Ichinisan
Lifer
- Oct 9, 2002
- 28,298
- 1,235
- 136
No lie. I was 100% sure it had to be a hallucination just a couple seconds after he opened the hatch.
ImpulsE69
Lifer
- Jan 8, 2010
- 14,946
- 1,077
- 126
I liked this movie quite a bit, however, I think there needs to be some levity here.
There were 2 parts that really bugged me about this movie, that did not have anything to do with "which way parts fly in space" or "omg sound in space".
This was a "realism" movie and these things happened that took away from it (because they were blatantly obvious)
and
That being said, though, it is a great film. I just find it interesting how everyone is "omg best movie evah! but would laugh at any of the above in any other kind of movie that actually called for it.
Bring the hate!
lol
There were 2 parts that really bugged me about this movie, that did not have anything to do with "which way parts fly in space" or "omg sound in space".
This was a "realism" movie and these things happened that took away from it (because they were blatantly obvious)
1. Dream sequence. This was supernatural. Why? Because it pointed her (via a dead person) to an escape route that she hadn't thought of. One could argue she was so far gone her subconcious picked up on it, but I'd have to watch it again because I got the impression she had no idea prior to that.
and
The movie tried too hard to be Die Hard. Doing crazy stunts that would be almost impossible to do by a person flying around in a space suit, especially the first few minutes when she gets broken off from the shuttle, among the countless other things.
That being said, though, it is a great film. I just find it interesting how everyone is "omg best movie evah! but would laugh at any of the above in any other kind of movie that actually called for it.
Bring the hate!
lolDude, that was an extremely important part of the movie for one reason, and one reason alone:
To bring George Clooney's chiseled face onto the screen, with no helmet to obstruct the view of those piercing eyes and Adonis-like smile
You obviously know nothing about movies.
ImpulsE69
Lifer
- Jan 8, 2010
- 14,946
- 1,077
- 126
I liked this movie quite a bit, however, I think there needs to be some levity here.
There were 2 parts that really bugged me about this movie, that did not have anything to do with "which way parts fly in space" or "omg sound in space".
This was a "realism" movie and these things happened that took away from it (because they were blatantly obvious)
1. Dream sequence. This was supernatural. Why? Because it pointed her (via a dead person) to an escape route that she hadn't thought of. One could argue she was so far gone her subconcious picked up on it, but I'd have to watch it again because I got the impression she had no idea prior to that.
and
The movie tried too hard to be Die Hard. Doing crazy stunts that would be almost impossible to do by a person flying around in a space suit, especially the first few minutes when she gets broken off from the shuttle, among the countless other things.
That being said, though, it is a great film. I just find it interesting how everyone is "omg best movie evah! but would laugh at any of the above in any other kind of movie that actually called for it.
Bring the hate!
I completely viewed it as she knew the controls existed, but didn't really put the pieces together until she has the subconcious realization.
As for the crazy stunts... Yeah, but I think most action movies would be considerably less exciting if the protagonist never did the "almost impossible".
As for the crazy stunts... Yeah, but I think most action movies would be considerably less exciting if the protagonist never did the "almost impossible".
CZroe
Lifer
- Jun 24, 2001
- 24,195
- 857
- 126
That's just it: Even if you never got the impression that she had no idea prior to that,
her manifestation of him clearly said "You know this" and "yeah, but you know how," making it clear that it came from her own experience and understanding.
Kaido
Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
- Feb 14, 2004
- 51,283
- 7,077
- 136
Obligatory "I think spoiler tags in a discussion thread about the movie are stupid" because threads are meant to discuss, don't read this thread if you don't want spoilers
Here are my thoughts in a laundry list:
Here are my thoughts in a laundry list:
1. The 3D was great. The slow movements were perfect for 3D; I don't like fast action in 3D because it just looks blurry and weirdly framed to my eyes. Case in point was the 3D trailers - 47 Ronins was waaaay too hard to follow in 3D, but The Hobbit looked fantastic.
2. The audio was great. I loved the use of silence, as well as the transducers/underwater recordings. It fit very well with the movie.
3. I haven't heard an audience this quiet since I Am Legend. Only this was consistently quiet throughout the whole film, people respected the silence of the movie.
4. I don't think this would be worth seeing in 2D or at home. The story was fairly simple & there was next to zero emotional connection to the characters. The stuff with the daughter who had passed away, for example, didn't feel trite, but you just never really make a strong connection to the characters so you never really care all that much. It's a roller coaster of a movie and you are along for the ride, that plus 3D - in space - is what the draw was.
