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Gravity

Westside Steve's Movie Reviews
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  • I'll post my review today. Kind of agree with the Gipper pretty cool visuals but it bored the living shit out of me.

    WSS

  • I liked it. Saw the 3D version.

    @ballpeen said:

    I liked it. Saw the 3D version.

    Yes, I did too. I hope I didn't give the impression that I didn't like it. I just thought the dialog was pedestrian, and that Sandra played it a bit to whiny, which to me, again, was a directorial issue.

  • They did one thing exceedingly well with the movie, and that was to create a sense of peril and doom for Dr. Stone. Otherwise, my criticisms are the same as others, namely:

    - dialog was weak. In the SFF fiction writing world, we have a classic writing mistake called the "As You Know, Bob." This is one character tells another character something they already know so that the audience will know it. This comes off as contrived because it is unlikely the characters would actually talk about something they already know. This happens in the movie when Houston tells Dr. Stone the reason for the mission as she is clearly carrying the mission out.

    -lapses in suspension of disbelief. Two things happen occur without sufficient explanation and therefore come off as something the director wanted to happen and not something that felt organic to the story. First, the idea that the Russians shot down their satellite needed more explanation because I believe standard procedure would be to just to redirect the satellite to burn up in the atmosphere. Second, Clooney's justification for his suicide came off as weak. I was not convinced that both could not survive the situation they were in, as the cords had stopped snapping, and therefore it came off as something that happened because the director wanted it to happen.

    In the end, I give the movie a 7 out of 10, mostly because they did the peril thing so well.

  • Want to see this film. As heard it is awesome. May see it tomorrow!

  • hey Osiris, thanks for the heads up on the george clooney character. wanna tell me how it ends?

    just kidding. watched bill maher's last show and he basically gave the whole story away.

    got a bootleg of it sitting on my drawing table.....just don't know if i want to spend the time to watch this torturous thing. i mean i love some old giallo B-movie horror flicks from the 70's but i don't get into the torture movies i.e. saw, hostel etc. etc.

    i end up screaming at the victims for putting themselves in that position, and then not being able to do anything about it. except seeing your leg get dismembered.

  • hey Osiris, thanks for the heads up on the george clooney character. wanna tell me how it ends?

    just kidding. watched bill maher's last show and he basically gave the whole story away.

    got a bootleg of it sitting on my drawing table.....just don't know if i want to spend the time to watch this torturous thing. i mean i love some old giallo B-movie horror flicks from the 70's but i don't get into the torture movies i.e. saw, hostel etc. etc.

    i end up screaming at the victims for putting themselves in that position, and then not being able to do anything about it. except seeing your leg get dismembered.

    @miktoxic said:

    hey Osiris, thanks for the heads up on the george clooney character. wanna tell me how it ends?

    just kidding. watched bill maher's last show and he basically gave the whole story away.

    got a bootleg of it sitting on my drawing table.....just don't know if i want to spend the time to watch this torturous thing. i mean i love some old giallo B-movie horror flicks from the 70's but i don't get into the torture movies i.e. saw, hostel etc. etc.

    i end up screaming at the victims for putting themselves in that position, and then not being able to do anything about it. except seeing your leg get dismembered.

    Don't worry, it wasn't much of a spoiler, it happens pretty early in the movie. Anyway, it isn't a horror movie, nothing like saw or hostel at all, and not much anything grotesque in it either. It's worth watching.

  • Finally saw this. And to put it bluntly, *meh* - there is basically no story, just a standard "you're running out of time, better get back to civilisation quick" theme going on. Spectacular effects, making me want to go in to space more and more, sure, but if that's what I wanted then I'd just go look at astrology websites.

    Things I knew going in - it's basically just Sandy B on her own for most of the movie; she gets detached and needs to get back to earth; she will, or the movie wouldn't have been made.

    Things I learned during the course of the film - it's possible to have an actual jetpack and fly around in space.

    Seriously, you start out with the three of them, you know the other two are going to die - shock horror, the indian guy whose face we don't even see goes first. Then the other star, George Clooney, goes next, bravely giving his life to save hers. So we're left with about an hour of "ooooh, is she going to run out of oxygen/get hit by shrapnel/run out of fuel?" before she basically just gets in to another spacecraft and crash lands, via some extremely helpful hallucination.

