Review: Gravity

                                           
                        Someone Call An Astronomer, Because 'Gravity' Is Out Of This World

                    When I first heard about this movie, I was intrigued by its premise: Two astronauts stranded in space for the entire film. Then, upon its release, I could not wait to see it because of all the hype it had gotten, so I finally went the week after its release and all the hype that this movie had gotten proved to be true as this is a groundbreaking piece of filmmaking and I can't wait to see how it'll fare this awards season.

                      Story:
                    Gravity is about a veteran astronaut on his last mission named Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) and a scientist on her first mission named Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) who, after their space station gets destroyed by falling debris, become stranded and try to figure out a way to survive and make every breath count.
                   
                     What I Liked About It:
                    First off, what I loved the most about this movie was the outstanding direction by Alfonso Cuaron. He starts off the film by doing a 15 to 17-minute long tracking shot and during that scene, your heart just races because you know something's going to happen, yet you don't know when. He does the long tracking shot technique at other points in the film as well and I am amazed at how Cuaron did it for a film that was shot mostly in a green screen. He also manages to incorporate spiritual themes into the story and direct great performances from the two leads. Sandra Bullock really shines as Ryan, the troubled scientist who panics as she and Kowalski are left stranded but tries to build the strength to survive. I would even say her performance in this beats her Oscar-winning turn in The Blind Side, which says something because I really liked her in The Blind Side as well. George Clooney also does a fine job as Matt, the charismatic veteran astronaut who tries to guide Ryan as they both are stranded. Another thing that I liked was the outstanding cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki. I am quite fond of Lubezki's earlier work, in films like Tree of Life and Sleepy Hollow, and he certainly made another crowning achievement with this film as the cinematography is absolutely beautiful, especially the scenes where we are shown the view of space.

                  What I Didn't Like About It:
                  Nothing.

                  Consensus:
                 Overall, Gravity is an astounding visual spectacle that grasps you as soon as the movie starts and lets you go when the credits roll. It is a film that has the best of both worlds: It is not only a grand-scale visual masterpiece but manages to be a piece of cinematic art as well. I would recommend seeing this in the theater because that is where a film like this is meant to be seen.

Rating: 5/5