By Dave Montalbano
http://cinemadave.livejournal.com
For three weeks, Gravity has been an anomaly during a typically slow time at the box office. This film should definitely be seen on the big screen to appreciate the nuances that director Alfonso Cuaron has incorporated into this film. Cuaron takes his time to open his movie; the pace is deliberately slow and all the action occurs within the frame of the shot. There is NO attention deficit disorder editing. When the action breaks loose, the audience is taken for the ride along with Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. Not since Space Station 3-D has a motion picture been created that makes one feel like they are in space.
The story of Gravity is very simple — an accident occurs and astronauts are stranded into space. The trailer may lead one to believe that Bullock and Clooney merely float around in space for 1 hour and 39 minutes; however, there is a variety of scenery and situations to keep one involved in the characters’ fates. With themes of survival, regret and loneliness, Gravity is one of the best movies of 2013. See it on the big screen in 3-D to appreciate the wonder.
Sandra Bullock is the voice of Golda Meir in the documentary The Prime Ministers: The Pioneers, which is given its world premier this weekend at the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival. Part of a historical series of documentaries by Academy Award-winner Richard Trank, The Prime Ministers reveals details of the “Six-Day” and “Yom Kippur” wars. This film also examines the strategic relationship between Israel and the United States.
Best known for playing in the soap opera General Hospital and as the “bad girl” in Staying Alive, Finola Hughes is in town for The Bet, sponsored by FLIFF anchors Janet Leavy Schwartz & Irwin Levenstein. Hughes steps behind the lens to direct her first featured film.
The Bet is a family comedy that looks at dating relationships from three generations: teen years, middle age and senior romance. Grandpa is concerned about his grandson’s slow romantic development, so he engages the young lad in a bet — who will be the first to seduce a lady?
On Tuesday Oct. 29, Tab Hunter will attend a screening of John Walters’ trash classic, Polyester. The festival director has gone to great expense to obtain “Odorama Cards” to enhance (or destroy) the cinematic experience. If he survives this screening, Hunter will be interviewed by scholar Foster Hirsch. Hunter is scheduled to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award.
With Halloween approaching, House Across the Street and the William Grefe documentary They Came from the Swamp will be two FLIFF entries.
Halloween season would not be complete without a visit to Fright Asylum (www.frightasylum.com). Episode 215 features Woody & Manny with a “special house guest” who does not want to leave the Asylum.