    Sorry for any spoilers, but this movie really pissed me off.

  • Boring

  • Finally saw this. And to put it bluntly, *meh* - there is basically no story, just a standard "you're running out of time, better get back to civilisation quick" theme going on. Spectacular effects, making me want to go in to space more and more, sure, but if that's what I wanted then I'd just go look at astrology websites.

    Things I knew going in - it's basically just Sandy B on her own for most of the movie; she gets detached and needs to get back to earth; she will, or the movie wouldn't have been made.

    Things I learned during the course of the film - it's possible to have an actual jetpack and fly around in space.

    Seriously, you start out with the three of them, you know the other two are going to die - shock horror, the indian guy whose face we don't even see goes first. Then the other star, George Clooney, goes next, bravely giving his life to save hers. So we're left with about an hour of "ooooh, is she going to run out of oxygen/get hit by shrapnel/run out of fuel?" before she basically just gets in to another spacecraft and crash lands, via some extremely helpful hallucination.

    Sorry for any spoilers, but this movie really pissed me off.

    @gftchris said:

    Finally saw this. And to put it bluntly, *meh* - there is basically no story, just a standard "you're running out of time, better get back to civilisation quick" theme going on. Spectacular effects, making me want to go in to space more and more, sure, but if that's what I wanted then I'd just go look at astrology websites.

    Things I knew going in - it's basically just Sandy B on her own for most of the movie; she gets detached and needs to get back to earth; she will, or the movie wouldn't have been made.

    Things I learned during the course of the film - it's possible to have an actual jetpack and fly around in space.

    Seriously, you start out with the three of them, you know the other two are going to die - shock horror, the indian guy whose face we don't even see goes first. Then the other star, George Clooney, goes next, bravely giving his life to save hers. So we're left with about an hour of "ooooh, is she going to run out of oxygen/get hit by shrapnel/run out of fuel?" before she basically just gets in to another spacecraft and crash lands, via some extremely helpful hallucination.

    Sorry for any spoilers, but this movie really pissed me off.

    That was terrible man, you basically ruined the whole movie for me. Thanks.

  • @gftchris said:

    Finally saw this. And to put it bluntly, *meh* - there is basically no story, just a standard "you're running out of time, better get back to civilisation quick" theme going on. Spectacular effects, making me want to go in to space more and more, sure, but if that's what I wanted then I'd just go look at astrology websites.

    Things I knew going in - it's basically just Sandy B on her own for most of the movie; she gets detached and needs to get back to earth; she will, or the movie wouldn't have been made.

    Things I learned during the course of the film - it's possible to have an actual jetpack and fly around in space.

    Seriously, you start out with the three of them, you know the other two are going to die - shock horror, the indian guy whose face we don't even see goes first. Then the other star, George Clooney, goes next, bravely giving his life to save hers. So we're left with about an hour of "ooooh, is she going to run out of oxygen/get hit by shrapnel/run out of fuel?" before she basically just gets in to another spacecraft and crash lands, via some extremely helpful hallucination.

    Sorry for any spoilers, but this movie really pissed me off.

    That was terrible man, you basically ruined the whole movie for me. Thanks.

    @the-cysko-kid said:

    That was terrible man, you basically ruined the whole movie for me. Thanks.

    Don't read reviews and don't discuss movies before you see them if you don't want that to happen.

    WSS

  • @gftchris said:

    Finally saw this. And to put it bluntly, *meh* - there is basically no story, just a standard "you're running out of time, better get back to civilisation quick" theme going on. Spectacular effects, making me want to go in to space more and more, sure, but if that's what I wanted then I'd just go look at astrology websites.

    Things I knew going in - it's basically just Sandy B on her own for most of the movie; she gets detached and needs to get back to earth; she will, or the movie wouldn't have been made.

    Things I learned during the course of the film - it's possible to have an actual jetpack and fly around in space.

    Seriously, you start out with the three of them, you know the other two are going to die - shock horror, the indian guy whose face we don't even see goes first. Then the other star, George Clooney, goes next, bravely giving his life to save hers. So we're left with about an hour of "ooooh, is she going to run out of oxygen/get hit by shrapnel/run out of fuel?" before she basically just gets in to another spacecraft and crash lands, via some extremely helpful hallucination.

