Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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Don't Forget the Dramamine Gravity (Rated R) by HEATHER GRIFFITHS It is quite difficult to review a film with only two on-screen actors without revealing spoilers left and right or devolving into gratuitous description. So, let's start this review of Gravity (91 minutes) by going over some possible alternate titles that director Alfonso Cuarón could have used. Sandra Bullock: Space Adventurer, Shut Up, George Clooney!, Stupid Russians Blew Up Outer Space, The Camera Will Never Stop Moving, So You Know You are in Space, and Miss Congeniality and That Guy from Facts of Life Are Good Actors. All things considered, I think each and every one of my alternate titles conveys more about the movie than the actual title. You can tell the film is meant to be weighty and full of significance. Part of what kept me from fully enjoying it is the fact that everyone involved tried so hard to do the heavy lifting the material requires and create something that would stand alongside "hard" science-fictions classics like 2001 and Solaris (the original, not the Clooney vehicle). Any actor would be hard pressed to carry a film of this magnitude and I walked into the theater not fully on board with Bullock's ability to make it work. Incidentally, a number of other actors were approached for the part before her — the lengths to which she clearly went to prepare for the role just might be related in some way to the fact that she didn't even make the Top 10 list. Dr. Ryan Stone (Bullock) is some sort of technical specialist doing some technical stuff to something technical looking on the outside of the Hubble Space Telescope. She is on her first mission under the command of veteran Matt Kowalski (Clooney). These opening shots are constantly rotating, a technique that appears again and again, serving to provide an almost constant sense of gently swaying movement. The view alternates between the brightness of the Earth and darkness of space while Kowalski lazily circles the telescope with his jet pack, delivering a near endless monologue. That constant talking is apparently a character trait, so he's lucky he's not up in space with me. After about 10 minutes of his nonsense I would be forced to disconnect his O2. He gets word about a Russian Whoopsie that caused a debris cascade. They must abort the mission immediately if not sooner, but they don't move quickly enough to avoid catastrophe. With their shuttle destroyed and communication with Earth down, Kowalski and Stone decide to spacewalk to the International Space Station. They set timers to warn them of the next debris wave and head off, Kowalski dragging Stone behind him on a giant dog leash. When they reach the ISS, a beautiful tracking shot follows Stone into the airlock where she curls fetally, showing off muscles that must have taken months to develop. It's all very 2001: A Space Odyssey. The camera takes its time in these scenes, with lots of long tracking shots that might have seemed self-indulgent in a lesser film. Overall, the film is living up to the advance press and high fan expectations. However, I'm not sold on the 3D. Particularly in the beginning, I found that it distracted from, rather than added to, the movie experience. Now Showing at Wynnsong 7, Carmike 12 and Carmike Market Fair 15. HEATHER GRIFFITHS, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomingweekly.com. WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM SEXY SAVINGS F 5COSOFES 7 L TUM AL % ESSO R I ES & ACC ADULT BOUTIQUE 3525 Lackey St., Lumberton Exit 20 off I-95 • 910-739-4488 OCTOBER 23-29, 2013 UCW 21