5. I really wish they had made this a scary movie. I had my emotional muscles clenched going in because I was afraid it was going to be too scary, but after the initial 20 minutes or so, you knew she was going to be the only one who was going to make it and you knew she WAS going to make it, so you relaxed. No fear of death for her. I thought they might try like an I Am Legend and make it so Cloony lived and she died, but when she said her daughter had died, I knew she wouldn't die. So again I was more along for the ride than for the story.
6. I think they could have written it so it sucked you in mentally like the Sixth Sense did...where your mind is just glued to the movie the whole time. And they could have made it scary like the old Aliens movie. There were plenty of opportunities for fear that they didn't use. I was really hoping there would be like dead Russians on the space station (that sounds horrible haha) and that she'd have some kind of freaky run-in with them. I really wanted this movie to suck me in and just throw my mind in a blender of nightmare space realities, but it didn't. The only time I really felt like that was when she was first floating away into space.
7. Probably my favorite shot is that first sun-lit shot of her tumbling into space, the wide-angle shot where she is very small in the center of the screen. It was a beautiful shot and you really felt the gravity (no pun intended) of her situation...lost forever, floating away until your oxygen runs out and you suffocate to death in the cold barrenness of space.
8. They were like Michael Jackson smooth operator with the hallucination scene. They made you feel like George Clooney didn't die, so when he reappeared, you were like yay! The first doubt of suspicion trickled in when he popped the airlock, because he would have waited for her to put her helmet on, but then you remember that he's boss and he knew it wouldn't kill her, so that's why he did it. But I didn't see any swept-up blood on her cheek from her face would, so that was a giveaway, but I wasn't focused on that. Absolutely masterful redirection there. So smooth when they panned back and he wasn't there, and you weren't even shocked and you just went with it immediately, no hiccup, because you realized he wasn't really there but you were back in the jumpseat with the main character on her story. Very slick, hats off on that one.
9. The ending was kind of Armageddon, as someone else mentioned there was some Diehard stuff going on, so while they kind of tried to keep it realistic in the beginning, it made me wonder why they don't go for the scary/extremely suspenseful movie direction like they could have. That definitely would have made the movie worth buying and watching again, and watching in 2D, if the story was that good, but it wasn't. It's not that it was bad - it was worth a watch - but I won't be buying it on DVD because it's not really good enough to own or put in my library. It was great for a watch in 3D and that was it. Pity, it could have been epic with a little more thought in the writing.
10. I still really want to know about the hairy non-man story at Mardi Gras haha.
11. I didn't like that they left God out of the equation, say what you want about religion. There was a tiny tip of the hat with the Buddha statue, and at the end she says "thank you", which could be a religious gesture or it could be to Clooney's character. But the movie felt too empty at the end after going through all of that and not ending up with a belief in a higher power.
12. Going further down that track, she gets all pumped up to save herself after the hallucination, but why? She was kind of depressed and focused on work after the death of her daughter. Obi Wan Clooney was like you have to man up and keep on doin'...but why? She made it home, to a beautiful beach, and thank you to...someone...and then...what? Sure, I guess she grew a little, in that she learned she could push through when things were hard and that life goes on after your loved ones die, but I wasn't really satisfied with a strong character growth tidbit there, it was enough to be okay and not disappointed, but meh. So that kind of minimal character growth and lack of finding or reaffirming belief in a higher power made the ending feel kind of meh. I don't want to say too science-y, because that wasn't quite it, but it wasn't really the happy feel-good ending that it could have been. I think that combined with making it more story-suspenseful would have been really awesome.
13. I liked that she stood up at the end. I wish it had been even more of a heck-yeah moment haha, but I appreciated that she stood up. I was also hoping that she'd kiss the ground, because that's sure as heck what I would have done :biggrin:
14. I was amazed at how good the floating scenes looked, like when she was getting out of her spacesuit and floating around. I haven't read up on how they filmed that, whether it was in a studio or via a zero-gravity airplane dive, but it totally sold me - I didn't feel taken out of the movie that she wasn't *really* in space, it was so good that nothing bothered me and it didn't take me out of the movie. She was in there, floating around, good.
15. The fire extinguisher part totally reminded me of Wall-E
16. I liked a lot of the interesting camera shots. They went around the actor's bodies in different ways that I've seen in prior movies and got different angles, which was neat because it did often feel like they were actually shooting in space. I especially liked the slow zoom into her helmet where it breached her helmet and the audio changed to ears instead of space noises, that was pretty neat.
