A decade before Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity, Roma) was winning Oscars for Best Director, he directed the critically acclaimed and now cult classic Children of Men, a post-apocalyptic thriller set in 2027 Britain. In this dystopian world, it has been 18 years since the most recent human has been born. Humans have become incapable of reproducing for reasons unknown, resulting in a global fear that the extinction of our species is imminent. England is now the one remaining civilized society on the entire planet, making it a place where everyone can immigrate. The borders are strong, but people still illegally enter. Those caught are promptly placed into refugee camps. While this scenario may seem completely foreign to many of us, it should be a fear in our minds that lawlessness is entirely possible, and situations like these are already happening (though not globally) in many of our smaller countries that cannot defend themselves.
Category Archives: Alfonso Cuaron
Roma (2018)
Not all Best Picture winners are the best movies of the year. Unlike a team competition like the Super Bowl or World Series or an individual competition like a Spelling Bee or a marathon, awards in the arts are very subjective. Some sports, such as gymnastics, diving, boxing, and many reality shows (American Idol, America’s Got Talent), are also based on judge’s scores. Still, for the most part, I don’t think there is much of a difference between who the judges feel the best is and who the public believes the best is. Of the big Awards shows (Grammy, Oscar, Emmy, Tony, Country Music Awards, Golden Globes, etc.) The most diverse are music and television shows. I say music shows because there is no more significant distinction in personal taste in any art than there is when it comes to music. I say television because there is no way that every critic can watch every show nominated for awards, especially in 2018, when most of the shows that get nominated in the seemingly dozens upon dozens of unique categories are shows that the average person has never heard of. And for those shows, the voters usually watch just a single episode that gets nominated. This means that it is somewhat impossible to get to know these characters, nor is it possible to see the arc of where the show was or where it is going. Movie award shows are simpler, especially feature-length films (the types of films I review), because there are usually no more than 15-20 movies that get nominated.
Gravity (2013)
Okay…here we go. Gravity had the potential to be the greatest movie of 2013. It was a very, very good movie and will finish in my Top 10 of 2013 by the time everything is said and done. My preliminary thought is that it currently will be my #3 for the year, behind World War Z and Elysium. What do these three movies, in my opinion, have in common? Originality. I thought that, in a time where there Hollywood seems to be lacking great original ideas that aren’t based on true stories, these three movies achieved just that. I loved World War Z. I do not think it will end year #1, but it will be tough. It was an amazing, adrenalin-pumping story that had an awesome twist. Gravity aimed for the same, albeit in a slightly different way. Was it as successful? Unfortunately, it wasn’t. I will discuss, in-depth, the one or two major problems I had with this movie and will give you plenty of warning before I get there so that you can skip this section if you have not seen this movie yet.
Continue reading Gravity (2013)