"Gravity is one of the best films of the year!"

Rating: 10/10 (23 October 2013)

The recently released space thriller film, "Gravity" (which I watched in the movie theaters about three weeks ago) focuses on the innovative tale spin story about hope and survival in space (In other words, original, intense and thrilling plot).
For astronaut films, watching "Gravity" is like watching a hi-tech version and exact opposite of "The Right Stuff" (1983). It's also the exact opposite of other survival films such as "Alive," "Cast Away," and "127 hours." Watching the suspense thrills in "Gravity" will have your heart pounding (which I felt when I first saw it).
The two surviving astronauts were brilliantly portrayed by Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. Their performances are all the more brilliant because they have never been in this type of survival picture or have played these types of characters.
Angelina Jolie and Robert Downey were originally cast as the two main characters, but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. After Jolie dropped out, other actresses such as Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts, Natalie Portman, Marion Cotillard, Abbie Cornish, Carey Mulligan, Sienna Miller, Scarlett Johansson, Blake Lively, Rebecca Hall and Olivia Wilde were all subsequently tested or approached for the lead role, but it was Bullock who landed the lead.
The film also costars Ed Harris as the voice of mission control.
The thrilling plot is about a medical engineer Dr. Ryan Stone (Bullock) who is a mission specialist on her first space shuttle mission along with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney) commanding his final flight before retiring.
Disaster ensues during a spacewalk when asteroid pieces and the remains of a space satellite hit the shuttle where the two astronauts are working. The two are separated and left adrift in space leaving you to witness their fight for survival.
Alfonso Cuaron, who also directed the film, wrote a great original screenplay for this film. Before "Gravity" there had not been a disaster film involving astronauts - that's part of what helps make the screenplay so great. Although "Gravity" does not involve terrifying extraterrestrials killing humans as in Ridley Scott's "Alien," when it comes to survival and suspense thrills, this film does not disappoint.
Every motion cinematic shots of this film was wonderfully taken by the amazing Emmanuel Lubezki, who also worked on Cuaron's "Children of Men." The cinematography shots of outer space are one of the great things of this film. It's not just this, it's so far one of the best cinematographies of this decade along with "Black Swan", "127 Hours", "The Tree of Life"etc. The cinematography is truly unbelievable in this film.
"Gravity" is one of the best movies so far of this year. The tremendous special effects, space survival story, cinematography and acting makes this film so enjoyable. I also loved the 91 minutes of the green screen effects. The talent director picked the perfect two A-list movie stars.
If this film is nominated for an Oscar for Best Special Effects, I would put my money on it. I also think this film should be one of the nominees for Best Picture of the year. I would choose this film because it includes that 20% drama (most Oscar nominated films are dramatic). There were two astronaut films which have been both nominated for Best Picture: "The Right Stuff" and "Apollo 13." Given its genre, it would be a significant milestone if "Gravity" took home the Oscar for Best Picture.
"Gravity" is still out in theaters and it's worth buying a ticket to see the movie. For people who haven't seen a good astronaut flick in a long time, go see this one. I also recommend this film for astronomers and NASA scientists. You all should see it before it comes out on Blu-ray.
I give the film a powerful four out of four stars.
This film is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). Existential terror and the salty language.
Cast & crew info:
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón; written by Alfonso Cuarón and Jonás Cuarón; director of photography, Emmanuel Lubezki; edited by Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger; music by Steven Price; production design by Andy Nicholson; costumes by Jany Temime; visual effects by Tim Webber; produced by Alfonso Cuarón and David Heyman.
Released by Warner Brothers Pictures.
Running time: 1 hour 31 minutes.
Starting: Sandra Bullock (Ryan Stone), George Clooney (Matt Kowalski) and Ed Harris (Voice of mission control).