1) Gravity
Ask anyone and they’ll tell you that the special effects in Alfonso Cuarón’s space-set thriller are out of this world. It’s the most technically marvelous accomplishment of the year; no other film even comes close. However, there’s much more to Gravity than its mind-blowing presentation. Despite its large scale and effects-heavy premise, Gravity is also the most deeply touching and emotionally draining film of the year.
Placing its dramatic weight squarely on Sandra Bullock’s shoulders, Gravity tells a simple but oh-so-powerful story about life, death, courage and perseverance. Bullock plays Dr. Ryan Stone, a scientist on her first space walk who is also grieving the death of her child, with stunning openness, capturing an absorbing, compelling range of emotions that never feels less than truthful. George Clooney brings appropriate charisma and depth to a minimal supporting role, but his character acts more as a symbol than anything else.
That’s another thing about Gravity. Cuarón packs the film (which we could easily call the director’s masterpiece) with religious and cultural metaphors so potent and heartfelt that Gravity adopts an intimate, philosophical bent. The things that Cuarón puts up on the screen are gorgeous and heartbreaking in ways that words cannot do justice, so all I can say is that you should see Gravity. No, scratch that, you need to see Gravity. As soon as possible. It transcends the previously-set limitations of cinema to make the greatest film about space exploration, and perhaps the greatest film about the innate human drive to survive, of all time.