Welcome to The Morning After, where I share with you what I’ve seen over the past week either in film or television. On the film side, if I have written a full length review already, I will post a link to that review. Otherwise, I’ll give a brief snippet of my thoughts on the film with a full review to follow at some point later. For television shows, seasons and what not, I’ll post individual comments here about each of them as I see fit.

So, here is what I watched this past week:

Gravity

Alfonso Cuaron is one of the most gifted filmmakers working today. Coming seven years after his masterpiece, Children of Men, Cuaron has delivered one of the greatest science fiction films in the history of film.

Not in 45 years has a science fiction film so awakened the emotional and spiritual consciousness of its audience. In 1968, Stanley Kubrick crafted cinema’s greatest space-faring masterpiece exploring creation and man’s connection to his origins in spite of his advancement. While sci-fi typically examines how man’s advancement can often lead to his own demise, Gravity acts as the polar opposite showcasing the reliance of the human spirit in hopeless situations.

Sandra Bullock gives her most mature and exciting performances as the frightened, inexperienced doctor whose research launched her into spate and whose inner doubts risk her chance at safety. Cuaron’s directing is superb as is Emmanuel Lubezki’s tremendous cinematography. If Gravity doesn’t win Best Cinematography or Best Visual Effects, it will be a travesty and while I think it equally deserves the Sound Mixing and Sound Editing awards, I’m not sure they are showy enough to win.