Gravity

Sandra Bullock plays Ryan Stone, a scientist on her first space mission and George Clooney plays Buzz Lightyear, ahem, Matt Kowalski, the wisecracking, experienced astronaut in a new 3-D film about astronauts stranded in space.

Enter Alfonso Cuarón's (Children of Men,Y Tu Mamá También) and suddenly this is not your ordinary Bullock Clooney thriller, it’s one of the best movies of the year. And it’s certainly the most breathtakingly beautiful one.

Cuarón and his cinematographer, Emmanuel Lubezki, puts us in poetic, weightless suspension with the astronauts. The simple, beautiful camerawork is dazzling. It’s amazing that in 2013, they have created a space movie that looks and feels unlike any I’ve seen before.

The 91-minute story, which I won’t reveal much about, moves from a basic thriller to a tale of rebirth. It’s simple, yet worthy of the director’s remarkable work.

Simply put: An out of this world, intelligent crowd-pleaser for all types of audiences.

Award potential: In space, no one can hear you scream, but in January, 21^st Century Fox will be screaming about nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Film Editing and more. 

The ten buck review:  Worth ten bucks — and an appropriate use of 3-D.