    Sorry for any spoilers, but this movie really pissed me off.

    That was terrible man, you basically ruined the whole movie for me. Thanks.

    @the-cysko-kid said:

    That was terrible man, you basically ruined the whole movie for me. Thanks.

    Well, sorry, but...

    @westside-steve said:

    Don't read reviews and don't discuss movies before you see them if you don't want that to happen.

    WSS

    ...this.

    Plus, do you really not know the plot? That was my biggest gripe, that there was no plot or surprises.

  • the movie gets an "ok" from Me...otherwise...nothing earth shattering here...(no pun intended)

  • @the-cysko-kid said:

    That was terrible man, you basically ruined the whole movie for me. Thanks.

    Don't read reviews and don't discuss movies before you see them if you don't want that to happen.

    WSS

    @westside-steve said:

    Don't read reviews and don't discuss movies before you see them if you don't want that to happen.

    WSS

    Yeah ok Steve most reviews are designed to critique the movie in question to let people know whether they ought to see them or not., not to detail how everyone dies and give away the ending. Generally, if you're not a douche, you'd put some sort of spoiler alert at the beginning of it.

  • Cast Away II: Cast Away in Space

  • @westside-steve said:

    Don't read reviews and don't discuss movies before you see them if you don't want that to happen.

    WSS

    Yeah ok Steve most reviews are designed to critique the movie in question to let people know whether they ought to see them or not., not to detail how everyone dies and give away the ending. Generally, if you're not a douche, you'd put some sort of spoiler alert at the beginning of it.

    @the-cysko-kid said:

    Yeah ok Steve most reviews are designed to critique the movie in question to let people know whether they ought to see them or not., not to detail how everyone dies and give away the ending. Generally, if you're not a douche, you'd put some sort of spoiler alert at the beginning of it.

    Actually I try never to look at any other critics reviews before I go catch a film. Usually I go within days of its opening just in case.

    It also pisses me off when the rushes or the previews give you just about every detail of the film. If not every detail at least a pretty good idea of what is to come.

    Still on top of the previews just about every review gives you some sort of synopsis: about the plot.

    I'd always prefer to be totally surprised.

    That's why I wont read a review until after I've given a grade. Oftentimes I am shocked that the big boys loved some piece of crap or that everyone hated something that I really liked. Of course you know the old saying about assholes and opinions...

    WSS

  • Of course you know the old saying about assholes and opinions...

    Sometimes they are one and the same? 😉

  • OK, As a SiyiFY fanatic and rare movie goer- I had to take a look at Gravity post Oscar to see what all the buzz was about. . As a long time Amateur Astronomer- and dabbler in celestial mechanics, I have two things to say:

    1) The Special effects were cutting edge- to have you believe you were in zero gravity circling the Earth were astounding, never seen before CGI. BUT.

    2) That movie SUCKED, on many levels. How it ever got a nomination for Best Picture is beyond me. Us guys who know a little about orbital mechanics- the whole premise of the movie was total BS. Even if you want to believe the Ruskies (or the US) had satellites in counter rotational orbits in the same altitude as the Hubble or IST (they don't) you're not going to be seeing enough space junk coming @ an effective 36,000 mph in the wrong direction to destroy both destroy a shuttle or the ISS.

    3) I love ya as an actress Sandra, but that wasn't Oscar worthy. So you can fly both a Soyuz capsule and a Chinese escape pod without any training? I suppose I could push enough buttons to get 'em to do something too.

    4) So count me that knows something about Space Reality- Gravity is as far fetched from real Space Reality as Star Trek. If you can enjoy it on that level- great- I give it a C- and a waste of my $6 PPV money.

  • I gave it a D+ and have no idea why it got so much traction. Mayy Sandra Bullock is popular among the Academy.

    WSS

  • I will note that Gravity got most of its Oscars in the graphics/special effects categories.....except for the Director category.

    And in that regard I don't think moviegoers are all that concerned about technical accuracy. There were worse flaws than that, which the common layman would know nothing about.

    Like I said, the whole damsel in distress thing, and the whole "Captain, communications are down" thing were bigger flaws to me.

    But OK, I will give it that it had great effects. Especially in the 3-D mode.

    Hoorta: did you see the 3-D version?

  • I liked it. The effects were outstanding