Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Anyone see Gravity?
- Thread starter djtech42
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
More of a spectacle than a good film, but it's still a must-see in 3D. Barely makes my top 10 list of 2013.
It's kind of a self-reproach that I enjoy the "Destructive Side" of the film way too much. I was so caught up on the score with genuine threatening rhythm yet makes you getting lost inside the solemn state she's in (which merely escaping of death numerous times). You get that exhilaration every time listen to the OST.
Watching satellites crash into debris steadily with tremendous force, true to the fact of simulating two galaxies smashing up each other(Andromeda and milky way collision). You don't see this kind of destruction on Earth anytime.
.
Watching satellites crash into debris steadily with tremendous force, true to the fact of simulating two galaxies smashing up each other(Andromeda and milky way collision). You don't see this kind of destruction on Earth anytime.
.
I was down putting it when the hype was so overwhelming too. Even the trailers(with no music) wasn't impressive enough for me to go during the hype.
.
I just saw it the other night on DVD. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I was thinking while she was out there struggling to survive that what was happening on earth would be very interesting to say the least. Then I saw an article on The Atlantic that went through all the chaos that would be caused by the elimination of our networked satellites. Kind of spun it as a sequel idea, which I didn't like, but intriguing nontheless. Overall, I thought the movie deserved the acclaim it's receiving.
I thought both this and American Hustle were overrated, not to say they were bad movies, but for Gravity I might have suffered from the GCI effect that does not hit me for every heavy-GCI movie, but for the ones it does, it takes away from the suspense and diminishes the experience. The story should have been ok, but because of my emotional distance, seemed empty. I was just not engaged.
I happened to see it on a flight recently; to be honest, it is not a movie I would have chosen to watch, or paid to see, or spent an afternoon of my time to see; I had read the reviews, and, while I am interested in space and space travel, this held no interest whatsoever for me.
Yes, the visuals and special effects were stunning, but the story was utterly threadbare. To my mind, this film was a triumph of hype, special effects and artifice over simple narrative. I have no problem with special effects when they support a story; my problem with a lot of modern movies is that the special effects become the story.
It is the same when I come out of a theatre and all I can offer about what I have just seen is that 'the set was brilliant' (a conclusion, which has left me with a dislike of over-elaborate sets, especially if they are constructed at the expense of good acting, good writing and a good story; these days, in theatre, I like my sets plain).
And the same with movies. No amount of pyrotechnical talent will substitute for a good story, good acting and a good script. Which is why the haul of Oscar awards for Gravity - apart from the award for special effects which is richly and entirely merited - is something I find rather depressing, but entirely predictable.
Why not recognise a powerful, well acted, well told, well-scripted story (such as, say, Philomena), instead?
Yes, the visuals and special effects were stunning, but the story was utterly threadbare. To my mind, this film was a triumph of hype, special effects and artifice over simple narrative. I have no problem with special effects when they support a story; my problem with a lot of modern movies is that the special effects become the story.
It is the same when I come out of a theatre and all I can offer about what I have just seen is that 'the set was brilliant' (a conclusion, which has left me with a dislike of over-elaborate sets, especially if they are constructed at the expense of good acting, good writing and a good story; these days, in theatre, I like my sets plain).
And the same with movies. No amount of pyrotechnical talent will substitute for a good story, good acting and a good script. Which is why the haul of Oscar awards for Gravity - apart from the award for special effects which is richly and entirely merited - is something I find rather depressing, but entirely predictable.
Why not recognise a powerful, well acted, well told, well-scripted story (such as, say, Philomena), instead?
I thought American Hustle was medicore especially since it had a 4 star cast and more could have been done with them. I still think the film was much better than Gravity.
Also I thought that Inside Llewyn Davis should have won for best cinematography. I'm curious as to how Gravity won that considering almost the entire film was done on a computer. I feel that takes less skill than actually positioning cameras to get a film with superior cinematography.
Last edited:
I LOVED Gravity, much more than I thought I would. It deserved the VFX Oscar (no offense Weta, I still love you but Framestore earned this one).
The ISS scene is one of my favorite scenes in any movie.
The ISS scene is one of my favorite scenes in any movie.
I have not seen Philomena, but I agree that the other movies up for Best Picture, of the ones I saw had much more compelling stories from a presentation, execution, and emotional standpoint. Trying to escape from disaster in space with continuing calamities following you like a plague should be compelling and emotional. So while I don't think the premise is bad, the content and what was extracted from the actors was sorely lacking, although I imagine it could be argued these were stoic characters dealing with disaster. GC's portrayal of the fear-no-death astronaught took away from the story. Everyone is mortal and his no-chinks-in-the-armor confidence turned me off. "Let me save you!" "No, no problem, have a good one!"
My understanding is that there was was some technical innovation in this movie, and due to the setting and some incredible visuals, I'm ok with it's cinematography and other technical awards. And if you look at what it won for, I'm happy with the Academy's intregrity except for Best Director. He may have done a great job putting it all together, but he is also responsible for his actors. Based on that BD should have gone to someone else.
And hey, let's do away with 10 Best Picture nominees and go back to 5.
From a story, execution and content standard it was much better than Gravity, but I walked out of that movie (American Hustle) not thinking I had just witnessed something amazing, not that it did not have some good moments, it did, but there was no payoff, IMO that should have tied it all together and/or made the movie "riotously funny" as it was marketed and definitely not as good as 12 Years a Slave or Dallas Buyers Club, which did not necessarily have playoffs at the end. For them the payoff was the entire journey.
Last edited:
American Hustle was ok. It was very slow in my opinion. However I did like the twist if you will at the end!
I have not seen Gravity. I figure I will wait till hit it hits one of the channels on TV.
I have not seen Gravity. I figure I will wait till hit it hits one of the channels on TV.
The plot won't be for everyone but I thought it was a brilliant film.
The focus is always on Ryan Stone and balances a lot of elements well. Her immediate panic, the vast yet claustrophobic nature of space, her desire to live, the loss of her child, her fear of being alone.
Also it deserves credit for being one of the very few films that benefits from 3D- usually I hate it.
The focus is always on Ryan Stone and balances a lot of elements well. Her immediate panic, the vast yet claustrophobic nature of space, her desire to live, the loss of her child, her fear of being alone.
Also it deserves credit for being one of the very few films that benefits from 3D- usually I hate it.
Not arguing, but normally I'd eat a plot and premise like this right up.
I agree with your 3D comment although I did not see this in 3D, because I saw a preview for a movie about the real space station at the IMAX in 3D and it was incredibly realistic looking so I imagine space is the perfect setting to use 3D, real high quality 3D, not the cheap variety.