Gravity Review

'Gravity' is a masterpiece. An awe-inspiring mix of action, horror and humanity. It has been seven years since Alfonso Cuarón gave us 'Children of Men' but it was worth the wait. There's never been any movie quite like 'Gravity'. The imagery presented in this film is simply mind-boggling. It's an amazing accomplishment.

However all that craftmanship would've been for naught, had the story not worked on a basic human level. Astronauts Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Kowalski (George Clooney) are on a shuttle mission. They are on a routine spacewalk when things go terribly wrong. In a matter of seconds their shuttle is destroyed and they find themselves adrift in space. 

From then on it's a story of survival. Through the magice of storytelling, we experience Stone's ordeal as if we're there with her. The film works like clockwork. The timing of action and emotional beats is impeccable. It's been a long time since I've seen such economical storytelling in a big budget feature. It's a refreshing surprise.

It's apparent that Alfonso Cuarón strived to make 'Gravity' as realistic as possible. In the opening sequence, people and objects are seen gliding effortlessly through the zero-g environment. Earth fills up the screen behind them. It's a beautiful moment. This tranquility lasts until the debris field moves into view. The effects of the debris hitting the spacestation are frighteningly violent. 

Cuarón overcomes the scientific impossibility of sound in space by employing Steven Price's effective musical score. It's a compelling soundtrack that combines beauty and dissonance. That is true for the movie as a whole. 'Gravity' shows the us the wonder and the insurmountable risks that come with space exploration. 

Still, it's the intimacy of the story that makes it so tangible. 'Gravity' is a small movie, set against a vast backdrop. We experience Stone's fight for survival as if it were our very own. The film owes its emotional power to Bullock's honest performance. The transformation she goes through is wonderful in its simplicity and the actress pulls it off brilliantly. 

'Gravity' is a work of pure artistic craftmanship. Seldom have I seen a film that hits home like this one does. Alfonso Cuarón and his cast and crew have created a film that is as close to perfection as you can get. This is filmmaking at its finest. That's why 'Gravity' is the most viscerally engaging film I've seen in a long time. It really is a masterpiece.  

Machete Kills Review

'Machete' began life as a fake trailer attached to the film 'Grindhouse'; a project spearheaded by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. The trailer starred Danny Trejo as a pissed-off Mexican mercenary. Eventually Rodriguez took it upon himself to expand upon the trailer and bring 'Machete' to the big screen. The result was a mildly entertaining action film that tried hard to be fun but failed miserably.

You'd think Rodriguez and Trejo would leave 'Machete' well enough alone. Unfortunately they stuck a teaser for a sequel on the film's ass end. And because they are men of their word, we're treated to a sequel that comes close the being the movie 'Machete' tried to be.

'Machete Kills' is over the top, simplistic, awful, violent, misogynistic and fueled by testosterone. Danny Trejo is still the worst leading man I haver ever layed eyes on. He has no character or charisma, all he has is a face. And it's not even a pretty one. Really, there are burn victims with prettier faces than Danny Trejo.

I didn't expect 'Machete Kills' to be good. But it's a testament to awful filmmaking that Trejo has zero impact his own story. His character only rarely makes a choice that influences the direction of the story. Most of the time he's just along for the ride, surrounded by people who are a lot more interesting than him. Both of these films prove that it's hard to make good bad movie.

Because that's what they were trying to do, make a good bad movie. It's terribly tricky thing to do, because if you do it the wrong way you end up with a bad bad movie. That's what happened to 'Machete'. Luckily this sequel has a few aces up it's sleave. Those aces are Demian Bichir, Antonia Banderas, William Sadler, Cuba Gooding Jr., Carlos Estevez and Mel Gibson.

I don't know how many family members Rodriguez had to kidnap in order get these actors in this movie but it's worth the effort. They're all visibly enjoying themselves. The one who sticks out, however, is Mel Gibson. He is great as the film's big bad.* You could write a whole book (okay, maybe five pages) about this guy's ode to James Bond villains. But even the shiniest of stars can't hide the awful turd that is 'Machete Kills'. Still, I hope against hope that 'Machete Kills Again... In Space' will be the masterpiece we deserve.

*It's going to be hard for Leonardo DiCaprio to top Mel Gibson in the next movie.