Gravity
A groundbreaking, visual marvel that doesn’t sacrifice story for its incredible effects, this is one of the most impressive - and unnerving – experiences you could have at the movies.
By the end of the movie’s ultra-tense 90 minutes, I felt as if I had bounced across outer space with Sandra Bullock and George Clooney.
They play Matt Kowalski and Dr Ryan Stone, two astronauts on a seemingly routine spacewalk while their colleague holds fort in their state-of-the-art shuttle.
While the work they do is extraordinary, by their standards it’s just another day at the space age office, though Stone, on her first mission, is struggling with both the zero gravity and the dodgy cuisine.
But when debris from another satellite that has exploded hundreds of miles away comes hurtling towards them, it leads to a chain of worst case scenarios that leaves the duo in crisis. Unable to get back into their spaceship on time, and unable to make contact with Nasa, the two are left abandoned.
Be prepared: director Alfonso Cuaron not only cranks up the tension impressively here, but does a fine job of making the audience feel just as unsettled as the astronauts. You feel every claustrophic spin and tumble. Nerves will be shredded.
A film this visually spectacular is always at risk of overwhelming the story and while there are some patches that could have done with tweaking towards the end, and one plot element simply doesn’t work, in many ways its strength is its simplicity.
Cuaron is happy to let the amazing visual effects take centre stage but he’s been shrewd in his casting, too. Bullock was criticised for being a lightweight choice but she’s terrific here, nervy and vulnerable, and within minutes you’re invested in her terrifying predicament.
Broken Song
A group of hip hop artists from Dublin’s Northside get to showcase their talents in a new documentary that’s set to be shown around the world.
The rappers, GI (Christopher Buckley), James Costello and Willa Lee, have already helped developed a vibrant hip hop scene in the working-class suburbs of Finglas and Ballymun.
“People look at us and see the stereotypes. They’re this, they’re that, they’re scumbags. You’ve got to show them how good you are. You’ve got to whip out a tune that they couldn’t write in their dreams,” says GI.
Many of the songs refer to their own backgrounds and tough conditions in the run-down communities they hail from.
“The area and what they witnessed growing up would have provided a lot of inspiration for the songs. They channel all that,” said the film’s director Claire Dix, who collaborated with the rappers in making the movie.
“They’re so chilled out in normal life - all the aggression, all the anger, comes out through the lyrics.
“Hip Hop is the voice for the disenfranchised. When you have no money to buy any kind of music or education, your voice and your brain is what you have and that’s what the guys use. They live and breathe hip hop, they even call it their religion.”
Filmmaker Dix decided to shoot the film after working with rap act manager, Dean Scurry, on another project, and learning of the rapidly growing rap/hip hop scene in Ballymun and Finglas.
She says that even from her initial trip to the area it was evident there was a lively music scene in the community.
“There were already hip hop workshops in The Axis (local arts centre). We had just got the camera and walked out to see what was happening,” she said.
Shot in black and white, the film shows how the young rappers refer to their backgrounds and livelhoods in their vocals. It also depicts how the savvy young musicians hone their talents by bouncing ideas off each other and performing live gigs.
But the film’s main focus is on then-teenager Willa Lee, a gifted young singer and songwriter who’s had brushes with the law. The documentary showcases his distinctive voice but also depicts how he’s due to attend court after getting on the wrong side of the law, and doesn’t know whether he faces a prison sentence.