17. I saw the SNL skit first, so it may have blipped across my mind that the government shutdown radio communications due to the government shutdown :biggrin:
2. The audio was great. I loved the use of silence, as well as the transducers/underwater recordings. It fit very well with the movie.
3. I haven't heard an audience this quiet since I Am Legend. Only this was consistently quiet throughout the whole film, people respected the silence of the movie.
4. I don't think this would be worth seeing in 2D or at home. The story was fairly simple & there was next to zero emotional connection to the characters. The stuff with the daughter who had passed away, for example, didn't feel trite, but you just never really make a strong connection to the characters so you never really care all that much. It's a roller coaster of a movie and you are along for the ride, that plus 3D - in space - is what the draw was.
5. I really wish they had made this a scary movie. I had my emotional muscles clenched going in because I was afraid it was going to be too scary, but after the initial 20 minutes or so, you knew she was going to be the only one who was going to make it and you knew she WAS going to make it, so you relaxed. No fear of death for her. I thought they might try like an I Am Legend and make it so Cloony lived and she died, but when she said her daughter had died, I knew she wouldn't die. So again I was more along for the ride than for the story.
6. I think they could have written it so it sucked you in mentally like the Sixth Sense did...where your mind is just glued to the movie the whole time. And they could have made it scary like the old Aliens movie. There were plenty of opportunities for fear that they didn't use. I was really hoping there would be like dead Russians on the space station (that sounds horrible haha) and that she'd have some kind of freaky run-in with them. I really wanted this movie to suck me in and just throw my mind in a blender of nightmare space realities, but it didn't. The only time I really felt like that was when she was first floating away into space.
7. Probably my favorite shot is that first sun-lit shot of her tumbling into space, the wide-angle shot where she is very small in the center of the screen. It was a beautiful shot and you really felt the gravity (no pun intended) of her situation...lost forever, floating away until your oxygen runs out and you suffocate to death in the cold barrenness of space.
8. They were like Michael Jackson smooth operator with the hallucination scene. They made you feel like George Clooney didn't die, so when he reappeared, you were like yay! The first doubt of suspicion trickled in when he popped the airlock, because he would have waited for her to put her helmet on, but then you remember that he's boss and he knew it wouldn't kill her, so that's why he did it. But I didn't see any swept-up blood on her cheek from her face would, so that was a giveaway, but I wasn't focused on that. Absolutely masterful redirection there. So smooth when they panned back and he wasn't there, and you weren't even shocked and you just went with it immediately, no hiccup, because you realized he wasn't really there but you were back in the jumpseat with the main character on her story. Very slick, hats off on that one.
9. The ending was kind of Armageddon, as someone else mentioned there was some Diehard stuff going on, so while they kind of tried to keep it realistic in the beginning, it made me wonder why they don't go for the scary/extremely suspenseful movie direction like they could have. That definitely would have made the movie worth buying and watching again, and watching in 2D, if the story was that good, but it wasn't. It's not that it was bad - it was worth a watch - but I won't be buying it on DVD because it's not really good enough to own or put in my library. It was great for a watch in 3D and that was it. Pity, it could have been epic with a little more thought in the writing.
10. I still really want to know about the hairy non-man story at Mardi Gras haha.
11. I didn't like that they left God out of the equation, say what you want about religion. There was a tiny tip of the hat with the Buddha statue, and at the end she says "thank you", which could be a religious gesture or it could be to Clooney's character. But the movie felt too empty at the end after going through all of that and not ending up with a belief in a higher power.
12. Going further down that track, she gets all pumped up to save herself after the hallucination, but why? She was kind of depressed and focused on work after the death of her daughter. Obi Wan Clooney was like you have to man up and keep on doin'...but why? She made it home, to a beautiful beach, and thank you to...someone...and then...what? Sure, I guess she grew a little, in that she learned she could push through when things were hard and that life goes on after your loved ones die, but I wasn't really satisfied with a strong character growth tidbit there, it was enough to be okay and not disappointed, but meh. So that kind of minimal character growth and lack of finding or reaffirming belief in a higher power made the ending feel kind of meh. I don't want to say too science-y, because that wasn't quite it, but it wasn't really the happy feel-good ending that it could have been. I think that combined with making it more story-suspenseful would have been really awesome.
13. I liked that she stood up at the end. I wish it had been even more of a heck-yeah moment haha, but I appreciated that she stood up. I was also hoping that she'd kiss the ground, because that's sure as heck what I would have done :biggrin:
14. I was amazed at how good the floating scenes looked, like when she was getting out of her spacesuit and floating around. I haven't read up on how they filmed that, whether it was in a studio or via a zero-gravity airplane dive, but it totally sold me - I didn't feel taken out of the movie that she wasn't *really* in space, it was so good that nothing bothered me and it didn't take me out of the movie. She was in there, floating around, good.
