How It Works
How this weekly article will work is that I will first pick a category and then a film. I will first give an opinion on what I think it will be like just by watching the trailer and reading the synopsis. I will then watch the film, and give my own personal critique on the film.
Afterwards, I will give it a score (out of five) and then say if I personally think it should be in the running. The paper that comes out before the Oscars, I will write a quick piece about who I think deserves the award. It is important to note that I personally believe that an Oscar should be awarded to a film or person that has taken film up an extra notch.
I do not take into consideration how it did at the box office or its score on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s all on what I think.
I hope you enjoy this weekly segment.
Movie of Week Two: Gravity
This week’s film review is on Gravity, directed by Alfonso Cuarón, who is probably best known by Americans for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) and Children of Men (2006). The film also stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. I mean, really, who doesn’t love those two?
AP Photo:
Sandra Bullock stars in the smash hit film Gravity. Gravity received four out of five stars in a review by The Equinox Webmaster, Zachary Koehler, who said he expects the film will win at least one Oscar this awards season.
Gravity has been nominated for ten Academy Awards, tying its opponent American Hustle; nominations include Best Picture, Best Director and Best Female Acting in a Leading Role. Very few times am I ever disappointed with a film that has been praised so much, won so many accolades and been nominated for the top categories. After watching this trailer, it appears that anything that can go wrong, does go wrong during a manned space mission. There was destruction in almost every cut and scene of the trailer. Not going to lie though: It looks pretty freakin’ awesome.
After Watching Movie
This movie was breathtaking; surreal in almost every way.
Gravity was brilliantly done on the technical level, and I do not think anyone can argue over this one. From the opening 15-minute single shot scene, my eyes were wide open. I think my mouth dropped a little, too.
I did expect some amazing cinematography coming from Cuarón, since, in my opinion, Children of Men is some of the best visuals from a movie in the past ten years.
I would be surprised if Cuarón doesn’t get the Oscar for Best Cinematography. Out of the three motion pictures that I have seen in this category, this is superior and brings something new to the table. What really got me on board was how brilliant Cuarón made his visual and sound/music mesh.
There was a large lack of sound (which is scientifically accurate due to everything happening in space), but I think that allowed the visuals to be the main focus, while the mixing of what little sound was used and music to emphasize the visuals that was occurring.
This movie did have a few downfalls; not many, but some nonetheless. There were some very cliché Hollywood moments that took me out of Gravity at times. Yes, the following paragraphs are likely to have spoilers. You have been warned. One of them was the lazy developed background on Bullock’s character. Thanks to Neil deGrasse Tyson, a theoretical astrophysicist, he brought up this good point that I also noticed.
Bullock’s character is a medical engineer who is replacing parts on the Hubble Telescope. I am sorry, but NASA isn’t stupid. I don’t think they would send a medical engineer to replace things in space.
This wasn’t the only scientific mishap. Tyson brought up quite a few scientific and space oriented mistakes that the movie made. If you are interested on the rest, it is a quick Google search away.
But like Tyson, this didn’t make me appreciate the film less. It just took me out of it for a little bit. I suppose I just don’t understand how a film with a multi-million dollar budget can not pay an astronomer or even NASA to fact check for a story that takes place in space.
Overall, I give this film four out of five stars. The cinematography and direction from Cuarón was fantastic. As said above, this movie is definitely a favorite from me to win Best Cinematography and I think it is in close running for Best Directing.
As for the coveted Best Picture—I don’t think it brought enough to bring the art of filmmaking up to the next notch.
Definitely go see it. It is a movie that will cause you to hold your breath at places and won’t let you look away from the screen . Trust me on that last part; I spilled my bag of popcorn because of it.
Until next time.
Zak Koehler can be contacted at zkoehler@keene-equinox.com