SILVER SCREEN - Defying Gravity

At one point in your life, you had wanted to be an astronaut. Yes? Being an astronaut is the coolest job ever! Neil Armstrong was my childhood hero and I'm sure most of you still dream to go to space someday.  But after watching this film I'm about to give my review of, I think I'd settle from being an audience here on earth. Anyway, here is what I thought about Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity:

GRAVITY

Starring:

Sandra Bullock as Mission Specialist Ryan Stone

George Clooney as Commander Matt Kowalski

Written and Produced by:

Alfonso Cuaron and Jonas Cuaron

Directed by:

Alfonso Cuaron

Gravity is a science fiction thriller about a space mission gone wrong and how a first timer astronaut had to fight for her survival in outer space. Sandra Bullock plays the newbie specialist Ryan Stone who encounters a mishap while on a mission. Mission control warns them to abort their mission as debris from a Russian missile strike on a defunct satellite is heading their way. The high speed debris hits them and Ryan Stone is thrown into the outer space. With the help of Commander Matt Kowalski, Ryan Stone tries to get to the International Space Station to get back to earth. 

Gravity opened at the 70th Venice International Film Festival last August and was released last October 4 which coincides with the beginning of the World Space Week.

At first I was a bit scared when watching the film. I am a claustrophobic and if there's one thing that scares me the most other than being stuck in small, confined spaces is being stuck in a never ending room like the outer space. It just scares the hell out of me. Imagine being in a room with no end. You'll just be floating all around with nowhere to go to and not being able to land on your feet or feel a wall. That's even scarier than being locked inside a room. But towards the end of the movie, I felt more relax. I was calmer towards the end as Sandra Bullock's character tries to find her way out of that mishap. It was easy for me to relate to how she felt when she was helpless because I am claustrophobic. So that was kind of a plus points for the movie. 

I've seen other Alfonso Cuaron movies (Y Tu Mama Tambien, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. A Little Princess) and he is a pretty clever director. He somehow always show a moral lesson in his movies hidden beneath the story line and cinematography. Also, with this movie, that he co-wrote,  there is a moral story that one will realize while watching the flow of events and the dialogue. 

Another thing nice about the movie is how it presented astronauts in a not so glamorous  or heroic ways that astronauts are usually shown. Other space movies like Armageddon, Apollo 13, and Space Cowboys, portray astronauts as modern space heroes, which they really are, but Gravity showed that, astronauts are humans too, and that their job is very risky and and has real dangers. Although there are claims that Gravity has a lot of inaccuracies, I think it presented well how dangerous it is to be an astronaut; that it's more than flying to the moon or destroying some asteroids or other heroic stuff. 

Overall, Gravity has somewhat of a big pull. Considering that it has now achieve blockbuster status at $123 million on ticket sales, I think this is one film that would truly be remarkable even after a few generations. Kudos to the Cuarons for defying gravity and flying high with this must watched movie.

Haven't seen Gravity yet? What are you waiting for?? Watch it and tell me what you think. Post your thoughts below or on twitter @iamthebluedevil