, this is definitely a visual movie. It honestly overshadows everything else.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousOctober 7, 2013 at 10:28 AM

    I felt that Bullock was leagues better than Clooney, who didn't do anything but tell a few jokes. He's stuck in this 'let's play my charming self all the time' routine, whereas Bullock completely stripped herself of all her usual charm and awkward likability to create a real woman. This is by far her finest performance. I was blown away.

    But, I'm with you on being so glad I'm not an astronaut. Space is TERRIFYING!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamOctober 8, 2013 at 8:04 AM

      I agree that this is probably her best performance. Yes, space IS terrifying! If given the opportunity to go, I'd turn it down. I like Earth. haha

      Delete
  3. s.October 7, 2013 at 11:37 AM

    Yeah I'll take Clooney over Bullock any day, but that's just because he is so damn gorgeous :) I hope I'll see it this weekend, this looks fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamOctober 8, 2013 at 8:03 AM

      I really did think the movie was supposed to be about him finding her. He's still got plenty of charming parts.

      Delete
  4. JoshOctober 7, 2013 at 3:29 PM

    I like both actors, but I prefer Clooney too. Still, I thought Bullock nailed her performance, and I would've preferred to see less of Clooney in this case.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousOctober 7, 2013 at 4:02 PM

    Love the review, am impatiently waiting to see it. I'm not a fan of Bullock but I adore Clooney so I predict a similar trail of thought heheh.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamOctober 8, 2013 at 8:02 AM

      Yes! I can't seem to jump on the Bullock bandwagon. How she won an Oscar over Gabourey Sidibe still baffles me.

      Delete
  6. ruthOctober 7, 2013 at 4:58 PM

    Great review Brittani! I love how visually stunning Gravity is but also has a lot to offer in terms of emotional involvement. That's tough to do in any film, let alone a sci-fi set entirely in space! Ahah yeah that "I hate space." quote is definitely memorable and I remember chuckling when I heard that, nice touch of irony there!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamOctober 8, 2013 at 8:02 AM

      If I were in her position, I would've said that line more than once.

      Delete
  7. Candice FrederickOctober 7, 2013 at 7:37 PM

    yes it is pretty spectacular. but i love how minimal it is. it's not flashy. it's very very simple and beautifully done.

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousOctober 8, 2013 at 3:01 AM

    Great review. So excited to see this one!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by, let's talk movies!
(comments are moderated to reduce spam)

Popular posts from this blog

Random Ramblings: The Radio Flyer Conundrum

-
Image
Recently, I was talking to someone about who I thought were the best child actors when I was also a child.  Two that really stood out to me were Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazello, and one film those two were in together was called Radio Flyer.  Then I was reminded about the uniqueness of this film. Instead of reviewing the film, I wanted to have an open discussion about the ending. It deals with a tough issue; child abuse. What I’ve noticed is the way that the film ends is interpreted many different ways, and the filmmakers never came forward to say what was right and wrong. I’m interested in hearing everyone’s opinions on it. How did you interpret the ending? Obviously spoiler alerts will follow.. For those of you who haven’t seen the film, the basic premise is this: Two young boys, Mikey (Wood) and Bobby (Mazello) move in with their single mother and her boyfriend, who refers to himself as ‘The King’. It doesn’t take long for The King to start physically abusing ...
Read more

Indie Gems: Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

-
Image
Passionate about your profession? I had never heard of this film until it ended up on one of Jason's favorite horror movie lists around Halloween. It immediately sounded interesting to me, so of course I threw it in my Netflix queue. (and if I'm just now watching it after adding it around Halloween, you know how ridiculous my queue is) Taylor (Angela Goethals) is a journalist who, along with a film crew decides to follow around a serial killer named Leslie Vernon. (Nathan Baesel) He plans on doing the typical slasher thing - getting a bunch of drunk teens in an abandoned house and knocking them off one by one. He gets advice from a retired serial killer, Eugene (Scott Wilson) and is threatened by a man who's on to him, Doc Holloran (Robert Englund) Taylor and crew are there capturing it all. Leslie Vernon is fucking hilarious to start with, and clearly very passionate about what he does. He tells Taylor all of his secrets and can barely contain his excitemen...
Read more

My Favorite Movie Youtube Channels

-
Image
Starting around 2018, I started watching Youtube for more than just movie trailers or music videos whenever a new one dropped. Now I'm in full blown subscription mode and don't bat an eyelash at watching a Youtube video that's over an hour long. I watch Youtube for a few different categories of content, but one of them that I love most is movie/TV essays and commentary, and that's what I'm going to talk about today. Below is a list of my favorite movie related Youtube channels. Let me know if you're familiar with them too, or if you have any you'd like to recommend to me.  Double Toasted - I'm honestly surprised this channel isn't bigger. I first came across Korey and Martin when they reviewed War for the Planet of the Apes a few months before it hit theaters and I thought they were hysterical. While their full length videos stream on Twitch, they often upload their movie reviews and commentary on youtube and they're always hilarious. They've...
Read more