Gravity [Blu-ray] [2014] [2013] [Region Free]

PICTURE - Firstly, I did not buy the 3D version, so I cannot comment on this aspect of it. Outside of that, the picture quality is absolutely outstanding! Crisp, clean, rich, vivid, perfection - a beautiful 'test disc' for any TV or Blu-ray player. As for the CG.... well the entire movie is CG with the exception of the actors' faces. It's so good that I didn't know that until I saw the extras!SOUND - Wow! Just, wow! I have spent a lot of money on my 5.1 and movies like this make it all worthwhile. The full range of my speakers were stretched and tested, with outstanding results. The big bangs to the stark 'silence' to the eerie orchestral arrangement are all perfect in pitch, power and pace.MOVIE - Great story with a lot of metaphorical motifs throughout. Pace was excellent and the overall running time was only 90 minutes so, epic is scope but you don't need half a day to enjoy it. You are immediately sucked into the world of our heroine and kept there - firmly perched on the edge of your seat!EXTRAS - I love watching additional content but when a movie wins a host of awards for picture and sound etc. you hope they really delve into every detail of how they achieved this. Well, nearly 3 hours later and I am gobsmacked. No stone left unturned and it's all good stuff, not the usual clatter of concept art stills and repetitive commentary.JUST BUY IT!!!!

Some argue this is science fiction (it is a few years in the future, after the launch of the Chinese space station Tiangong, and it won the 2014 Hugo Science Fiction award). Some argue that it is merely a techno-thriller. I argue that it demonstrates we are living in a science fictional world.Dr Ryan Stone [Sandra Bullock] is a mission specialist aboard the shuttle Explorer, performing a repair on a Hubble instrument. The Russians blow up one of their old satellites, which causes a chain reaction of debris. This slams into the astronauts, and Stone is flung into space. She is rescued by mission commander Matt Kowalski [George Clooney], but that is only the beginning of their problems as they struggle to find safety.This is slam bang high tech action. The special effects are great, with a real feeling of free fall in agoraphobic outer space and claustrophobic space stations. There are clever camera shots, that move from outside to inside Stone’s space suit helmet. And brilliantly, there is no sound in space, which adds to the terror. The cast is microscopic: 2 on-screen actors and 5 other voices in the whole film. This adds to the claustrophobia, and the focus.What I love about Gravity, in addition to the realistic portrayal of near earth orbit, is the portrayal of Stone, as someone terrified by what’s happening to her, yet using her competence and training to excellent effect to save herself, because no-one else can. Superior stuff.

I really wish I'd seen this movie at the cinema as I can't help thinking it would be spectacular to watch on the big screen. As it is I watched it on my TV set via the DVD and I have to say even though I saw it on the small screen the special effects were amazing and I found myself asking 'How did they do that?' as I watched the first 15 minutes. The shots of earth and the sun from space are beautiful and even though sometimes with the storyline you have to go with the flow a bit and not question the plausibility of what is happening to enjoy it I still think this is an incredible film. Sandra Bullock does well with her role as does George Clooney and to say you're left almost permanently on the edge of your seat is an understatement. I also found some parts of this film quite touching but the only reason I haven't given it 5 stars is that sometimes I felt a sense of something being missing. I really can't quite say what this was but I definitely felt there was something not there that would have made it a 5 star for me. As it is though I still think Gravity is a brilliant film and not one to be missed.