Gravity

[Margo]

I just saw it last night and would recommend seeing it in 3D on a big screen. It's short and well-executed. There's a spoilered question below.

SPOILER: Click to show

{spoiler}Did anyone else find Clooney's character's behavior and lines paternalistic and offensive? He was that familiar sexist straight guy, using his professional interactions with a woman he found attractive to ask probing personal questions and push her beyond her comfort zone.

I like that the movie's main character is a woman and much of it is told from her point of view, but I wish she wasn't also portrayed as a damsel in distress in need of rescuing, on some level.

[lea1977]

Just saw it yesterday, loved it.

[GoldenFleece]

I saw it in real IMAX (don't be fooled by Liemax) and it was probably the most tense movie-watching experience I've ever had, (spoiler alert) *even though going in I figured that Sandra's character would ultimately live*. There were some moments where I thought the plausibility of the events was questionable, but it's a movie, not a documentary, and I was engrossed enough in the story that it really didn't matter. Was a little disappointed to read after the fact that apparently *tears don't float in space* because that was one of the more memorable parts of the movie. Oh well!

The voice of mission control was *Ed Harris*.

The Gravity that could have been: Angelina and Robert Downey, Jr., sure. Natalie Portman or ScarJo, too young. Olivia Wilde? Blake Lively? Rebecca Hall? Good lord. This is really an instance where the final product benefited from the casting/development woes.

[Atreides]

This looked and sounded incredible in IMAX 3D. The format was made for movies like this. Sandra Bullock was phenomenal. It'll be really interesting to see how it does at the Oscars.

[kostgard]

Saw it today and thought it was great. Visually it was absolutely mesmerizing. The weightless stuff was done amazingly well and all the space shots were beautiful. It was short and that is good - it didn't need to be any longer.

As for the question of Sandy being

SPOILER: Click to show

a damsel in distress, it didn't really bother me and I don't really think she was all that helpless. It needed to be the inexperienced rookie who is stuck alone trying to get back alive. Not as much suspense if it all about Matt Kowalski, seasoned astronaut, making it back to earth. And I saw Clooney as just an old school guy who talks too much and flirts and uses his charm, so I didn't mind his interactions with Sandra. They called him Lieutenant, so assume he was a military pilot who became an astronaut, rather than a scientist who became one like Sandra's character. He was just old-fashioned and old school and that often comes with talking to a lady about her pretty eyes.

Speaking of Clooney - everyone in my theater was all, "Yay! He's alive!" when he popped up towards the end. But I knew he had to be Ghost Clooney with the way he just popped open the hatch when Sandra wasn't wearing a helmet. I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure that's a bad idea to expose someone to the vacuum of space like that. Then everyone in my theater got bummed out when Sandy came to and they realized he was just a dream/hallucination.

My two main thoughts at the very end - one, Sandy is damn lucky she landed where she did. I know she had a much greater chance of hitting water than land, but she wasn't, like, in the middle of the ocean. She was either in a lake or very near the shore. Second thought - damn, I need to work out. I know it is possible that Sandy has had some work done on her face (you don't see a single line on her face in this movie), but there's shot at the end where the camera basically starts at her toes and pans up and she looks awesome from tip to tail. I have got to get to the gym.

I'm glad that an actress who has a few miles on her was cast. I think Angelina would have been able to pull it off, but ScarJo, Blake Lively, and Natalie Portman are all too young and/or girl-ish. This character needed to be played by someone who convincingly had been around the block a few times and been beaten up by life a little.

[forever1267]

Technically spectacular but emotionally a little cold. I just never connected with Bullock's character. I was unfortunately distracted by the video game player a few rows down from me, especially during the

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}big emotional sequence with the teardrops.

Clooney may have been channeling Jack Nicholson's character in Terms of Endearment.

It should clean up on the technical awards, and when it was not silent, it was VERY VERY LOUD!!!!

[Neurochick]

I'm glad that an actress who has a few miles on her was cast. I think Angelina would have been able to pull it off, but ScarJo, Blake Lively, and Natalie Portman are all too young and/or girl-ish. This character needed to be played by someone who convincingly had been around the block a few times and been beaten up by life a little.

I agree. I thought it good that the part was played by a Woman and not a Girl. I would not have believed the movie had Sandra's part been played by a twentysomething year old actress. Anyway, I really liked it, I want to talk about this movie, but I don't know how to do spoilers, so...oh well.

Anyway, saw it in IMAX3D, awesome!!!!! The perfect movie for IMAX3D, much better than Avatar.

[Deleted]

This thread got me curious so I looked up the ages of female astronauts. Most made their first missions in their early to mid-30s. Over 40s are less common. I guess that makes sense given the physical requirements of the job.

[kostgard]

Reading interviews with the director, I am stunned at the dumbassery of Hollywood studios. First, WB wanted the lead to be male. Cuaron had to insist that it be a woman. Then once they agreed to let it be a lady, they wanted him to shoehorn in a love interest for her (someone at Mission Control who was in love with her).

Just the idea gives me a headache. I'm glad Cuaron was able to stick to his guns. They say that women can't anchor movies, but it really makes me wonder if it isn't more of a self-fulfilling prophesy. Sure, Sandra Bullock is a pretty safe bet if you want to get butts in seats, but here's a female lead with no love interest in an action/kinda science fiction-fact movie, and it was number one at the box office. I'm sure it wasn't just because of Sandra - I'm sure plenty of people went for the visuals - but plenty of people see action movies more for the explosions than the actor starring in them. I hope this opens the door for more female-anchored movies.

[Martini Girl]

Kostgard, I doubt it. Folks were predicting there would be more roles for women over 50 after Devil Wears Prada did so well... then they said there would be more female movies because of Bridesmaids. Momentum has shifted a bit on television, but I doubt stupid Hollywood executives (most of whom are male and under 45) will get a clue.

I liked the film. It was beautifully shot. I'm glad Sandra got the role. I think it would have been awful with anyone else.