Go See: Gravity (3D)

Last week I finally got the opportunity to see the highly talked about movie Gravity. Gravity stars Sandra Bullock as a medical engineer who struggles to make it back to Earth after a space mission goes awry. George Clooney co-stars as an astronaut working with Bullock's character and Ed Harris plays the voice of Mission Control. And that's it. The only other actors involved are in the movie mere seconds and are just providing voice-overs. So did a (relatively short) 90 minute movie featuring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney floating through space blow me away?

Sandra Bullock's Ryan Stone senses 90 minutes of bad news is about to happen.

In short, yes, it actually did. Gravity is an amazing visual experience unlike anything I've ever seen before. I wouldn't even really call Gravity a "traditional" movie. What director Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men, Y Tu Mama Tambien) managed to do is create some sort of hybrid entertainment. A good portion of the movie is shown through Bullock's character's point of view. Through her eyes, we see her tumbling through space and attempting to grab onto parts of the space shuttle. These sequences reminded me of a videogame and it almost felt like you were in control of what you were seeing. That feeling ramped up the intensity to what are already very intense scenes. Other sequences where Bullock floats through space and you're observing what she's seeing reminded me of a ride you'd find at Universal Studios. These elements, combined with a strong narrative and emotional back story to Bullock's character, provided a very entertaining 90 minutes.

Wait ... they weren't really in space?

But I can't conclude a review about Gravity without mentioning it's incredible tracking shots. Fans of Cuaron's last feature, 2006's Children of Men, were especially blown away by that film's long single-shot sequences. There's an entire scene in that movie that includes sevral actors in a car and on motorcycles, fire, and gunshots that's done in a single shot. While the single-shot sequences were impressive in Children of Men, they're even more amazing in Gravity. We follow Sandra Bullock's character in a single shot as she wiggles through the confined spaces in an entire space shuttle to fight a fire that has broken out. We tumble with her in a single shot as she desperately tries to grab hold of a space shuttle as it plummets to Earth. These sequences were obviously well rehearsed and shot with Bullock rigged in front of a green screen. But Cuaron manages to make them feel real and improvised in a way I haven't seen before.

"I should have considered a different career path."

I would highly recommend watching Gravity in 3D. And that's coming from someone who hates the current 3D craze. In fact, although I wasn't able to see it in IMAX, I would recommend seeing it on an IMAX screen as well. It will only add to the visually stunning experience. Gravity is one of those rare  "I feel like I'm actually in the movie" experiences that needs to be seen to be believed.

-Jared

Six More to See in 2013

Welcome back! It seems like I suddenly have more free time than usual in my life. And with that, comes the return of Keepin' It Reel!

If you're a first time reader, Keepin' It Reel was actually at first a live college television show where I discussed movies and television with a cohost and some awesome (and some not so awesome) callers. After graduation, the lack of a television studio at my disposal turned Keepin' It Reel into this blog you're currently reading.

Here I discuss movie and television news, review some cool stuff I've seen, and preview some awesome movies & TV that I'm excited about. Oh, and Nicholas Cage is my unofficial mascot - if you haven't seen his performance in 1993's Deadfall, check it out. It'll make you question everything you think you know about movies and acting. 

For this first blog post back, I'm taking a look at Six More Movies to See in 2013. It's October now and 2013 is drawing to a close quicker than you think, but don't forget about these six. These movies all look incredible and will surely make it to most Top 10 of 2013 lists.

I've included the trailers for each so you can check them out if you haven't heard of them. Don't forget to leave your thoughts in the comments section below the post! Disagree with one of my choices? Have another movie you're looking forward to this year? I wanna know!

*NOTE: These are in order of release date*

 

 Captain Phillips (Oct 11th)

I admit, this definitely isn't the type of movie I would normally go for. Nothing against Tom Hanks, but I'm really just not into the Oscar bait Tom Hanks movies lately. This first trailer really intrigued me though. Captain Phillips is based on the true story of Richard Phillips, the captain of an American cargo ship that was hijacked by Somali pirates in 2009. Perhaps the most interesting thing about this movie is that Director Paul Greengrass (director of two Bourne movies and the INTENSE United 93) decided to cast actual Somali immigrants as the Somali pirates. And none of them have ever acted before. A recent Entertainment Weekly article explained that to ramp up the intensity, Tom Hanks was not allowed to meet any of the Somali actors prior to filming the first hijacking scene. This movie definitely sounds like it will be intense thriller. And plus, it comes out THIS Friday! Now I just have to avoid looking up anything on Wikipedia about the real Richard Phillips so I don't spoil the movie for myself!

