Gravity

I recently saw Alfonso Cuarón's "Gravity" at the Ithaca cinema and I have mixed emotions about the film. The title sequence was quite simple. The screen reads "Gravity" as the camera dollies in and an intense, loud synth noise turns into a shot of the earth from space and complete silence. The beginning of the movie is extremely intense and one is easily distracted and annoyed by any small rustlings of candy or popcorn in the theater. Throughout the movie, one can imagine what space is like and the audience is watching the movie from space. The lack of sound is beautiful and forces the audience to become bewildered with the though of space exploration. The sounds, or lack of sound, is unlike many space movies and are realistic because in space, sound cannot travel. The shadows and lighting are great and I would like to see a behind-the-scenes video of how "Gravity" was filmed. The animation of the satellites and spaceships were very intricate and realistic. The complexity of the earth shots and movement of the astronauts was extremely realistic and was truly groundbreaking for space movies. 

The only problem I had with the movie was the script and Sandra Bullock. Clooney's performance was amazing and his character was genuine. Bullock, however, lacked knowledge of her role and had many cliche one-liners. I think, visually speaking, the movie was amazing but Bullock could've easily been replaced by a more worthy actress. Cuarón didn't seem to offer much direction and Bullock seemed awkward during long takes and unnatural. The ending was quite farfetched as well. Apparently, it's pretty easy to navigate top of the line space technology with little to no training. I suggest everyone sees the movie and formulates their own opinion.