15. The fire extinguisher part totally reminded me of Wall-E
16. I liked a lot of the interesting camera shots. They went around the actor's bodies in different ways that I've seen in prior movies and got different angles, which was neat because it did often feel like they were actually shooting in space. I especially liked the slow zoom into her helmet where it breached her helmet and the audio changed to ears instead of space noises, that was pretty neat.
17. I saw the SNL skit first, so it may have blipped across my mind that the government shutdown radio communications due to the government shutdown :biggrin:
Kaido
Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
- Feb 14, 2004
- 51,283
- 7,077
- 136
And that's exactly it. When I studied action movie screenwriting, that was one of the first tenets - everything has to be life-or-death, last-minute, against-all-odds, or else what is the point really? You have to setup the story like a Saw game - there's only one way out, and it's the most crazy, insane, but still somehow doable thing there is. Because if the stakes aren't sky-high, then what's the point of watching? No one wants to watch Junior help Grandpa cross the street, they want to see Bruce Willis running around in bare feat on broken glass taking out professionally-trained bad-guys single-handedly! :awe:
Kaido
Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
- Feb 14, 2004
- 51,283
- 7,077
- 136
I was also a bit worried I was going to get jumped coming out of the theater. A car parked and a guy and a girl got out and ran to either side of us (this is midnight in the city, so y'know...). Turns out both needed a bathroom. The dude didn't even bother hiding, he just assumed the position and went at it next to the car. The girl at least had the decency to run a couple rows into the parking lot and squat between two cars.
'Merica
'Merica
Kaido
Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
- Feb 14, 2004
- 51,283
- 7,077
- 136
The frog was definitely random, but I think it kind of went along with the almost cartoony Armageddon-style flaming re-entry & overhead fireworks & gorgeous beach landscape. I was almost worried of the pieces would catch up and nick her on re-entry, I think they could have changed that a bit to not look quite so "is it gonna? no it's not gonna because it's a foregone conclusion she's going to make it".
It almost reminded me of that weird split-personality movie Australia with Wolverine where it stats out like a Charlie Chapman movie or something and turns into an epic movie halfway through - kind of a very different style of ending than the rest of the movie, but they kind of brought it back when she forced herself to stand up. Good on her!
It almost reminded me of that weird split-personality movie Australia with Wolverine where it stats out like a Charlie Chapman movie or something and turns into an epic movie halfway through - kind of a very different style of ending than the rest of the movie, but they kind of brought it back when she forced herself to stand up. Good on her!
Kaido
Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
- Feb 14, 2004
- 51,283
- 7,077
- 136
Yeah, I felt the same way about that particular scene. Trying too hard to be Space Odyssey 2001. It went on for just a *bit* too long, just enough to throw me out of the movie because I was thinking of the director specifically putting this scene in and thinking of the (very obvious) symbolism.
I definitely think it's better when a storyteller invites you to feel a certain way, rather than forces you into it. A lot of the story elements did that - again, while they didn't feel trite or forced, it was just done in such a blasé manner that you never really get involved with the characters. I really liked how the movie started out, but they kind of dropped off the story portion of the storyline and went into the "stick around for the ride" kind of feel. Then the whole separate feeling of the part at the end on re-entry...
Kaido
Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
- Feb 14, 2004
- 51,283
- 7,077
- 136
Also,
the only really really thin point of the film for me was "oh this one satellite crashed and then set off a chain reaction where every other satellite in the ENTIRETY OF SPACE also crashed into each other." Which of course now makes perfect sense that it's headed exactly straight for them.
Also holy cow on the first frozen dead guy with the hole through him. Haven't seen that before! D: That was actually one of the only "all about the Feel train" moments, was when it panned from his face to the picture of his family - even though the director was trying too hard to have you feel that specific "awwww man!" emotion, it still nails you a little bit!
Also holy cow on the first frozen dead guy with the hole through him. Haven't seen that before! D: That was actually one of the only "all about the Feel train" moments, was when it panned from his face to the picture of his family - even though the director was trying too hard to have you feel that specific "awwww man!" emotion, it still nails you a little bit!
