Gravity (2013)

Director: Alfonso Cuarón

Stars: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris

Genre:  Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller 

MPAA Rating: PG-13 (intense perilous sequences, some disturbing images and brief strong language)

Format: Digital Download HD (XFinity On Demand Rental) {Comcast: 1080P HD}

Running Time: 91 Mins

Tagline: "Don't Let Go"

THE MOVIE ITSELF:

What can I possibly say about Gravity, that hasn't already been said before? Everyone, and I mean everyone I know had been raving about this movie since the first teaser trailer. I will admit, I was very hesitant to view this flick.Why? Because I am usually disappointed by films that are loved by the masses. Let me elaborate, alot of people (generally) jump on the bandwagon very quickly to praise a film simply due to what the rest of the globe is saying about a particular popular film. Now, does that apply to Gravity? No, it is just an anecdote of what tends to happen to me with movie recommendations. For the first time, in a very long time, I can say that people were right on the money on this flick.


Gravity tells a simple story of a very complex scenario that hopefully none of us have to face. The principal story is centered on the character of Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) who is fighting against time to survive in space-where she is drifting without contact. She is accompanied by astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) Together they are attempting re-entry into earth's atmosphere with the resources they have left. As I said, the story is very simple to understand, the visual experience however is at another level. I have to admit, this movie is a visual ride, no lie it's pure eye candy and adrenaline.

Sadly, I missed this film during it's theatrical run, ruining alot of the actual experience many have been talking about. However, sitting down and viewing the film in 1080p High Definition, I have no doubt that this movie in IMAX or 3D would be anything short of spectacular. I currently do not own a 3D screen, so viewing the movie as intended is something I would have to wait and see. Regardless, the movie was beautifully shot, and the effects were state of the art. I can say that I was really impressed with alot of the accuracy depicted on the film. I am sure that the movie took alot of liberties in exaggerating certain aspects of space; there are other aspects that seem to be spot on. For instance, I liked the fact that we do not hear sound or explosions in space. I can't count the times movies tend to mess this simple fact.

I was also very impressed by Sandra Bullock's performance. I may not be her biggest fan, but she did an impressive job on this film. Her representation of desperation, struggle to survive, the notion that your life is in balance-a great portrayal that I hadn't seen in film in sometime. Now, I can't say the same thing for George Clooney. I am also not crazy about Clooney's work (worst Batman to date) his calm and collected personality in this film, even though it helped in calming down Ryan, it felt of place and at times just plain odd. I don't care if you are an astronaut with 20 years of experience, I am positive that one would not be so calm as Clooney's character. I understand that in a situation as the one presented, one has to find the strength to be at ease...yet, deep down I know there is the fear of drifting without help, the fear of death.

Regardless, the movie was outstanding, and deserves the awards it received at the Oscars. I'm glad to see that there are filmmakers out there set out to do what they are supposed to do-amaze us beyond belief and transport us to another world; This film did all of that for me even without seeing it in 3D.  I highly recommend this film to those interested in getting a glimpse of the closest accuracy thus far of what space might be like. Don't pass on the film like I initially did, give it a chance.


PICTURE QUALITY:

As I mentioned in the beginning of the review, I was hesitant in seeing this movie, so I ended up downloading it via Xfinitty On Demand. While I am not a huge fan of downloading or streaming, I have to say that the quality of the presentation was very comparable to that of a Blu-Ray Disc. Colors were very vibrant (in a good way) there are no imperfections, blemishes or impurities on the screen. There really isn't anything wrong with the picture quality. I can only imagine how it would look like on Blu-Ray 3D.


SOUND QUALITY:

Unfortunately, I don't have my Comcast Cable Box connected to my Surround Sound System. Giving a rating of the sound based primarily on a 2 Channel audio would not be fair to the film. So I will skip this section until I view it on Blu-Ray

BOTTOM LINE:

This is definitely one of the better movies of 2013! Don't wait a minute longer and watch Gravity now! that's an order!

     

Blood Red Moon (2010)

 Director: Scott Patrick

 Stars:  Anne-Marie Frigon, Shelley-Jean Harrison, Brett Kelly

 Genre:  Horror

 MPAA Rating: Not Rated

 Format: DVD (Multipack)

 Running Time: 71 Mins

Tagline: "The moon is full...with the blood of the innocent"

(ZERO STARS!)