 

The Wolf of Wall Street (Nov 15)

Excuse my language, but holy shit does this look good. As if anyone was doubting it would. Another movie based on a true story, it re teams director Martin Scorsese with Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort, a wealthy stockbroker who falls to corruption. It's based on the book by the same name written by the real Jordan Belfort. The screenplay was written by Terence Winter, who's currently the mastermind behind one of the best shows on TV, Boardwalk Empire. As usual with Martin Scorsese movies, the supporting cast is excellent. Matthew McConaughey, Jonah Hill, Kyle Chandler, Jean Dujardin, The Walking Dead's Jon Bernthal, and Boardwalk Empire's Shea Whigham round out the supporting cast. IMDB is also showing that Spike Jonze (so random!) has a role as well. The trailer above, utilizing the only Kanye West song off his new album that I found tolerable, is probably the best I've seen this year too. But really, how could you go wrong with another Scorsese-DiCaprio collaboration? This one's sure to bring in some Oscars next year.

 Out of the Furnace (Dec 6)

I'm not AS sure about this one as the others, but again, this movie had a trailer that hooked me. It seems pretty simple: Christian Bale stars as a man seeking justice after his brother (Casey Affleck) disappears into some strange world of underground fighting. It also features an impressive cast with Woody Harrelson, Willem Dafoe, Forest Whitaker, and Zoe Saldana in supporting roles. The writer/director Scott Cooper isn't as experienced though. His only feature was 2009's Crazy Heart, which earned Jeff Bridges an Oscar win. I still haven't seen Crazy Heart (it's on a LONG list of movies to catch up on), but I've heard some pretty great things. I'm also excited to see the criminally talented Christian Bale return to dramatic acting in his first post-Dark Knight Rises role. Plus, Pearl Jam! So the movie's probably awesome.

Inside Llewyn Davis (Dec 6)

December 6th weekend is going to be a big weekend for movies as Joel and Ethan Coen's latest movie, Inside Llewyn Davis, also opens that weekend. And you just can't go wrong with the Coen Brothers. They're the guys that brought us perhaps my favorite movie of all time - The Big Lebowski. Not to mention 2007's Best Picture Winner No Country for Old Men. And Fargo! And O Brother, Where Art Thou?! And Raising Arizona! And The Ladykillers! Okay, ignore that last one. But seriously, these guys have a track record unlike almost anyone else in the movie business. Inside Llewyn Davis is another original movie written by the Coen Brothers. It stars relative newcomer Oscar Isaac as the titular character, a young folk singer in 1960's New York. Coen Brothers regular John Goodman also makes an appearance, as well as Carey Mulligan (please marry me), Justin Timberlake and for some reason not one but two cast members from the HBO show Girls. While Inside Llewyn Davis definitely doesn't seem as interesting as some of the other Coen Brothers movies, I'd argue that the marketing for most Coen Brothers movies usually isn't as good as it could be. It's like PR people just don't know what to do with their movies. But I'm confident this will be another Coen Brothers classic.

American Hustle (Dec 13)

I never understood the hype behind writer/director David O. Russell's 2004 film I Heart Huckabees. I know people that LOVE the movie, but it just wasn't for me. That, plus Russell's notorious on-set meltdowns (George Clooney allegedly punched him during filming Three Kings) pretty much turned me off him completely. It wasn't until 2010's truly incredible movie The Fighter that I began to see that this man is really talented. Coupled with last year's equally as good Silver Linings Playbook, I now anticipate any movie David O. Russell puts out. American Hustle, once again co-written and directed by Russell, combines The Fighter's Christian Bale and Amy Adams with Silver Linings Playbook's Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and Robert DeNiro in some weird stew of Russell's former hits. But what a cast, which also includes Jeremy Renner, Louis C.K. and the underrated Jack Huston (Richard Harrow from Boardwalk Empire). While the trailer keeps things VERY vague, the movie is about two con-men who are forced to work with a federal agent to turn in other con-men and corrupt politicians. Bale, Cooper, Lawrence, Adams, and DeNiro ALL scored Oscar nominations for their roles in the previous Russell movies: will they do so again?

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (Dec 20)

Last but certainly not least! You didn't really think I'd leave this one off, did you? There really isn't much to be said about Anchorman 2, other than it's going to be awesome! It's the sequel to 2004's (NINE YEARS AGO!!) Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and it reteams Will Ferrell with co-stars Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, and David Koechner, who have all become much bigger stars since the original came out. This time the infamous news team tackles the 80s and the upcoming debut of New York's first-ever 24 hour news channel. Like last time, there are rumors that there will be some big cameos that I wouldn't want to ruin for anyone else. Just make sure you see it December 20th, because you don't want to be that person who's quoting Anchorman 2 weeks after it stops being cool. Like everyone did with Borat. VERY NICE!!

And that's Six More to See in 2013! Any of those trailers got you hooked? Let me know what you think in the comments below!

I'll be back soon with another update (and more regularly this time!) 

-Jared