Sandra Bullock Archives - chimesfreedom

“Gravity” Is Such a Lonely Word (Short Review)

The new space film, Gravity (2013), starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, is getting rave reviews. The movie about two characters who end up floating in space features great special effects, fine acting, and drama that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

If you have seen the trailer, you know what to expect. The movie does not waste time with a back story leading up to the accident, where debris from a Russian satellite destroys the U.S. space shuttle and sets Bullock and Clooney adrift. The rest of the movie features their attempts to stay alive and get back home.

Without saying more about the plot, the movie features plenty of action and drama, reminding me of Tom Hanks in Cast Away (2000), where a human struggled to get back to civilization and learned about himself along the way. Director Alfonso Cuarón, who also directed the wonderful Children of Men (2006), has a special eye for creating other worlds while still staying focused on character.

For a film set in space, Gravity is a very intimate film, with Clooney and Bullock carrying the entire story. Clooney’s character makes great use of the actor’s charm, and Bullock provides a solid center as a scientist who appears to be in over her head. We do, however, hear some other voices. As required for any movie about NASA such as The Right Stuff (1983), Ed Harris appears. Here he is the voice for mission control as he was for Apollo 13 (1995).

The movie is playing in both 3D and 2D. I had the unusual experience of getting to see part of the movie in both forms, as the theater made a mistake and showed my 3D audience the first 20-30 minutes in 2D and then, realizing its mistake, began the movie from the start in 3D. While, I still enjoyed the 2D version, Gravity is a movie where it is worth the extra bucks for 3D, as the shots of people and items in space, as well as the earth in the background, are spectacular.

Conclusion? If you like space movies or desert island adventures, you will enjoy Gravity. I do suggest you avoid reading many of the glowing reviews, as they may raise your expectations too high for a solid movie that has many traditional elements. Gravity is not as challenging as recent space or sci-fi movies like Moon (2009), Clooney’s Solaris (2002), or Cuarón’s Children of Men. But it is definitely worthwhile. I give the film eight chimes out of ten.

What did you think of Gravity? Leave your two cents in the comments.

Lost in Space: Trailer for “Gravity”

12 Years a Slave (Short Review)

Trailer for Coen Brothers’ Film: “Hail, Caesar!”

Norm Macdonald’s Touching (and Funny) Tribute to Letterman

George Clooney Invites Us to “Tomorrowland” (Teaser Trailer)

Jimmy Kimmel’s “Movie: The Movie”

(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

Lost in Space: Trailer for “Gravity”

In the category of upcoming films I can’t wait to see, I would have to include Gravity (2013). The movie is directed by Alfonso Cuarón, whose last feature film was the excellent Children of Men (2006), which was about a crumbling future society where humans stopped reproducing. Gravity is also in the science-fiction category, but this time Cuarón goes to space.

Gravity stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as two astronauts on a space shuttle mission where the shuttle is destroyed, leaving the two stranded in space. It is an interesting casting choice, especially considering that it looks like the two leads will have to carry the film. Clooney has already been in a very good creepy space science-fiction film with Solaris (2002), and Bullock is an excellent actress.

The trailer makes me think the movie might give me nightmares, but the cool kind of lost-in-space nightmares, not the scary-monster nightmares. Check it out.

Gravity is scheduled to be released October 4, 2013. Mark your calendar.

What fall movies are you looking forward to? Leave your two cents in the comments.

“Gravity” Is Such a Lonely Word (Short Review)

Trailer for Coen Brothers’ Film: “Hail, Caesar!”

Norm Macdonald’s Touching (and Funny) Tribute to Letterman

George Clooney Invites Us to “Tomorrowland” (Teaser Trailer)

12 Years a Slave (Short Review)

Jimmy Kimmel’s “Movie: The Movie”

(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

10 Reasons Hope Floats is a Guilty Pleasure

Hope Floats (1998) is not one of the greatest movies of all time, but it is one of those movies that I find myself watching whenever it pops up on TV. While the critics’ evaluation of the movie puts it at a low 25% “liked it” on the Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes, the audience puts it at a respectable 73% “liked it.” Why are regular audience members right on this movie and the critics so wrong? Here are ten reasons.

1. Forest Whitaker directs the movie, and does an excellent job. The well-known actor may have been an unusual choice to direct this movie, but he captures the atmosphere of a small town in Texas, perhaps because he was born in Texas. There are excellent shots throughout the movie, and as someone who has spent some time in the Lone Star State, I think he does a great job capturing some of the beauty of the area. He should direct more often.

2. Sandra Bullock gives one of her best performances as Birdee Pruitt. Bullock fits comfortably in the role of a likeable former small-town girl who was a cheerleader and “Queen of Corn.” She explains how the story attracted her to take the role in this video interview.

3. The movie includes a musical performance by Jack Ingram, who is playing at a dance scene. Ingram started out playing country music in Texas bars in the early 1990s. A friend introduced me to Ingram in the late 1990s when Ingram released some excellent CDs. Live at Adair’s (1996) is a great live album. More recently, Ingram got a trendy haircut and had more commercial success with songs like “Love You.” The Academy of Country Music gave him a top “new” male artist award in 2008, about a decade too late. But it is great he’s still making good music.

4. Speaking of musicians, Harry Connick, Jr. shows off his acting chops as Justin Matisse in Hope Floats. Connick has a lot of personality and it comes through in his performance here. Sure, he is not playing Hamlet or another great part, but he fits the role like a comfortable glove and is believable.

5. The rest of the cast is engaging too. The movie has Gena Rolands, who has been acting since the late 1950s and has an impressive resume of outstanding roles. She’s great here as Bullock’s mother. And Mae Whitman is able to make us laugh while at other times conveying the pain of a child with parents going through a divorce.

6. The movie has a number of elements that make it hard to classify. There are some laughs, but it is not a light-hearted romantic comedy. It is a Hollywood movie and it is not gritty, but there are several genuine moments in the movie about small-town life, death, divorce, and home.

7. The film has an excellent scene at the employment office when a former classmate gives Birdee (Bullock) her comeuppance for her popularity in high school. Neither person is played as a stereotype, and viewers find themselves sympathetic to both characters.

8. Two touching dance scenes illustrate romance, childhood, aging, and starting again: Birdie dances with her father, who has had a stroke and is in a nursing home, and she dances with Justin at the bar.

9. “Beginnings are scary. Endings are usually sad. But it’s the middle that counts the most.”

10. The soundtrack works, and the movie includes “Make You Feel My Love.” The song, sung here by Garth Brooks, is one of Bob Dylan’s later career classic songs, as we discussed recently on Chimesfreedom. In the case of both the song and the movie, the fans are right and the critics are wrong.