Tag Archives: Space

Europa Report (2013)

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europa report 4Roze-Rating: 3 / 5

Europa One will be the first spacecraft to carry Men and Women deeper into space than ever before. Their mission is to board one of 63 of Jupiter’s known moon’s, Europa, one of the closest habitable places in our Solar System. The crew set out for a long journey to their destination leaving them alone in space after communication breaks down with earth. They have to conquer the danger’s of space but also their mental well being.

Europa Report adopts the found footage style of film making, and with editing it literally feels like a documentary/news report. Since the premise sets up a groundbreaking time for mankind and space travel, camera’s are set up within the spaceship so that earth can follow the crew’s every move. This gives the films style a rational reasoning. For its low budget I think this was a pretty smart move because it made little weaknesses in special effects forgiving and added some form of realism to the film. Overall we’re given an even better insight to life in space, if not thrilling it is definitely interesting.

What I found is that this film really focuses on it’s science more than cheap thrills or cliched disasters. Europa is actually the closest habitable place in our solar system and could possibly hold some form of life, we have no idea and in that respect it is quite thought provoking. I’m not much of a space nerd but it does provoke questions about space and life that I rarely think about. If your truly into Sci-Fi and enjoy the Sci more than the Fi then Europa Report may be up your ally. To me it’s what diminished the enjoyment of the film, I quite like thrills and good special effects when it comes to Sci-FI and this didn’t offer much. There was definitely a sense of suspense when intended but I’d like to see more out of a film set in a place that’s actually reachable. All the science stuff kinda went in one ear and out of the other because you expect it to be nonsense.

It was nice seeing some familiar faces in the cast. Sharlto Copley probably the bigger of the few, known for his work in Sci-Fi. Of course he plays more of a tame character in a realistic setting this time as opposed to his over the top badass’s. If your a fan of Dexter, it will be quite a reminiscent moment seeing Christian Camargo again AKA Rudy; luckily over his serial killer ways. The rest of the cast includes Michael Nyqvist (Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol), Daniel Wu (The Man With The Iron Fists), Anamaria Marinca (Five Minutes of Heaven) and the lovely Karolina Wydra in her first major film role. In honesty there are no major performances, what the film lacked was chemistry between the group. The only character that seemed to be connecting with other characters was Sharlto Copley. Other than that they were solid.

Gravity (2013)

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GravityRoze-Rating: 5 / 5

A group of astronauts are sent out on a seemingly routine space expedition until mayhem ensues. Mission control warns the space crew that a Russian missile strike has just destroyed a satellite causing a chain reaction of debris to head in their direction. Before they can evacuate, the debris destroys their space ship, leaving only Dr. Ryan Stone and Matt Kowalski as the sole survivors.

Alfonso Cuaron returns to mainstream film making with this groundbreaking Sci-Fi thriller, avoiding fantastical space adventures and bringing us a terrifying film about the true dangers of space. As far as how factual the film is, it must be the most realistic space film we have had in a long time as we are captivated by zero-gravity and breathtaking imagery. Gravity finally brings us a film where there is no noise in space, and surprisingly it’s a hell of a lot more scarier than having your ears ravaged by loud explosions. Not having that ability of anticipating danger around you and losing that sense makes you more vulnerable than you would think. Seeing that on screen really gets your heart pumping.

Gravity has really pushed the bar for technology in film, that alone has made the film what it is, a special effects triumph. The attention to detail is commendable and would make any real life astronaut less prone to ripping their eyes out during viewing. I don’t know how they did it but I want to know very badly as you get a real sense of that zero gravity and how frustrating it would be floating around up there; cool at first but when disaster strikes, it’s less than ideal. Ultimately that’s what makes Gravity so riveting, it’s realism makes space expedition scary even if the possibilities of the events depicted are very low and that’s why we can’t take our eyes off the screen.

Beneath the engaging visuals and thrilling action sequences is quite an emotional narrative. The film explores the themes of getting through a series of bad situations and the rebirth of our protagonist Dr. Ryan Stone. With the constant orbit of debris, disaster will strike multiple times if you happen to be in the line of fire. Throughout the film we’re wondering if Stone will make it or even have the desire to carry on as we learn of her hardships on earth. There is an important scene where we see Dr. Ryan Stone curled up resembling a fetus in a womb, there on we’re given the impression that there’s an emotional growth to come.

As for performances they were brilliant with added emphasis on Sandra Bullock. Thinking about it, these role’s must be what most actors dream about. Firstly it’s a freaking space film, secondly it’s totally groundbreaking and thirdly you get to wear a space suit. By landing this role Bullock has really shown us what she’s made of, steering away from comedies and doing something a lot more thrilling. I hope she continues making films like this.

Gravity will definitely be getting some awards during award season and rightfully so as this is probably the best film I’ve seen all year. I’m a total sucker for a good thriller with awesome special effects. If you’re into sweating involuntarily throughout a film then Gravity is for you.