Amph Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity (spoilers inside)

So, a film about rebirth cleverly disguised as the most visually stunning space film ever.



"In the womb", as it were. Later a Buddha smiling at her, and later an escape under water. Rebirth. I would have settled for just a space disaster escape, but I am happy this is what underlay it all.

Visually I've never seen anything like it. A part of me wishes there was no music and I wonder if they toyed with the idea.

There are lil things to nitpick about. Hubble is not in the same orbit, "Ryan" would actually be wearing a body glove under the suit, there is no Chinese space station, but though interesting those things are nothing to bother with.

It's been an interesting space month. The ISS was actually crowded with visitation. Space-x launched, a competitor launched, Virgin Galactic anno8unced a reality show where the winner gets a free ride to space, and now this hard scifi film. Excellent.

 

It took a second viewing in IMAX to really start to appreciate how virtuosic this movie really is. I hate to get technical, but Holy "$&@! The first 12 or so minutes of this movie are the best since SW in 1977.

I'm not going out on a limb here predicting this movie will be the leggiest since Avatar at the box office. If I were an IMAx screen I would dump the Robocops and catching fires and hobbits and just book Gravity until the summer of 2014

 

I find it interesting that this film is about rebirth, Children of Men is about birth (the first child in forever) and rebirth (Clive Owen's redemption), Harry Potter 3 is about rebirth and redemption (Harry births into a wiser person), and A Little Princess follows the lead character's father's rebirth.

 

It reminded me over and over of one one of my favorite space shots. Astronaut Steven Smith standing on the arm of the Shuttle.

 

This movie doesn't leave much room for subtext, but I do feel there's a connection to Children of Men about our will to survive and how meaning in our lives is or isn't tied to procreation and whether we're passing on our genes.

 

“I was so extravagantly impressed by the portrayal o the reality of zero gravity. Going through the space station was done just the way that I’ve seen people do it in reality…The precision was remarkable. We’re in a very precarious position of losing all the advancements we’ve made in space that we did 40, 50 years ago. From my perspective, this movie couldn’t have come at a better time to really stimulate the public.”--Buzz Aldrin

"I think it's the best space photography ever done, I think it's the best space film ever done, and it's the movie I've been hungry to see for an awful long time". --James Cameron

 

I don't know if Buzz would be so enthusiastic if he thought that the movie could be interpreted as a completely transparent, not-very-allegorical-at-all statement about the futility of manned efforts to conquer space. Gravity suggests that we are permanently, irrevocably tethered to the earth.

 

Awesome image! I'm pretty sure that's STS-82 with Discovery back in 1997, which fits the theme as that was also a Hubble servicing mission.

 

HOLY ****!!! THAT LOOKS REAL!!!

 

Spoiler

I assume you are referring to the frog?

 

Seeing the movie tomorrow!

 

Spoiler

I thought it was a cameo tribute to him since he was lost in a mission earlier this year.

 

I feel like I'm missing out on an important event.

 

That is from STS 103 which is appropriate to this film as it was a Hubble servicing mission.

 

Interesting info

I knew about China wanting a space station by 2020 with a module recently launched. The films mission is designated STS 157. The last Shuttle mission was actually 135. So the film should take place sometime around 2020, and the STS number designates an average 4 missions per year. I read that the film took 4.5 years to make, so it was started before the Shuttles were retired. So the fictional timeline kept the SHuttles flying and perhaps allows for the creation of a new one, Explorer.

Anyone see a date on screen? I did not check.

 

No. I know things seem pretty bad in low earth orbit, but

Spoiler

that is one hell of a hurricane off the coast of Florida. Cat 4 or 5.

Deadline Hollywood reports that Gravity bumped up 35% to $23.5 million on Saturday, putting it on track to break the October opening weekend record. That Friday Saturday bump shows the movie was not front loaded at all. Not all that much buzz about it, but great reviews and fantastic word of mouth will give it fantastic legs.

Compare that to other summer movies:

Fri-Sat change

Elysium: -3.1%
Pacific Rim: -12.6%
After Earth: +4.3%
Oblivion: +10.7%
Gravity: +35%


Also, they say the production budget is in the $80 - $120 million range, which is probably why boxofficemojo changed the budget from $80 to $100 million on their site. Still looks like a $200 million movie though.

 

Thanks! Figured it would be one of them.

 

If there was anything missing from Gravity it was just that kind of shot above with the shallow depth of field. I know everything was always in focus in Gravity due to the exigencies of 3D, but the blurred earth really adds to that photo of Smith.

 

Weekend estimate is in:

Box Office: 'Gravity' Soars, Sets October Record With $55.6 Million Debut

That explains a lot. It's not often these days that I represent the core demographic of a movie.

 

Saw this today. Gorgeous, fantastic, amazing film. I wish I could see this in IMAX, because if there's a film that absolutely deserves to be seen on a huge friggin' screen, it's this one.

 

Sts 157 Mission patch.



Astronaut Andrew Thomas was a technical advisor on the film.

 

What a way to thank Andrew Thomas ... kill off the alternate reality version of him!

 

Not sure which one of him it was off the top of my head.

Review from an author who made a book with a similar situation


"On Earth we see stralight as white, but that's only because it's been filtered through our atmosphere. Stars are red and green and yellow, liek Christmas lights. I wanted to see Christmas lights."

 

It was a decent movie.