Screams That Grow Faint

I recently read some disturbing news.  In celebration of the 35th anniversary of John Carpenter’s ground-breaking horror classic, Halloween (1978), a number of younger viewers were exposed to the film for the first time.  The results were poor to mixed.  Some lauded the film’s creepy atmosphere.  Others paid respect to its obvious cinematic influence.  Most, if not all, were simply not scared.  

Based On A True Story? You Can’t Handle the TRUTH!

There’s a misnomer with Hollywood.  Whenever we hear the words “true story”, we misconstrue the intent.  Movies have never been about telling us the truth.  There are stories that strive to invoke a sense of it — to offer some glimmer of clairvoyance.  But the simple “truth” is a tagline that has been — and always will be — a marketing scheme.   

Gravity–Review

At the IMAX screening of Gravity, I counted at least six moments when a young audience member responded to the images on the towering screen in front  of him.  They were breathy utterances of “ooohhh…”.  It’s true, there’s a lot to oogle in Alfonso Cuaron’s (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Children of Men) science fiction opus.  He provides a spectacle full of intricate, detailed images and wonder.  It is the most gratifying and engaging replication of space travel since 2001 — complemented with some thrilling moments.  In other words, it’s an amiable marriage of Hitchcock and Kubrick.

Like his last film (Children), Cuaron shoots long sequences without any cuts.  The camera hovers, follows, probes and pans back with pitch-perfect timing.  The film’s opening is at least ten minutes that demonstrates the brilliant amount of attention and craftsmenship involved.  It also creates the sensation of floating in the cosmos.

Gravity…Another Avatar?

Gravity may be the Fall release I had to see in a theater.  It’s surprising, considering this “little” sci-fi thriller was dumped in early October — a month usually reserved for cheap (and crappy) releases deemed unfit for the prime Summer and Holiday release schedules.  But, Alfanso Cuaron’s opus is the talk of the town.  For every hour that passes, its box office predictions grew exponentially.  Most important, however, it’s a film you have to see!