Kaido
Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
- Feb 14, 2004
- 51,283
- 7,077
- 136
Not really. Actually none of the traditional modern Bourne-styel shakey cam used too much lately, just your typical knocking-around with explosions and stuff type of shots. Normal. Thank goodness
I did like the physics. Ever since playing Portal and with Half-Life's gravity gun, I pay more attention to how things move. They did a good job of having things movie more or less like you thought they would, which was actually really nice.
zinfamous
No Lifer
- Jul 12, 2006
- 111,822
- 31,292
- 146
I thought the womb scene was fantastic. The film had already established tightly-orchestrated, beautiful and reflective shots. Maybe it was held too long, but there is a reason for that:
She had just entered the pressure chamber after surviving zero oxygen and the long insane space walk to get there, the only survivor. It was the first moment of relaxation and for the audience, it's a chance to release the tension, because it doesn't get any better after that moment. I understand her need to decompress at that moment, and the idea of "returning to the wound" makes a ton of sense--this is currently the only safe place for her, in the wide expanse of space.
Kaido
Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
- Feb 14, 2004
- 51,283
- 7,077
- 136
Yup. And it was a great shot. Aside from being a tiny bit forced (as were some other scenes, as far as what the directory wanted you to feel or see), my only real complaint with that shot is that they held onto it a bit too long.
I would have stayed in there and not left
GTaudiophile
Lifer
- Oct 24, 2000
- 29,767
- 33
- 81
^^Regarding point 11 above.
Similar to the Buddha statue on the Chinese spacecraft, the Russian spacecraft had a Jesus/Crucifix hanging there. But otherwise I understand your point.
Similar to the Buddha statue on the Chinese spacecraft, the Russian spacecraft had a Jesus/Crucifix hanging there. But otherwise I understand your point.
Saw it last night in IMAX 3D. Was extremely hyped. Didn't like it. Felt there was too much horror movie type manipulation of the audience... lazy scripting of the suspense scenes. Bullock was unbelievable as an astronaut. I enjoyed Love so much more than this, and I think it was filmed in the writer/directors backyard.
The effects were top notch and the 3D was excellent and very tastefully done. It just wasn't enough to keep me from squirming in my seat 30 minutes in.
I don't understand the almost universal praise this movie has received.
The effects were top notch and the 3D was excellent and very tastefully done. It just wasn't enough to keep me from squirming in my seat 30 minutes in.
I don't understand the almost universal praise this movie has received.
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CZroe
Lifer
- Jun 24, 2001
- 24,195
- 857
- 126
She isn't supposed to be believable as an astronaut. She's supposed to be an engineer in the medical field who is there to install a device she created for something completely different. She really is supppsed to be a fish out of water. Of course she still needed years of training to qualify, but it's supposed to be an outside perspective closer to the average viewer's level.
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NikolaeVarius
Lifer
- Oct 25, 2006
- 11,036
- 11
- 91
6-7/10. The terrible science and the terrible script was just wow. Took me out of the movie so hard.
Kaido
Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
- Feb 14, 2004
- 51,283
- 7,077
- 136
Ah good catch.
Yeah, whether or not you are religious, I think that making it a point to throw in the affirmation of a high power is a great feel-good ending, and the closure in this movie felt strangely hollow because they really didn't pursue any of that. She didn't learn to pray, she didn't really have a strong reason to survive other than not wanting to die (natural instinct), so while the ending was triumphant with the standing and all, it felt vaguely empty.
Personally I like happy sappy feel-good endings and I just wasn't getting the vibe that I felt should have been there at the end of this particular movie. Not that I like that in every movie - I think I'm one of the few people who liked I Am Legend and appreciated the fact that the main character died, or how Memento ended with a horrible beginning. But sometimes you want a certain ending to seal the deal - like in the 2002 version of the Count of Monte Cristo, he gets his son & wife, the bad guy bites the dust, revenge is achieved in a justified way, and life is good. Great movie imo because it fit the mold and did it in a great way. Not that things always have to fit the mold, but it's like dinner - if you cook it right, it tastes good, if you don't, well, it's just not right, you know?
Kaido
Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
- Feb 14, 2004
- 51,283
- 7,077
- 136
Okay so there was only one technical glitch that really threw me out of the movie:
When George Clooney makes Sandra Bullock let go...her foot is stuck on the ropes and he is stuck to her, but he's being pulled away...by what?! They're in space! Why didn't she just give him a jerk towards her and change his momentum? They made such a big deal with the jerk thing when Clooney was using his jets to tow Bullock around, and jerking her on the rope towards him from her POV cam with her going Ahhh! I think maybe if the whole thing was spinning in a centrifuge-style circle to give it some force, it would have been more believable, but I kept wondering why it was such a big deal to just jerk him back and then pull herself back...the rest of the stuff I liked and the gravity movements felt pretty natural the whole time and not out of place at all.
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