THE MOVIE ITSELF:

Can there possibly be a movie worse than Twilight? I never thought it would be possible, but yes, there are worse movies out there-Blood Red Moon is one of them. This movie is a perfect example of "So bad is just plain bad" genre. This flick should only be viewed simply to instruct young filmmakers on what not to do on the set of a film. Believe me, this has to be one of the worst movies I have had the displeasure of viewing. Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoy a cheesy movie as much as the next person; Blood Red Moon is definitely not one of them.

For anyone familiar with the plot of Twilight, don't be surprised by the amount of similarity between both films. So much are the comparisons that you might as well watch Twilight before Blood Red Moon in order to fill in the gaps this movie failed to address. I encourage "the brave" that would like to view this film to sit down and watch Twilight in order to fully comprehend this tripe. Actually, I take that back, avoid both films like the plague! 

As torturous as it may be, let's talk about the "pea brain" plot of the film. The story of the film centers on two teens that barely know one another and are "madly in love". Other than the fact that they attend the same school, and are Canadian, they have nothing in common. The male lead plays the vampire who is trying to fit in with the crowd, and the female lead plays the new girl in school also adapting and trying to fit in. Very early in the movie both characters meet (awkwardly) and from night to day they become inseparable (ugh) I feel bad for the actors who had to go through filming this, because it's so obvious they have zero chemistry, plus they can't act for shit. 

Also, I have the strong feeling that this movie was shot entirely throughout the course of a day or two. I say that due to the fact that everyone in this movie is wearing the same clothes in every scene. Now, if the movie's setting was to take place through the course of one day, then it could perhaps be acceptable, but we see characters go to bed with the same clothes they went to school with (yuck) Looks like these youngsters have not discovered hygiene yet.  

Before I continue, there are spoilers I am going to give out...that it matters?Aside the main love story, murders start taking place all over town. The authorities begin to blame Victor (the vamp) of the murders. We later find out that the Sheriff was behind the killings. What strikes me though, is that we literally see Victor killing people, it's not as if they show the acts off screen. So, is the sheriff a shapeshifter? Who knows! stuff like this is never addressed, and viewing Twilight didn't help one bit in understanding the ending. Do yourself a favor, avoid the movie, go rent or download a real vampire movie like Interview With The Vampire. 

                                                          PICTURE QUALITY:

The only reason I own Blood Red Moon is because it's part of a 4 Horror Multipack DVD. Thank God this edition is no longer in print, I hope all copies of this movie disappear from the face of the earth! (Sigh) Okay, now that I got that out of my system, let's talk about the picture quality. The movie is presented in a 1:85:1 Non Anamorphic Widescreen-which results in zooming in order to prevent the image from looking stretched out. Overall, the colors are bland, and lifeless like the film. Not that it matters, but there is alot of issues with lighting that are hard to ignore; which is more of a production issue rather than a problem with the actual disc. As I said, quality is very poor, not just in my DVD but online aswell. If you go on Netflix, YouTube, or any other On Demand service you will notice the quality is identical, it comes from the same source.  As for the other movies on this Multipack, I have no clue, and I don't care. I am positive they are just as bad, it's going to the trash
                  SOUND QUALITY:                      

The sound quality on this DVD is a 2 Channel Stereo Sound. If you see it advertised as 5.1 Surround Sound, they are lying! The movie has no real sound effects or neat special effects for one to be impressed by it's sound, quite the contrary. I have a feeling that some of the sound effects were done live or through the same audio mix as the dialogue, because there isn't a real balance in audio. That's just an observation I made, I am no sound technician.

 BOTTOM LINE:
There is only one reviewer online that has anything positive to say about the film. Gates of Gore, an independent reviewer like myself is the only reviewer that praised this movie.But, curiously enough, his review doesn't even exist! In the cover of the DVD-Gates of Gore said "If you liked Twilight, you'll love Blood Red Moon" But, as I mentioned, the review is no where to be found on his site. My bottom line on this movie is: run far away from it. You see a copy at K-Mart, Walmart, FYE, or wherever-help the community in destroying this garbage movie. Even if you are a fan of Twilight, don't be fooled, this is human torture. There are people out there that might find some of the stuff in this movie hilarious, but the unintended humor doesn't compensate the time wasted on the rest of the film. Sorry folks, this one is a stinker.